This month
has seen the opening of what one could call the Wine-tasting season and wine
events are the main focus, along with a memorial for a lady who was a doyenne
of fashion, fine dining, wine and, in her special way, history. Enjoy the
experiences! We did
The Trophy Wine Show Judges' Feedback Session at the Grande Roche
The Trophy
Feedback session was held this year at Grande Roche, where it was held several
years ago. Grande Roche has been through a renovation. This is where we hear a
report back about the judges' findings after tasting the various categories of
wines, but we are given no information about the brands as they are all tasted
blind. The Feedback session is held in their conference centre. Read on….
The 2024 Investec Trophy Wine Awards at Glen Carlou
The venue
for the 2024 Awards was Glen Carlou estate near Paarl on the road to
Franschhoek. Several good Cap Classiques were on offer as we arrived. Canapés
and bubbly were served in the Art Gallery which gave us all a chance to admire
the art and chat to friends. Head Judge and originator of the competition
Michael Fridjhon welcomed us and got things going. Read on….
Wine Concepts Grape Escape wine festival at Moyo, Kirstenbosch
Michael Bampfield Duggan of Wine Concepts' annual tasting of
unusual varietals really appeals to us. Our winelands are becoming more
diverse; it's where we have to go if we are to grow and prosper. while Global
warming takes its toll of traditional vineyards worldwide. And we love tasting
diversity. However, this was a huge tasting of many different wines so, sadly,
we could only manage to taste a selection of them. There were so many tempting
white wines that, regrettably, we could only taste a very small sample of red
wines. It was held, this year, at Moyo Restaurant at Kirstenbosch. It is a
superb venue, wide and spacious and accommodating all the farms comfortably who
wanted to show off their diversity in wine. It was raining and the mountain
streams were in full spate when we arrived. Read on….
The 2024 Decanter Awards - South African Gold and Silver Medallists
The results of the 2024 Decanter Awards competition have
been released. 530 South African wines earned medals. Of these, two were
awarded Best in Show, 1 Platinum, 28 Gold, 220 Silver and 282 Bronze. There are
many wine competitions, several in South Africa, but this is one of the most
highly respected and it judges the wines blind against their peers from all the
wine-producing countries. While respecting their opinions, it must be
remembered that all wine judging is subject to many influences - emotion,
atmosphere, personal prejudice, national pride and taste preferences.... Some
of the results in the table below tally quite closely with results in South
African competitions such as, most recently the Investec Trophy Wine Show, and
others have quite large differences. That is the nature of the beast. Read on….
The 2024 Concours Mondial. Gold and Silver medals awarded to SouthAfrican wines
The Concours Mondial de Bruxelles Is an international wine
competition which has run since 1994. Judging is done by more than sixty panels
of five to six tasters over three mornings. The International panel of tasters
comprises more than 300 full-time wine industry professionals of whom three
were from South Africa in 2024 – Carrie Adams of Norman Goodfellows, WOSA
Communications Manager Maryna Calow and Jean-Vincent Ridon who is Head
Sommelier at the South African Sommeliers Academy. Judging is blind with the
only information given to the tasters being the vintage. Four categories of
wines are judged separately: Red & White Wines, Rosé Wine, Sweet &
Fortified Wine and Sparkling Wines. The Concours’ primary ambition is to single
out wines of irreproachable quality offering a truly pleasurable drinking
experience, wines from across the globe and all price points Read on….
Siris trade wine tasting at the Mount Nelson
Trade tastings are coming thick and fast this year, with
little time to recover! But we love what we do and this is always a chance to
catch up with our winemaker friends and meet new ones. The Siris Trade tasting was
held this year in the Mount Nelson Ballroom. We arrived early as Lynne had to
attend another event that evening. Read on….
Raath Promotions trade wine tasting at The Winchester
This is the time of the year when many wine, beer and spirit
trade tastings take place and we enjoy tasting the new products, vintages and,
usually, something new. The Raath Trade tasting took place at the Winchester
Mansions in Sea Point; a good venue for this. Read on….
Tasting the wines of Oldenburg
An invitation to visit and taste the wines at Oldenburg from
Stefan Reinmuth, their Private Client Manager and head Sommelier, was quickly
accepted. The farm is in Banghoek, eight kilometres from Stellenbosch, on the
road to Franschhoek. To quote them "Off the beaten track, a winding road
leads deep into the Banghoek Valley. Our unique location benefits from the
confluence of 8 Natural Elements, creating a distinctive terroir and allowing
us to make wines that truly reflect their Place". We know they produce
wines of quality that are often awarded and it had been a while since our last
tasting on the farm with winemaker Nic van Aarde, shortly after he had he first
joined them. Read on….
Le Riche Reserve Cabernet Tasting at Upper Union Restaurant
The Le Riche Vintage tasting was held at new venue to us, in
Upper Union Street, just off Kloof Street in Oranjezicht. Christo Le Riche is
very happy with the new vintage and invited us to taste its wines and some
older wines from Le Riche. It is always a treat, as they really do know how to
make the very best of Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon. Read on….
Gathering in memory of Jos Baker at Den Anker
Jos Baker was something of a polymath. Starting with a
career in fashion, she turned her love of food, wine and décor into a long,
successful career as a journalist. She also had a lifelong passion of
maintaining, Klein Zoar, the historic 18th Century house she lived in. Klein
Zoar is said to have been the home of Wolraad Woltemade, a Cape Dutch dairy
farmer, who died while rescuing sailors from the wreck of the ship De Jonge
Thomas in a storm in Table Bay on 1 June 1773. Read on….
All our stories can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right
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