One of South Africa’s most unique and awarded Sauvignon Blanc wines, the Winter Ferment from Diemersdal Estate in Durbanville, has seen the release of its third vintage. This wine, made from grapes harvested in February 2019, undergoes fermentation in
A wine farm in winter might not show the verdant rows of vineyards or the blooming wildflowers and trees one finds in late spring and summer. But this time of year has a beauty of its own, a dramatic one where the vines are leafless and bare, showing t
Diemersdal Estate, the well-known Sauvignon Blanc producer in Durbanville which has been in the Louw family for six generations, has just released the 2019 vintage of its Eight Rows Sauvignon Blanc, one of South Africa’s best-known and most awarded win
I have known Ken Forrester from the years he was a restaurateur in Johannesburg some time back. Who could ever forget his Duck & Cherry Pie? Fortunately, it is still to be found on the menu at 96 Winery Road which Ken owns with his brother Alan. Put it
De Grendel Rubaiyat is named for the collection of quatrains from Omar Khayyam, the 11th Century Persian poet and astronomer. A fine red blend, using grape varieties originally from Bordeaux, which the late Sir David Graaff requested fo
What was the defining moment in your life that set you on the path of becoming a viticulturist?
When I was still in primary school, my grandfather bought a farm between Robertson and McGregor with vineyards and I immediately fell in
Frans Malan the late, founder of Simonsig Wine Estate, with his wife Liza established the estate in the Stellenbosch Wine Appellation and then proceeded on the most incredible pioneering journey in wine. Their sons, Johan [Production Director] and Fran
As the grandson of the Simonsig legend Frans Malan, Michael Frans Malan is one of the few third generation winemakers in Stellenbosch. Michael joined the Simonsig team in 2017 after gaining experience in Italy, Australia and South Africa and was appoin
I think we had better clear up the story about Mr Borio. Alessandro Borio was an Italian Prisoner of War sent to South Africa during the Second World War. And like many of these gentlemen, he had a talent – plastering. He liked working with ‘cemento’.