Posts
Stellenbosch 1679: where history and fine wine(s) meet
Talk about a success story! Launched in 2019, the first of Koelenhof Winery’s flagship Stellenbosch 1679 range was the 2017 Bush Vine Chenin Blanc. Soon ...
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Chenin and Shiraz top-score in Platter's 2026 SA Wine Guide
TWO WINES scored 99 points on their 100-point scale. A first for Platter's South African Wine Guide. Most highly rated in the 2026 edition, the ...
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Top white wine at Veritas Awards from cellar within a cellar
WITHIN the large Perdeberg outfit in the north-western reaches of South Africa's Paarl district there's a boutique cellar where dry-farming (unirrigated) culminates in two special ...
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Delaire Graff and Whalehaven shine at Chardonnay Masters
SOUTH AFRICA'S good showing at the 2025 Global Chardonnay Masters in the UK was remarkable for a number of reasons. Among the gold medallists announced ...
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Perdeberg’s Endura: celebrating endurance in every sip
At the heart of Perdeberg’s winemaking philosophy lies a profound respect for resilience, and nowhere is that spirit more beautifully captured than in the Endura ...
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Neil Ellis Whitehall Chardonnay '22 getting better and better
THE GRAPES for négociant Neil Ellis's Whitehall Chardonnay don't come from the same vineyard that was used originally, but the Elgin beauty is as delightful ...
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Cape Bordeaux-style blend that had Veritas judges beaming
THE TOP-RATED wine going into the final round of judging at the 2025 Veritas Awards – the biggest, longest-running wine competition in South Africa where ...
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14 wine farm restaurants lauded in SA Gourmet Guide 2026
ONCE AGAIN the food critics have spoken – those whose votes count towards South Africa's JHP Gourmet Guide. And once again, La Colombe at Silvermist ...
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Taste the very finest at Caroline’s White Wine Review
Caroline’s 2025 edition of her annual White Wine & Cap Classique Review, one of the most prestigious tasting events on the South African wine calendar, ...
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First definitive book on South African Sauvignon Blanc
For the first time, the story of South Africa’s most popular white wine cultivar has been brought together in a single publication: The Story of ...
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Veritas Awards revisited… The scores of all the double golds
WELL, 99% of them… A few of the wine producers who entered the 2025 Veritas Awards and went on to win double gold either didn't ...
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Great Sauvignon Blanc from across the Cape – ‘Top 10' in 2025
“FOUR VINTAGES. Wooded and unwooded. Three wards and six districts across three regions. This is the story of the 2025 FNB Sauvignon Blanc SA Top ...
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Perold wins at Veritas '25… But what was it up against?
NO MEAN FEAT! The most highly rated of over 1200 entries in the 2025 edition of the longest-running and biggest South African wine and spirit ...
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The humble Duke of Wellington a Top 10 Pinotage at R80pb
IT'S SURPRISING to find neither Kanonkop nor Rijk's among the winners of an Absa Top 10 – such are their good track records in this ...
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Top Shiraz from among smallest, highest blocks in Constantia
WINNER of the trophy for best South African red wine at the 2025 International Wine Challenge, the Beau Constantia Stella 2022 was released some months ...
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12 bottles of Mullineux Semillon sell for R50K – CWG Auction
THE 2024 VINTAGE of Mullineux ‘The Gris' Semillon WO Swartland fetched the top price at the 2025 Cape Winemakers Guild Auction conducted by Strauss & ...
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A hundred years in the making… A future still unfolding
Bellevue, the estate behind the world’s first bottled Pinotage sold to the public, continues to uphold a century of heritage with every vintage. To rediscover ...
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Paul René invites wine- and fun-lovers to a Splash of Pink
Paul René Cap Classique will again host the annual Splash of Pink Bubbly Festival in Robertson – just 1km or so outside the town on ...
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South Africa's standouts at the Global Fine Wine Challenge
THERE'S a fair bit to like about the Global Fine Wine Challenge in Sydney, Australia, however it's not without its downsides. On the upside there's ...
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Standout Pinotages aplenty in 2025… Pity about the festival
IT WAS disappointing news for the wine-loving public looking forward to the Pinotage festival scheduled for 11 October 2025 at the Meerendal estate in Durbanville ...
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Groot Phesantekraal Syrah one of the go-to reds of the year
SCORED 97 points and the international judges' joint favourite overall at the 2025 Trophy Wine Show, Groot Phesantekraal's 2023 Syrah was released at under R200pb ...
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South Africa's top organic wines according to the top panels
IT GOES without saying that ideally we'd like our wine to be made as naturally as possible. Good health all round please. However, while many ...
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Steenberg, Graham Beck & Kleine Zalze excel in MCC Challenge
IT WAS ONLY a matter of time… 2019 was when winemaker Elunda Basson took charge of the cellar at the Beck Family Estates' Steenberg farm ...
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A rather rare, very unusual wine… Jordan Assyrtiko
IN 2019, the Jordan Estate in Stellenbosch Kloof was the first South African wine producer to plant Assyrtiko, a white, Greek grape variety indigenous to ...
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New Free State festival among top SA wine event temptations
SOME HAVE never heard of Clarens. Whereas art lovers and folk who enjoy South African road trips might well have chanced upon it, a little ...
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Grand Constance well down the road of maintaining rich legacy
IT'S NOT the first time that Groot Constantia Grand Constance has placed among the Top 10 gold medallists at Muscats du Monde in Burgundy, France. ...
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Can't talk SA Chenin without a punt for Stellenrust and FMC
THE WINNERS of South Africa's 2025 Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge – convened by the Chenin Blanc Association and sponsored by Standard Bank – brought ...
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And then there were 14 SA SBs with glowing reviews in 2025
JUDGED BEST overall in Winemag.co.za's 2025 SA Sauvignon Blanc Report sponsored by Prescient, the 2024 vintage of The Journal from Diemersdal is testimony to the ...
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Genetics… Stellenzicht's 2023 Syrah has a lot going for it
JUDGED ‘Best Red Wine Overall' at the 2025 edition of South Africa's premier wine competition, the Trophy Wine Show: the 2023 vintage of the Arenite ...
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High Road, Lynx and Asara lead the charge at ‘Fine Wine Awards'
THREE wines top-scored at South Africa's 2025 Fine Wine Awards: the 2020 vintage of The High Road Director's Reserve from Les Sweiden's cellar at Bosman's ...
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