The final day of my Elgin vintage experience 2017 was spent with biodynamic winery Elgin Ridge. This is a film of the day: We went to the vineyards where Sauvignon…
Elgin vintage experience 3, Almenkerk
Day 3 of my Elgin harvest experiences was at Almenkerk, hosted by owners Joris van Almenkerk and Natalie Opstaele. They are great fun and have a really thoughtful, scientific approach…
Elgin vintage experience 2, Paul Cluver
Paul Cluver is the pioneering wine farm of Elgin. Dr Paul Cluver, a leading neurological consultant, planted vines here in 1987. ‘Everyone thought we were crazy,’ he said, because at…
Elgin vintage experience 1, Iona
The first day of my vintage experience in South Africa’s Elgin region was spent at Iona. I was with Werner Muller, the winemaker, for the day. Iona have three properties:…
In Elgin, South Africa, day 1
I’m currently in South Africa’s Elgin Valley, which I visited last October for the Chardonnay Symposium. I’m here to experience vintage with four different producers: Iona, Almenkerk, Paul Cluver and…
Gamay focus 27: Lapierre Morgon 2009
I was given this wine to taste blind. It’s always interesting to try things without any clue what they are. I really liked it immediately, but it also tasted a…
The wines of British Columbia, Canada: diversity and purity
This seminar at the Vancouver Wine Festival looked at the diversity of wines coming from British Colombia, and followed on from a previous session focusing on some more of the…
Video: the Mornington Peninsula wine region
I’ve just published two films on my Mornington Peninsula adventures, with an introduction to the region. The two parts go together, and feature many of the key winegrowers who have…
Niepoort’s Clos de Crappe: an unusual, remarkable wine
You can’t put Dirk Niepoort in a box. He’s not your standard winemaker. Who releases a wine called ‘Clos de Crappe’ with the description ‘technically a disaster’? (See above from…