News

During the winter months, before the new growth starts, one of the most laborious and important activities in the vineyard is winter pruning. Mature vines left unpruned can become a tangled mass of growth, with grapes vying for sunlight and space, with no berries giving their best. Here in the southern hemisphere, pruning takes place during the months of June to September. Correct pruning methods ensure a robust vineyard, with optimum growth, healthy berries - and the bottom line, which is a great wine in the glass. 

The judging is complete, preparations for the awards function at Cavalli Estate in Somerset West on 15 August are in full swing and wine lovers are looking forward to seeing which of their favourites among the Top 20 finalists are considered by the panel of experts to be the best of the best in the 2018 Absa Top 10.

Thanks to the dry season and the complexity contributed by three months lees contact as well as the addition of 10% Semillon, the 2018 La Motte Sauvignon Blanc has a sumptuous, full palate. While its refreshing character supports Sauvignon Blanc’s popularity as an aperitif-style wine, the intricacy of this vintage, brings sophistication and ensures versatility.

"This year marks the fiftieth vintage for Simonsig, and we look back on and celebrate 50 great years of bottling and labeling our own wines in our own cellar. This is also the fiftieth year of consecutive Chenin Blanc vintages – quite and achievement, if I may say so myself!"

At the 13th annual Novare SA Terroir Wine Awards the many terroirs in the Cape Winelands which create great wines were highlighted. The 23 National Winners of cultivar wines, blends and wine styles come from 14 wine terroirs from across the winelands.

The third annual Signature Red Blend Report is now out.

68 entries were received from 54 producers for this year’s competition. These were tasted blind (labels out of sight) by the three-person panel, scoring done according to the 100-point quality scale.

Wine lovers, take note: South Africa is on its game for white wines! The country’s whites are now deserving of every wine consumer’s attention, not least for the excellent value they have to offer.

As James and I tasted through almost 500 wines from the country in May this year, we could not help but be amazed as one outstanding flight followed the next of chenin blanc, chardonnay and even sauvignon blanc.

Since making Cederberg their home in 1893, the Nieuwoudt family have cultivated and protected the unforgiving, but beautiful Cederberg region. The idea for the new label was to design a crest that represents the history of the five generations of Nieuwoudts that have lived in the Cederberg.