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T&C wine critic Jay McInerney returns to South Africa after a 12-year hiatus and finds that the quality of the wine matches the beauty of the region. 

Last November I attended the sixth annual Celebration of Chardonnay at the De Wetshof Estate, in South Africa’s Robertson Valley. When I last visited South Africa, in 2004, I was more impressed by the beauty of its wine regions than by the wines themselves, but this time I was amazed at the progress that has been made. South African wine represents extraordinary value, and I tasted quite a few truly thrilling wines, including many exceptional chardonnays.

Anthonij Rupert Wyne has introduced another first for South Africa, a premium Provençal style rosé that pays homage to Jean Roi, the French Huguenot from Provence who pioneered the L’Ormarins Wine Estate’s 300-year-old viticultural history. 

De Grendel joins the ranks of wineries which have breached the R1000-a-bottle barrier, its Sir David Graaff 2013 selling online for R1380 bottle.

A tense final in Austria has seen one sommelier rise above rivals to be named the best in Europe and Africa.

Cape Town's culinary culture is alive and booming! The vibrant Mother City recently won first place in Conde Nast Travelers Best Food Cities in the World 2016 and is spoiled for choice when it comes to great wines as it's surrounded by award-winning wine estates.

La Motte is delighted to have the current vintages 2014 La Motte Syrah and 2016 Pierneef Sauvignon Blanc as well as the soon to be released 2015 Pierneef Syrah Viognier listed under South Africa’s top 100 wines by the National Wine Challenge.

Simonsigs very exciting new release of the Kaapse Vonkel Demi Sec 2015 vintage.

"A beautiful rich gold with a hit of honey on the nose, it’s a full-bodied tipple well-suited to the South African palate. Paired with the macarons, I had a ‘Eureka!’ moment." Sonia Cabano

“When you taste a new-vintage Sauvignon Blanc like this, you know why this variety is the favourite white wine among South African consumers,” says Louw. “Clean and fresh, very drinkable with just enough sophistication on the palate to convince wine-lovers that their drink of choice is the right one.” Thys Louw

Pinotage is South Africa’s national red grape, but it is constantly fighting a bad ass reputation. Among wine circles, this cultivar gets a lot of flack, often being targeted as a wine that has unattractive varnishy, synthetic aromas such as burnt rubber or even bonfire (think smoke taint that isn’t good). Not too long ago, we went to visit Beyerskloof – the unabashed home of Pinotage (if you’ve never heard of Pinotage, we wrote all about the variety here), to taste for ourselves.