FOR AN UPDATE of all the organic wines produced in South Africa that are officially certified as such, click here. Below are those from the Cape that received good to very good reviews from the top panels of experts in 2023. There are numerous winemakers and viticulturists who adhere to organic or biodynamic methods in the vineyard and cellar but
Read moreFOR A WHILE longer at least, most of South Africa’s leading blended whites remain combinations of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, but the number of outstanding Chenin-led blends seems to be on the increase. These are the country’s white combos that were most pleasing to the top panels internationally in 2023 to date, and highlighted in red are those that qualify
Read moreTHERE ARE a number of South African wine estates that are farmed either organically or biodynamically but where the powers that be aren’t inclined to deal with the red tape or pay the costs associated with official certification. Then there are those producers who dip their toes in, so to speak, with one or two wines carrying the word ‘organic’
Read moreIT’S DIFFICULT to accept that of South Africa’s Top 30 restaurants in 2019, according to the critics and followers of the Eat Out restaurant guide, only five are located outside Cape Town and the surrounding winelands! Only one in Johannesburg? Only one in Durban? None in Bloemfontein, nor in Port Elizabeth? None at the country’s nature conservancies, game reserves, resorts? Oh
Read moreWHERE TO EAT on the Paarl Wine Route, on a farm, among the vines? And which wines to seek out, what the panels of experts have recommended recently? For lunch, your choices include Faber at Avondale, several options at Babylonstoren, the Goatshed at Fairview, Glen Carlou, The Kraal at Joostenberg, The Red Table at Nederburg, Rhebokskloof, the Deck at Ridgeback, Rupert &
Read moreAccording to the critics who wined and dined unannounced and paid for their meals before the 2017 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards were presented, the following are the best restaurants in the winelands of South Africa, i.e. on the farms, among the vines, rather than on the high streets or back roads of the towns and villages that punctuate the Cape winelands. The emphasis
Read moreONE OF THE annual wine competitions viewed with scepticism in some quarters culminates in South Africa’s Green Wine Awards… Ducks, chickens and cows in the vineyards, horses instead of tractors, natural winemaking and minimal intervention as regards fertiliser and pest control, organically-grown grapes and biodynamic farming principles… All very eco-friendly, but surely the idea should be to come up with wines that
Read more
