The Paul Cluver Estate has been awarded first prize in the ‘Best Environmental Practices’ category at the Nedbank Green Wine Awards in Cape Town this week.  This Elgin estate is one of the largest and oldest estates on the high, cool Elgin Mountain plateau and falls within the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve where conservation and sustainable use of natural resources are pursued with the ultimate goal of balance and harmony between man and nature.

Their ‘Greenest’ wine was awarded to the Paul Cluver Chardonnay which together with all their vineyard practices doesn’t make use of commercial yeasts but rely on the natural yeasts from the vineyards themselves.

Congratulations as well to the runner up La Motte Estate in Franschhoek!

Click here to read the full article in Wine Magazine

If anyone is thinking of getting married down in the Cape I would recommend hosting it at the beautiful Towerbosch restaurant on Knorhoek Estate.  Excellent wines, food and service – this estate is definitely worth a visit.  After all the wedding shenanigans we managed to get a day of tasting in before we left on our honeymoon.  We started off with a tasting and lunch at the Goatshed restaurant at Fairview Estate in Paarl.  The first thing that catches your eye when you approach the estate is the famous tower which houses a few members of their goat herd.  These majestic animals provided the milk for our luxurious mixed cheese platter which had almost every sort of cheese available from chevin to cheddars and blue cheese to brie.  To accompany our platter we decided on the easy drinking La Capra Pinot Grigio 2011.  Zesty and fruity – this is the perfect summer drink so hopefully will be adding this to the SA Wines Online portfolio in time for May next year.

Kanonkop Estate was next on our agenda because even though I have always been a huge fan of their wines I had never paid the tasting room a visit.  Kanonkop is famous for their rich heritage of promoting Pinotage as one of the leading varietals from South Africa.  The Kanonkop Pinotage 2009 shows exactly what they do best – this wine shows juicy fruits and the typical earthy/ ripe banana characteristic which is so often associated with Pinotage.  If anybody has doubts over the Pinotage varietal, try this wine and discover what this variety can do at the hands of an estate like Kanonkop.  All of their Pinotage grapes are grown on dryland bushvines and this has been the case since they first started growing the variety.  The Kadette Pinotage Dry Rose 2010 is also worth mentioning as it is the first product to be added to the Kanonkop range in over 40 years and is a Rose which has done so well since being added to our portfolio just over a year ago.

Last stop on the way home we tried our luck at the Kleine Zalze tasting room, and even though we arrived just 10 minutes before closing we were welcomed in.  With their huge range available for tasting we decided to be kind and just choose a few.  The Family Reserve Sauvignon Blanc and Vineyard Selection Shiraz are definitely worth a mention but the wine of the day for me was the Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2010 which should hopefully be with us in the UK within the next few months.  With 7 months on oak this wine hasa golden toastiness to accompany the citrus fruit notes perfectly.

The tasting experience in Stellenbosch is second to none and I would recommend a trip to anyone who has not yet had the pleasure.