ONCE UPON a time, and not that long ago, Semillon – or Groendruif as some refer to it – was being touted as Franschhoek’s signature grape. These days, the ‘French Corner’ of South Africa’s winelands is more likely to prompt images of Chardonnay, red blends of one sort or another and Cap Classique sparkling wine. Plus, perhaps even more synonymous with this
Read moreGold medal at the Global Rosé Masters, Listed in the Sommeliers Selection, double gold medal at Rosé Rocks… No other South African rosé has been as well received in 2018 as the 2017 vintage from Franschhoek winery Holden Manz. The wine is ever-so-slightly wooded, and made in a style that the producers refer to as Provençal – in part, no doubt,
Read moreNEW ON Top Wine SA! Now you can flip through photographs of the top tables in the winelands of South Africa and then, for more info, just click on the images that appeal. CHECK IT OUT: a slideshow of the best places to eat at among the vines, together with a directory already well used by many food and wine lovers who
Read moreTHE Cape of Good Hope range in the portfolio of Anthonij Rupert Wines, Franschhoek, was launched in 2011 as part of proprietor Johann Rupert’s initiative begun in 2006 to help protect the old vines of the Cape as producers of distinctive, terroir-specific expressions of various grape varieties. One of these treasured ‘pieces of history’ comprises bush-vine Semillon on Henk Laing’s
Read moreSOURCED predominantly from one of the oldest vineyards and certainly the oldest Semillon plantings in South Africa, the grapes for Boekenhoutskloof Semillon grow on traditional bush vines that still have their original roots, i.e. contrary to the norm that involves cuttings grafted onto disease- and pest-resistant rootstock. And the roots run deep, conducive to intensely complex, well-structured wines with good ageing
Read moreBELOW are the top Cabernet Sauvignon producers in South Africa over the past 10 years, those with the best track records spanning 2008 to 2017, presented according to where you’ll find their tasting rooms on the various wine routes. For the 2018 SA Cabernet Sauvignon Classification, see here, and for the contact info and addresses of those outfits that can be visited
Read moreJACOLINE Haasbroek has the smallest cellar in Franschhoek, off the beaten track at the end of a long and winding road that could do with some improvement – although that would mean more visitors, and half the appeal is the discovery of a place few have been to, particularly as the sign at the bottom of the ‘driveway’ often tells you
Read moreIT’S AMONG The Bernard Series that you’d typically expect to find the flagships in the Bellingham portfolio. However, as there currently isn’t a Sauvignon Blanc in this range from the DGB cellar in Wellington, for the best of the variety in Bellingham kit we look instead to a wine that has a label picturing the Bellingham homestead in Franschhoek – a
Read moreBELOW are the top Sauvignon Blanc producers in South Africa over the past 10 years, those with the best track records spanning 2008 to 2017, presented according to where you’ll find their tasting rooms on the various wine routes. For the 2018 SA Sauvignon Blanc Classification, see here, and for the contact info and addresses of those outfits that can be
Read moreBELOW are the top Chardonnay producers in South Africa over the past 10 years, those with the best track records spanning 2008 to 2017, presented according to where you’ll find their tasting rooms on the various wine routes. For the 2018 SA Chardonnay Classification, see here, and for the contact info and addresses of those outfits that can be visited and/or
Read moreAS INTERESTING as the news that the Franschhoek Wine Tram service now includes two double-deckers that can carry more passengers and afford better views of the scenery, is that the rail transport connecting the town with the winelands has been extended to three more estates. Sure, you can hop on an open-sided bus and hop off at a number of estates
Read moreNo Hein, no! You don’t give yourself or your wines enough credit! Leopard’s Leap represents good value relative to a lot of the stuff on-shelf, with La Motte’s finest regarded by plenty as pretty impressive. Many wine lovers would argue with you: luck has little to do with it; your farm’s good reputation is well-earned. And we bet you have
Read moreIF YOU’RE contemplating which Franschhoek wineries to buy from, the following have the best track records in the valley over the past 10 years – full SA Wine & Cellar Classifications here. ALLÉE BLEUE Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Chenin Blanc L’Amour Toujours (Red Blend) Pinotage BELLINGHAM The Bernard Series Basket Press Syrah The Bernard Series Bush Vine Pinotage The Bernard Series
Read more“IN A SPECTACULAR show of generosity and opulence…” the 2017 Cape Wine Auction set a new record for the annual fund-raising effort by generating R22.3 million for 22 charities that focus on education and the lives of children in the winelands of South Africa. This year the bidding took place at Anthonij Rupert Wyne in Franschhoek, where estate owner Johann
Read moreTHE 2017 SA Cellar Classification confirms the ‘who’s who’ of the Cape winelands when it comes to those producers whose wines have been most fancied most often by panels of experts around the world during the 10-year period 2007 to 2016. And in this regard, obviously, the Top 20 outfits overall make for a rather special bunch. In general, the reputation
Read moreENCHANTED it is. There’s nothing else like it in the winelands of the Cape. A boardwalk alongside a stream through a forest on the farm Boekenhoutskloof in Franschhoek, meandering this way and that between some wonderful trees that include Cape holly, wild almond and white alder, African red alder, white poplar and English oak. There is also some Cape Beech (Boekenhout) that the
Read moreTHERE ARE VERY FEW successful wines of the serious kind which don’t have a place to call home. Until recently, Bellingham was virtually such a brand – a lovely collection of wines in The Bernard Series and a few other ranges that also have interest value, but if you wanted to go for a tasting or purchase from the cellar door it was
Read moreASKED to come up with a line-up of wines he “considered as South Africa’s aspirational Cap Classiques” that wine lovers won’t buy or drink every day, Graham Beck cellarmaster Pieter Ferreira chose a selection that he regarded as “under the radar but sparkling up a storm”. His presentation along these lines was at the 2015 Cape Wine trade show in the
Read moreACCORDING to the restaurant critics commissioned by Italy’s ‘Fine Dining Waters’ S Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, the best in the world in 2015 is Spanish, there aren’t any French restaurants currently quite good enough to warrant inclusion among the planet’s Top 10, and of South Africa’s finest only two are rated exceptional enough to make the cut when it comes down to
Read moreMANY IN FRANSCHHOEK pride themselves on the town’s reputation as a leading sparkling wine producer and the annual Cap Classique & Champagne festival is a marvellous affair. One out of every three cellars in the district produces bubbly, the vignerons promote their Cap Classique route and some of the wineries are specialists who make little or nothing else. And yet…
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