IT’S ARGUABLE THAT you can’t really call this a wine route. Many of the top cellars operate quite independently, many require you to make an appointment in advance of visiting and some are not keen on dealing directly with the general public on a daily basis. One of the exceptions is AA Badenhorst, where they also offer lunch and
Read moreSAUVIGNON BLANC territory… But they also offer a range of fine wines using different varieties, of course. Particularly in the case of Diemersdal and De Grendel, which might be associated with other estates on this wine route but is around the corner from Durbanville Hills in Panorama – and which also stands out for making some of their finest
Read moreCHARDONNAY and bubbly are what come to mind for many when contemplating the cellars of the Robertson Wine Valley. But they also offer good reds, and sweet pleasures too. See below for the top wineries in the area and what they’re best at. For the names of exactly which wines from the area have the best track records, see
Read moreFROM THE FOOTHILLS of Paarl Rock Mountain to the Simonsberg, Voor Paardeberg and beyond, this is a wine route encompassing some of South Africa’s biggest cellars as well as some of its smallest. Babylonstoren, Fairview and Spice Route are among the most popular tourist destinations in this district where the boundary lines separating Paarl from Franschhoek and Stellenbosch can
Read moreMANY WOULD ARGUE that their Chardonnay is more impressive than their Pinot, and they make some other outstanding wines here too – with a number of the cellars’ beauties originating in vineyards outside the area! But it tends to be Pinot Noir that the Hemel-en-Aarde winelands are best known for, and certainly its what the winemakers make the most noise
Read moreHARD TO BELIEVE that 20 years ago this wine route was still struggling to get off the ground, so to speak. Whereas today, not only is Elgin home to some of the country’s top cellars but numerous wineries in Stellenbosch and elsewhere use grapes from the area and proudly proclaim as much on their labels. Many of the wine-tasting venues
Read moreSOME STRUGGLE to get their heads around the law that allows for wines from Durbanville being labelled as Capetonian. Some feel that even Cape Point and Kommetjie are too far from the Mother City to be considered part of Cape Town. Perhaps we could agree that the wineries in the vicinity of Table Mountain have something in common – including
Read moreMORE OR LESS equidistant between Elgin and Caledon, the winelands of Bot River extend east of the Houw Hoek Pass and north of the villages Fisherhaven and Hawston on the outskirts of Hermanus – just over an hour and a half (about 90km) from Cape Town. The recommended restaurants on the wine route include those at Gabriëlskloof, Arcangelli and Wildekrans,
Read moreTHE “SECOND EVER” panel-tasting of Pinotage by Decanter in the UK was described by judge Greg Sherwood MW as “a huge success”, with the results published in the Feb 2022 issue of the magazine. It had been over 20 years since the publishers last reviewed this class of red wines in such a focused manner and the jury praised
Read moreTOP WINE SA Hall of Fame, one of the Top 100 in the 2022 SA Wine Classification, among South Africa’s Top 10 Chenins and one of the country’s Wines of the Year in 2021. The Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc from Stellenrust in Stellenbosch, where the business is headed up by Kobie van der Westhuizen (viticulturist) and Tertius Boshoff (cellarmaster). Consistently top quality,
Read moreTOP WINE SA Hall of Fame, one of the Top 100 in the 2022 SA Wine Classification, among South Africa’s Top 10 Chenins and one of the country’s Wines of the Year in 2021. The 21 Gables barrel-fermented, barrel-matured Chenin Blanc from the Enthoven family’s Spier wine farm in Stellenbosch. Consistently top quality, always interesting and good value. Outstanding! The range of
Read moreWHILE WE WERE hanging in there, trying to establish the names of the judges at the latest Global Sauvignon Blanc Masters staged by The Drinks Business in the UK, the Sunday Times newspaper in South Africa published an article by columnist Hilary Biller about the panel-tasting results that had one wondering… Why did ST / Biller only mention the name
Read moreWHAT’S YOUR favourite SA wine shop and why? Where do you shop for the best deals on South African wine? Who is most likely to have the wine you’re looking for – or good at getting you what they don’t have then and there? Your opinions and recommendations are welcome – it would be great to share them. In
Read moreSO HOW readily available are the Top 100 South African wines in the 2022 Classification, those with the best track records spanning the past 10 years, and how much are the current releases selling for? Well, a Top Wine SA survey of the country’s leading online merchants, focusing on those wines in the Hall of Fame (highlighted in bold below),
Read moreTHE TOP WINE SA Hall of Fame is one thing, but so exclusive, very limited… Also prestigious is a Top 10 ranking in the South African Wine Classification – each of them found particularly appealing vintage after vintage, each of them recommended by panels of experts without fear or favour over the past decade, none of them ‘resting on their
Read moreOF THE THOUSANDS of wines produced in South Africa, 719 qualified for inclusion in the 2022 SA Wine Classification on the basis of good reviews from the top panels over the past 10 years – 2012 to 2021. The Classification, updated annually since 2004, showcases the Top 10 and Top 20 track records in each category as well as the
Read more2022 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,
Read moreSO, THE 2022 edition of Platter’s South African Wine Guide finally arrived on the bookshelves at around R390 a copy – early December instead of late November. At the time of writing, you still couldn’t buy one on the publisher’s website, where the 2021 version was on sale at R360. An online subscription for roughly half the price gives you
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