South Africa | - Part 49

Tag Archives: South Africa

South Africa’s top Sauvignon Blanc ratings in 2013 and best Sauvignon Blanc at under R50 – experts’ choice

12/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

CAPE POINT, Cederberg, Diemersdal, Graham Beck, Kleine Zalze, KWV, Quoin Rock, Reyneke and Shannon top the list of contenders for South Africa’s champion Sauvignon Blanc producer for 2013… The following wines achieved outstanding reviews from the judges at blind-tastings around the world during the past 12 months: TOP SOUTH AFRICAN SAUVIGNON BLANC RATINGS IN 2013 Alexanderfontein Chip off The Old

South Africa’s top Chardonnay ratings in 2013, plus the best SA Chardonnay at under R80 – the experts’ choice

12/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

GROOT Constantia, Hamilton Russell, KWV The Mentors, Paul Cluver and Rustenberg Five Soldiers top the list of contenders for South Africa’s champion Chardonnay of the year for 2013… The following wines achieved outstanding reviews from the judges at blind-tastings around the world during the past 12 months: TOP SOUTH AFRICAN CHARDONNAY RATINGS IN 2013 Bartinney 2012 – 4½ Stars, Classic

Beautiful Elgin graduates to top wine-producing area and visitor-friendly route with growing number of restaurants

12/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

THE OWNERS of Oak Valley Estate might have been the first to build a winery in the vicinity of Grabouw around 100 years ago, but it was Paul Cluver Snr who really got the Elgin winelands going when he planted his first vineyards in the mid-1980s and began bottling on his farm from the late 1990s. It’s been many years

Worcester’s champion wine producer launches a special Chenin Blanc that honours the founder of Alvi’s Drift

12/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

THE RECENT launch by Alvi’s Drift of a flagship Chenin Blanc under the Albertus Viljoen label is the culmination of another outstanding year for this cellar in the Worcester district of the Breede River Valley. The winery on the Alfalfa farm 17km south of the town of Worcester has enjoyed success after success since its first bottling in 2004, and

Kadette Pinotage offers an experience reminiscent of the Kanonkop flagship – still serious and for considerably less

12/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

PRETTY GOOD, yet pretty quiet, somewhat mysterious… It was only a few months back that we heard about the new version of Pinotage from Kanonkop – just that a third Pinotage from the Krige brothers, winemaker Abrie Beeslaar and their team was on the cards, to be released under the second-tier Kadette label, but no fanfare to speak of. And

Charcuterie, cheese, good bread and more at the Jordan Bakery – casual alternative to classy restaurant next door

12/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

THE BAKERY at Jordan affords visitors to the estate in Stellenbosch Kloof an opportunity to wine and snack on a deck under the trees just below and to the side of the highly rated Jordan Restaurant… Upstairs is one of the Top 10 kitchens in the country where patrons indulge in fine dining and pay the price that comes with

Breedekloof Chenin among 80 beauties that wowed team of tasters for 2014 edition of Platter’s SA Wine Guide

11/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

THERE ARE FEW surprises among the top-rated wines in Platter’s 2014 South African Wine Guide that goes onto the bookshelves this month. Most of the 5 Star laureates or their makers have good track records – the cellarmasters and/or winery owners are familiar faces at the various podiums, which is great for those who appreciate consistently high standards. And most of the

Constantia’s come a long way since the 1600s with plenty of dry whites and reds as good as the sweets these days

11/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

NOTWITHSTANDING Commander Jan van Riebeeck’s modest vineyards first in the Dutch government’s gardens up the road from the castle and then in Bishopscourt and Wynberg, it was in Constantia that South Africa’s wine industry really got going… History books have it that the first wine for which Van Riebeeck claimed credit was made in the 1650s but that the country’s

Quite unique… Viljoensdrift’s picnic on the Breede River among Robertson’s standout wine route experiences

10/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

NOWHERE 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.

Boplaas, De Grendel, Flagstone, KWV and Nederburg pronounced top producers at 2013 Veritas Awards

10/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

APPLAUDED as the top-performing cellars at the 2013 Veritas Awards according to the type and number of medals won were: KWV, Nederburg, Boplaas, De Grendel and Flagstone. Also singled out for special mention were: Delaire Graff, Eagles’ Nest, Graham Beck, Kanonkop, Rustenberg, Simonsig, Spier, Tokara and Windmeul. Among the newcomers of note? Rivendell near Bot River (good Sauvignon Blanc) and Kleinhoekkloof near Ashton (standout Merlot). For the

Pinotage and white blend wave the flag for South Africa at 2013 Six Nations Wine Challenge in Sydney, Australia

10/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

PINOTAGE was the most successful variety for South Africa at the 2013 Six Nations Wine Challenge in Sydney, Australia, with three double gold medals presented for Pinotage wines made in various parts of the Cape. Specifically, the Mentors Pinotage 2011 from KWV of Paarl won first prize in the Major Red Variety Class, with double golds also going to the

Good food and wine, good room with a view: Waterkloof joins select group of restaurants in the Cape winelands

09/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

NEDBANK’S presentation of American Express Platinum Fine Dining Awards to Waterkloof on the Sir Lowry’s Pass Road outside Somerset West and De Grendel on the Tygerberg Hill in Panorama/Durbanville brings the number of top SA wine farm restaurant laureates during the past year to around 20, i.e. including those that achieved top honours in the 2013 Eat Out Awards and/or Three Star ratings for

So frustrating! Boschendal Grande Cuvée Brut 2009 wins Cap Classique Challenge but you can’t buy it – not yet

09/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

BOSCHENDAL bubbly winemaker Lizelle Gerber is on a roll. The 2008 vintage of the Grande Cuvée Brut didn’t perform as spectacularly as her 2007 but the 2009 is off to a great start with a gold medal at the recent Michelangelo Awards and now first place in the latest Amorim Tsogo Sun Méthode Cap Classique Challenge even before the wine is

Constantia racks up another win as South Africa shines at 2013 International Wine & Spirit Competition, London

09/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

A GROWING NUMBER of wine lovers today are falling for Groot Constantia’s Grand Constance – a Grande Dame reborn, you might say. The thing is, this unfortified dessert wine is coming of age (again) after some of the vintages following the (re)launch eight years or so ago were met with mixed reviews – down-to-earth cellarmaster Boela Gerber is open about how things weren’t quite

Top Tulbagh cellar’s latest reserve wines grab attention following slew of awards in London and South Africa

08/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

TULBAGH is one of those places on the way to nowhere really, a destination in itself, tucked away between the Obiqua, Winterhoek and Witzenberg mountains. Named after a former Dutch governor of the Cape, Rijk Tulbagh, the town is accessed via Malmesbury or Piketberg off the N7 and via Wellington or Worcester off the N1. It includes some lovely countryside, is popular

In fashion, in demand: Babylonstoren and Spice Route vying for title of Paarl winelands hotspot number one

08/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

The greenhouse at Babylonstoren, Paarl: great place for a snack and a glass of vino, or for some tea and cake if you’d prefer THEY ARE TWO of the most talked-about destinations on the wine routes within easy travelling distance of Cape Town, highly recommended on several fronts and each better than the other for this or that. Nobody’s perfect,

The Mentors Noble Late Harvest gets off to a flying start

07/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

Grapes from Walker Bay, cellar in Paarl, one of the very few SA dessert wines from Sauvignon, just released and already a gold medallist THE FIRST of KWV’s dessert wines to be made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes – or so we think, as the exact origin of their Noble Late Harvests from the ’70s, ’80s and early ’90s is unclear… And the first Noble Late from

Déjà vu?! Orange River Cellars Muscadel wins once again

07/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

FANTASTIQUE! 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

Festival time in South Africa’s Port Capital: 14 to 17 June

06/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

The sort of weather to expect in Calitzdorp this weekend – although the Boplaas vineyard pictured above is bound to look rather different in the middle of winter BOPLAAS, De Krans and TTT Cellar are among THE wineries to head for during the next few days if you fancy a drive through the Karoo, wine that’ll warm the heart and

Fairview Brut breaks with tradition – and deliciously so

06/2013 Mike Froud Leave a comment

Pale straw colour, fine bubble, fresh nose, aromas of baked apple, citrus notes, yeasty I WAS ONE of the sceptics on hearing about Fairview launching their first sparkling wine made according to the Méthode Cap Classique. My misgivings had nothing to do with the ability of proprietor Charles Back and his team to master the method of bottle fermentation in producing a bubbly along

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Tag Archives: South Africa

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