THEY SAY the reason for changing venue was a lack of space. In just a couple of years, the Feast of Shiraz & Charcuterie grew in popularity to the point that host Hartenberg was bursting at the seams and hence the switch to Joostenberg Deli & Bistro for the 2015 event on Saturday 30 May, 12:00 to 17:00 – not quite as
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 moreTHE RESTAURANT critics are largely in agreement… The top dining venue in South Africa for 2014 is The Test Kitchen at The Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock, Cape Town, with Luke Dale-Roberts the chef-owner and Wayve Kolevsohn the somellier: third Restaurant of the Year accolade at the 2014 Eat Out Mercedes Benz Awards, 5 Stars at the 2014 Rossouw’s Diners Club Awards, one
Read moreCaptivating scenery, classy wine, Constantia GlenCONSTANTIA GLEN hasn’t been making wine for a decade yet, but already it’s a destination of note among the Cape’s panoramic farms just below Constantia Nek that offer a bite to eat and a growing reputation for good vino. The first wines, made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes, met with mixed reviews. Over the past four or
Read moreTHERE ARE THOSE who gripe that it isn’t the real deal, that it isn’t made like it is in Europe and Canada where the Icewine or Eiswein process involves harvesting grapes that have frozen on the vines at the onset of winter. But there’s nothing else like it among the unfortified, sweet dessert wines in South Africa, it comes from
Read moreWELL WOULD YOU look at that! While the trophy winner at this year’s CAPPA Port Challenge is again from Calitzdorp in the Klein Karoo, three of the six gold medal-winning producers are not from the ‘Port Capital’ of South Africa! Besides the Cape champion and runner-up overall from Boplaas, a wine from De Krans and another from Peter Bayly (all of Calitzdorp), two of
Read morePROBABLY the biggest surprise at the 2014 Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show was the revelation that award-winning wine is now also being made in the vicinity of Riversdale, where vineyards were nowhere to be seen prior to 2009. While the 2013 Baleia Bay Chardonnay that earned the trophy for ‘Discovery of the Show’ (best-value gold medallist) can be bought just off the
Read moreTHE NICOBAR Sauvignon Blanc has been notable from day one. Unique about the maiden 2007 vintage was that the grapes came from Quoin Rock’s farm in the Cape Agulhas district – the subsequent releases being WO Simonsberg-Stellenbosch. And what made its success all the more remarkable was that it’s been achieved despite (or because of) being so unusual or atypical
Read moreFROGS AND TOADS, creatures belonging to the class of tailless amphibians collectively referred to as Anura, an order of which there are countless families… Who would have thought that these guys had anything to do with wine! In America, however, oenophiles are familiar with the Frog’s Leap Winery in California, also home to Frolicking Frog, Toad Hollow and Toasted Toad
Read morePRETTY 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
Read moreTHE 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
Read moreThelema Mountain Vineyards, Helshoogte, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch Vergelegen, Helderberg, Somerset West Vineyard up the road from the Niewoudt’s Cederberg Private Cellar From Ken Forrester Vineyards: Avontuur Estate on the Helderberg, Somerset West Stark-Conde, Jonkershoek Valley, Stellenbosch Boekenhoutskloof, Franschhoek Morgenster Estate, Helderberg, Somerset West Stellenrust, Stellenbosch Paul Cluver, Elgin
Read moreTHE MURATIE Wine Estate has become a favourite stop-over off the R44 along the Simonsberg stretch of the Stellenbosch Wine Route, particularly since the Melck family stepped up a gear hospitality wise by offering meals from their Cellar Kitchen – either outdoors in the courtyard under oak trees or inside where ‘The Longroom’ and ‘Die Gat’ double as an art gallery with fireplaces, oak
Read moreWORD IS GETTING OUT! It was just a few months back that he impressed with a 5 Star rating in Platter’s SA Wine Guide for his 2007 Bordeaux-style blend, Wine of Origin Stellenbosch. Then he released a tiny quantity of the first top-end Pinot Noir under his own label, a 2011 WO Polkadraai Hills. And now we can look forward
Read moreIT SEEMS LIKE only yesterday that you could count the number of South Africa’s good Rieslings on a few fingers and that the labels of these wines were so much more confusing than they are today. Shame on the producers – including Theuniskraal and Van Loveren – who persist in calling wines what they’re not, namely ‘Cape Riesling’ instead of
Read moreSOUTH AFRICAN Sauvignon Blanc that has been highly recommended this year by one or more of the expert tasting panels around the world AND which costs no more than R50 a bottle – with prices given ex-cellar, or approximate retail if the public can’t buy directly from the producer: ARABELLA 2012 – R38 BERGSIG 2012 – R45 BOLAND CELLAR’S Flutterby 2012 – R25
Read moreJordan, Stellenbosch: one of South Africa’s very best wine estates, especially for whites Jordan Wine Estate is the leading contender for the title of this year’s SA Chardonnay Champion. As one of the Top 10 White Wine Cellars in South Africa and one of the country’s Top 20 Cellars Overall, Jordan also fields good Chenin, Sauvignon, Riesling as well red and dessert
Read moreIT’S DEFINITELY among the Top 10 places to eat at in Stellenbosch and has never disappointed when we’re up for a good, satisfying meal with good wines. In fact sometimes we just stop by for a snack and a glass at the bar or in front of the fireplace, or for some cheese and wine at the tables under the
Read moreVILLIERA cellarmaster Jeff Grier and sales boss Cathy Grier-Brewer are among the best ambassadors for the Stellenbosch wine route. Cape Wine Masters of many years standing and, together with fellow director and viticulturist Simon Grier, at the helm of a winery with a reputation for good Cap Classique sparklers and several other fine wines, the siblings were as welcoming as
Read moreLooking forward to the prospect of a wineland lunch we headed out to the little De Meye winery in the back-end of Stellenbosch where we’d heard there was a good table offering comfort food for hungry souls. We were in adventurous mood, but hadn’t factored in the roadworks along the R101 (darn stop-go system) and then arrived at ‘The Table’
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