AT THE VERY heart of the South African winelands, Stellenbosch was founded in the year 1679, and harking back to its roots, so to speak, ‘Stellenbosch 1679′ is the name of the new tier of wines introduced by one of the most successful co-operative cellars in the district. The Chenin Blanc was first to catch the aficionados’ attention when it
Read moreTEN YEARS AGO, the average price of the Top 10 Chenin Blancs according to the 2011 South African Wine Classification was R89 a bottle. Come February 2021 the figure stands at R303pb, with the industry’s annual general price increases due in March. Percentage wise, the other main varieties of SA vino haven’t appreciated in value to quite the same extent,
Read moreTHREE CHENINS recommended in the 2020 Uber Value SA wine guide are also to be found in the 2020 SA Wine Classification, which makes them particularly attractive! The thing is, over the past 10 years they’ve been greeted with good to very good reviews time and again, the latest top ratings and awards following a number of others for a
Read moreTHE VERY BEST wines of South Africa at under R100 a bottle in 2020. Recommended by the top panels of wine experts locally and internationally. Better than standard gold (some gold medals count more than others), even including a few platinum award winners and a couple of trophy laureates. 95 points or higher if scored out of 100 (scores of
Read moreIT’S ARGUABLE that at under R100 a bottle, if you’re weighing up South Africa’s various wine categories, Sauvignon Blanc generally offers best value-for-money. Sure, there are now very few top Sauvignons in the SA Wine Classification at this level, price wise. However, at the time of writing, five of the finalists in the country’s 2020 Sauvignon Blanc Top 10 competition
Read moreSPEAKING during a conference conducted online during the Covid-19 lockdown affecting many countries around the globe, Pau Roca of Spain, the director general of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) headquarted in Paris, announced that there had been a marked decrease in production in 2019 compared to 2018. The estimated volume of wine produced by all of the
Read moreAS THE UPWARD pressure on wine prices increases, savvy bargain hunters know to look to top cellars’ second labels, up-and-coming producers outside the premier league, and cellars buying in grapes from far and wide, not constrained by the rules and regulations of ‘estate wine’ legislation. This was the focus in an article recently published by Independent Media’s Personal Finance magazine –
Read moreBONNIEVALE WINES have upped their game in recent years and the title of Discovery of the Show at the 2019 Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show for Best Value Gold Medallist is a sign that their intent goes deeper than face value. Yet “unpretentious” is stated on the label, and R97 a bottle from the cellar is “welcoming and soothing”
Read moreFROM THE Swartland Winery, outside Malmesbury. Bush Vine Chenin Blanc 2017. R90pb ex-cellar. The latest wanna-have on the select list of South African wine stars that have attracted good to rave reviews in 2019 to date and which don’t cost a ‘pretty penny’ – one of only six South African vinos to have earned platinum at the Decanter World
Read moreTHE STATUS of Morgenster as one of South Africa’s top cellars hinges largely on the reputation of the Estate Reserve, a top class Bordeaux-style combo and one of the Top 10 red blends overall in the SA Wine Classification. Hall of Fame. R490 a bottle for the 2013 vintage. Of late, however, the Somerset West property’s single varietals have been
Read moreLOVE HIS WORK! For those who haven’t already had a chuckle over the artist’s recent contributions on the subjects of food and wine pairing, and best value at under R100 a bottle, see here and here. For more about one of South Africa’s famous creatives, click here.
Read moreJUST PRIOR to South Africa’s annual general wine price increases in March and April 2018, grape farmers were forecasting the smallest crop since 2005 and the financial pressure on wine producers continued to mount. In response, Vinpro MD Rico Basson advocated during his ‘state of the industry’ review that pushing up prices was a means of dealing with the situation. And growing in
Read moreMARCH 1 is traditionally when the annual general price increases are implemented by most South African wine farms and distributors to address production cost increases, inflation, etc. In 2018 many producers delayed their yearly hikes or indicated that a second adjustment would follow that in March because of the increase in VAT, due to come about in April. There are
Read moreCELLARS up and down the length of the Breede River Valley had a good year in the 2017 edition of South Africa’s Ultra Value Wine Challenge convened by BuyBetterWine.com – not that they had it all their own way. The top contestants were as follows: MOST SUCCESSFUL ENTRANTS Alvi’s Drift Private Cellar – Worcester Arabella Wines – Ashton De Wet Cellar – Worcester DGB –
Read moreSA CHARDONNAY UNDER R100 Douglas Green Chardonnay 2016 – gold medal at Chardonnay du Monde, approx retail price of R55 pb KWV Cathedral Cellar Chardonnay 2016 – high silver at Decanter Awards and silver at International Wine Challenge, R90 pb ex-cellar in Paarl Simonsig Chardonnay 2015 – silver medal at Chardonnay du Monde and among Top 100 at National Wine Challenge, R90 pb
Read moreOF ALL THE reds, whites, rosés, desserts and ports to receive very good reviews from one of the top panels locally or internationally in 2016, these rank as South Africa’s best value wines at under R100 a bottle – all highly rated, including some platinum award recipients, even some trophy winners. The prices given below are those at the cellar door when surveyed
Read moreIF THERE WAS a trophy presented at the Veritas Awards for best value-for-money offered by the highest-scoring wines, the winner in 2016 would probably have been Boschendal for The Pavillion Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2015, expected to sell for R55 a bottle from the cellar on the outskirts of Franschhoek and under R50 in the supermarkets. Its main rivals for the title would have
Read moreTHE 2016 Muskadel SA awards point to some of the great value wine producers at under R100 a bottle, or even under R50 at the cellar door – and not just in the fortified dessert wine categories. Du Toitskloof Red Muscadel 2014 at R50 and Orange River Cellars White Muscadel 2015 at R50 were commended for the packaging as well as
Read moreIT’S VERY DIFFICULT to find a classified Cabernet Sauvignon in South Africa at under R100 a bottle these days – a wine of the quality that’s recognised with good reviews for several vintages over the past 10 years, let alone year after year. What you will find is a bunch of wines with interest value and some more than others –
Read moreFINDING good wine on sale for less than R50 a bottle has become a big ask, and not only in terms of reds. It might be so that there’s far less rubbish being made these days, but at under R50 there’s plenty of plonk, pedestrian and boring stuff as well as simple fruity drinks that are more like cooldrinks than products of the vine.
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