What I Drank Last Night

It is curious to me how one particular producer can be a front-runner in a particular category for a while and then seemingly get overtaken by other producers who deliver wines even more impressive and aesthetically pleasing. Stellenbosch farm Simonsig enjoyed significant success with its Merindol Syrah in the mid-2000s, the 2000 vintage winning double [...]

With my sweetheart and me both feeling disinclined to fulfil grocery shopping duties for supper last night, we debated how best to dispense with the various soon-to-expire items in the fridge: broccoli-based stir fry vs. bratwurst with broccoli vs. pasta with chicken and mushroom in a cream-based sauce. I was soon sautéing the onions, followed [...]

Van Zyl Du Toit, who joined Allée Bleue as winemaker in July 2009 after almost twelve years at Simonsig is a fund of pop-cultural aphorisms. “Plan the dive. Dive the plan,” he says, quoting former boss and Simonsig cellarmaster Johan Malan. Allée Bleue which is situated on the outskirts of Franschhoek was acquired by Wilfred [...]

Alc 15.3% RS 2.1 g/l TA 6.2 g/l pH 3.42 Matured in 77% French and 23% American oak for 23 months, 100% new. Tasting note: Intense black in colour. Initially closed on the nose but opens in the glass to reveal red and black fruit. Very concentrated on the palate with fresh acidity and firm [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

It was my wife’s birthday yesterday and being a woman of healthy appetites, she opted for a celebratory lunchtime steak. HQ restaurant and bar situated on Heritage Square in the Cape Town city centre was the destination. Here the menu is limited to a salad followed by a sirloin steak with café de Paris butter [...]