The Parks Winery: Home brew
The Parks Winery may sound rather posh, but it’s actually a space previously known as “Stuart’s garage”.
A hair-raising experience at Boekenhoutskloof
At the foot of towering mountains in the remotest corner of the Franschhoek valley lies one of the most successful wineries in the Cape.
Not a vintner of discontent
If the idea that happy employees make for delicious wines is true, it’s no wonder that Meerlust is on top.
Honest Spanish reds with no hint of Tretchi quaff
One of the world’s iconic pieces of kitsch is coming to Cape wine country.
Cabernet franc polishes up Cape’s burly blends
South African winemakers have a wonderful love affair with the concept of blending, especially this Bordeaux blend.
Vineyard visionaries break new ground in the Cape
Cape wine continues to develop in exciting ways. A recent visit to the Hemel-en-Aarde area proved that fact to me once more.
I see your chunky syrah, and raise you an elegant shiraz
You like shiraz? You got it — in volume. Some call it syrah and much under both names is good, some very good indeed.
Brangelina's first 6 000 wine bottles sell out
Hollywood star couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie can hardly be accused of cashing in on their celebrity to sell the wine from their France estate.
Italian Mafia blamed for wine spillage
One of Tuscany's finest red wines is now a lot harder to find after vandals broke into the producer's cellar and emptied 80 000 litres on the floor.
SA's best wines on a Platter
The latest guide to South African wines might have some flaws, but it sets an international standard.
Simple shiraz blends make for drinking comfort
Shiraz-based blends that are not too complicated but fresh and delicious are my own "house red".
Bursting the bubble
What is it about bubbles that prompt so many people to forget that the wine containing them is often either acidic or insipid?
Judging top 100 is an exercise in futility
The first of this year's wine competitions announced its results last week and there have been the usual responses from the wine-chattering class.
Those weren't the days in Franschhoek
The past is a foreign country peopled with incomprehensible beings. Or, in this case, it is different winelands from those we know and perhaps love.
Raise a glass of the Cape's finest to our top 20 wineries
South Africa's winemaking industry is evolving and only eight producers who were top of the pops in 2001 still cling to eminence.
Good value is just one aspect of a rising star
Finding good value is not always straightforward.
Enjoy a fine seat on the fruity lower rungs
On the bottom rung of the wine ladder and worrying about it? Drinking Four Cousin and sure there must be more to alcoholic sophistication than this?
Too much plank and you get plonk
Sometimes ambitious winemakers seem to use a sad bit of illogic, assuming that if a little of something is good, a lot must be better.
