Santam partners with La Revue Du Vin De France and the judges of the competition are:

Christophe Durand

Owner of Vins D’Orrance.

Marc Friederich

Owner of  Chez Marc’s restaurant, Paarl, Western Cape.

Patrick Landanger

Owner and winemaker of the Domaine de la Pousse in Burgundy, Cote d’Or.

Laure Gasparotto

French journalist for the magazine Le Point and Figaro. Wine Writer.

Claude Gilois

French wine importer. Owner of Vins du Monde.

Germaine Lehodey

General Manager of Aquila Private Game Reserve.

Jean Yves Muller

Co-owner of Caveau and Headquarters restaurants.

Olivier Poels

Editor/Journalist RVF

Miguel Chan

Deluxe Brands Sommelier for Southern Sun Hotels.

Pieter De Villiers

C0-owner of Domaine Mas Angel in Faugeres.

Philippe Dietrich

Winemaker/Director of Michael Partzold Wine Services (Pty) Ltd.

Denis Garret

Chef sommelier export at Gefimag Chateau Peyrat Fourthan.

And all of the winners are:

SANTAM CLASSIC WINE TROPHY – OVERALL WINNER

Warwick Wine Estate

BEST WHITE WINE TROPHY

Hoopenburg “Integer” Chardonnay 2006

BEST RED WINE TROPHY

Vriesenhof  Pinot Noir 2007

BEST SWEET WINE TROPHY

Klein Constantia Vin De Constance 2005

GOLD MEDALS – WHITE WINES

Hamilton Russell Chardonnay 2009

Rudera Chenin Blanc 2008

Villiera Traditional Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2009

Vriesenhof Chardonnay 2009

GOLD MEDALS – RED WINES

Cederberg Shiraz 2008

Chamonix Greywacke Pinotage 2007

La Motte Shiraz 2008

Oal Valley Pinot Noir 2008

Reynecke Reserve Red 2007

Rietvallei Esteana 2007

Sumaridge Pinot Noir 2008

Veenwouden Classic 2006

Warwick Trilogy 2006

GQ CHOICE AWARDS

Hoopenberg “Integer” Chardonnay 2006

Sumaridge Pinot Noir 2008

Reynecke Reserve Red 2007

La Piccola Ristorante

The ambiance is relaxed and casual with Italian music played in the background. Children are welcome here and families form a large part of the clientele especially on Friday evenings. There is a small lounge area to relax in with a glass of wine or cappuchino. Tables spill out onto the terrace where views of Muizenberg Mountain form the backdrop.

Oliver’s food and the wine list are what make La Piccola special. A small but quality wine list has something on it for everyone and there is a full bar facility. What drew me back after the first visit is that wine by glass is either The Goatfather, Italian cultivar blend, or Buiten Blanc from Buitenverwachting. At other local pizzeria’s, wine by the glass turns out to be an undrinkable fourth run blend, so La Piccola’s offering is a huge improvement. Having said that, more wines by the glass should be on offer since this is easily accomplished with a can of argon gass on hand. One squish into the open bottle and the wine keeps for weeks so there can be no wastage.

A seemingly difficult request for other pizza establisments to fulfill is to make my pizza 

Gnocchi with asparagus and gorgonzola, seafood pizza

with only about 25% of the cheese. Oliver customised my pizza by removing all cheese and replacing with a few bocconi.  This was arguably the most delicious pizza I’ve had since I was in Italy. On top of that the cost of the cheese was deducted from the bill and we only paid for the mozzarella. My difficult to please significant-other, raved about his seafood pizza.   

La Piccola’s contact number is (27) 21 7013589

Email: reservations@lapiccola.co.za

Old Cape Wine Festival 2010

Here is the press release:

The one-day festival will see the largest gathering of wine producers and enthusiasts in the Far South ever. Visitors will be treated to the ultimate tasting experience with the opportunity to sample over 100 of South Africa’s best known wines. Over 20 wine producers – including some of South Africa’s most reputable and award-winning labels – will be there. These include Lazanou, Diemersfontein, Springfield, Teddy Hall, De Wetshof, Badenhorst, Cape Point Vineyards, Groot Constantia and Klein Constantia.

 

Every corner of the Cape Winelands map will be represented, including Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, Robertson, Wellington, Constantia and the West Coast. Every cultivar grown in the Western Cape is also expected to be showcased, so there is definitely something for everyone. All of the wines available for tasting will be on sale at special festival prices at the Old Cape Wine Shop, while stocks last.

 

Tickets will be on sale on the day at just R40 per person tasting. This includes a wine glass, unlimited wine tastings and sumptuous food tastings. There will also be live music, scenic surroundings to relax in and entertainment for kids. Visitors are welcome anytime between 10am and 5pm and additional parking will be made available on site. There is also a Free Range Coffee Shop and restaurant for those who would like to include a delicious meal. The Blue Water Café offers fresh free range food, stunning views and a great kids’ entertainment area, so booking is essential (021 783 2007).

Adi Badenhorst

 

Organiser of the Festival and owner of the Old Cape Wine Shop, Rael Abramowitz, said: “We are very excited about the amazing response we have had – both from the wine producers attending and from the many people who are very much looking forward to enjoying the wines, the food, the music and the atmosphere at the Old Cape Wine Festival. It’s great to be able to put on a wine festival of this size in the Far South. We have many local wine enthusiasts who can now enjoy a great day out locally. With Kommetjie only being a 35 minute drive from the City Bowl, we are also looking forward to welcoming our city neighbours who will no doubt relish this leisurely day out in the country.”

Date: Saturday 6th March 2010

Time: 10h00 till 17h00

Where: Imhoff Farm, Kommetjie Road, Kommetjie

 

For more information about the Festival, call 021 783 50 54 or visit www.ocws.co.za. For more information about the many other attractions at Imhoff Farm, visit http://www.imhofffarm.co.za

 

 

Kanonkop Estate

One of the premier Cape Town wine farms, Kanonkop bottled for the first time in 1973 and continues to gather awards - like three top International Wine and Spirit Competition 2009 placings. They were Winemaker of the Year for Abrie Beeslaar, Best Red Blend for the Paul Sauer and Best South African Producer overall. 

Wade Bales Wine Society and Cyber Cellar are the sole suppliers. The philosophy behind this exclusivity is explained by the estate co-owner, Paul Krige:

This wine is a highlight in Kanonkop’s history since the release of our first label in 1973. The first allocation to our two negocients will be 600 bottles with the next tranche of 400 bottles released a few months later once the market has determined the value of the wines.

With two negocients controlling the supply and demand, they will be able to buy back stock from willing sellers to sell on to parties willing to pay a higher price. This secondary market which the South African wine industry needs more of so as to establish itself as a producer of really premium wines, will open up a totally new set of dynamics in the wine industry, as well as create an appreciation for, and collectably of fine local wines. 

Neethlingshof's magnificent avenue of stone pines

Over the years, modern farming techniques have discouraged the prevalence of owls and farmers have been reluctant to use chemical means to control them. Now farm management has noted that owls hunt by swooping on their prey from high positions so have erected tall owl posts where the mice cause the most damage. As a result the numbers of mice have decreased considerably.  Neethlingshof Estate is now linking the narrative of the return of the owls to wine marketing by naming a single-vineyard pinotage, The Owl Post.

A local wild cat, the caracal (rooikat), is also seen to be making a comeback. These beautiful mammals used to be prolific in the area until the middle of the last century when loss of habitat and natural prey reduced their numbers. There are indications that caracal have started breeding in the densely wooded areas around the granite hills on the farm possibly attracted by the large flocks of guinea fowl.

The flagship Bordeaux blend of the estate, Laurentius, is now named The Caracal to celebrate this victory for conservation.

Neethlingshof Estate is one of many Cape Town wine farms that are intent on conserving the unique Cape flora and fauna found is this part of South Africa.

How can a wine judge, having been shown the height of hospitality by a particular winemaker in as far as being flown in a private jet to the winery and entertained there, remain impartial? If they believed it, would they be able to report that the wines are not up to standard?

It must be very difficult to do and would surely be construed as unmannerly behaviour.

If the wine turns out to be superlative and the critics write rave reviews, then would many people not doubt that outcome considering the lavish hospitality bestowed upon the writers/critics/judges?

How can this catch 22 scenario be avoided?

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

www.constantiafresh.com

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. 

 The new 350 gram glass bottles have been designed for screw cap closures, which account for over 65% of South Africa’s wine production. Meanwhile, the average weight of bottles sealed with corks has been reduced in weight from 570 grams to 460 grams, according to Birch.

According to Consol Glass, South Africa’s leading bottle manufacturer, until 2006 the average weight of a 750 ml non-returnable wine bottle was 516 grams, which by last year had dropped to 437 grams, a decrease of 15%. The new lightweight bottle will bring down the average still further.

 Birch added that alternative wine packaging, such as the wine pouch offered by the important export brand Arniston Bay, had also been welcomed in many export markets. South African bag-in-box wines are also particularly popular in Scandinavia. 

 ’On the face of it, one solution might be to ship more of our wines in bulk directly to their export destinations for off-shore bottling’, said Birch. ‘However, this poses a major problem in that many jobs would be lost during what must rank as the worst recession in current memory. Last year over a million jobs were shed in the formal sector, forcing many further millions of South Africans into a state of dire poverty.’

 She said the wine industry body, SA Wine Industry Information Systems (SAWIS), had calculated that for every 10 million litres of wine shipped in bulk, just over 107 jobs would be lost. ‘This figure does not even factor in the multiplier effect that such job losses bring. It has, for example, been reported that for every one of Unilever’s direct jobs in South Africa, another 22 workers depend on the company for at least a part of their livelihood. This is an indication of just how crucial each job is to a developing economy such as ours.’

 The wine industry currently provides direct employment for nearly 276,000 people, she said.

 Last year, South Africa exported 389 million litres of wine. Of the total, less than half – 150.5 million litres – was exported in bulk. ‘Fortunately, the volume of bulk exports dropped 18% in 2009, compared with the year before, whereas packaged exports rose 7% over the same period. This is not only good for individual brands and for jobs but for the quality standing of Brand South Africa.’

While bottle recycling programmes have been endorsed in South Africa in recent years,  the focus is now on introducing lightweight wine bottles as well.

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.

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.

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.

Sculpture at Saronsberg

Many of the old buildings survived or where rebuilt after the 6.3 Richter scale earthquake in 1969. Our weekend accommodation was one such Cape Dutch house built in the H shape with reed ceilings 4 meters high.

Just 90 minutes drive from Cape Town, this beautiful and fertile valley is almost completely surrounded by mountains; the Obiqua, Witzenberg and Winterhoek ranges. There are extreme variations of day and night temperatures here which together with the mountainous terrain creates different meso climates beneficial to the vineyards. The isolated effect created by the mountains allows many of the vineyards to be farmed organically such as Tulbagh Mountain Vineyards.

It's hung like a mule!

By far the most impressive farm we visited was Saronsberg Private Cellar . In 2003 under the guidance of winemaker Dewaldt Heynes, the cellar was established. His passion is clearly reflected in the magnificent wines he crafts like Shiraz 2006 which is one of the best expressions of the cultivar that we have tasted. Dewaldt, in an audio interview, describes his wines as big but elegant. Shiraz is where his focus lies as the quality of the grape in the Tulbagh Valley is amazing.

Wines from this cellar which also impressed us are:

Saronsberg Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Saronsberg Full Circle 2007

Saronsberg Seismic 2006

Nick & Forti’s Epicentre Red 2006

Nick & Forti’s Viognier 2008

Provenance Shiraz 2007

Saronsberg tasting room is an ultra modern space on different levels housing a fantastic collection of art works including a piece by William Kentridge and works by Norman Catherine.

6th January 2010

(4th Item on the menu)

Breast of Gressingham duck, fondant potato, roast butternut squash, thyme jus.

Hawequas, Mont du Toit 2006, Paarl

(6th Item on the menu)

Dark chocolate pithivier, coffee bean custard.

Noble Late Harvest, Kia-ors, Kanu, 2004, Stellenbosch

Mont du Toit is owned by Stephan du Toit, a Johannesburg based advocate and is in the Wellington ward of the Paarl wine district. Sadly, the 

Atrium restaurant

Hawequas is for export only, which precludes us wine locals from enjoying it. It is a cabernet sauvignon blended with 5 other varieties in the 2006 wine.

Kia-ora, Noble Late Harvest 2004 is an outstanding, botrysised desert wine made from chenin blanc. The winery is the acclaimed Kanu in Stellenbosch.

South African wines acheived the largest increase in UK market share in 2009 (10.4% of market to 12.3%, off-trade by volume)

South African category grew by 24% in value and 23% in volume for the same period

South Africa’s market share is only 0.1% behind France which is in decline

Exports to the UK were up 14% by volume, maintaining the UK’s position as the leading export market for the South African wine industry accounting for 32% of total global exports

Success from South Africa’s top brands helped to drive the category: First Cape, Kumala, Arniston Bay and KWV all grew significantly

There was an uplift of 15% by value above 5 pounds, a 27% increase above 7 pounds and a 43% increase above 10 pounds   

On the Wines of South Africa website, CEO Su Birch makes the observation that there had been a year on year global increase of 7% for South African packaged wine exports in 2009 compared with a drop of bulk sales of 18% . This is seen as positive trend and could an important stage in the evolution of the South African wine industry.

Wine corks

Strong growth in packaged South African wine exports last year were to Sweden (18%) and Canada (11%) as well as to Japan, Nigeria, Angola and China. The Netherlands, US and German markets had remained unchanged but Denmark had shown a decline of 5% which was partially offset by increased exports to Finland and Norway.

As described in an earlier post on this blog, chenin blanc is the most planted and most versatile grape in South Africa and the wines range in price from super economical everyday wines priced at about R30.00 ($4) to R260.00 ($36) for the more elegant chenin styles.

Listed here are the four and five star winners. For the complete awards list, please visit Wine Mag.

Best Value Chenin Blanc

Kleine Zalze Cellar Selection Bush Vines 2009

Best Unwooded Chenin Blanc

Simonsig 2007

Best Wooded Chenin Blanc

Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection 2008

Best Chenin Blanc Overall

Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection 2008

Five star awards

Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection 2008

Four and a half star awards

Kanu KCB 2006

Graham Beck Bowed Head 2008

Simonsig Chenin Avec Chene 2008

Four star awards

Forest Hill, Fort Simon 2008

Fort Simon 2008

Simonsig Woolworths Limited Release Chenin 2008

Stellenrust 44 2008

Spier Private Collection 2008

Land of Hope 2008, The Winery of Good Hope

The FMC Forrester Meinert Chenin 2007