“A fun, engaging and educational way to learn…” That’s how David Clarke of Ex Animo describes his wine school – a new extension to his boutique-wine business in Woodstock, Cape Town – that will kick off in July with a course about ‘The Basics of South African Wine’. Entertaining, no official acreditation, no exams, four midweek evening sessions. “By the
Read moreSTELLENBOSCH Vineyards on the Lynedoch side of town are one of the very few producers of wine made from Therona grapes, grown only in South Africa. The variety was largely thanks to the late Prof Christiaan Orffer of Stellenbosch University, who in the 1950s crossed Crouchen Blanc with Chenin Blanc – the objective being to raise the standard of Chenin
Read moreTHE HIGH Road cellar in Stellenbosch, the Overhex winery in Worcester and the Zevenwacht estate in Kuils River. THE standout participants at South Africa’s 2023 Trophy Wine Show, convened by veteran wine critic Michael Fridjhon and sponsored by Investec Private Banking. The High Road Director’s Reserve 2019 and Overhex’s 2022 Survivor Cellar Master Series Chardonnay (made using grapes from the
Read moreIONA Chardonnay 2021 of the Elgin Highlands and the 2020 Reserve Cab from Le Riche in the Helderberg vineyards of Stellenbosch were the panels’ favourite South African wines at the 2023 Decanter Awards in London. A record-breaking 18 250 entries were received from 57 countries, assessed by 236 judges including 53 Masters of Wine and 16 Master Sommeliers. After weeks of
Read morePUFFERY aside, behind the smoke and mirrors… The National Wine Challenge attracts entries from some of South Africa’s top wine producers, the judges and tasting director are respected professionals, plus there are often several good-value discoveries or confirmations as well as something or other that prompts you to ponder… Best Value? At just R95pb, a little over half the price
Read moreAS THE 2023 Chenin Safari was winding down, with the final leg of the six-week challenge just around the bend, who would be strutting their stuff at the festival in Franschhoek come Saturday 10 June, one wondered. Some of South Africa’s top Chenin producers put their hands up, including a couple whose wines have such good track records as to
Read moreASSOCIATED with the Catalonia region surrounding the city of Barcelona in northeastern Spain as well as the Languedoc in southern France, the black grape variety Lledoner Pelut (aka Garnacha) is a mutation of Grenache Noir. Planted in South Africa for the first time at Kloovenburg outside the Swartland town of Riebeek Kasteel, it was used to make wine for the
Read moreCABERNET FRANC is top of mind for many wine lovers, particularly at Carnival time in the Cape winelands. No longer are South Africa’s leading examples confined to Stellenbosch. See below for the current champions, and for the complete picture when it comes to the panels’ favourites, click on the links. TOP RATINGS – 12 MONTHS TO DATE Anthology Cabernet
Read moreCONCOURS MONDIAL is based in Brussels, Belgium, however the mammoth competition is staged in various locations with the different types of wine judged at different times of the year. In May 2023, over 300 industry experts from around the world converged on the coastal town of Porec in western Croatia to assess over 7500 red and white wines from nearly
Read moreJUDGES at the 2023 International Wine Challenge in London were impressed by South African entries in a variety of classes, but the Chardonnay especially. Six of the 15 gold medals that went the way of Cape wine producers were for Chardonnay, with the 2021 vintage of Paul Cluver’s Seven Flags given 97 on the scorecard… Days after the names of
Read moreSHIRAZ from South Africa’s Hartenberg, Kleine Zalze and Cederberg cellars were among the top gold medallists at the international Syrah du Monde 2023. Contested by 20 countries, the competition takes place in Ampuis, a town in the Rhône region of France, where 80 of the 241 wines assessed during the panel tastings earned gold (34) and silver (46) medals. Australian
Read moreSOME WINES are pretty much ‘one of a kind’, almost incomparable. Some of them from the Cape winelands… Nero is the first and only South African wine to be made from the red/black grape Nero d’ Avola, an Italian variety named after the town of Avola in Sicily, grown among the foothills of volcanoes and now also on Bosman Family
Read moreSOME WINES are pretty much ‘one of a kind’, almost incomparable. Some of them from the Cape winelands… In South Africa, Palomino grapes are/were used mainly for the production of Sherry and Sherry-styled wines. “Very few of these vineyards remain,” reflects Adi Badenhorst of the family wine business AA Badenhorst on the farm Kalmoesfontein among the Paardeberg foothills outside Malmesbury.
Read moreWHO KNOWS what happened! With just days to go before the first Pinotage Festival of 2023 came news that the Stellenbosch event scheduled for 13 May had been cancelled. No doubt many wine lovers were looking forward to seeing who would be strutting their stuff and, for just R150pp, getting to compare the different styles. One wonders how many of
Read moreWITH SO MUCH hype around Sauvignon Blanc during the first quarter of 2023 and extending into May with many South African wine producers engaged in Sauvignon Blanc Day/Weekend celebrations, what better time to reflect on the top expressions from the Cape. Over 60 SA Sauvignons have been very highly rated by wine panels internationally during the past 12 months, and
Read moreALMOST EVERYBODY who’s anybody in the vineyards of Constantia was on the billboard of exhibitors expected to be serving their Sauvignon to wine lovers at Workshop 47 in Rosebank JHB in the first of two evening events this May. The notable no-show being Constantia Uitsig, an estate that’s not a member of the local wine route although one of THE
Read moreONE OF THE smallest wine stores on the peninsula south of Cape Town – it’s hard to believe that there’s room for over 300 different bottles in this boutique. Nestled among some milkwood trees adorned with fairy lights, Furny’s on Beach Road in Chapman’s Peak Village / Noordhoek is also one of South Africa’s good Wine Bars. Quite unlike any
Read moreTHE WEATHERMAN promised sunshine on Sunday 30 April in Cape Town, but would-be picnickers were warned that it could be cloudy on Saturday the 29th, the first day of the Pick n Pay Wine & Food Festival at the Kenilworth Racecourse. Who knew what the weather would do when the roadshow got to Durban’s Chris Saunders Park in uMhlanga on
Read moreONE OF the Top 10, opined the judges at Chardonnay du Monde 2023 in France, gold medallist at Mundus Vini 2023 in Germany, also gold medallist at the Global Chardonnay Masters 2022, UK. No other South African Chardonnay has been welcomed with as many such glowing reviews from international panels of experts in recent months. More premium than Nederburg’s ‘Winemasters’
Read moreTHERE WERE only 20 cases of the single-block, single-barrel Cab Franc Challenge winner made available for purchase after results of the 2023 edition of the competition were announced in Stellenbosch. As for the rest of the Anthology, 2020 vintage, “we’ll be drinking to celebrate,” said the producers. “Lucky us.” Convenor Bjorn van Oort let on that “just 0.33 points” separated
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