Category: South Africa

You may say that 1990 was when South African wine came on the international scene.  That is the year that Nelson Mandela was released and sanctions against South Africa were subsequently lifted.  Before that time South African wines were made in a style that pleased the South Africa palate.  But opening their wines up to the world and a more…

Wines come in all categories from inexpensive to ultra-expensive, with associated levels of quality.  But there are exceptions, such as when a wine delivers higher quality than the price point.  Have you ever tried wines from South Africa?  South Africa has been producing wines longer than some Old World wineries yet is viewed as New World, like Canada, the USA…

Wine has been produced in South Africa since 1659, that is a lot longer than wines made in North America.  2059 will be 400 years of winemaking for South Africa. They have had time to figure out their terroir; to know which grapes grow best in different parts of the country.  South African wine is in general neither as austere…

My first Trade tasting for 2019 was this week, with agents showing the latest new wines they have brought to Vancouver or new vintages of wines that are currently in our market.  I was quite surprised by how many sparkling wines I had a chance to try.  I normally see a peak interest in sparkling wine leading up to the…

I tasted through many years this year through Trade tastings with agents and BC VQA wineries, the Vancouver International Wine Festival, visits to wineries, and personal purchases.  I rate all the wines I taste from 1 to 5 stars.  Fortunately, the quality of many wines is quite good, giving them at least a 3 out of 5-star rating.  At the…

Ken Forrester and his wife started their winery together with their young family;  Buying a large 38 ha plot of land in the Stellenbosch region of South Africa, and working with farmers over 90 ha of scattered parcels.  Ken wanted to produce the best wine in the world and has been working with the Chenin Blanc grape to try to…

As I mentioned in my previous article on my top rated white, sparkling, and fortified wines for 2017, there were so many excellent wines that I tasted this year.  As I review the red wines that I’ve listed below, there are many wines from Italy, in part due to the many visits by Italian wineries to Vancouver this year.  From…

This past year I tasted a tremendous number of wines from around the world, but some wines really resonated with me.  It may have been the great balance of fruit, sugar, acidity for a white wine, or the fruit, tannins and minerality in a red wine, or something else. Something that made the wine stand above the other wines.  Could…

It’s wine quiz time!  Name a region in the world that is known for their restrained wines made from Chardonnay.  Now name a region that besides making Chardonnay, also makes Pinot Noir?  Final question; does this region have more than 300 years of wine making history? Putting all 3 answers together you may have guessed Chablis in France, or Burgundy…

This past year I tasted a tremendous number of wines from around the world, but some wines really resonated with me.  It may have been the great balance of fruit, sugar, acidity for a white wine, or the fruit, tannins and minerality in a red wine, or something else. Something that made the wine stand above the other wines.  Could…