South Africa excels among ‘Chardonnays of the World’
IT’S HAPPENED again… And no doubt once more there will be naysayers, people who can’t believe their eyes and ears, and yet… The humble, big-volume Douglas Green Chardonnay from the […]
SA wine town wine bars… In the villages, on the roadside
STELLENBOSCH, Franschhoek, Paarl, Hermanus, Stanford… Besides those tasting rooms on South Africa’s wine farms, among the vines, there are wine bars in the towns of the country’s winelands that can […]
Boekenhoutskloof Syrah and Sadie Columella star on auction
AT THE timed, online Rhône Theme wine auction conducted by Strauss & Co on 10 February 2025, somebody paid over R8000 for a bottle of 1997 Syrah from Boekenhoutskloof in […]
Casual take on fine-dining at La Motte’s friendly new brasserie
AFTER a lengthy closure of the restaurant at La Motte in Franschhoek, the family farm of Hanneli Rupert-Koegelenberg re-opened its doors during the 2024/25 festive season, welcoming guests to a […]
New releases from La Motte: Chardonnay 2023, Syrah 2020
La Motte’s trusted pair of Syrah and Chardonnay are made exclusively from Franschhoek grapes, and you can taste it. “La Motte’s terroir contributes a beautiful creaminess and drinkability – even […]
Array of styles accommodated among Top 5 in Pinotage Report
AFTER assessing 46 wines for Winemag’s 2024 Prescient Pinotage Report, panel chair Christian Eedes remarked on the appealing “new wave” entries led by the 2023 vintages of Black Elephant Vintners’ […]
La Motte releases new vintages of Sauvignon and Cabernet
With Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Youth Day all happening in May and June, family relationships are top of mind. As a result, it was difficult to miss the kinship […]
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 2022 vintage from Lothian and […]
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 South Africa’s Cape winelands for […]
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 Soirees are selling out fast. […]
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 UK, where South African producers […]
Most highly rated red blends from South Africa in 2023
THESE ARE the red blends from South Africa’s winelands that most impressed the top panels internationally in 2023 to date, with by far the majority of them – those highlighted […]