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...

  Every now and then you drink a wine that reaffirms what the Greeks used to think—the gods are drinking this! Such a wine is the spectacular Paul Sauer from Kanonkop. An annual highlight in the South African wine calendar, the new release of Kanonkop Estate’s...

  While France swelters in one of the hottest summers on record—41 degrees in the Languedoc—and while we luxuriate  in the pleasures of a Cape winter and the best red wines in the world right on our doorstep now is the time for the release of La Motte’s 2019...

    A well-known SA wine writer recently published a piece referring to “the stigma attached to the Robertson Valley” which totally floored me. Am I missing something here? Robertson has some of the finest wine makers in the country. Think of places like De...

  At the top of the mountains above False Bay lies an enchanted valley--strange but true—a valley so high up one can almost feel part of nature at its best. The Elgin Valley has been home to the Cluver family for many years and has been turning out fabulous wines...

  In the "old" days , whenever we travelled internationally , we couldn't wait to get on the SAA 747 to order a glass of iconic Roodeberg, which at that time was not available in SA, so precious was it. Now the legendary red blend that has stood the test of time...

  Picture this. No, not Sicily 1926, but London May 2022. Gathered there are experts from all over the world to judge the finest wines the planet has made. There is a team from SA as well, led by our own indefatigable Fiona McDonald. This is the Decanter World...

Brookdale Chenin Blanc Single Vineyard 2020 is definitely on my table  to celebrate #DrinkChenin Day on Friday 17 June, having just made history scoring gold in the 2022 Decanter Awards, the world's largest and most influential wine competition. It was one of four...

    Boplaas Family Vineyards is back in the limelight for the outstanding quality of its wines after being named one of the top producers at the authoritative National Wine Challenge. For receiving Double Platinum at the show, no less than two of its wines...

When the people at Nederburg launch a new red wine they aren’t kidding around. Makers of some of the finest red wines in SA—indeed in the world—it is always an event. The newest creation was launched at a spectacular lunch under the venerable oaks in front of their...

Visitors to Vergelegen wine estate might think they’ve tasted a little too much of its delightful wine when they spot a zebra sub-species that was hunted to extinction about 150 years ago. Their eyes aren’t deceiving them, however, as this Somerset West estate, which...