Last week Tokara introduced us to their latest vintages at a great function at elegant Ellerman House in Bantry Bay, Cape Town. On hand was owner GT Ferreira, the urbane GM Karl Lambour and wine maker Stuart Botha. Needless to say, the wines themselves were...

  The good news is that the Whitley Neill superb range of excellent gins is now being made in in South Africa. This means that, while it is still a premium product, the price of this brilliant gin will not rip your heart out. The other good news is that they are...

  Bonnievale Wines has crowned a record, award-winning year with fresh accolades in recent days from two leading championships, namely the Gilbert & Gaillard International Challenge and Platter’s South African wine guide. At the former, Golds were awarded to...

  Morgenster at Somerset West have for many years had a group of wines which they called the Italian Collection. These wines paid tribute to founder Giulio Bertrand’s favourite operas and singers and were very popular. The Bertrand family there have relaunched...

  THE DINERS CLUB WINEMAKER OF THE YEAR Unless you are living under a rock or, like many of my subscribers, are living out of the country and could not care less, you must have noticed this is the season to give awards. Very important as it is to measure ourselves...

Tokara, the acclaimed family owned Stellenbosch wine and olive estate, set the gold standard for South African olive oil by winning two gold medals for its flagship Premium Blend in the 2022 Los Angeles International Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition. In addition to...

  While there is no doubt that removing alcohol from wine affects the taste to some degree, and often to a large degree, this is certainly not the case with Simone Musgrave's delicious alcohol-free gin which is called Inspirit. Here you have all the flavours and...

Laborie in Paarl, acclaimed for its Cap Classiques, and its equally awarded range of white and red still wines, as well as a layered fortified wine, have been cleaning up with multiple awards in 2022. Notably, Laborie Chenin Blanc 2022 attracted a coveted Platinum...

I have been drinking KWV brandies all my life. Great value, superb quality and unwavering reliability. Being called House of Fire is such a quirky touch! The annual Veritas Wine Awards are renowned for being one of the most prestigious wine and spirits competitions in...

  The top 10 SA Sauvignon Blanc wines have just been announced. A panel of leading wine experts chose the 10 from 161 wines submitted during the prestigious 2022 FNB Sauvignon Blanc SA Top 10 competition, the only one devoted solely to SB wines.    ...

  Tokara’s Reserve Collection Cabernet Sauvignon is the overall champion of the 2022 Veritas Awards clinching the Duimpie Bayly Vertex trophy, the top accolade awarded by South Africa’s premium wine competition. Crowned the best of the more than 1 300 wines...

The brand that emanated from a small town on the longest wine route in the world, Robertson Winery, has turned 80. In celebration of this significant milestone, the company has released The Blend, a wonderful example of wine from the valley best known for its horses,...

    Boplaas has again been selected to feature among the line-up at the exclusive Cape Winemakers Guild (CWG) Auction over the weekend of September 30, with no less than two wines among just over 50 selected for inclusion. All wines in the showcase are rare and...

    With the passing of the legendary Giulio Bertrand, one had to wonder what was the future for his equally legendary estate Morgenster  in Somerset West. Over the past two years, behind closed cellar doors and in the historic Manor House, the Morgenster...

Some of the best taste buds in the country have been busy tasting hundreds of wines in 21 categories for this year’s Veritas Awards.  The awards are now in their 31st year and very important in setting benchmarks for the industry.   The tastings concluded on the 16th...

        When someone tastes 2282 wines from 433 wineries you have to think they have some help. Nevertheless, MW ---Master of Wine-Tim Atkin’s is THE report everyone waits for with eager anticip….ation.  His tenth South African Report ( 6...

  Pinotage--the uniquely SA grape--is a cross between the robust Cinsault (known as Hermitage in SA then) and the finicky Pinot Noir grape. One would have thought that it would have inherited the best of both parents. But as is so often the case this is not so....

  Chenin Blanc (also called Steen in SA) is the Madonna of the wine industry, continually proving that it can be all things to all people, and reinventing itself at the snap of a finger. Almost 19% of South Africa’s vineyards is planted with Chenin Blanc vines,...

  One can always rely on the people at Tokara to come up with something that is really extra special and goes way beyond what one expects.   This prestigious family-owned Stellenbosch wine estate has just released the 4th cuvee of their magnificent Cap...

    Nederburg in Paarl is the only winery from South Africa to achieve the top honour for Cabernet Sauvignon at the 2022 The Drinks Business Global Cabernet Sauvignon Masters in the United Kingdom, with the 2018 vintage its Private Bin R163 Cabernet...