You Say Syrah, I Say Shiraz
There’s something that often confuses the newcomer to the wine fraternity, and I’d like to take this opportunity to enlighten you. On many occasions I’ve heard people make the mistake of confusing Shiraz, Syrah, Petite Sirah and even Shirazi with each other.
First, let’s confirm that Syrah is a grape variety originating from the northern Rhône [...]
Sauvignon Blanc in the Summer
By now most of my subscribers already know that I’m more of a red wine drinker… but that’s slowly changing as I start to gain a broader appreciation of wine. If I can recall correctly it all started with a simple Neethlingshof Gewürztraminer and progressed to a Jordan Chenin Blanc.
But what of Sauvignon Blanc you [...]
White is the New Red
When it comes to white wines I tend to be quite fickle, so only award winning wines will do. Unfortunately, my expensive taste comes with a high price… literally. But you’d be pleased to know that this is not always the case, and one can find high quality white wines at agreeable prices.
A few years [...]
Introductory Wine Course
The Cape Wine Academy offers you the opportunity to learn more about South African wine with a course entitled ‘Introduction to South African Wine’ to be held in Durbanville, South Africa.
The course will run over four weeks covering topics such as The History of Wine in South Africa, Viticulture and Winemaking. An application fee of [...]
The SA Wine Industry: Some Good News
On average, the quality of wine stewards in South Africa have been continually criticized for their lack of knowledge and insight with regards to the South African wine industry. I think everyone has had their own experience of poor service in one way or another… warm wine, old wine, overly chilled red wine, overly filled [...]
The Corkage Phenomenon
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the concept of `corkage´, allow me to explain… If a restaurant or even a bar allows corkage, it means that patrons of the locality are allowed to bring their own bottle/bottles of wine with them paying a small fee per bottle opened.
Growing up and living most of [...]
