De Grendel is a sprawling farm on the outskirts of Durbanville owned by the Graaf family. Farming activities have always included cattle, sheep, grain crops but when Sir David Graaf settled here, he saw the potential on the farm for wine and immediately started planting...
First Sightings wines are made at the Capes most southerly winery called Strandveld, situated in between the village of Elim and Cape Aghullas. Only eleven kilometres from the Atlantic ocean their vineyards enjoy the benefits of having a cool climate assisted by the fresh on...
In 1988 Gyles and Barbara Webb of Thelema Mountain Vineyards, Stellenbosch, bottled their first wine, a Sauvignon Blanc. The wine received immediate recognition as one of the finest Sauvignon Blancs to have come from this region and the rest is history with their superb range...
Receiving an invitation to attend the annual Novare SA Terroir Wine Awards is always a highlight on my calendar as each year it is a pleasure to taste so many excellent winning wines selected by a credible panel of judges. Now in their eighth year, the...
A visit to Franschhoek is always a special occasion and although it ‘s only an hours drive from Cape Town the tranquility and beauty of the area makes you believe you are much further away…almost in another country! One of my visits several years ago...
Well known for producing exceptional quality wines and ports is the Overgaauw Estate, outside Stellenbosch. The farm, which is over a century old, has been owned by the van Velden family for four generations who during this time have been producing award winning wines from...
De Wetshof Estate outside Robertson has a history dating back to 1949 and today is owned and managed by Danie De Wet and his sons, Peter (winemaker) and Johann (marketing). Over many years, the estate has built up a reputation for producing a range high quality...
Too often we see talented wine makers moving from one winery to another as they are “poached” with the lure of a better package elsewhere. But does this job hopping from one farm to the other really enhance the skills of a winemaker in the...
The year 2007 saw the first wines released from this delightfully enterprising winery which nestles in the sheltered Banhoek valley above Stellenbosch. Almost immediately after release the wines were sniffed out by the critical wine fraternity and hailed as the new kid on the block and...
Groote Post Vineyards started producing wine 13 years ago and as a result it is no wonder that they have become a formidable winery in the Darling wine district on the Capes West Coast. Looking back to their entry in the 2000 edition of The...
