What I Drank Last Night

Haskell II 2009 is the new red in the range from the Stellenbosch property where Rianie Strydom is winemaker and at R160 a bottle is aimed at the punter who wants to have the Haskell experience but might find Aeon Syrah 2008 at R290, Pillars Syrah 2008 at R400 and Bordeaux blend IV 2007also at [...]

Yesterday the launch of Haskell Anvil 2010, the maiden vintage of single vineyard Chardonnay from this Stellenbosch property where the accomplished Rianie Strydom is winemaker.  This wine involved multiple pickings from 17° through 23° Balling in order to achieve the broadest possible flavour spectrum and winemaking was done so as to preserve primary fruit and [...]

As featured in the August issue of Business Day WANTED: Is Aeon Syrah from Stellenbosch property Haskell Vineyards doomed always to be discounted both in terms of price and reputation against Pillars Syrah from the same property? Both wines have immediately instated themselves as among the best examples of the variety in South Africa but [...]

In a nifty piece of product placement, Stellenbosch winery Haskell Vineyards announced today that its wines have been chosen to be served at the wedding of Prince Albert II of Monaco and Charlene Wittstock, a former South African Olympic representative. The wedding ceremony will take place in July this year. According to the media release, [...]

We all know Spain won the World Cup this time around, and Italy won it in Germany four years ago. But who were the runners up? Holland will be remembered as 2010 losers and I can just about recall that Germany and Uruguay were in the play-off for third place this year but I have [...]

With the 2010 WINE magazine Shiraz Challenge set to take place next week, panel member James Pietersen and I decided to do a calibration exercise. We also invited Rianie Strydom, winemaker responsible for the Dombeya and Haskell labels, who agreed to include some of her pretty smart Shiraz that she has made recently. We tasted [...]

“It takes 20 years to become an overnight sensation,” says Grant Dodd, general manager of Haskell Vineyards. In which case the Stellenbosch property owned by Preston Haskell, an American businessman based in Moscow is tracking well. The maiden-release Pillars Shiraz 2007 has straightaway emerged as a local benchmark winning gold at the Old Mutual Trophy [...]