NO OTHER SHIRAZ from South Africa has been as successful on the world stage in 2021 as the 2018 vintage from the team at the Cederberg cellar of David Nieuwoudt: Highly Recommended in Platter’s SA Wine Guide; one of the Top 10 gold medallists at Syrah du Monde in France; one of 12 champions in the Shiraz SA Challenge;
Read moreAMAZINGLY, given the ramifications of COVID-19 disaster restrictions internationally, there was a record number of entries from producers in 56 countries vying for a top spot in the Decanter World Wine Awards (UK). The 2021 edition of the competition was contested by 18 094 wines, assessed by nearly 170 experts including 44 Masters of Wine and 11 Master Sommeliers. Over
Read moreCELEBRATING excellence and innovation, the ‘Great Wine Capitals’ Best Of Wine Tourism Awards recognise the top experiences on offer to those visiting the 11 greatest wine regions of the world, although, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only six of the 11 regions participated in the 2020 contest. The participants this year comprised 200 entrants in the winelands surrounding Adelaide (Australia),
Read moreTHE Michelangelo Awards remains one of the biggest South African wine competitions, contested by many leading cellars in the Cape winelands. The 2020 edition attracted 1558 entries, and, as in 2019, the judges were particularly impressed by the Chardonnay class: the Grand Prix Trophy on this occasion was presented for the Chamonix 2018 from Franschhoek, following the top score for
Read moreONCE AGAIN, France was awarded the most (12) ‘Best in Show’ medals (pick of the platinum medallists) at the UK’s international Decanter World Wine Awards with entries received from Bordeaux, Champagne, Alsace, Burgundy, Provence and the Loire. Italy claimed second place with eight of the 50 wines considered the best on show in 2020, followed by Australia (6) Portugal (5)
Read moreIN THE Liquid Assets column of Independent Media’s Personal Finance magazine published in the first quarter of 2020 (see below), four of South Africa’s leading wine producers were in the spotlight for their success on the world stage in 2019. Three are among the Top 30 in the SA Cellar Classification and all have wines in the country’s Top 100
Read moreWHO WAS CELEBRATING most after the 2019 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards? Chef James Gaag of La Colombe at Silvermist Estate in Constantia, voted the top restaurant in South Africa, Bertus Basson of Eike and Overture at Hidden Valley in Stellenbosch who was judged Chef of the Year, or Ivor Jones of Chefs Warehouse at Beau Constantia who was considered No. 1
Read moreIT’S DIFFICULT to accept that of South Africa’s Top 30 restaurants in 2019, according to the critics and followers of the Eat Out restaurant guide, only five are located outside Cape Town and the surrounding winelands! Only one in Johannesburg? Only one in Durban? None in Bloemfontein, nor in Port Elizabeth? None at the country’s nature conservancies, game reserves, resorts? Oh
Read moreTOP SCORE OVERALL to a Chardonnay from a boutique producer off the beaten track. Only one double gold for Shiraz, one of the most keenly contested categories in which 149 wines were entered! The Veritas Awards are seldom without some surprises or discoveries. As one South Africa’s major wine and spirit competitions – attracting 1491 entries in 2019 – the
Read moreIT CAN TAKE a while to get your head around the Michelangelo International Wine & Spirits Awards held in South Africa. Platinum medals are presented for wines scored 96+ out of 100, but not if they go on to win a trophy. Trophies are awarded to wines that scored highest in their classes, but they are not awarded in every
Read moreBEST WINE on Show! Kleine Zalze Family Reserve Shiraz 2015 was awarded top score at the 2018 Michelangelo International Wine & Spirits Awards, the largest competition of its kind in South Africa with 30 judges from 16 countries on the panels assessing over 2000 entries. The latest achievement of this Stellenbosch beauty, one of the Top 10 Shiraz in the
Read moreTHE JUDGING is complete, preparations for the awards function at Cavalli Estate in Somerset West on 15 August are in full swing and wine lovers are looking forward to seeing which of their favourites among the Top 20 finalists are considered by the panel of experts to be the best of the best in the 2018 Absa Top 10. The Absa Top
Read moreTHE VERTEX Award for the highest-scoring wine at the Veritas Awards has gone to Spier – the first time that a single ‘South African Champion’ has been honoured in this way since the inaugural event in 1990. Plus, the Stellenbosch cellar was the most successful winery on show, collecting six double gold medals, nine golds as well as plenty of
Read moreSUCCESS in South Africa’s Cab Franc Challenge, then at the SA Terroir Awards, and now in one of the country’s biggest wine competition… The 2014 vintage of Lisha Nelson Cabernet Franc from the Nelson Estate in Paarl must surely be in short supply after winning big time at the 2017 Michelangelo International Wine & Spirits Awards in Cape Town. Named
Read moreRECEIVING 17 200 entries for the 2017 edition, the World Wine Awards convened by Decanter magazine (UK) is the largest wine competition on the planet. Special kudos to Paul Cluver of Elgin and Klein Constantia as the only South African wineries to get through the final round of judging when, of the 209 platinum award winners, 34 were chosen as the
Read moreOF ALL THE reds, whites, rosés, desserts and ports to receive very good reviews from one of the top panels locally or internationally in 2016, these rank as South Africa’s best value wines at under R100 a bottle – all highly rated, including some platinum award recipients, even some trophy winners. The prices given below are those at the cellar door when surveyed
Read moreAPART FROM the obvious, what were the highlights of the 2016 awards for top-rated reds, whites and sweets in the 2017 edition of Platter’s South African Wine Guide? For starters, with most of the year’s major panel tastings by local and international wine authorities behind us, the following beauties stand out among the leading contenders for SA Wine of the Year overall:
Read moreIF THERE WAS a trophy presented at the Veritas Awards for best value-for-money offered by the highest-scoring wines, the winner in 2016 would probably have been Boschendal for The Pavillion Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2015, expected to sell for R55 a bottle from the cellar on the outskirts of Franschhoek and under R50 in the supermarkets. Its main rivals for the title would have
Read moreDeMORGENZON is unquestionably one of South Africa’s top white wine producers and the success of this Stellenbosch outfit on the show circuit internationally over the past couple of years has been particularly impressive. The team returned from the 2016 Decanter World Wine Awards in London with a trophy for best Chardonnay, which could have put a few Burgundian noses out of joint,
Read moreTHE SECOND annual Sommeliers Selection was announced with little fanfare – the names of the ‘listed wines’ only posted some days after the private awards function and various questions remaining unanswered at the time of writing. Nevertheless, the competition is interesting as regards the unique nature of the event and the calibre of entries. The judges are all members of the South
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