Tag Archive | "South African wine"
Merlot: centre stage or sideways? Plus a benchmark example
Yesterday I discovered that “Merlot is the most popular red varietal, with 64% of UK regular wine drinkers opening a bottle”* (and presumably drinking it!) So it would seem things have moved on since The Sunday Times said of the film Sideways “Oscar winner knocks sales of merlot wine sideways.” Timely, because yesterday’s stand out [...]
Continue reading...A starry night: Albert Kennedy Trust South Africa tasting
Posted Tuesday 8th March 2011
This Thursday, for the fourth year in a row, I’m presenting the annual wine tasting and dinner for the Albert Kennedy Trust at the offices of SJ Berwin solicitors in the City. The Trust does sterling work supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans homeless young people and Wines of South Africa are very generously supporting the event this [...]
Continue reading...Calling Bath and Bristol – top tasting of Tokara & Thelema wines & it’s free!
Posted Saturday 5th March 2011
A heads up for dwellers of Bath, Bristol and thereabouts. On Tuesday 8th March Thys Lombard from Tokara and Thomas Webb from Thelema will show 14 wines at at Great Western Wine. These South African Stellenbosch-based estates are in their prime and the wines well worth getting to know. Stellenbosch is very much the Cape’s Cabernet Sauvignon capital so [...]
Continue reading...March Wines of the Month: Hamilton Russell Chardonnay 2009 & Raats Cabernet Franc 2007
Posted Tuesday 1st March 2011
A dynamic duo from the Cape this month, the first of which is on deal at Majestic at the mo! Hamilton Russell Chardonnay 2009 (Hemel-en-Aarde Valley) This consistently impressive South African Chardonnay was one of five Chardonnays from around the world which made the cut for the Sommelier Journal’s Top Releases of 2010. Its tightly structured [...]
Continue reading...Curry and the Cape: a South African wine tasting at Tamarind
Posted Wednesday 23rd February 2011
Monday’s Sip & Savour South African wine tasting at Michelin-starred Indian restaurant Tamarind was a great success. The wines perfectly showcased the Cape’s strength in diversity, the food was terrific and, though spicy food can prove challenging for wine, we enjoyed some fine matches – the white wines really came into their own. Aperitif With its passionfruit [...]
Continue reading...Wine Relief – a couple of Cape crusaders
Posted Monday 21st February 2011
Today I’m presenting a Sip & Savour South African wine lunch at Tamarind restaurant so, with the Cape in mind, here are two top tips which form part of Marks & Spencer’s Wine Relief range – Villiera Traditional Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2010 and Charles Back Barbera 2008. Buy a bottle and M&S, bless their cotton socks, [...]
Continue reading...My top five wines of the year: South Africa
Posted Friday 31st December 2010
The end of the year is nigh so, first, thank you for reading and may I wish you all the very best for the New Year. And, to conclude this week’s high fives for each of my areas of focus, today, it’s South Africa’s turn. You’ll find my top five wines of 2010 below (in no particular order). And [...]
Continue reading...High fives: Platter’s South African Wine Guide 2011 launches with a record breaking 58 five star wines
Posted Friday 19th November 2010
In Tuesday’s blog about Julien Schaal Mountainside Chardonnay 2009 (here), I mentioned that the roster of top Cape Chardonnays is creeping inexorably upwards. Well that’s as nothing compared with the leap in five star wines featured in Platter’s South African Wine Guide 2011. When I first visited South Africa in 2004, the guide featured 17 five star [...]
Continue reading...Back to the future: South Africa a decade on, plus seven great Cape 2010 releases
Posted Friday 29th October 2010
I spent yesterday immersed in Cape wine, not literally of course, but almost! First tasting (2010 releases), then a seminar (South Africa – a decade on), finally a winemaker dinner in honour of Lynne Sherriff MW, one of the first two South Africans to become a Master of Wine in 1993, who was recently appointed Chairman of the [...]
Continue reading...Navigating the Cape’s vinous heaven on earth
Posted Sunday 17th October 2010
I’m not sure if it’s still true, but South Africa certainly used to be the UK’s favourite long haul travel destination. Given Cape Town’s proximity to the wine lands, it gave wine sales a boost when I worked at Oddbins in the City. Keen to hold onto the experience for that bit longer, freshly returned travellers would zip into the [...]
Continue reading...Cabernet: too damn polite or just classy? And some great Cape examples.
Posted Tuesday 31st August 2010
Pictured is the august reading room at the South African Embassy, London, venue for Wines of South Africa’s July Taste the Earth tasting at the South African Embassy. It’s a serious looking environment and one absolutely well suited to showing Cabernets. I say that because one of my favourite quotes about Cabernet comes from Californian winemaker [...]
Continue reading...Wines of South Africa Taste the Earth highlights: Sauvignon Blanc & Sauv/Sem blends
Posted Monday 23rd August 2010
You’ll find my third regional report on Wines of South Africa’s Taste the Earth tasting here, this one focusing on Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon/Semillon blends, among the New World’s most exciting expressions of these varieties. Lomond’s two Cape Agulhas single vineyard Sauvignons, each from different soil types, showcased the “taste the earth” theme perfectly while Strandveld Vineyards Adamastor [...]
Continue reading...Pick ‘n mix – toothsome Cape sweeties
Posted Friday 13th August 2010
I love sweet wines, but I’m still guilty of overlooking them. And there was a clear and present danger that this might happen at Wines of South Africa’s recent “Taste the Earth” tasting, where they concluded a line up of some 170 wines. Fortunately, my Woolworth’s honed pick ‘n mix technique stood me in good stead! Click here [...]
Continue reading...Sijnn-ful in a good way – a bit of Portugal in South Africa!
Posted Thursday 29th July 2010
This week’s wide-ranging South African ”Taste the Earth” tasting threw up an unexpected and exciting find in the form of Malagas Wine Company Sijnn 2007. I’d not come across the label before and frankly, I’m not sure I’ve tasted a wine from Swellendam either, which is located inland, to the east of Robertson in the Breede River Valley. But what I [...]
Continue reading...High Timber!!!!!!
Posted Sunday 13th September 2009
I presented my South African Rhone blends with a twist tasting at High Timber restaurant in July, reported here. The Sadie Family Palladius 2008, the 2007 of which was voted favourite white of the night, has recently been crowned White Wine of the Year in the 2010 John Platter South African wine guide. Made by [...]
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Posted Wednesday 9th March 2011
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