My first day in the cellar at Gabrielskloof was a busy one. This cellar is shared by Peter-Allan Finlayson (who makes Crystallum wines, and also Gabrielskloof, his wife Nicolene’s family…
Some lovely South African whites: Crystallum, Gabrielskloof, Momento, Thorne and Daughters
My first night in South Africa began well. I’m staying here 11 days, working vintage in the cellar at Gabrielskloof, a space shared by four of South Africa’s most interesting…
Arcangeli, an exciting new addition to the South African wine scene
Arcangeli is an exciting new addition to the South African wine scene. The home of this project is a farm on Bot River that used to be called Freiteras Vineyards….
AA Badenhorst Dassiekop Steen, a thrilling South African Chenin
I’ve spoken of my love of Adi Badenhorst’s Dassiekop before: it’s one of my favourite Chenins. I brought a bottle to New Zealand and shared it with friends. It was…
Eben Sadie shows his wines and describes his philosophy (with video)
[Eben Sadie, in a suit, in the glam surroundings of the Lanesborough Hotel in London. Fortunately even these can’t keep him down. He was his usual thoughtful, opinionated self. He…
Video: in Elgin for the Chardonnay Colloquium
Here’s a film from my recent visit to South Africa’s Egin wine region for the Chardonnay Colloquium:
Lunch at the Short Market Club, Cape Town
Had a brilliant lunch experience today in Cape Town, at the Short Market Club. It’s a newish restaurant that’s an offspring of two of Cape Town’s most celebrated eateries, the…
Elgin Chardonnay Colloquium: Elgin versus the rest of the world, a blind tasting
This was very interesting: as part of the Elgin Chardonnay Colloquium, we did a blind tasting with 21 different wines, pitching Elgin’s finest against some international benchmarks. Michael Fridjhon and…
Elgin Chardonnay Colloquium: tasting 16 Chardonnays from 2016
This weekend is the second instalment of the Elgin Chardonnay Colloquium, and as part of yesterday’s proceedings, we tried 16 different wines from the 2016 vintage. This is a warmer,…