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Trophy Wine Show of interest to both layman and connoisseur

KWV, Paarl. SCHENKFONTEIN! Where's that? Stofjas! What's that? Thor Semillon nothing to do with the Marvel fantasy! Port Capital comes second? Best value gold medallist ...
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National Wine Challenge winners include some familiar faces

NOT EXACTLY déjà vu, but more than a few of the winners at South Africa's National Wine Challenge in 2024 also collected top-of-the-class awards in ...
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Another winner from the Riebeek Valley: RAAR Shiraz 2023

‘RAAR' translates as ‘rare' or ‘scarce' and, as such, is regarded by the Riebeek Valley Wine Company as a fitting name for their range of ...
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Saronsberg ranked No. 1 at Syrah du Monde 2024, France

PATIENCE required... The 2022 Saronsberg Shiraz came top at the 2024 Syrah du Monde held in the Rhône, France. This just weeks after the Tulbagh ...
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Rare beauty from the Karoo winelands: Le Sueur Chenin Blanc

KLEIN KAROO Chenin Blanc of note, from one of the ambassadors for the region Louis Le Sueur van der Riet. Small batch, hand crafted, very ...
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Flagstone Paradigm: Best Overall in Winemag's Chenin Report

THERE WERE 75 single-variety South African Chenins submitted for assessment in Winemag's 2024 Prescient Chenin Blanc Report, with 49 rated 90-plus and three of these ...
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Highest scores ever awarded for Shiraz by the Winemag panel

THE TASTING PANEL of South Africa's Winemag.co.za has never scored any glass of red or white higher than 96 out of 100, and prior to ...
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Six particularly good value wines at under R150 a bottle

THERE ARE very few SA wines selling for Under R150pb being showcased on Top Wine SA as of May '24. Which says a couple of ...
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Cape Chardonnay impresses at IWC 2024

CHARDONNAYS from Lothian Vineyards of Elgin and Whalehaven of Hermanus were South Africa's top-scoring gold medallists at the 2024 International Wine Challenge in London. The ...
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Escape from the norm – a wine festival like no other

SPECIALIST retailer Wine Concepts is thrilled to invite Cape Town residents and visitors to their annual festival unlike any other in South Africa: The Grape ...
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Another reason to travel down to Jonkershoek in Stellenbosch

THISTLE & WEED is what winemaker Stephanie Wiid and viticulturist Etienne Terblanche call their boutique cellar alongside the Jonkershoek Road in Stellenbosch – on the ...
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South Africa ranked No. 7 among top wine-producing nations

SPEAKING about the state of the wine industry worldwide from the International Organisation of Vine & Wine headquarters in Dijon, France, the OIV's director general ...
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Still a while to wait for the Cab Franc Challenge winner

THERE ISN'T much of South Africa's 2024 Cab Franc Challenge winner, and at the time of writing – after the results went public, a week ...
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No surprises at Strauss & Co's ‘Bordeaux Auction'

IT WAS A tussle between Meerlust and Kanonkop for the highest price fetched by South African wine at Strauss & Co's ‘Bordeaux Auction' conducted online ...
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Hunting for top wines from South Africa's really old vines

SOUTH AFRICA'S old-vine wine certification requires that the plants should be more advanced in years than the majority, however some would argue that the authorities ...
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The most ‘luxurious' wines of South Africa – R1500 pb plus

GENERALLY SPEAKING, these are not wines submitted for reviewing by any of the top panels locally or internationally – although occasionally there are some wonderful ...
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What?! Paarl wine farm has fans chuckling on April Fools' Day

“Fairview Wine and Cheese unveils revolutionary ‘Goat Labour' initiative” “In a move that has raised eyebrows and provoked uproar among traditionalists, Fairview Wine and Cheese, ...
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South Africa's top ORGANIC wine ratings during the past year

FOR AN UPDATE of all the organic wines produced in South Africa that are officially certified as such, click here. Below are those from the ...
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First of South Africa's champion white wines in 2024

GLEN CARLOU has been a Chardonnay and Cabernet specialist since 1988. As they put it at the cellar on the slopes of the Simonsberg in ...
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When a gold medal meant the same at every show…

OH THAT there could be an internationally accepted, universally agreed-upon 100-point system for scoring wine. If only the convenors of the competitions, shows, challenges and ...
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Glen Carlou ranks among Top 10 at Chardonnay du Monde

SOUTH AFRICA achieved three gold medals at the 2024 edition of Chardonnay du Monde in Burgundy, France, with one of the winning wines – the ...
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Savage red blend outdoes Sadie's in auction of 10-year-olds

STRAUSS & Co's wine department was happy with the results of their timed online ‘2014 Vintage' auction that came to a close on 11 March ...
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The latest prices of South Africa's most highly rated wines

AT LAST COUNT, the number of visitors to Groot Constantia stood at around 450 000 a year. It's been the most popular wine farm in ...
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Wine festivals aplenty in March 2024… Too many perhaps?

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 ...
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Stark-Condé… Hall of Fame winery, good-value lunch

STARK-CONDÉ. In the Jonkershoek Valley, Stellenbosch. On the Oude Nektar farm, to the south-east of the town. Home to one of South Africa's most highly ...
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Go Wellington – wine route revival prompts closer inspection

ODDLY ENOUGH, not all of the cellars in Wellington are members of the local wine route. Not officially, that is. For example, Mischa Estate to ...
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Constantia Glen… Hall of Fame winery, good lunch

CONSTANTIA GLEN. Down the main road from the Constantia Nek traffic circle for those travelling via Hout Bay or Bishop's Court / Newlands in Cape ...
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Sadie Family Columella 2015 goes for R5472pb on auction

THE Sadie Family of the Paardeberg outside Malmesbury in the Swartland dominated proceedings in terms of the highest prices paid for South African wines at ...
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Beyerskloof… Hall of Fame winery, good-value lunch

BEYERSKLOOF. Stellenbosch. Just outside the town on the R304 to the N1. Home to some of South Africa's most highly rated Pinotages and Cape Blends ...
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1st Global Cabernet Franc Masters dominated by… SA

“EXQUISITE” is how the top wines were described by judges at the inaugural Global Cabernet Franc Masters hosted by The Drinks Business publication in the ...
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