FRYER’S COVE VINEYARDS on South Africa’s West Coast some three-and-half hours drive north of Cape Town are so close to the sea that there is a distinct maritime influence on the wines! In fact some of their grapes grow just 600m from the waves where the cold Atlantic Ocean crashes onto the shores of Doringbaai, the fishing village south of
THE COGNOSCENTI are curious about Spioenkop Wines for a number of reasons – not the least of which is the free-spirited nature of owner-cellarmaster Koen Roose. To meet this Belgian newcomer to the Elgin wine scene is to engage with somebody who’s obviously passionate about making seriously good, characterful wine on his hilltop in the Elgin valley – so passionate
GUARDIAN PEAK, the sister winery of Rust en Vrede just around the corner, is a favourite lunch-time destination in the Cape winelands. It’s one of those cellars with a restaurant that you want to linger at all afternoon, taking in the views and enjoying a menu tailored around the wines that include a Sauvignon Blanc available nowhere else and reds
OVER THE past 10 years, six wineries stand out as the producers with the best track records when it comes to South Africa’s top quality Pinot Noir: Hamilton Russell, Bouchard Finlayson, Sumaridge (all in the Hemel-en-Aarde area outside Hermanus), Chamonix (Franschhoek), Meerlust (Stellenbosch) and Paul Cluver (Elgin). Over the past 18 months, however, three Pinot producers have been winning most
THEY SAY that there’s no such thing as bad publicity or bad PR, that all publicity is ultimately good publicity. In which case the owner of the Sugarbird Manor guesthouse in Stellenbosch’s Devon Valley won’t mind this blog all that much. After all, she didn’t seem very concerned when I spoke to her directly so this will probably only bemuse
AS IF IT wasn’t enough for us to deal with the prospect of the Mother City’s home of rugby moving from the leafy southern suburb of Newlands to the stadium in Green Point by the sea at the end of next year, the closing down of the wine bar and deli at Josephine’s Mill just around the corner from the
Looking forward to the prospect of a wineland lunch we headed out to the little De Meye winery in the back-end of Stellenbosch where we’d heard there was a good table offering comfort food for hungry souls. We were in adventurous mood, but hadn’t factored in the roadworks along the R101 (darn stop-go system) and then arrived at ‘The Table’
Would I recommend La Belle Cafe at the Alphen Hotel in Constantia, Cape Town? Pretty much! The setting outside the bakery-cum-deli is good – we were sitting in front of old Cape Dutch buildings, under the oaks. The waiters were friendly, the wine was the right temperature and the glasses decent. But the winelist was questionable.We weren’t staying long enough
IN LESS than a century South Africa’s Pinot Noir Cinsaut cross has developed to become one of the most widely planted red grape varieties in the country, responsible for drinks that range from humble quaffers to fine wines deserving of their place in the company of the world’s very best. January 2012 marked the launch of South Africa’s Pinotage Wine
