DARN! It was sad to hear that the Wine & Bubbly Festival scheduled to take place on the beach at Plettenberg Bay in March had been cancelled due to ‘late withdrawal of the sponsorship’ – though good to read that Plett Tourism and Plett Winelands ‘will return with another world-class experience in 2020’. Instead then, the main focus of attention in
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 moreONE OF THE three most topical wines of the Breede River Valley during the first half of 2018 originates half in Robertson, half in Worcester… From the South African wine region that stretches southeast of Tulbagh and Ceres to Bonnievale, northwest of Swellendam, comes the sparkling wine judged best Cap Classique at the National Wine Challenge. Celine Brut NV, which
Read moreWHETHER you’re a festival-goer, wine-router or heading to a wine shop in search of the best on offer from South Africa’s Robertson Wine Valley, this will prove useful: a checklist of every red, white, sparkling and dessert wine vintage from the district that’s got the experts on the top panels smiling big time in 2017 and 2018 to date. Ashton, Bonnievale,
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 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 moreUNWOODED, unoaked, sans barrique… South African Chardonnay that hasn’t spent any time in a barrel is hardly a new phenomenon, but the numbers are growing and the quality is on the rise. It’s a great option for wine lovers who can’t stomach wooded whites, some seek it out because it presents an opportunity to enjoy the varietal character in its purist
Read moreNOW THAT’S what we’re talking about! THAT’S how to show it’s worth the asking price!! Winning one of only six Master awards (scored over 95/100) presented after the British Drinks Business magazine’s 2016 Global Chardonnay Masters competition involving some 200 entries from around the world, the 2014 vintage of Capensis also scored highly in the local Winemag.co.za Chardonnay report earlier in the year.
Read moreROBERTSON’S ‘Wine on the River’ as summer gets underway, the ‘Robertson Slow’ at winter’s end, the ‘Wacky Wine Weekend’ mid-year and the ‘Hands-On Harvest’ time in February/March attract thousands to the Breede River Valley and the Robertson district in particular. The festivals are fun times for the local communities from Rooiberg west of the hub to Ashton in the east and Bonnievale as
Read moreGOODBYE to Pheasants’ Run Sauvignon Blanc, hasta la vista Bowed Head Chenin Blanc, The Ridge Syrah, Coffeestone Cabernet and then some – at least under the Graham Beck banner, that is! In a brand rationalisation that will see everything without a bubble stripped from the range, Robertson’s leading sparkling wine producer and one of South Africa’s top three Méthode Cap Classique
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 moreTHE MOST successful wine outfits in and around the town of Robertson in a district that also encompasses Ashton, Bonnievale and McGregor, tend to be those close to the Breede River. And Robertson’s Top 10 producers according to track records spanning the 10 years 2005 to 2014 include some of South Africa’s leading bubbly producers as well as cellars with good
Read moreAT THE DAWN of the new millennium there were only 20 or so South African wineries producing sparkling wine according to the traditional or classic method for which the French are famous. Today there are over 100 cellars in the Cape making Cap Classique on a regular or occasional basis. The category has been booming, in part at least thanks
Read moreTHERE WERE raised eyebrows among the Francophiles when results of the eighth Syrah du Monde were announced in the northern Rhône, France. The judges reviewed 405 wines from 26 countries and at the end of three days there were four South Africans among the Top 10, versus two from France. And in their own back yard! Ooh la la!!
Read moreNOWHERE else in the winelands of South Africa can you have quite the same food and wine experience as that offered at Viljoensdrift on the Breede River between Robertson and Bonnievale. It’s off the beaten track, down the road from the cellar. It’s about a double-decker catamaran – a flat-bottomed river boat, as the Viljoen brothers Fred and Manie describe their craft.
Read moreR40 A BOTTLE for one of the Cape’s top red blends! What a come-on line for the guys at Viljoensdrift alongside the Breede River in Robertson following the inclusion of their River Grandeur Cape Blend 2011 among the Top 5 in the Pinotage Association’s 2013 Perold Absa Cape Blend Competition. The Viljoens’ farm is renowned for the wine-tasting-cum-picnic experience aboard their
Read moreFANTASTIQUE! It seems like just the other day that Orange River Cellars of the Northern Cape came top at the Muskadel SA Awards and now they’ve triumphed at the international Muscats du Monde wine competition in the Languedoc Roussillon region of France. Over a period of two days, 55 judges from around the world nosed and tasted 224 wines from 24
Read moreTHE GOLD MEDAL that Robertson’s Rietvallei Wine Estate has won with a 2012 at this year’s Chardonnay du Monde in Burgundy, France, follows the gold medal they won with a 2011 at the same competition last year. Prior to last year Rietvallei Chardonnay wasn’t on many radar screens, but having been selected among a Top 10 at a reputable tasting
Read moreWHAT APPEALS most about the Graham Beck Pheasants’ Run is how it affects the senses. Kinda obvious, right?! Over the past 10 years this has become one of South Africa’s Sauvignon Blanc benchmarks, one of the three most consistent top performers in this category together with Steenberg Reserve and Cederberg – no fewer than eight highly rated vintages in succession, including the 2012 released a few
Read moreCOLOMBAR is not considered to be one of the so-called noble grape varieties, but man can it make for a good drink. Few would argue that it could rival fine Chardonnay and Chenin for complexity and class, but it can be a delightful white wine when originating from healthy vineyards and entrusted to a winemaker willing and able to coax
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