HOW TIMES have changed since the days when wine lovers regarded Alvi’s Drift as a producer of sweet Muscat – a good one, but little else from the Alfalfa estate and dairy farm. Decades later, they still offer a lovely dessert wine, however the Worcester outfit has become known mainly for good-value reds and whites at around R100 a bottle
THE SWARTLAND Survivor Pinotage had impressed for quite a while before the appointment of Pierre Wahl as cellarmaster in January 2022. So much to look forward to in due course with ‘The Pope of Pinotage’ now in charge. After four years at the Friedman family’s Môreson cellar in Franschhoek, followed by 20 years at Neville Dorrington’s Rijk’s wine estate in
COGNAC, ARMAGNAC, CAPE BRANDY… An acquired taste, some would argue. Thrice as strong as most red and white wines. Aqua vitae, the water of life! Distilled wine, in basic terms, but in its finest form a wonderful spirit savoured in sips. And those bottles… Medicine for the soul! Originating in the vineyards, as they do, the brandies of South Africa
STILL AVAILABLE at the time of writing on 17 August 2022: REALLY GOOD REDS UNDER R100 Brink Family Pinotage 2019 R90pb from Pulpit Rock cellar, Riebeek West. Finalist in Top 10 Pinotage Competition. MAN Skaapveld Syrah 2020 R85pb ex-cellar, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch. 97/100 at Trophy Wine Show. Windmeul Shiraz 2020 R70pb ex-cellar, Paarl. Finalist in Shiraz SA Challenge. REALLY GOOD WHITE UNDER
OF THE FIVE Worcester wineries that qualify for the South African Cellar Classification, one has made a success of a flagship range associated with places outside the district. The most established of Overhex proprietor Gerhard van der Wath’s Survivor wines, the Pinotage and Chenin Blanc, are made using Swartland grapes harvested over 100km away, as is the Syrah. The Survivor
EVEN WHEN IT comes to the Top 100 Cellars on the various wine routes of South Africa, not all of them are open to the public for tastings and sales all week, all weekend, i.e. including Sundays. See below for those that are, what their Sunday trading hours are plus links to the various destinations should you wish to make
CLEARLY as inflation takes its toll, compounded by the impact of wine producers in the Cape asking for prices more in line with what their direct competitiors in other top wine-producing countries are getting, it’s becoming increaingly challenging to find the good stuff at under R100 a bottle. We’re talking wine good enough to impress the critics on a panel,
THERE WERE A NUMBER of familiar labels among the ‘Best in Class’ and ‘Wine of the Year’ laureates that shone in the 2021 SA National Wine Challenge, but nobody could have anticipated the identity of the overall red wine champion. A newcomer from the Koelenhof Winery, The Legacy 2017 is the first (Cab-led) red blend in the premium ‘Stellenbosch 1679′
THREE CHENINS recommended in the 2020 Uber Value SA wine guide are also to be found in the 2020 SA Wine Classification, which makes them particularly attractive! The thing is, over the past 10 years they’ve been greeted with good to very good reviews time and again, the latest top ratings and awards following a number of others for a
THESE ARE the South African wines most highly rated in 2020, contenders for the title of SA Wine of the Year! Or should that be Winery of the Year, or Winemaker of the Year? Clearly some reviews count more than others. On the other hand, it says a lot when a wine wows more than one panel of experts
SA WINE LOVERS might struggle to remember a time – not so long ago – when there was only a single bottle of note from the Alvi’s Drift cellar in Worcester: a Muscat de Frontignan, a small bottle and in small quantities, but a fine example and one of South Africa’s Top 10 fortified dessert wines to this day. In
WHAT a lovely line-up of champions in the Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge. Not one from a cellar in the Swartland, Bot River or Paarl in 2020… But hey, two wines from Worcester winery Alvi’s Drift, a first-time winner in this competition convened by the Chenin Blanc Association of South Africa. And while Stellenbosch didn’t dominate, four cellars from
THE VAST majority of entries at the annual Concours Mondial du Sauvignon 2020 were from the 2019 and 2018 vintages, but there was a South African that stood out for being way older than most: vintage 2012 of the Delaire Graff Coastal Cuvée Sauvignon Blanc, made using a combination of grapes sourced from the districts of Durbanville, Stellenbosch, Darling and
WHO COULD possibly argue with the Pinotage Association when they promote South Africa’s red wine ‘calling card’ with biltong as a ‘perfect pairing’. What’s not to like! And having been behind a number of Pinotage & Biltong Festivals in Paarl and elsewhere in the country over the years, the Association stepped things up a notch in 2019 with the
ALBERTUS VILJOEN was the founder of Worcester farm Alvi’s Drift back in 1928: charismatic, athlete, Springbok rugby player of note. Bismarck was Alvi’s Great Dane: superior in stature, commanding respect, providing a friendly welcome to visitors. And the red blend named in honour of the man and his hound is among the ‘ultra premium’ offerings from Alvi’s Drift: multiple award
NO DOUBT affairs of one sort or another will be sparked during Wade Bales’ wine and whisky whirls in South Africa’s capitals. Love is in the air, and it’s that time of year when the Cab Franc producers of the country converge. There are plenty of occasions to contemplate in May 2019, whether you’re in Cape Town, Durban, Franschhoek,
WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE about the 2018 Stone White blend from Stettyn Family Vineyards, between the mountains on the road between Villiersdorp and Worcester. Won the 2018 Ultra Value Wine Challenge, a double gold blend of Chenin and Sauvignon Blanc, less than 13% Alc, only R39 a bottle from the cellar door! Homestead dating back to 1777. Acquired by the
ONE OF THE three most topical wines of the Breede River Valley during the first half of 2018 originates half in Robertson, half in Worcester… From the South African wine region that stretches southeast of Tulbagh and Ceres to Bonnievale, northwest of Swellendam, comes the sparkling wine judged best Cap Classique at the National Wine Challenge. Celine Brut NV, which
THERE WERE around 600 wines judged at South Africa’s National Wine Challenge 2018 convened by Robin von Holdt’s Buybetterwine.com. The judges comprised chairman Greg Sherwood (UK Master of Wine), Ginette de Fleuriot (Cape Wine Master), sommelier Wayve Kolvesohn, with winemakers Duncan Savage, Matthew Day of Klein Constantia, Richard Kershaw (Master of Wine) and JD Pretorius of Steenberg. Sommelier Higgo Jacobs was
