South African high end retailer can barely do a thing wrong with Alan Mullins heading up the company’s wine division. The Longmarket range continues to delight with quality wines at everyday prices like the Wet Rocks Sauvignon Blanc 2009 selling for only R34.95 ($4.5).
Wet Rocks Sauvignon Blanc 2009
Notes of granadilla, peach and pineapple tantalize and on the palate, the perky lime refreshes.
For sultry, summer Cape Town nights this is a lovely thirst quencher.
Tags: Alan Mullins, Cape Town, sauvignon blanc, Woolworths
As reported in the South African media and on Jordan Wine’s website, wine farms like Zevenwacht, Saxenburg and Jordan in Stellenbosch as well as De Grendel in the Tygerberg wine district, are under the threat of mineral prospecting on their lands.
Threatened dwarf chameleon found only on Jordan farmlands
Stop Mining the Cape Winelands
2010-02-25
African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation (AEMFC) has applied for prospecting rights for tin, zinc, lead, lithium, copper, manganese and silver on the farms Annex Langverwacht 245 (which includes Saxenburg, Jordan, Langverwacht and Zevenwacht Estates), Haasendal 222 and the remaining extent of Rosendal 249. The Department of Mineral Resources has provisionally accepted these prospecting rights.AEMFC is state-owned and funded by the Central Energy Fund. It has been exempted by the Minister of Minerals and Energy from many provisions of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act in regard to prospecting rights, mining rights and mining permits. According to the Chamber of Mines these provisions normally require applicants to submit environmental management programmes and to consult with interested and affected parties.
To date, many of the landowners and most of the interested and affected parties have not been consulted nor received notification regarding the above prospecting rights and possible mining activities.
Meeting to be held at Zevenwacht at 10h00 on Saturday 27th February 2010:
A meeting of concerned residents as well as interested and affected parties has been called by Mr. Gary Jordan of Jordan Wine Estate, which will take place at the Conference Centre at Zevenwacht Estate at 10h00 on Saturday 27th February. All interested and affected parties are welcome to attend. None of the farmers and landowners affected as well as their employees in the surrounding area wish the prospecting and mining activities to go ahead. Not only are these farms all members of the Bottelary Renosterbos Conservancy, but they do not wish to see their vineyards and farmland being bulldozed or disturbed in any way. Mining activities would inevitably impact on tourism while the lowering of production and quality of wines from the wine estates in the area would result in the loss of farming jobs. Property values in the surrounding area would decrease.
For more information regarding the meeting, please contact 021 – 8813441 or follow our Facebook page, STOP Mining the Winelands. Were adding new information every day and appreciate any support from the public.
Tags: Cape Town, Jordan wines, mining, Saxenburg, wine, Zevenwacht
May Eliane de Lencquesaing formally owned Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtess de Lalande, in the Pauillac appellation of Bordeaux, France. Although, she acquired Glenelly Stellenbosch, in 2003, the formal opening of the estate has been delayed until the 2008 vintage wines, which were crafted solely from grapes grown on the estate, have been released for sale.
Glenelly Estate
An environmentally sensitive 600 ton cellar, created by Swiss, French and South African architects was completed last year. Some of it’s features are that fewer chemicals are used to clean tanks because water at high temperature does the job and under-floor cooling cuts energy costs. The cellar structure blends into the Simonsberg hills because of carefully coloured concrete thus minimising visual impact.
The winemaker is Luke O’Cuinneagain and Adie Badenhorst is the consultant, formally of neighbouring farm, Rustenberg. Cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot, shiraz and chardonnay are the cultivars planted here.
de Lencquesaing is quoted in Decanter.com as saying,
I now intend to spend six months of the year in South Africa. I am very keen to ensure this is a truly South African estate, not to impose too much of my Bordeaux sensibilities on to the land.
I will be running the estate and continuing with the set up of numerous social structures for the employees from estate housing to child care to education and training courses.
All of this at the age of 84 years!
Tags: Adi Badenhorst, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, Glenelly Estate, merlot, petit verdot, shiraz
The inaugural Drinks Business Green Awards ceremony was held in London and serves to highlight and reward leadership on environment, sustainability and climate change by drinks companies worldwide. Designed to raise awareness of green issues in the alcohol industry and boost the role of marketing in influencing consumer behaviour, the Drinks Business Green Awards provide a high-profile platform for companies to showcase their positive commitment to the planet.
South African players in the wine industry took center stage collecting three awards.
Inge Kotze, project co-cordinator of the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative acheived the Personality Award
for her passion, influence and determination in getting her message across in South Africa.
said Nicola Jenkin who presented the award. The BWI is a partnership between the South African wine industry and the conservation sector. The goals are to minimise the further loss of threatened natural habitat and to contribute to sustainable wine production through the adoption of biodiversity guidelines by the South African wine industry.
Backsberg Estate Cellars won the sustainability award for their care for the environment which includes attaining Carbon Neutral Status, being part of the BWI and bottling wine in lightweight bottles.
Dr Paul Cluver, Neurosurgeon and Elgin Western Cape winemaker, was the worthy recipient of the Lifetime Acheivement Award for his
energy and wholistic approach to environmental issues.
On the farm which was acquired by the Cluver family in 1896, Dr Cluver developed the first biodiversity and wine route. He is highly regarded for the establishment in 1996 of the Thandi Project a partnership between the state, the surrounding community and private enterprise with the aim of creating ownership, empowerment and a sustainable business for the community.
Tags: Backsberg, BWI, Dr Paul Cluver, Drinks Business Green Awards, Inge Kotze
One of the first South African wine festivals to feature sauvignon blanc of the Constantia Valley, regional and international producers, will celebrate the distinctive freshness of the “wild white” grape and it’s compatibility with food. The festival features four palate stimulating events which are supported by the participating producers – Constantia Uitsig, Klein Constantia, Groot Constantia, Steenberg Vineyards, Eagles Nest, Buitenverwachting and Constantia Glen. The program consists of:
Constantia Fresh 2010
INTERNATIONAL SAUVIGNON BLANC TASTING Date: Friday 26th February 2010
Time: 14h00 – 19h00
Cost: R1,500 per person
Venue: Buitenverwachting old cellar
Taste over 40 local and international wines from some of the best producers in the world, including wines from the Loire Valley in France and Marlborough in New Zealand. The tasting will be conducted by representatives from the regions and hosted by Master of Wine, Cathy van Zyl.
FINE DINING EXPERIENCE
Date: 26th February 2010
Time: 19h30
Cost: R1,500 per person
Venue: La Colombe Restaurant, Constantia Uitsig
Experience matured sauvignon blanc and classic red wines from Constantia Valley and the Loire Valley, matched perfectly with dishes from award-winning chef, Luke Dale-Roberts.
INTERNATIONAL FRESHNESS IN RED WINES TASTING
Date: Saturday 27th February 2010
Time: 11h00 – 13h30
Cost: R700 per person
Venue: Groot Constantia Production Cellar
This international tasting has the objective of exploring and showcasing the freshness found in red wines, including wines from the Constantia Valley, France and Australia.
SAUVIGNON BLANC AND FOOD PAIRING EXHIBITION
Date: Saturday 27th February 2010
Time: 15h00 – 20h00
Cost: R400 per person
Venue: Lawns of Buitenverwachting Wine Estate
30 Local and regional sauvignon blanc producers will showcase their wines alongside canapes from the top chefs of the Cape. The walk around tasting will be followed by a picnic with live entertainment rounding off the event. Expect to find producers’ wines from all of the main sauvignon blanc districts in South Africa – taste, sample and compare.
Tickets for the event can be obtained from the tasting room at Steenberg Vineyards or from Lida Van Heerden.
Tel: (27) 21 7132211
Email: lida@steenberg.co.za
Tags: Buitenverwachting, Constantia Fresh, Constantia Valley, Groot Constantia, La Colombe Restaurant, Loire, Marborough, sauvignon blanc, Steenberg Vineyards
Jancis Robinson’s informative and current website featured an article discussing South Africa’s transition to lighter wine bottles. Like many things there is the balance between reducing the carbon footprint and retaining jobs for local workers to be considered.
The article is reproduced here:
Unlike most, South Africa’s wine industry is doing rather well in terms of exports, but this presents it with a problem in its attempts to be one of the world’s most ecologically sound wine making nations and self-styled ‘leader in production integrity’.
Su Birch, Wines Of South Africa
’As we raise our export volumes of mostly bottled wines, we also increase our carbon emissions, so it becomes a delicate balancing act to enhance our sustainability profile while pushing up our output’, explained Su Birch, CEO of Wines of South Africa (WOSA), one of the leading champions of the country’s efforts to grow, make and market wines in a way that is least harmful to the environment.
The response, just announced, is the introduction in South Africa of a 75 cl wine bottle that weighs only 350 grams, which will be available this year in time for Cape wine producers’ 2010 harvest. Scheduled for a launch in mid April, these compare with an average bottle weight of over 500 grams just four years ago. Read more of Sue Birch of Wines of South Africa on lightweight wine bottles
Rianie Strydom, winemaker and general manager at Haskell Vineyards, was nominated by Jancis Robinson, OBE and Master of Wine, to be the first South African woman winemaker to attend the Wine Entre Femme gathering in Napa Valley recently.
Rianie Strydom
More than two dozen local winemakers and vintners are involved in the Napa Valley based women’s wine group which was founded by Sharon Harris of Amici Cellars. Woman winemakers from around the world gathered with leading local vintners of Napa Valley for three days of workshops, tasting, seminars and networking which culminated in a trade and press tasting representative of 5o labels. This tasting was accurately termed “the most beautiful wine tasting in the world“ by Sharon Harris.
Rianie’s selection came as no surprise as she is highly regarded for her ten years of winemaking at Morgenhof Estate as well as a vintage at Bilton Wines. One of the awards which Rianie has garnered is best New World Wine in Decanter Magazine which was decided by Stephen Spurrier. Keeping it all in the family, Rianie is married to Louis Strydom, cellar master at Ernie Els Wines after having made his reputation at Rust en Vrede.
Tags: Amici Cellars, Bilton Wines, Ernie Els, Haskell Vineyards, Jancis Robinson OBE MW, Rianie Strydom, Rust en Vrede
One of our favourite old haunts in the Noordhoek Village, Western Cape, has been bought by ex-Springbok rugby team captain and open side flanker Bobby Skinstad, so we decided to investigate.
The Toad wine list
This little tavern that could, has the atmosphere of an English country local, with an ample fireplace and seating beneath huge beams and thatch. The first delight was finding that we had arrived on a live music evening and later discovered that The Toad offers entertainment all week, including open mike sessions, quiz evenings and well known local musician performances. Not intrusive at all, the oldie numbers played created a great vibe.
At any eatery the first thing that grabs my attention is the wine list, which is so often disappointing and over-priced. The Toad offers a wide selection of premium wines from many of the Western Cape’s top wineries and the mark-up is negligible so there is the sense that we got value for money which was also carried over in the food menu.
Impressively, the menu is put together by the previous head chef, Brad Ball, who now heads up the new Bistro Sixteen82 at Steenberg Vineyards and for pub grub, it can’t get much better than this. I went for the fresher than fresh beetroot and goat’s cheese salad while my partner tucked into a perfectly cooked (no garlic, no basting, just as it fell off the cow) sirloin steak. All of this served by Aaron, our waitron, who was helpful and informative.
Find The Toad in the Noordhoek Farm Village, Noordhoek or call on (27) 21 7892973 to make a table reservation.
We are totally blown away by the quality of this inexpensive wine. This is an exceptionally smooth wine with an old world character and a steal at R37.95 ($5) . We tried it with a beautiful, underdone sirloin steak which enhanced it superbly.
Perfectly cooked sirloin steak
Partners in this venture are Tyrell Myburgh, Charles Back and Jose Conde and this is how they explain their purpose:
This MAN thing began with three friends and an idea: To make a wine that we ourselves would love to buy. Good quality, good value. Not exactly an epithany, but enough to motivate us into action. What do we name it? Keeping peace in the family we took the first initials of our wives. (We each have one wife, that is.) So that’s how we explained to Marie, Anette and Vicky that we were going to be “busy” most weekends. “It’s for you!” we told them.
Of course, we coulda just slapped another cute furry animal on the label, but thats been done. It’s time to focus again on what’s in the bottle. This is the opposite of a critter wine, this is a wine to drink with critters. Not too serious, but serious enough
MAN Vintners cab seems to have the unusual problem of high evaporation – the bottle was empty in no time, so easily did it glide down.
Tags: MAN Vintners
