What I Drank Last Night

The fifth annual Top 10 Sauvignon Blanc competition will be held under the auspices of the producer organisation known as the Sauvignon Blanc Interest Group now that originator Wine magazine is no longer.  Sponsorship is provided by First National Bank. Judging takes place on 27, 28 and 29 September with me chairing the panel and [...]

Earlier today the Cape Winemakers Guild facilitated a blind tasting of the wines to be sold at this year’s auction by a group of local wine journalist, the venue being Nitida Cellars in Durbanville. Those participating included Tim James of The Mail & Guardian and Grape.co.za, Angela Lloyd of Grape.co.za, Cathy Marston of Food24.com, Neil Pendock [...]

Yesterday a tasting convened by Angela Lloyd for an article on the age-worthiness of modern-era South African wines to appear in an upcoming issue of WineLand. Two flights of seven wines, the first and the second red. We tasted blind with scoring done according to the 20-point system. Here’s how I rated the wines: WHITES [...]

When colleague Angela Lloyd asked me to nominate my top 100 wines in South Africa as part of a survey for the Grape.co.za website, I took the liberty of including Perdeberg Chenin Blanc on the basis that there are few wines that are more reliable in terms of providing satisfying everyday drinking. In December last [...]

A funny day. Before the onset of the annual Sauvignon Blanc Interest Group seminar, fellow local wine writer Angela Lloyd asked me in front of visiting high-profile UK critic Jamie Goode if I read high-brow journal The World of Fine Wine. I had to confess I didn’t and somehow felt inadequate. The publication is hugely [...]

This year’s Blanc de Noir and Rosé tasting to be reported on in the December issue of WINE magazine has attracted 110 submissions compared to 108 in 2009. The panel is Howard Booysen of Howard Booysen Wines, Michael Crossley of Reciprocal Wine Trading Company,  wine writers Angela Lloyd and Fiona McDonald and me. Last year’s [...]

Judging of the Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Semillon and Viognier categories  to be reported on in the November issue of WINE magazine was completed earlier today. The panel consisted of Ginette de Flueriot of Wineworx, KWV winemaker Johann Fourie, wine writer Angela Lloyd, restaurateur Jonathan Steyn and me.  WINE journalist Jeanri-Tine van Zyl officiated as an associate judge. [...]

This year’s Chardonnay tasting to be reported on in the November issue of WINE magazine has attracted 173 examples (28 unwooded and 145 wooded) submissions compared to 150 (19 unwooded and 131 wooded) in 2009. The panel is Carrie Adams of Johannesburg retailer Norman Goodfellows, wine writer Angela Lloyd, Woolworths wine selector Allan Mullins, JD Pretorius, [...]

Tasting my way through wines to be rated for the 2011 edition of Platter’s, I’ve come across one or two that I think might be in the running for the guide’s ultimate accolade of 5 Stars. The way that Platter’s works is that all wines are tasted sighted (labels exposed), except for those nominated for [...]

Wine writer Neil Pendock has once again posed some provocative questions concerning the state of the South African wine criticism  in two of his recent columns (see “Are SA wines really getting better?” and “Is wine appreciation generationally dependent?”). Pendock seems to be advancing a postmodernist perspective by rejecting the notion of progress (specifically he [...]