The Chardonnay grape has not been in Australia for very long. At most its only fifty years. They've had Cabernet for a hundred and fifty! If you look up the Larrousse Dictionary of Wines of the World from the early seventies you won't find a single mention of Chardonnay under the Australian section! I can remember glowing tributes in the eighties to oak rich, butterscotch and over-the-top tropical flavoured chardonnays from all quarters. There was nothing wrong with these reviews and to be fair there was very little wrong with the wines either. If we tasted the same wines today however, we would find them crude and looking for guidance. To a large extent Chardonnay had decided what the wine makers were doing with the grape rather than the other way around!  read more »

Riebeek Cellars invited a few wine- o's to the launch of their Riebeek Cellars Cape Vintage Port 2005. They are in the Riebeek Kasteel area and part of the Swartland Wine Region . Zakkie Bester , winemaker of Riebeek Cellars added brandy from KWV to the port instead of the normal grape alcohol, which made this port ' ncha '. The alcohol is 18.22% - so keep an eye on the amount of glasses you have :) sugar is 90.1g/l, which is reasonable low for a soete . Price a mere R108.00 per bottle.  read more »

Before I rave about Villiera's bubbly and wine - let me give you some background what this event was all about ... Every year Villiera host a charity event in honour of St. Vincent. "St. Vincent is the patron of Winegrowers and he protects us from disease, hail, frost, thirst and taxes. Therefore, we feel it is important to celebrate St. Vincents day annually on the closest Saturday to the 22 nd of January (his birthday)", Cathy Brewer explained. (Photo: Cathy Brewer on Right) She also mentioned that the celebration is similar to the French concept of thanking staff and the community. Where the French celebrate the arrival of the young wines, Villiera celebrate the start of the harvest. This charity event or St. Vincents day has become very popular and bookings usually opens in October - but you have to move quick as they are sold out by the end of October.  read more »

(images: eyesonafrica.ne, shebeenpub.com, news.aunz.yimg.com, experienceholidays.co.uk) Following is guest post from Henr Rossouw . Henr is the social media strategist and blog author of Win eCountry.co.za , an umbrella wine, food and lifestyle portal dedicated to th e Paarl Wine Region . Paarls rich history, quality wines and breathtaking scenery makes it one of the wine landmarks of South Africa . The Masters of the Universe From sunny South Africa , the country that brought you Pinotage, Nelson Mandelas Long Walk to Freedom , Oscar winning performances by the monstrous Charlize Theron and talented Gavin Hood, sporting icons such as Gary Player and Ernie Els and now, the US Masters Champion of 2008, Trevor Immelman, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of Joes readers. While Joe and his wife care for the most precious little thing on earth, he has granted me the opportunity to grace you with some wine flavoured news from my country. Of course, very few articles about South Africa these days make it past the first couple of paragraphs without mentioning the unfortunate stain that Apartheid left on our page and the impact it had on our people, our economy and also our wine industry...  read more »

Im having an Anthony Bourdain moment. We decided to try a small place on the Essex River, right next to the Essex Ship Building Museum that is named after a tiny little snail like creature. Locals will know the place. We were in there about ten months ago and I liked it. You can get a table with a water front view; its small and quaint with about 25 tables. I liked it the last time we were there. But every time that I suggested we stop in again, Taster B would say, Well, its kind of expensive for what you get. I should have listened to her.  read more »

After two weeks in South Africa and many others spent agonising over whether to move to Peru or not, I finally had to face up to the pressing matter of discovering a champagne that doesn't make you stink. Bordeaux wine merchant Millsima held its annual pre-Christmas wine tasting this week, and champagne was the theme. No one was drunk or disorderly, no one was even giggling. A few elegant chortles, one or two high pitched laughs, but no actual rowdiness. Funny that, after South Africa where drinking and being drunk is all much more relaxed. The extreme downside is that Foetal Alcohol Levels in the Western Cape continue to be one of the highest in the world. Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), is a form of physical and mental damage that happens when pregnant women drink too much.  read more »

Taste an exclusive selection of rare and unique wines made by South Africa's leading winemakers at the 2008 Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild (CWG) Auction Showcase to be held in Cape Town on Thursday, 21 August. The Auction Showcase, a preview of the 2008

Few know that South Africa is one of the world's leading producers of fine wines, and that a South Africa wine tour can be the trip of a lifetime. Learn how to plan the perfect wine tour of South Africa, from the coast and cape to the interior. Find out about coastal South African winery tours beginning the Elim Valley and ending in Constantia.

In what can be seen as a further step in promoting Sauvignon Blanc as South Africa's signature grape variety, the Sauvignon Blanc Interest Group (SBIG), in association with Wines of South Africa (WOSA), will again be presenting theme tastings of top examples of this variety at Prowein, Vinordic, the London Wine Trade Fair and Cape Wine 2008.  read more »

So there you have it. I drink what I want, when I want, regardless of the weather :) We drank quite a bit of Sauvignon Blanc over the last month or so, and particularly over the holiday season. The particular bottle for this night was a Nederburg 2005 Sauvignon Blanc from the Westeer Cape of South Africa. The wine clocked in at 13% alcohol by volume and cost me $11.95 at MV Wine and Spirit.  read more »