Blog
Virtual Wine Tasting: Exploring South African Wine
On Saturday 19th June, I’ll be hosting a Virtual Wine Tasting to explore the wines of South Africa! Book by Thursday 10th June to receive your three-bottle pack of wines through the post in time for the tasting.
Wednesday Wine Women: Marlize Beyers from @brucejackwines
Marlize is a South African winemaker who lives in Ontario. She splits her time between making wines for @brucejackwines and @thedriftestate in South Africa, consulting in California, Chile and Spain with her wine consulting company, Resolute Wine Works, which she operates with Bruce Jack, and living in Ontario!
South African Wine Recommendations
The effects of South Africa’s alcohol ban have been catastrophic. The rural communities are among the hardest hit, where tens of thousands of workers are at risk of losing their jobs; many already have. On average, each worker has six dependants to feed and care for, so wine industry job losses will mean serious socio-economic upheaval for many communities.
We can all help to #savesawine by buying it. Here are my South African wine recommendations that you can pop in your shopping basket next time you’re on the high street!
Bruce Jack Wines
Bruce Jack is the fastest growing winemaker-owned South African brand and Bruce Jack, as a person, is that winemaker. As the head winemaker at Accolade (Kumala, Fishhoek and Hardy’s), Bruce has seen the big brands from the inside, but now he’s focusing on his own, one that truly aligns with his values.
The New ‘New World’: An interview with Rollo Gabb of Journey’s End
In 2006, Rollo Gabb produced his first barrel of Destination Chardonnay. It was the only barrel that year: ‘That’s why I called it Destination; I was either destined to sink or swim. So, I kicked off with the one barrel and off we went.’
There might never have been a Nemo moment for Rollo. ‘I could have taken the option of sitting on my arse and just being some sort of playboy,’ he says, half-jokingly. His father had been extremely successful in the commercial wine business (Roger Gabb was behind the brands Kumala and Isla Negra, among others) and, after university in Manchester, Rollo enjoyed being a young man about town running nightclubs, including the legendary Hacienda. When I meet him in Quo Vadis, one of the London restaurants he is involved with, echoes of his ‘Madchester’ days are apparent on his groovy paisley-patterned multi-coloured shirt (we take a moment to admire each other’s shirts, as I have a rather groovy one on myself).
KWV - South Africa’s Proud Pioneers
The first wines from South Africa were made 360 years ago from the French Muscadelle grape and in the centuries that followed, the country experienced a rollercoaster of success and failure. First came fame all over Europe in the late 1600s, then over production followed, then politician isolation, and – finally – a commitment to high quality winemaking and global embrace. KWV have been with the industry for over 100 years now and were initially formed to defend and protect farmers. In 1928, the developer of the Pinotage grape, Professor Abraham Izak Perold, joined KWV and became responsible for the experimentation of new cultivars and improving quality control.