Tag Archives: 2016

Top 20 of South Africa’s most successful wines on world stage in 2016

For ALL of the top-rated, most highly awarded South African wines of the year according to the most authoritative panels of experts locally and internationally, see here. Showcased below are 20 of the Cape’s world-class wines that were particularly well received around the globe in 2016:   Bellingham The Bernard Series Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2015 5 Stars in Platter’s SA Wine Guide, trophy

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South Africa’s very best value wines at under R100 a bottle in 2016

OF 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

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Top 10 restaurants in the Cape, among the vines – Eat Out Awards 2016

EAT OUT, “South Africa’s Best Guide to South Africa’s Best Food”, might well come in for some flack after publication of their 2016 Restaurant Awards sponsored by Mercedes-Benz – only one restaurant from outside the Western Cape cracked the nod for a spot among the Top 10 and only three among the Top 20. Respected restaurant critic and publisher of Platter’s

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SA Winery of the Year, SA Winemaker of the Year… Spoilt for choice

WITH JUST weeks to go until the end of 2016, the spotlight shone on a few of the Cape’s top wineries and winemakers more brightly than usual. Shiraz/Chenin specialist Andrea Mullineux of Riebeek Kasteel in the Swartland, previously of California, was pronounced Winemaker of the Year by Wine Enthusiast magazine in the USA. Nederburg of Paarl won the IWSC trophy for South African Wine Producer

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Vergelegen hard to beat when it comes to Cape wine route destinations

SAO BENTO da Vitoria Monastery in Oporto, Portugal, was the venue for the 2016 Great Wine Capitals Global Networks’ Best of Wine Tourism Awards, the culmination of a competition entered by 359 wine estates from South Australia, Rioja in Spain, Bordeaux in France, the Cape winelands, Rheinhessen in Germany, Mendoza in Argentina, Porto in Portugal, Napa Valley in the USA and

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Rosé Rocks again in 2016 with a host of varieties, sparkling and non

THERE HAVE been leading Cap Classique sparkling wine houses fielding good Rosé for some time now, whereas there still aren’t many of South Africa’s very best red or white wine cellars that produce Rosé or Blanc de Noir or Blush without a bubble – and those that do seem to dabble in it occasionally rather than commit in a serious fashion year

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Capensis considered among world’s best at Chardonnay Masters 2016

NOW THAT’S what we’re talking about! THAT’S how to show it’s worth the asking price!! Winning one of only six Master awards (scored over 95/100) presented after the British Drinks Business magazine’s 2016 Global Chardonnay Masters competition involving some 200 entries from around the world, the 2014 vintage of Capensis also scored highly in the local Winemag.co.za Chardonnay report earlier in the year.

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Opstal one of the game-changers in the Breedekloof – well worth a visit

IT’S A LOVELY drive through the countryside to the vineyards of Slanghoek Valley. Visitors typically head out along the N1 highway, taking the R101 to Rawsonville just east of the Du Toitskloof Pass/Huguenot Tunnel (or via Worcester) before turning north along ‘The Route Less Travelled’ than most others in the Cape winelands. It’s alongside the Slanghoek Road in the Breedekloof that the

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Platter’s 2017 guide points to seven of the Cape’s finest releases in 2016

APART FROM the obvious, what were the highlights of the 2016 awards for top-rated reds, whites and sweets in the 2017 edition of Platter’s South African Wine Guide? For starters, with most of the year’s major panel tastings by local and international wine authorities behind us, the following beauties stand out among the leading contenders for SA Wine of the Year overall:

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Champion status for Durbanville Sauvignon – for the time being anyway!

IT’S NOT that the district of Darling – including the Groenekloof ward – is no longer the source of good Sauvignon Blanc. A number of top wineries outside the area continue to source some of the fruit for some of their wines from Darling – KWV of Paarl, for example, produces a particularly fine Sauvignon from Darling grapes under The Mentors label. But

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Which wines to aim for in Robertson? Bonnievale? Ashton? McGregor?

ROBERTSON’S ‘Wine on the River’ as summer gets underway, the ‘Robertson Slow’ at winter’s end, the ‘Wacky Wine Weekend’ mid-year and the ‘Hands-On Harvest’ time in February/March attract thousands to the Breede River Valley and the Robertson district in particular. The festivals are fun times for the local communities from Rooiberg west of the hub to Ashton in the east and Bonnievale as

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SA wine industry’s Sauvignon Blanc Interest Group chooses 10 from 169

THE WINNERS of the 2016 FNB Sauvignon Blanc Top 10 competition organised by the South African wine industry’s Sauvignon Blanc Interest Group (SBIG) are from producers in Durbanville (2), Elgin, Hermanus, Noordhoek, Rawsonvile, Somerset West and Stellenbosch (3). Producers of the runners-up are located in Bamboes Bay, Constantia (Tokai), Durbanville (2), Elgin (2) and Stellenbosch (4). Among the Top 10 stand-outs, Cape Point

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Boschendal and Goedverwacht among THE best value laureates at Veritas

IF 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

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Pedigreed wines prevail in 2016 Perold championship for Cape Blends

ENTRIES in the Perold Cape Blend Competition are required to have Pinotage as a leading component – a minimum of 30% but no more than 70%. According to Pinotage Association chairman Beyers Truter: “When the Absa Perold Cape Blend competition was initiated in 2011, the aim was to promote a category that would yield bold, vibrant wines truly representative of South

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Surprising, convincing victory for Stark-Condé at ‘New World’ Challenge

THE ANNUAL Six Nations Wine Challenge contested by some of the leading ‘New World’ producers of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, Canada and the USA is unlike any other wine competition on the planet. A respected wine authority from each of the six countries involved chooses what he considers to be 100 of the very best products of his country and the the respective

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CWG Auction provides inkling of who’s who at cutting edge of Wine SA

GIVEN BELOW are the average prices fetched per bottle at the 2016 Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Auction at Spier in Stellenbosch, i.e. per 750ml, i.e. to get some idea of consumer demand and brand value when it comes to many of South Africa’s top wines. The CWG auction of special vineyard or barrel selections and experimental bottlings now realises more than double in total

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Weather Girl’s Michelangelo win returns spotlight to cool-climate Elim

FOR SOME the 2016 Michelangelo International Wine & Spirits Awards were remarkable for the level of success enjoyed by the Chenins (three trophies, one platinum award, eight double golds, 16 gold medals) and the Pinotage entries (2 trophies, two platinum awards, 10 double golds, eight gold medals). For many though this major competition on the South African wine calendar will

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IWSC 2016: South Africa top-scores with Chenin, Pinotage AND Cabernet

DeMORGENZON is unquestionably one of South Africa’s top white wine producers and the success of this Stellenbosch outfit on the show circuit internationally over the past couple of years has been particularly impressive. The team returned from the 2016 Decanter World Wine Awards in London with a trophy for best Chardonnay, which could have put a few Burgundian noses out of joint,

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Nederburg Auction as much about brands and marketing as fine old wine

DESPITE a clause in the conditions of sale applicable to the Nederburg Auction of rare South African wine stating that buyer’s cards will be issued to licensees (only), i.e. not to the public in general, private buyers have been admitted to the bidding hall since 2012, albeit by invitation only and after going through an application process. These collectors buying in their own

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Corks popping big time in Paarl following another rave review for Anura

113 ENTRIES, 93 laureates, 36 bronze medallists, 47 silvers and 11 gold medal winners. Only 11 duds. What a fantastic hit rate! And the grand champion at the 2016 Amorim Cap Classique Challenge from Paarl: Anura Brut 2011 – R180 a bottle from the tasting room at the farm in the foothills of the Simonsberg. Anura Vineyards might not immediately spring

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