Tag Archives: cellar

Food-and-wine pairings at top Cape cellars – 2022 update

OF SOUTH AFRICA’S top wine cellars that are open to the public, some have taken their tasting-room experience to another level when it comes to matching what’s in the glass with what’s on the plate, or vice versa. See below for what is currently on offer – just click on the links for more information and how to book a

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2021 SA wine industry stats for the year that was – a local perspective

THE ANNUAL updates on the length, breadth, size and nature of the wine business in the leading wine-producing country on the continent of Africa can differ somewhat depending on whether you’re looking at things from inside or out. In April came an announcement from the OIV in Paris that in the world of wine South Africa’s national vineyard spanned 122

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Dreaming of Top Wine SA… wining, lunching, staying among the vines

WHEN YOU want to but can’t venture out onto one of South Africa’s wonderful wine routes straight away, the next best thing might be to reminisce about sorties past or to plan your next trip into the countryside. The slideshows on Top Wine SA showcase the best wine producers in South Africa, the best places to eat at in the

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South African Wine & Cellar Classifications 2016 – Top Wine SA

THE SA Wine & Cellar Classifications point to the current ‘who’s who’ of the South African winelands – all of the top wines and cellars over the past 10 years, including the very best in each class. Ten years’ tasting results, the best track records, involving the TOP TASTING PANELS, local and international – a pooling of expert opinions about South

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Chocolate or charcuterie, nuts or nougat… Wine and food pairing options ‘exploding’

IT WASN’T that long ago when the edibles in a Cape winery’s tasting room were limited to water biscuits or cream crackers. Today, some of South Africa’s best restaurants are located alongside some of the country’s top cellars and matching wine with food at the cellar door extends to a variety of different experiences, some offered even where there aren’t complete meals to

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South Africa’s Top Sunday Cellars – best Cape wineries open all week

AS OF mid-July 2015, the following Top 100 cellars were open to the public on Sundays – unlike the others only open five or six days a week or strictly by appointment: Constantia, Tokai Constantia Uitsig – 10:00 to 17:00 Eagles’ Nest – 10:00 to 16:30 Groot Constantia – 09:00 to 18:00 Klein Constantia – Summer, 10:00 to 16:00 Steenberg – 10:00 to

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Registered wine estates, unregistered estates, non-estates… How much does it matter?

GOING BY the last count in 2014, South Africa has some 3300 farms on which grapes are being grown for making wine and there are around 550 wineries in the various regions, districts and wards. According to industry data published by SAWIS, about 200 farms are registered for the production of Estate Wine – wine that is grown, produced and bottled on

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2015 Who’s Who of the Cape winelands: South Africa’s Top 50 cellars over the past 10 years, 2005 to 2014, champions all

THE NAMES of South Africa’s unfortified wine producers currently ranked among the Top 100 are included in the 2015 Classification based on consistently good reviews in blind tastings by panels of experts locally and around the globe. Of these, the country’s 50 most successful cellars – led by Kanonkop, Nederburg and Vergelegen – are spotlighted below. Bergkelder (Fleur du Cap) –

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Best picnic options in the South African winelands – baskets and blankets, under the trees, on the lawns, among the vines, next to the cellars, in the forest, you name it

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

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Top 100 SA wines in 2014 – South Africa’s most consistently good wines over the past 10 years (best track records)

THERE’S BEEN much talk again of late about the Top 100 SA Wines and The Cape’s Top 20 Wineries of 2014 – the chatter about South Africa’s Top 100 wines prompted by a selection of various vintages of various types of wine based on the outcome of a local challenge involving some 490 competition entries, and the debate as to the country’s

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Diemersdal and Hartenberg among stand-out names in the 2014 SA Wine and Cellar Classifications – Top Wine SA

SOUTH AFRICA’S 2014 Wine & Cellar Classifications based on the best track records in 25 local and international blind-tasting forums over the past 10 years feature eight new inclusions among the Top 100 Cellars: De Morgenzon, Laborie Wine Estate, Newton Johnson Family Vineyards, Nitida Cellars, Quoin Rock Winery, Rall Wines, Reyneke Wines and Van Loveren. However the majority of the

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Top SA red wines and top SA red wine cellars over the past 10 years – best track records between 2004 and 2013

SOUTH AFRICA’S 2014 Wine & Cellar Classifications on the basis of the best track records in 25 local and international blind-tasting forums over the past 10 years have just been released. To be eligible for Classification, a wine must have been made and bottled in South Africa and must have earned very good reviews by at least one of the

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Top SA white wines and top SA white wine cellars over the past 10 years – best track records from 2004 to 2013

SOUTH AFRICA’S 2014 Wine & Cellar Classifications based on the best track records in 25 local and international blind-tasting forums over the past 10 years have just been released. To be eligible for Classification, a wine must have been made and bottled in South Africa and must have earned very good reviews by at least one of the top judging

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2014 guide to wine route restaurants, the top tables on South Africa’s wine farms – saving you time and money

WHERE TO EAT in the winelands of South Africa, at a winery, among the vines? Here are the best tables in the countryside when wine-routing in the Cape – all on farms associated with highly rated reds or whites, bubblies or desserts as recorded on Top Wine SA. Where indicated, the restaurants have earned particularly good reviews in the country’s restaurant guides Eat Out and/or Rossouw’s Restaurants,

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Best Riesling – unusual delights from top Cape cellars

IT SEEMS LIKE only yesterday that you could count the number of South Africa’s good Rieslings on a few fingers and that the labels of these wines were so much more confusing than they are today. Shame on the producers – including Theuniskraal and Van Loveren – who persist in calling wines what they’re not, namely ‘Cape Riesling’ instead of

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South Africa’s Top 20 Wineries – 2013 Classification

FOLLOWING 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

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2013 SA Wine & Cellar Classifications – top track records

THROUGHOUT 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.

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