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.
Read moreTULBAGH 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
Read moreThe 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,
Read moreONE OF the largest wine competitions in the world, the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles culminates with awards being presented in May each year. The International Union of Oènologists who organise the event are based in Belgium, although the judging has been conducted in numerous countries over the years and over 40 nationalities are represented on the tasting panels who determine
Read moreTHE BIGGEST wine competition in the world takes place in London and involves over 400 judges including over 40 Masters of Wine (UK) as well as wine journalists and wine buyers from around the globe. Medal winners are announced in May every year with trophies presented at an awards dinner held in September. The top-performing South African wines this year
Read moreWHAT THE inaugural RE:CM 10 Year Old Wine Awards did not do was to confirm what many believe to be true, namely that all red wine improves with age. Because, of course, it’s not true. What the taste-off did serve to do was to highlight a whole bunch of wines that have withstood the test of time, gone the distance
Read moreSPARKLING DAY OUT: scene from the inaugural Casa Labia Bubbly Festival CAN’T WAIT for midday Saturday (16 March) and an afternoon of sipping sparklers on the lawn of Casa Labia in Muizenberg while nibbling various delights and gazing at the waves, surfers and boats on one of the quaint strips of False Bay coastline… From the time the first drinks
Read moreTHE RESULTS of the 2013 Classic Wine Trophy competition are hardly surprising in terms of the class winners. Particularly not when it comes to the overall victor, with Chamonix scooping three of the 14 trophies awarded in various categories at the Taj Hotel in Cape Town just a few months after being named Winery of the Year in the 2013 edition of
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 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 moreFRANSCHHOEK is even more cool following the introduction of a Wine Tram. It’s a pity that it only stops at two of the farms – Grande Provence and Rickety Bridge – on a route that begins close to the ticket office in the Bijoux Centre on Huguenot Road, but then the trip also includes an option to transfer from the
Read moreRAATS: home of the most successful SA Cab Franc and the man who’s done most to create a market for Cape versions of the variety MORE PLEASE! Red Jasper has got many of the delicious things you might dream about in a good Bordeaux-style blend. While perhaps a little too forward for some, it’s a fine example of the many lovely red
Read moreWITH SOUTH AFRICA’S 2013 wine grape harvest fast approaching, many farmers are re-assessing their cost structures and modus operandi in the wake of wage demands that turned ugly. The following was first published in the Cape Argus newspaper last week… * * * * * Published in the Cape Argus on 18 January 2013 As the smoke clears following the
Read moreWITH HIGHLIGHTS of the 2013 SA Wine & Cellar Classifications announced during the past few days, we now focus on a very select group of wines that stand out as having received good reviews from one or more of the top tasting panels for AT LEAST EIGHT VINTAGES over the past 10 years. Literally wines of distinction, these 16 whites, 23
Read moreFOLLOWING the recent announcement of South Africa’s benchmarks in terms of the latest SA Wine Classification and with the full 2013 Classifications carried on the Top Wine SA website, here are the highlights of the 2013 SA Cellar Classification – see below, given in alphabetical order. TOP 20 SA WHITE WINE CELLARS – 2013 CLASSIFICATION Bergkelder (Fleur du Cap) Cape Point
Read moreTHROUGHOUT THE YEAR, Top Wine SA keeps followers right up to date regarding the leading examples of South African wine as recommended by the top tasting panels on the planet – the Top SA Wine Ratings also include the prices that the various vintages of top wines are selling for, will be selling for or were selling for before they sold out.
Read moreWHERE TO LUNCH when wine-routing in Wellington? Especially if you’d like a good table at one of the cellars in the area? Until recently this has been quite a challenge, a really big ask. Then in stepped ‘Groot’ Schalk Burger of Welbedacht Estate on Oakdene Road in the foothills of the Groenberg Mountain. Converting his office into a wine tasting room
Read moreJacques Kallis EARLIER THIS YEAR, shortly after former South African golf star David Frost sold his wine farm in Paarl it was announced that Protea cricketers Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher had teamed up with Rietvallei Wine Estate in Robertson to launch a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Sauvignon Blanc under The Innings label – good value wines, with the 2010 Cab at
Read moreLEOPARDS and wine? Well, it’s a stronger link than between wild dogs and wine (apologies to the makers of Painted Wolf Wines who did so well in the Top 10 Pinotage Competition). In fact, while the winelands of the Cape are far away from the great game reserves in the northern and eastern reaches of South Africa, the chances of seeing
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
Read more
