Another Food Blog (Free subscription) | 08/25/2008
It is a South African wine, a blend of 80 percent chenin blanc and 20 percent chardonnay, with 13.5 percent alcohol. Furthermore, it was on sale at half price and ready chilled, so it looked worth a try. I was serving chicken, so it seemed right for the occasion, too. There’s almost [...]
The Independent (Free subscription) | 08/16/2008
Last time I brought up the subject of South African wine, I promised to follow up with the results of the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show I was involved in in May and an update of the source of the problem flavours found in some Cape reds. After a series of reports of rubbery and singed characters identified in certain South African wines as possibly, but not conclusively, affected by vineyard virus,...
jamie goode's wine blog (Free subscription) | 08/11/2008
Two wines tasted tonight. It's the 'C' and 'M' pair from high-end South African venture Vilafonte. This is a joint project between Mike Ratcliffe, Phil Freese and Zelma Long, aimed partly (I suspect) at the US market, which so far has been quite resistant to South African wine. You can read more about the project at Vilafonte's excellent website , which also includes some video content. To supplement...
Bostonist (Free subscription) | 08/07/2008
When it comes to South African wine, John Hafferty, co-owner of the Braintree wine shop Bin Ends , has a lot to say. But when it comes to teaching people about the region, he keeps it simple. "For most folks," he said, "they want a quick overview. They want to make sure they're not drinking wine from apartheid or fascist types." Hafferty lectured on the subject at last week's Ivy League Wine College...
Decanter.com (Free subscription) | 07/29/2008
A London restaurant with a welfare-to-work training programme will highlight wine as part of the trainees' curriculum in South Africa.
Avenue Vine (Free subscription) | 07/08/2008
Bruce Jack, the founder of Flagstone wines and the broker of the biggest international investment to date in the South African wine industry, has been named Wine Personality of the Year at the first Financial Mail Wine Business Awards held last night at Gallagher Estate in Johannesburg. Sponsored by Nampak and Wiegand Glass, the Wine Personality of the Year award is presented to one person who has...
All Africa (Free subscription) | 06/25/2008
The South African Wine Industry Trust (Sawit) had spent hundreds of thousands of rands on administration, travel, entertainment and consultants over the years but ran out of funds to undertake its core mandate, Parliament's public accounts committee heard yesterday.
IOL (Free subscription) | 06/14/2008
Claims by UK wine critics that some of our red wines have a nasty aroma aren't being taken with a pinch of salt by the South African wine industry.
The Pinotage Club (Free subscription) | 06/05/2008
Leading South African wine writer Neil Pendock has become a wine maker. He writes in his Johannesburg Sunday Times blog "Having bought Lemoenfontein, a modest wine farm on the Paardeberg, last year, I decided to make the most traditional wine I could from ancient bush vine Pinotage grapes growing on the farm’s steep slopes. The wine was fermented using wild yeasts and matured in third-fill French
The Independent (Free subscription) | 05/24/2008
For a wine to give out a distinctive flavour or character is normally seen as a plus. Not in the case of wines from the Cape. The talking point in South African wine right now is an unpleasant off-odour and taste in some bottles – described variously as burnt rubber, rhubarb or sun-dried tomato. No one knows what it is, but you know it when you see, or rather, smell and taste, it.
The Pinotage Club (Free subscription) | 05/15/2008
Pinotage is the favourite South Africa wine with California consumers. Nielsen figures show that Golden Kaan's Pinotage is the top selling South Africa wine in Northern California grocery outlets*. “When we first came into this market, people told us that selling South African wine would be near impossible, that Californians are too loyal to California wine,” says Erik Ran, Senior Vice
Serious About Wine (Free subscription) | 04/16/2008
South African wine produced and supplied by Orange River Cellars for the Beijing Olympics. Gilysipao literally translates into Good Luck Wines. Comments packaging designer Vanessa Fogel: “China is a very difficult market to design for as they are extremly literal, with colour playing a vital part in their culture, and many colours are [...]
jamie goode's wine blog (Free subscription) | 04/13/2008
I know golf is hideously uncool, but I like it. Each year, I watch the Augusta Masters, which is the first major tournament in the calendar, and because of the time difference is pretty convenient for evening viewing over here in the UK, glass in hand. Even though we've had a family bash here for the last few days, I've managed to see most of the BBC coverage. Tonight it's the final round, and in honour...
Cheap Fun Wines (Free subscription) | 04/02/2008
VARIETAL: Chenin Blanc REGION: Stellenbosch, South Africa PRICE: $11 It has been a while since I've brought home a South African wine. I don't know why that is. I adore South African wines and this one is the perfect...
Karen's Blog (Free subscription) | 03/22/2008
I just opened a bottle of Porcupine Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 which I purchased from Sainsbury for £6.99. The wine is from Boekenhoutskloof in South Africa. I was browsing the South African wine section at Sainsburys and I must admit my attention was caught initially by the bottle because it has a picture of a porcupine on it. The blurb on the back of the bottle says very little about the wine...
