MANY WHO love South African wine have dreamed about but never managed to arrange a stayover in the Eastern Cape town of Graaff-Reinet (or Nieu Bethesda) for the annual ‘Stoep Tasting’. It’s become so popular, with tickets selling out and accommodation booked up weeks in advance… so in demand that this year the organisers have doubled up and there are
Read moreTHE TOP South African wine events taking place from July through August 2023 begin with a focus on Portuguese varieties and styles in Stellenbosch and wind up to the Cape Winemakers Guild Showcase tastings at the International Convention Centre in Cape Town and the Nedbank Atrium in Johannesburg. Event highlights in July include Caroline’s Red Wine Review at the V&A
Read more“A fun, engaging and educational way to learn…” That’s how David Clarke of Ex Animo describes his wine school – a new extension to his boutique-wine business in Woodstock, Cape Town – that will kick off in July with a course about ‘The Basics of South African Wine’. Entertaining, no official acreditation, no exams, four midweek evening sessions. “By the
Read moreALMOST EVERYBODY who’s anybody in the vineyards of Constantia was on the billboard of exhibitors expected to be serving their Sauvignon to wine lovers at Workshop 47 in Rosebank JHB in the first of two evening events this May. The notable no-show being Constantia Uitsig, an estate that’s not a member of the local wine route although one of THE
Read moreTHE MICHELANGELO wine tastings at Southern Sun’s Rosebank Hotel (JHB) and Garden Court uMhlanga (DBN) in April/May are appealing. Although the timing is rather unusual… Now into its 27th year since the inaugural Michelangelo Awards in 1997, the judging at the biggest competition of its kind in South Africa tends to take place around July/August, with the results announced in
Read moreSOUTH AFRICA’S wine bars of note! Are there any others that make the cut? Where else across the length and breadth of South Africa… other than at the tasting rooms on the farms themselves… where else is wine the main focus of attention when it comes to what’s in your glass? Places that are unique in their raison d’être, where
Read moreIT’S WINE FESTIVAL time in Gauteng province SA: Corks & Forks at the Idlewild Country Estate in Olifantsfontein / Irene south of Pretoria on Saturday 25 March, the Johannesburg Cap Classique & Champagne Festival at the Inanda Polo Club in Sandton on both the 25th and Sunday the 26th. Both events are billed as classy and sophisticated, Corks & Forks
Read moreNEW ON THE SA Wine Calendar are the Stellenbosch Fine Wine & Food Festival and the Elgin Wine Fair, but also happening in August are a number of annual events that are as popular as ever: the Free State Wine Show in Bloemfontein, Robertson Slow, the CWG Auction Showcase tastings in Cape Town and Johannesburg as well as the Mercury
Read moreTHE WINE CELLAR, Wine Menu, Caroline’s, Tops at Spar and the Institute of Cape Wine Masters have lined up tastings aplenty to look forward to in Johannesburg, Stellenbosch, Cape Town and PE this month. It’s also Bastille Festival time in Franschhoek, there’s Soetes & Soup on the menu in the Breedekloof and, having established a fine reputation at The Old
Read moreMULLING OVER results of the inaugural Strauss & Co Fine Wine Auction in Johannesburg, waiting to hear feedback and comment from the organisers Wine Cellar and Sommelier Higgo Jacobs, there’s a fair bit to ponder. 78% of the 183 lots sold for R1.3m in total, the items ranging from single bottles to 12-bottle cases. “We think it’s a great start,”
Read moreSA WINE lovers are spoilt for choice in June 2019 – so many shows, fairs and festivals to choose from, all around the country. Juliet Cullinan, FynArts, Wacky Wine Weekend, Trophy Wine Show – and the first auction of fine rarities to be hosted by Wine Cellar, Strauss & Co and Sommelier Higgo Jacobs. 4 & 5 JUNE
Read moreTHE CATALOGUE has been published; the countdown has begun. The first Fine South African Wine Auction by Strauss & Co, Wine Cellar Fine Wine Merchants and Sommelier Higgo Jacobs is set for 8 June 2019 in Johannesburg – with Cape Town next up come September in what will become an ongoing programme of interest to wine investors and hedonists. “The
Read moreYOU MIGHT well wonder why Rustenberg Peter Barlow was excluded from the line-up for Winemag.co.za’s 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon report, i.e. given the wine’s great track record over the past 10 years, given that it was scored 5 Stars in the 2014 edition of the report and then chosen as the international judges’ overall favourite at this year’s Trophy Wine Show. You might also wonder
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