TOP MUSCADELS from the Cape remain oh such good fortified dessert wines, but oh so underrated – downplayed, you could argue, even by some of the producers themselves, let alone consumers with a sweet tooth who also seem to place a higher value on unfortified desserts including Noble Late Harvest, Natural Sweet and Straw Wine. The Muskadel SA association doesn’t have
Read moreTHE VERTEX trophy for Overall Champion at the 2018 Veritas Awards was presented to JC Le Roux of Distell for their Pongrácz Blanc de Blancs NV Cap Classique. This bubbly, made from Chardonnay in the style for which Champagne is famous, was the highest-scoring wine among the double gold medallists selected from over 1600 entries in this competition convened by
Read moreRANKED No. 1 among the highest-scoring entries in the 2018 Ultra Value Wine Challenge was the ‘Stone White’ blend from Stettyn Family Vineyards between Villiersdorp and Worcester. The 2018 vintage of this Chenin Blanc Sauvignon Blanc combo was one of 14 submissions to achieve top ratings from the judges, chaired by Cape Wine Master Ginette de Fleuriot together with British Master
Read moreIT WAS a good start to the month of July 2018 for South African wine producers at Muscats du Monde in France, the Sparkling Wine World Championships and the Drinks Business Global Masters, London – including a Top 10 spot among the sweets for Orange River Cellars and confirmation of Nederburg’s stature when it comes to Cabernet Sauvignon. For more about
Read moreNEDERBURG Private Bin Eminence 2012 has been included among the Top 10 entries at the 2016 edition of Muscats du Monde staged in the city of Frontignan-la-Peyrade in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. The Paarl cellar’s Eminence was one of 29 gold medallists – another South African among them being the 2015 Red Muscadel from Orange River Cellars, Upington, with the 2010
Read moreNEDERBURG Private Bin Eminence Natural Sweet Muscadel 2008 placed among the Top 10 at the 2015 Muscats-du-Monde in the Languedoc Roussillon region of France. The only other South African gold medallist was the 2010 Eminence, and the only other South African wine to earn a medal of any sort in the competition was the Orange River Cellars Red Muscadel 2013, which won
Read moreTHERE ARE THOSE that can be too spirity, over the top, but the leading examples are quite wonderful among the dessert wine offerings of the Cape. At their best, the fortified red and white Muscadels and Jerepigos made from Muscat grape varieties – typically d’Alexandrie or de Frontignan – show complexity and alluring sweetness without being cloying. And generally speaking, they’re
Read moreFANTASTIQUE! 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
Read moreHOT AND DRY, PERFECT FOR MUSCADEL: Orange River Cellars, Upington IF THERE’S one type of wine that they’re really good at making in the Orange River Cellars of the Northern Cape it’s sweet wine, and the farmers up and down the river on either side of Upington have been making some of South Africa’s best dessert wines for ages. Their
Read moreTHE BEST VALUE wines of South Africa are particularly topical at around this time of year on publication of the annual Best Value Wine Guide sponsored by the Ultra retail group. Orange River Cellars in Upington won the award as Best Value Winery overall in the latest competition that will culminate with the release of the book, available now in an
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