The Namaqua West Coast is arguably most famous for its annual season but for those who venture off the beaten track to visit throughout the year, the region consistently ranks as a hidden gem.
The Black Cellar Club (BLACC) is a young organisation with a mission to share the story of South African wine.
The Cape’s wine farms are best known for being the intersect of tourism and the business of wine. They also are essential for education and training, as the Black Cellar Club (BLACC) has shown since its establishment in 2016.
Several WWF Conservation Champions farms promote and support the conservation of the threatened Cape mountain leopard, setting an example of environmental protection in the wine industry.
In the Middle Ages wax seals were used to authenticate documents. South Africa’s own sustainability wine seal does a similar job. The seal guarantees that the information on the bottle label about the variety, vintage and origin of the wine is accurate and that the wine has been grown and made in an environmentally friendly way. To date, South Africa is the only country in the world with such an all-encompassing guarantee.
National Women’s Day commemorates the march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria of 20 000 women on August 9, 1956 to petition against Apartheid pass book legislation. The march was led by Albertina Sisulu, Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa and Sophia Williams.
It changed South Africa and demonstrated the power of women in a society dominated by male voices in authority. Many of these ripples are still felt across society, including winemaking.
Several prominent events are about to put South African Chenin Blanc back in the spotlight. Clifford Roberts gives a brief rundown of the excitement driving the variety.
If there’s a Ground Zero for South African wine, it must be chenin blanc. Few varieties have tracked our history from the start, become as ubiquitous and emerged as a shining light.
The significance of looking at it now? June 17 is #DrinkChenin Day.
Agriculture and activities like the making of wine is often a family affair, as the stories of many of South Africa’s winemakers reflect. Marking Father’s Day this month, Maryke Roberts asked some of them to be re-told.
Father’s Day is said to have its origins in America, where it has been celebrated for the past 108 years.
Everywhere, the world is re-discovering The Beatles wisdom that “all you need is love, love is all you need”.
This transformation amid tragedy that sees us draw loved ones closer may even conceivably consign the traditional day or month of love to the history books.
Nonetheless, it’s worth reflecting on a few of the many wineland love stories because after all, wine will continue to be love’s most faithful companion.
If you come to South Africa, you should certainly celebrate your visit with a glass of Pinotage, our very own wine, “born” in South Africa over 80 years ago. Pinotage was developed by Abraham Perold, the first Professor of Viticulture at Stellenbosch University. He crossed the delicious Pinot Noir grape with the Cinsaut variety in an experiment designed to increase its yield and disease resistance.
The world celebrates the Malbec grape on April 17, the 12th occasion it has done so since the special day was inaugurated.
The point was initially to promote the Argentinian excellence with a variety that originated in south-west France but has become a star for the South Americans. It has subsequently become an opportunity across the world to cast light on the variety itself.
Like every cosmopolitan city in the world, Cape Town offers a wide array of restaurants – French, Italian, Greek, Indian, Thai, Mexican and more. However, our best restaurants are invariably those that celebrate what the Cape uniquely offers- our proximity to both sea and farmlands, which means the freshest of produce, and cooking traditions that are based on the use of spices, cooking with fire, pickling and preserving.
Mosbolletjies are a quintessential South African treat. Traditionally made with grape must (fermented grape juice) following the annual wine press, the sweet scent of mosbolletjies filling the air is a welcome announcement that the first grapes of “parstyd” in the Winelands are harvested. They’re soft, sweet and incredibly hard to resist!
One can hardly mention Darling without mentioning Evita Bezuidenhout, or Tannie Evita as she is affectionately known by South Africans. The former stateswoman owns the local railway station and has a whole boulevard in the quaint town named after her.