Celebrating SA

Summer is in full swing, and this calls for sunshine white wines with silky texture, and spicy reds with remarkable freshness. We’re looking to South Africa, where coastal influence, mountain ranges, ancient soils and a wealth of old vines provide boundless potential.

Various producers, including Gabriëlskloof and Spice Route, are championing old bush vines, which have shown extraordinary resilience in recent drought years. Their low yields, though financially challenging, result in intense and complex wines with a unique sense of place. Meanwhile Thorne & Daughters and Momento are finding balancing and complexity by sourcing and blending fruit from regions across the country – from the arid slopes of the Paardeberg to the cool climate of coastal Walker Bay.

So come with us on a road trip across the Western Cape, to explore and celebrate the diversity of South African wine!

I’m such a fan of South African wine, I’d like everyone to appreciate it as much as me.

And producers and growers there really do need every bit of financial encouragement to keep vines, many of them venerable, in the ground. (Jancis Robinson, July 2022)