What I Drank Last Night

This year’s white blends tasting to be reported on in the November issue of WINE magazine has attracted 131 submissions compared to 95 in 2009. The panel is Carrie Adams of Johannesburg retailer Norman Goodfellows, Diemersdal winemaker Thys Louw, James Pietersen, beverage manager for Balducci’s and Belthazar restaurants, Cape Wine Master Meryl Weaver  and me. [...]

It’s indicative of how gracious my wife Jane is that she let me go off to a Pinotage tasting followed by a (long) lunch this past Women’s Day. The venue was Belthazar restaurant at the V&A Waterfront and also involved were godfather of the variety Beyers Truter of Beyerskloof, as well as James Pietersen and [...]

For a pretty wide spread of wine scores, check out how the Steenberg Shiraz 2008 did in this year’s Global Trader Shiraz Challenge convened by WINE magazine: I gave it 14 on the 20-point scale, Carrie Adams of Johannesburg wine retailer Norman Goodfellows 14.5, James Pietersen, beverage manager for Cape Town restaurants Balducci’s and Belthazar [...]

Judging for the 2010 Amorim Cork Cap Classique Challenge to be reported on in the October issue of WINE magazine was completed yesterday. This year’s competition attracted 78 submissions compared to 70 in 2009. For the first time in the competition’s nine-year history, the panel featured two international judges, namely Hervé Dantan, Chef de Cave of [...]

This year’s Bordeaux-style red blend tasting to be reported on in the September issue of WINE magazine  has attracted 115 submissions compared to 123 in 2009. The panel is myself, Ginette de Fleuriot of Wineworx, Charles Hopkins, winemaker at De Grendell in Durbanville, Bernard Le Roux, winemaker at Noble Hill in Paarl and restarateur Jonathan [...]