South Africa is in the middle of the harvest (now towards the end), a harvest that this year is unusually early for many producers. Oldenburg in the beautiful Banghoek Valley in Stellenbosch started harvesting three
The Old World and The New World. The wine industry has lived with these expressions for quite a few years. And it is convenient. It was natural to call the countries outside Europe The New
The Michelangelo International Wine and Spirits Awards is one of the big wine competitions in South Africa with a few thousand entries. I was part of the jury, the people tasting and judging the wines,
There’s not a pot of gold in the vineyard but there is a stunning view over the landscape, a lush valley and towering mountains. Rainbow’s End Wine Estate is in an exceptional location, in the
“If they can do it, perhaps I can too,” she thought at an African Women’s Entrepreneurship Conference in 2014. That was the spark that made Ntsiki Biyela decide to launch her own winery, called Aslina
In 2016 that Rosa Kruger and André Morgenthal started The Old Vine Project (OVP) in South Africa to find and care for old, sometimes abandoned, vineyards and to draw attention to the value of old
This year’s harvest in South Africa is of exceptionally good quality. The volume of 1.3 million tonnes of grapes is slightly smaller than in 2021 but still larger than the five-year average. “An overall cool
SAWIS, South Africa Wine Industry Information and Systems, has recently published statistics for 2021 for the South African vineyards. The area has decreased since 2020 by 1,493 hectares and is now 90,512 hectares. It is
It’s still early days. But the first report on the South African harvest 2022 has arrived. The winter was as should be, with snow in the mountains and rain filling the dams. These were filled
Sometimes “terroir” does not matter so much. The Australian wine giant Treasury Wine Estates, which owns Penfolds and other brands, has taken drastic measures to survive the high tariffs imposed by China on Australian wine.
In just a few years, the South African region of Elgin has made a name for itself as an exciting place for grapes such as pinot noir, syrah, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc. It is supposedly
The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) has presented preliminary figures for the 2021 harvest for the southern hemisphere. In the April Brief, we wrote about Argentina, estimated to produce 10.1 million hectolitres, decreasing
South Africa’s acreage of chenin blanc is no longer declining as fast as before. There is hope that they will keep what is left of this fantastic grape and focus on its quality potential. Chenin
Despite major challenges (sales ban, export ban) for the South African wine industry in 2020, exports ended up at a phenomenal 319.2 million litres (3.2 Mhl). The vineyards have recovered well after the severe drought
In South Africa, MCC, Méthode Cap Classic, is the fastest growing wine category, says Pieter Ferreira during a zoom conference. Pieter is South Africa’s guru of bubbly wine. He has been chief winemaker for 30
South Africa has a total of 92,000 hectares of vines. 10,000 hectares are cabernet sauvignon. It is the most planted red grape. The country’s most prominent wine region, Stellenbosch, is also the most important Cabernet
The huge South African producer Distell, with wine brands such as Pongracz, Two Oceans, Fleur du Cap and Neethlingshof, has sold one of its star properties, Plaisir de Merle in Paarl. We visited Plaisir de
We had a question from a reader a while ago: “I discovered pinotage many years ago in Cape Town. But unfortunately, the quality has varied a lot. Are there any pinotage wines that you can
South African Craven wines is an exciting wine estate that has been ambitiously run since 2011 by Mick and Jeanine Craven from Australia and South Africa respectively. The vineyards are located in different places around
If you are planning a wine tour later on to South Africa, the best way to prepare is to drink South African wines. We have many favourites. Read below about four excellent producers we sometimes
Wine producers in South Africa have been through some tough times but now things are at least getting a bit better. During five weeks of lockdown, they have not been allowed to sell their wines
During our South Africa tour in February we visited Creation Wines in beautiful Hemel-en-Aarde on the south coast. We tasted the lovely wines of course. But owner Carolyn Martin also took the opportunity to tell
In New Zealand, wine producers were in the middle of the harvest when the message came on March 25 about a total lock-down of the country. The relief was great when they were told that
There will be many dinners at home in the coming weeks. Here are some recommendations from producers we met on our tour in South Africa in February. Gabriëlskloof Amphora Sauvignon Blanc, Cape South Coast, Bot
Now when travel is restricted, some inspiration: In winter we have three lovely long-distance tours to wine countries in the southern hemisphere: Chile, Argentina, South Africa and New Zealand. It is so nice to get
We have just returned from this year’s wine tour in South Africa and as usual we have tasted fantastic wines that show the ambition that exists in the country. But we should not forget the
All producers we met on our wine tour in mid-February were, so far, happy with the quality and most of them also with the quantity. After the drought the quantities are now again back to
Time for Pinotage to come out of the closet? The apple never falls far from the tree. Well, sometimes it does. For, to be honest, does pinotage really resemble its parents, pinot noir and cinsault?
The 2020 edition of the excellent wine guide “Platter’s South African Wine Guide” was launched in November. A total of 125 wines and one brandy received the coveted 5 stars. “Editor’s Award Winery of the
There seem to be no limits to the creativity of winemakers. Diemersdal Estate in Durbanhill in South Africa has recently launched its third vintage of its Sauvignon Blanc Winter Ferment. For this wine, the grapes
South Africa is in the middle of the harvest (now towards the end), a harvest that this year is unusually early for many producers. Oldenburg
The Old World and The New World. The wine industry has lived with these expressions for quite a few years. And it is convenient. It
The Michelangelo International Wine and Spirits Awards is one of the big wine competitions in South Africa with a few thousand entries. I was part
There’s not a pot of gold in the vineyard but there is a stunning view over the landscape, a lush valley and towering mountains. Rainbow’s
“If they can do it, perhaps I can too,” she thought at an African Women’s Entrepreneurship Conference in 2014. That was the spark that made
In 2016 that Rosa Kruger and André Morgenthal started The Old Vine Project (OVP) in South Africa to find and care for old, sometimes abandoned,
This year’s harvest in South Africa is of exceptionally good quality. The volume of 1.3 million tonnes of grapes is slightly smaller than in 2021
SAWIS, South Africa Wine Industry Information and Systems, has recently published statistics for 2021 for the South African vineyards. The area has decreased since 2020
It’s still early days. But the first report on the South African harvest 2022 has arrived. The winter was as should be, with snow in
Sometimes “terroir” does not matter so much. The Australian wine giant Treasury Wine Estates, which owns Penfolds and other brands, has taken drastic measures to
In just a few years, the South African region of Elgin has made a name for itself as an exciting place for grapes such as
The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) has presented preliminary figures for the 2021 harvest for the southern hemisphere. In the April Brief, we
South Africa’s acreage of chenin blanc is no longer declining as fast as before. There is hope that they will keep what is left of
Despite major challenges (sales ban, export ban) for the South African wine industry in 2020, exports ended up at a phenomenal 319.2 million litres (3.2
In South Africa, MCC, Méthode Cap Classic, is the fastest growing wine category, says Pieter Ferreira during a zoom conference. Pieter is South Africa’s guru
South Africa has a total of 92,000 hectares of vines. 10,000 hectares are cabernet sauvignon. It is the most planted red grape. The country’s most
The huge South African producer Distell, with wine brands such as Pongracz, Two Oceans, Fleur du Cap and Neethlingshof, has sold one of its star
We had a question from a reader a while ago: “I discovered pinotage many years ago in Cape Town. But unfortunately, the quality has varied
South African Craven wines is an exciting wine estate that has been ambitiously run since 2011 by Mick and Jeanine Craven from Australia and South
If you are planning a wine tour later on to South Africa, the best way to prepare is to drink South African wines. We have
Wine producers in South Africa have been through some tough times but now things are at least getting a bit better. During five weeks of
During our South Africa tour in February we visited Creation Wines in beautiful Hemel-en-Aarde on the south coast. We tasted the lovely wines of course.
In New Zealand, wine producers were in the middle of the harvest when the message came on March 25 about a total lock-down of the
There will be many dinners at home in the coming weeks. Here are some recommendations from producers we met on our tour in South Africa
Now when travel is restricted, some inspiration: In winter we have three lovely long-distance tours to wine countries in the southern hemisphere: Chile, Argentina, South
We have just returned from this year’s wine tour in South Africa and as usual we have tasted fantastic wines that show the ambition that
All producers we met on our wine tour in mid-February were, so far, happy with the quality and most of them also with the quantity.
Time for Pinotage to come out of the closet? The apple never falls far from the tree. Well, sometimes it does. For, to be honest,
The 2020 edition of the excellent wine guide “Platter’s South African Wine Guide” was launched in November. A total of 125 wines and one brandy
There seem to be no limits to the creativity of winemakers. Diemersdal Estate in Durbanhill in South Africa has recently launched its third vintage of
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