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Trophy Wine Show of interest to both layman and connoisseur
Mike Froud
2024-06-05
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
Mike Froud
2024-06-04
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
Mike Froud
2024-06-02
‘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
Mike Froud
2024-05-30
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
Mike Froud
2024-05-28
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
Mike Froud
2024-05-24
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
Mike Froud
2024-05-22
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
Mike Froud
2024-05-19
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
Mike Froud
2024-05-16
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
Mike Froud
2024-05-11
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
Mike Froud
2024-05-03
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
Mike Froud
2024-04-27
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
Mike Froud
2024-04-23
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'
Mike Froud
2024-04-17
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
Mike Froud
2024-04-13
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
Mike Froud
2024-04-08
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
Mike Froud
2024-04-02
“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
Mike Froud
2024-03-29
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
Mike Froud
2024-03-27
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…
Mike Froud
2024-03-21
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
Mike Froud
2024-03-19
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
Mike Froud
2024-03-12
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
Mike Froud
2024-03-07
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?
Mike Froud
2024-03-01
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
Mike Froud
2024-02-23
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
Mike Froud
2024-02-21
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
Mike Froud
2024-02-15
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
Mike Froud
2024-02-14
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
Mike Froud
2024-02-12
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
Mike Froud
2024-02-09
“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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