Three days. Seven judges. 145 South African Chenin Blancs. It was the second year of the new look Standard Bank Top 10 Chenin Blanc Challenge, and I had been invited…
Some wine with Ken Forrester
Had dinner with Ken Forrester and tried a few of his wines. Ken is the dude. Ken Forrester Petit Pinotage 2014 Stellenbosch, South Africa So impressed with this: inexpensive and…
Fun with Ryan and Samantha – Skurfberg, Jamet, Silvervis et al
So Ryan Mostert and Samantha Suddons, of new winery Terra Cura, popped round. They brought with them a couple of boxes of wine, so we sat, tasted and drank. Some…
Gamay focus, 5 – Radford Dale Thirst Gamay Noir
There’s not much Gamay in South Africa – just 13.3 hectares planted. It’s for this reason that Alex Dale wasn’t keen for me to reveal to the world the location…
The Breedekloof Chenin Blanc initiative
Before this tasting Breedekloof was totally off my radar. So it was great to catch up with three Breedekloof guys, Pieter Cronje, De Wet Lategan and Attie Loew to hear…
In South Africa, day 1, two exciting new wines – Patatsfontein and Haarlem to Hope
I’ve been in South Africa for one afternoon and a sleep, and already I have much that I want to report on, but for starters I will talk about two…
Three from South Africa
Had three interesting South African wines last night. Here are my notes. Two were served blind (Cartology and Blank Bottle). Cartology 2013 Western Cape, South Africa A blend of Chenin…
Franschhoek, the final day
The last day in the valley. It began with another run with Kevin and Gary. The same 6.5 km route taking us out to the monument, then round past Mr…
In Franschhoek day 4, Petite Ferme, the AGP guys, and Foliage
Day four in Franschhoek started a little sluggishly. It was raining hard at Glenwood, where I’d been staying, so a 3 am bedtime plus the precipitation put paid to rather…