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Ken Forrester Vineyards is renowned for producing wines that have received international acclaim and numerous awards, including the world’s top Chenin Blanc at the 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards for the 2021 Old Vine Reserve Chenin Blanc.

At the 2023 Wine Harvest Commemorative Event this February, Ken Forrester himself was recognised for his visionary leadership in the South African wine industry with the 1659 Visionary Leadership Award. This annual event, celebrated during the SA wine industry’s birthday month, recognises individuals and organisations for their exceptional contributions.

Ken has become known for his dedication to Chenin Blanc, which he has been championing since 1993. Despite being advised to uproot an old Chenin vineyard and plant Pinotage or Chardonnay, he decided to give the varietal a chance.

When wine is your trade and passion, it is also your reference. Recently, I have been chatting quite a bit to bakers and have noticed the similarities between bread and wine when it comes to fermentation, taste and texture. The same happens when you speak to olive oil producers and beekeepers and this week, we had a wonderful opportunity to taste honey with the same terroir as our La Motte wines. It was quite an experience.

As we are busy with renovations at La Motte estate, we found that a swarm of bees that has been living in one of the estate’s ancient oaks were becoming a danger to themselves and guests and we decided to relocate them. As we’ve been working quite closely with honey sommelier, Natasha Lyon, for a while now, we called on her expertise as well as those of Deane Woollam, an expert in removing and rescuing bees.

Dewaldt Heyns started as the Cellar-master/Winemaker/General Manager in 2003, overseeing a continuous trend of quality and success at Saronsberg!

This consistency led Dewaldt to be nominated to the Cape Winemakers Guild in 2008 - an association of some of the finest SA winemakers recognised for their high standards of craftsmanship within the SA Wine Industry.

This year, celebrating 20 years at Saronsberg and receiving recognition as one of the Top 100 Master Winemakers in the world!

Stellenbosch Vineyards has been awarded Carbon Hero status through the Confronting Climate Change Initiative, as part of Advini South Africa’s extensive sustainability drive.

The Confronting Climate Change (CCC) Initiative is a carbon footprinting project, developed to support the South African fruit and wine sectors through identifying and responding to the risks and opportunities associated with carbon emissions. The Carbon Heroes carbon footprint label and website were launched at the end of 2021 to recognise wineries for meticulously calculating their carbon footprint and responding to improve emissions.

The CCC audit evaluates carbon emissions, including electricity, processing inputs, packaging and waste.

Simonsig enters an exciting new phase with third-generation winemaker Michael Malan taking the reins as cellarmaster.

Michael Malan follows in the footsteps of his grandfather, Frans, and father Johan, who not only established Simonsig as one of South Africa's most innovative wineries, but also one of the most consistently awarded.

Michael takes on his new role ahead of this year's grape harvest with Simonsig also having made two key appointments – Danna de Jongh and Frank Slabbert.

"Danna and Frank joined us towards the end of last year, which has given us good time to prepare ahead of harvest," says Michael. "And, I'm very excited about the prospects.

Platter’s by Diners Club Wine Guide has revealed the recipients of its sought-after and esteemed pinnacle awards – the Wineries of the Year, Wines of the Year and Five Star Wines – for the latest 2023 edition. Meridian is delighted to include 34 of the prestigious Platter's 5-Star wines in our portfolio, including 6 wines of the year as well as the well-respected Winery of the Year. This 43rd edition of South Africa’s favourite wine guide features well over 900 producers, merchants and brands, including 37 new ones, and over 8,000 locally produced wines, as well as brandies, husk spirits and sherry-style wines.

Location location location. You know how the classic saying goes, and this is evident with Cederberg Cellar being in a crucial position in the Greater Cederberg Biodiversity Corridor.

For David Nieuwoudt, it is important to establish “green areas from the West Coast all the way to the South Coast”. Being in the middle of Cape Nature, it is essential to provide these Biodiversity Corridors throughout this region.

Cederberg Wines has contributed towards 5.5ha of unspoilt land as it is important for them to protect and nurture the natural habitats. As David says, “Bigger is not always better, but rather use what you have to your advantage.”

South African wine grape producers expect a good, but somewhat smaller 2023 wine grape crop following a healthy, yet dry season. This is according to the first of four crop estimates issued by viticulturists and producer cellars.

“At this very early stage the net decrease in the estimate is mainly attributed to all our growing regions that have experienced a drier season, except for the Northern Cape which has had its own difficult environmental conditions during and after the harvest,” says Conrad Schutte, manager of Vinpro’s team of viticulturists who issue the crop estimates with the industry body SAWIS. “Poor flowering and set in various areas, together with the uprooting of vineyards, also contributed to the decrease in our estimate for the 2023 harvest.”

La Motte invites you to JAN Franschhoek, an exceptional food and wine experience presented from a charming historic cottage, the Veepos, right in the middle of the Franschhoek Valley’s most picturesque lavender fields. Based on the popular TV series, JAN RSVP, this seasonal culinary encounter shares a nostalgic story with food as told by South Africa’s first Michelin-starred chef, Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen.

JAN Franschhoek’s team includes a culinary collective led by JAN Group Executive Chef Antro Davel and Head Chef Anzette Klynhans operating under Jan Hendrik as Culinary Director.