CHOICES CHOICES CHOICES… Tickets for ‘Wine on the Water’ in St Francis Bay are very hard to come by and those to the Stellenbosch Street Soirees are selling out fast. Interesting that the cellars exhibiting at Cape Town Fresh are mostly from outside CTN, with various districts all over the winelands represented. The Wellington festival will have somewhat of a
THEY’RE IN AGREEMENT… The Top 3 places to eat at on South African wine farms are Chefs Warehouse at Beau Constantia, La Colombe at Silvermist in Constantia and La Petite Colombe at Leeu Estates in Franschhoek, i.e. included among both the 3-Star Restaurants honoured at the Eat Out Awards of New Media/Media 24 and those deemed worthy of a ‘Three
THE TOP South African wine events taking place from July through August 2023 begin with a focus on Portuguese varieties and styles in Stellenbosch and wind up to the Cape Winemakers Guild Showcase tastings at the International Convention Centre in Cape Town and the Nedbank Atrium in Johannesburg. Event highlights in July include Caroline’s Red Wine Review at the V&A
SHIRAZ from South Africa’s Hartenberg, Kleine Zalze and Cederberg cellars were among the top gold medallists at the international Syrah du Monde 2023. Contested by 20 countries, the competition takes place in Ampuis, a town in the Rhône region of France, where 80 of the 241 wines assessed during the panel tastings earned gold (34) and silver (46) medals. Australian
BACK IN 2012, the 2010 vintage of The Bernard Series Bush Vine Pinotage in DGB’s Bellingham portfolio earned a trophy at the Decanter World Wine Awards, UK. In 2014, the 2013 vintage was a winner in the Pinotage Association’s Top 10 Competition, Cape winelands. Not long into 2023, the 2019 vintage earned grand gold and was judged best South African
NOPE! The La Motte Estate in Franschhoek is not closed. Although operations at the Pierneef restaurant and various other visitor attractions were suspended for renovations expected to be underway until sometime in 2024, an Artisanal Bakery and Garden Café now operate from Wednesday to Sunday at the farm’s Jonkershuis. Dating back to 1752, the Cape Dutch building has been extended
COGNAC, ARMAGNAC, CAPE BRANDY… An acquired taste, some would argue. Thrice as strong as most red and white wines. Aqua vitae, the water of life! Distilled wine, in basic terms, but in its finest form a wonderful spirit savoured in sips. And those bottles… Medicine for the soul! Originating in the vineyards, as they do, the brandies of South Africa
THIRD TIME LUCKY? Chamonix of Franschhoek had earned gold medals at previous editions of the Cab Franc Challenge with their 2015 and 2016 vintages in 2018 and 2020 respectively. Then, come 2022, they won the overall title with their 2020 vintage. But the Challenge judges haven’t been the only ones in the know giving this wine the thumbs up –
EVEN WHEN IT comes to the Top 100 Cellars on the various wine routes of South Africa, not all of them are open to the public for tastings and sales all week, all weekend, i.e. including Sundays. See below for those that are, what their Sunday trading hours are plus links to the various destinations should you wish to make
OF SOUTH AFRICA’S top wine cellars that are open to the public, some have taken their tasting-room experience to another level when it comes to matching what’s in the glass with what’s on the plate, or vice versa. See below for what is currently on offer – just click on the links for more information and how to book a
JUST OVER an hour’s drive (around 80km) from Cape Town, the ‘French corner’ of the Cape winelands – east of Stellenbosch and Paarl – is one of the most popular wine routes in South Africa. Numerous guesthouses and Airbnb options, as well as a wine tram connecting one end of the valley to the other. This is gourmet country.
2022 HAD ALREADY got underway when Decanter (UK) announced the names of their Wines of the Year 2021. Experts around the world and on the Decanter team nominated those wines that had impressed them most during the year to October 2021, and these were then re-assessed by a panel comprising three of the publication’s judges: Master of Wine Michelle Cherutti-Kowal,
Old Road Grand-mère Semillon 2017 • Gold Medal, Best in Class at Trophy Wine Show (SA) • Gold Medal at International Wine Challenge (UK) Old Road 12 Mile Syrah 2018 • Gold Medal at International Wine & Spirit Competition (UK) AND THESE ARE just the stars of the range in 2021, two from several tiers of wines offered by the
THERE WERE 125 entries from various parts of the South African winelands submitted for Winemag’s 2021 Prescient Sauvignon Blanc Report. Most were unwooded, some were wooded and some comprised blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon (albeit that this isn’t always disclosed on the labels). And there were plenty that delighted the panel of tasters including Winemag editor Christian Eedes (chair),
BOTH OF the top-scoring wines in Winemag’s 2021 Cape White Blend Report were from the Wildeberg outfit in Franschhoek. A pretty impressive showing by Cellarmaster JD Rossouw and the team, and not for the first time. Last year, the 2019 Wildeberg Red blend was selected among the winners of the Shiraz SA Challenge, while another red combo, the 2019 Underworld
FRANCE and Australia were the most successful nations at the 2021 International Wine Challenge in London, one of the biggest competitions of its kind – thousands of entries from over 50 countries, with numerous panels judging over a couple of weeks. South Africa secured 13 gold medals, compared to France’s 77 and Australia’s 49, and Elgin cellar Paul Cluver was
THERE WERE A NUMBER of familiar labels among the ‘Best in Class’ and ‘Wine of the Year’ laureates that shone in the 2021 SA National Wine Challenge, but nobody could have anticipated the identity of the overall red wine champion. A newcomer from the Koelenhof Winery, The Legacy 2017 is the first (Cab-led) red blend in the premium ‘Stellenbosch 1679’
IT’S NOT OFTEN that the Winemag panel chaired by editor Christian Eedes rates anything higher than 95 on their 100-point scale, but do so they did after sniffing and sipping the 2020 Filly Chenin Blanc from Cavalli Estate on the foothills of the Helderberg in Stellenbosch. Described as ‘profound’, it was the judges’ favourite in a lineup of 90 wines
AS WINEMAG points out, there is no official definition for a ‘Cape White Blend’, but their proposal is that such wines, as opposed to the Bordeaux-style Semillon-and-Sauvignon-Blanc combos, can be made from any combination of varieties as long as they include a significant Chenin Blanc component, specifically more than 15% and less than 85%. Winemag editor Christian Eedes reasons that
AMAZING ACHIEVEMENT! A Top 10 rating for every red and white that Tokara submitted for assessment in the various Winemag reports of 2020, with three of the bottlings judged best in their category: the 2017 Director’s Reserve (White Blend), the 2019 Reserve Chardonnay and the 2017 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon – the latter also getting the nod as Best Red Wine
