The refurbished Winchester Hotel in Sea Point's Beach Road
We arrived quite early, it did get nice and busy soon afterwards
Wow! a treat to see Andre van Rensburg with his own wines under the label AVR
He has already received very good scores from UK writer Greg Sherwood for his maiden white and red wines
We tasted the wooded Chardonnay, just as good as Andre can make, layered and full of future
He has already received very good scores from UK writer Greg Sherwood for his maiden white and red wines
We tasted the wooded Chardonnay, just as good as Andre can make, layered and full of future
On to Wildekrans for their excellent Chenin Blanc and enjoyable Cap Classique
It is time we visited the farm in Bot Rivier instead of steaming past it on the way to somewhere else
It is always good to see Rudi Schultz with his own label. We so enjoyed tasting his well-made and carefully crafted wines, they are very special
Lynne really loves his Boneyards Cabernet Sauvignon with a hint of Petite Verdot which rounds it off beautifully
The Skeleton Bay Chenin is very good too, the style we love
Surfer Rudi has won awards for his label designs, all named after good surfing beaches
Canetsfontein in Wellington was new to us. The farm was bought by the Falk family in 1994
They enlarged and transformed it into a diverse agricultural estate,
with organic and sustainable farming of wine, olives and fruit.
Another farm we have not visited in a long while Riebeek Valley in the Swartland
We used to sell a lot of their wines in our shop, especially their reasonably priced Pieter Cruythoff Brut sparkling wine
Having fun with others in the industry, Rui Blanco with Shirley Griffiths of Vino Pronto!
De Wet Viljoen with the Wildekrans wines
and with Chef restaurateur Giorgio Nava of Carne
De Wet's wife Annelie presented their Spijkerbessie wines, which are named after the late Duimpie Bayly's cows
The Longridge table
Talented Longridge MD, shareholder, and cellar master of Longridge Wine Estate,
Jasper Raats has turned this Stellenbosch farm into a laudable biodynamic and certified organic farm
and he is a partner in Vigneron Consulting, an international consulting business
His winemaking is ultra natural and it shows in the impressive wines
We enjoyed tasting their wines which show such attention to detail and the terroir so well
A new release is the Longridge 2024 Cuvée Blanc Eclectic 1.2
Groenland wine estate is in the Bottelary area of Stellenbosch, where Chenin Blanc grows so well
Owner winemaker Piet Steenkamp also grows high-end Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Merlot
The Steenkamp Old Bush Vine Chenin Blanc is really well crafted
Eenzaamheid farm (Dutch for “solitude”) is situated in the Agter-Paarl
The name refers to its isolation from Cape Town, when it was named in 1693
Janno Briers-Louw, 7th generation farmer, produces award winning, handcrafted wines from the old dryland vineyards
If you want to see history, watch this film of the historic farmhouse
And then go and visit the farm, as we intend to do
Peter Falke wines are grown and made on Groenvlei Farm,
up the Annandale Road on the slopes of the Helderberg Mountains in Stellenbosch
Their red wines do very well in competition and they do have a good Muscat d'Alexandrie
Good to see Wim Braak, the sales and marketing manager, behind the table
Winemaker Narina Cloete of Blaauwklippen showing her wines
She makes a good range of modern wines on this ancient Stellenbosch estate
Alvi's Drift is in the Scherpenheuvel ward of the Worcester Breede River valley
They produce award-winning Chenin and Sauvignon blancs, Cabernet, Shiraz, Merlot and Pinotage and Bubblies,
on this large 410 hectare diverse terroir farm
Good to see Alvi's wife Junel, a Cape Wine master, whom we see often at award ceremonies
Some canapés to balance the wines and line the tums
Carmen Stevens Wines was established in 2020 with her maiden vintage in 2014
She was the first black South African to study the art of winemaking in SA
and in 2019 she registered the first black owned winery in SA in Stellenbosch
She sources fruit from a range of grape-growing regions with exceptional vineyards,
enabling them to celebrate the array of soil types of South Africa
A wagtail having a drink at the fountain in the courtyard
The doorway to the sunset boulevard of Sea Point's Beach Road
All the stories we have produced since 2012 can be opened from the archive list near the top of the column on the right of this page
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Gerardo Matos Rodriguez (1897-1948)
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
