REFLECTING on the past year as regards Wine SA, there is a case to be made for Paarl being home to the champion producer in 2014 after KWV triumphed as the most successful entrant overall at the most prestigious competitions on the South African wine calendar – first at the Trophy Wine Show (for the second time) and then at the Veritas
WHERE TO PICNIC in the winelands of South Africa, near a winery, not far from the vines? Here are the best spots to purchase a picnic basket full of good food and wine in the countryside when wine-routing in the Cape. The are all on farms associated with highly rated reds or whites, bubblies or sweet dessert wines, i.e. the venues are
THE 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
• Gold Medal at 2014 Michelangelo Awards, SA • Gold Medal at 2014 Veritas Awards, SA • Gold Medal at 2014 Decanter Awards, UK • Winner at 2013 Top 10 Competition, SA • Signature variety of the district of Darling ALEXANDERFONTEIN’S Chip off the Old Block Sauvignon Blanc from the Ormonde Private Cellar is a mouthful alright… One of several
“PERFUMED NOSE, with good expression of spice, rose petals, Turkish delight and lychees… Floral flavours and a mélange of fruits… Lingering finish… Enjoyed on its own or as an accompaniment to spicy foods, curries and sushi” – Altydgedacht‘s tasting notes for their Gewürztraminer 2014, winner of a Double Gold medal at this year’s Six Nations Wine Challenge in Sydney, Australia. There are very
A DIFFERENT TAKE on Platter’s absolute favourite wines in the current era… Following on from commentary about the 2015 edition of this South African wine guide that has just gone on sale and a look at the most prolific recipients of the book’s ultimate accolade in recent history (see here), it will interest some to hear that there are only
PLATTER’S South African Wine Guide is not without its shortcomings, but after 35 years it still holds plenty of sway among those who are partial to the liquid pleasures of this country and give a damn about what’s in their glass. Published as it is towards the end of every year, it’s the last major assessment of SA wine quality and
ALTHOUGH THE EXACT pecking order regarding the very best wine producers in South Africa will forever be debatable, there is little argument amongst the cognoscenti that The Sadie Family is comfortably among the Top 10 in terms of the special nature and interest value of what they produce. Yet to many, this cellar in the foothills of the Paardeberg outside Malmesbury in the
SOUTH AFRICA’S best value red wines at under R70 a bottle from the cellar door as rated in 2014 & 2013, with the vintages that received two or more good reviews from expert tasting panels locally or internationally underscored. TOP SA CABERNET SAUVIGNON UNDER R70 A Few Good Men Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 (Riebeek Cellars) Brampton Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 Cronier Estienne
SOUTH AFRICA’S best value white wines at under R50 a bottle from the cellar door as rated in 2014 & 2013, with vintages to have received two or more good reviews from expert tasting panels locally or internationally underscored. TOP SA CHARDONNAY UNDER R50 Boland Cellar Five Climates Chardonnay 2013 De Wet Chardonnay 2013 Durbanville Hills Chardonnay 2013 Franschhoek Cellar
RELATIVE to many other top South African wine estates, Diemersdal is humble in appearance – nothing very fancy, a rustic farm that in some ways has been slow to change with the times, and all the more charming for it. Within the ward of Durbanville, the farm stands apart to the north of the town – quite separate from most of
IF YOU ARE into South African ‘Wine of Origin’, micro climates, soil types, grape clones, et al, then the advent of the country’s Single Vineyard Wine was one of the best things to come along since the concept of Estate Wine took a knock when the laws were relaxed some years back. There have been many SA wine drinkers who’ve been
THE LATEST round of awards for SA white wines at the inaugural Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge again raises the issue of what South Africa hangs or should hang its hat on – in other words, what the industry’s strong suits or trump cards are. Certainly there’s a case to be made for Chenin, and if Chenin is to
THERE ARE FEW surprises among the winners of the Pinotage Association’s 2014 Absa Top 10 Pinotage Competition… Delheim Vera Cruz is better known for its prowess in the Shiraz category – the Vera Cruz Pinotage is a maiden vintage. And it’s suspected that certain Pinotage heavyweights including Kanonkop didn’t enter on this occasion – there is also no Kaapzicht Steytler,
ASK ABOUT top SA Pinot Noir and the main signposts point to Elgin, Walker Bay, Hemel-en-Aarde… There are exceptions – chief among them Chamonix of Franschhoek – but typically it’s a case of Hamilton Russell, Bouchard Finlayson, Newton Johnson, Sumaridge, Oak Valley, Paul Cluver, Crystallum, Shannon… However, there’s now another cool-climate district putting up its hand, so to speak. The
IT CAN BE VERY WET around Elim in the Cape Agulhas district of the SA winelands. In winter, the rainfall is such that some of the roads may be closed, access is limited and the landscape is characterised by wetlands and wind… It blows in the summer too and, with much of the wind coming in from across the ocean, the
Captivating 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
FIRST THERE WAS Ernie Els, then there was Retief Goosen aka The Goose, and now there’s Louis Oosthuizen – three of South Africa’s most successful golf pro’s who have their names on the labels of some of the country’s best wines. We last reflected on the sporting wine route a couple of years ago as the Black Knight wines of Gary Player
THERE 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
CHARLES BACK remembers well the first plantings of Viognier on his Fairview farm in Paarl back in the 1990s. Who knew then what would work where when it came to experimenting with grape varieties not widely planted in South Africa, if at all, but new or unusual is very appealing to winemakers looking for a USP, something exciting. And wow has
