Dave March CWM | wine.co.za

Dave March CWM

Dave March is an eternal student of wine and has the following to say about himself:

"Wine came to me relatively late in life so I am determined to make up for lost time. What stirred my interest in wine was living near Australia's Hunter Valley for a year. I remember relaxing in the shade with friends at Peterson's winery after a strenuous game of boules whilst demolishing much of their wine and thinking how nice it would be to be more involved with wine.

On return to the UK I took a Saturday job in a local wine shop to learn more. I signed up for wine courses and passed the WSET Diploma.

I love travelling and have spent all my holidays in wine regions, from living in Australia for a year to visiting New Zealand, Spain and all of France and spending four consecutive summers in the Mosel!

A decision had to be made, so here I am, living in this beautiful country, enjoying new friends and loving the wine experience. I became a Cape Wine Master in 2012, my dissertation looked at 'Wine Investment in South Africa'. I'm also writing and lecturing CWA Diploma students about what I love ... it doesn’t get much better."

Wednesday, 4 April, 2018

Annandale Wines: Twelve years in oak and sixty year old cobwebs

Imagine a red wine left to mature in barrel for twelve years before bottling. Imagine that when opened the fruit is elegant, supple but still profound. There must be a magic formula, right?

Monday, 5 March, 2018

Genie In The Bottle

What is behind the thousands of wine bottles on our shelves?

Tuesday, 30 January, 2018

Pinot Noir in Heaven and Earth

The 2018 Pinot Noir Celebration was held deep in the rolling hills of Heaven and Earth, the beautiful Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, and presented wines from the three wards carrying its name.

Friday, 12 January, 2018

Selecting and Blending Wines: A Winemaker’s Perspective

Every wine is a blend. Even Single Varietal wines, such as Chardonnay, are blends – of both the farm and the cellar.

Monday, 18 December, 2017

Some Famous International Wine Regions – and why you should go next door

Many wine regions around the world have become bucket-list destinations. Nearly every wine producing country has at least one region where the wines are very special, or the area is very beautiful, or the culture is unique or all three. They are usually the ones most visited. They are not always the best to visit, however, if you are a true wine lover. Consider the following vinous pilgrimages.

Wednesday, 13 December, 2017

Cape Wine Masters taste Quality by Design (and Eight Five Star Wines) at the Winery of the Year

Cape Wine Masters and guests were privileged to be able to join Bruwer Raats at his Raats Family Wines tasting room in November; the estate named by Platter’s as the 2018 Winery of the Year to enjoy some very special wines.

Dave March CWM / The Institute of Cape Wine Master

Monday, 27 November, 2017

South African Shiraz; could it be Sparkling?

South Africa makes world-class sparkling wines. Often from the original Champagne grapes, in the Champagne Method and in a similar range of styles. White sparklers and the increasingly popular rosés fill the shelves, but only a few producers seem brave enough to include an MCC style that has found more favour ‘Down Under’.

Thursday, 9 March, 2017

Tasting wine in a 50 year old mountain cellar

Few passing by would suspect that within a few metres of the busy Adam Tas part of the R44 through Stellenbosch there lies the resting place of some half a million bottles of wine.

Wednesday, 11 January, 2017

Bad Riesling and unleaded petrol

Aged Riesling has long been associated with the smell of petrol. Some might call it kerosene or diesel, whatever, it sounds scary to new wine drinkers and heaven to many devotees.

Tuesday, 20 December, 2016

Rutherglen Muscats and Ned Kelly

Approaching the corrugated tin sheds of Morris winery outside Rutherglen in Victoria, Australia, you could easily imagine Ned Kelly skulking through the gum trees. It is an area of unspoiled natural beauty and Ned would find much to cover his escape.

Wednesday, 2 November, 2016

Selling South African wine in the German wine market

German based wine expert and owner of outlet ‘Wines of the New World’ in Bonn, Peter Gebler CWM has an in-depth knowledge of the German wine market, and shares his thoughts for South African producers.

Monday, 19 September, 2016

Wine education in SA; enriching and de-bunking

A while ago there was a most remarkable survey conducted in France. The question was based on what makes a national identity, what makes someone ‘French’? The top responses were, ‘being born in France’, ‘speaking French’, and ‘being educated in France’. Not so surprising, perhaps, but what followed very soon was.

Tuesday, 12 July, 2016

What are the most difficult winemaking decisions?

Arguably, the most difficult decision a winemaker has to make is when to pick the grapes. Certainly in Europe this is a crucial decision, with the weather being so unpredictable and cruel. Maybe less so in South Africa. And maybe not the most difficult decision.

Monday, 7 March, 2016

Chateau Libertas: achieving change and consistency for 84 years

Biltong, braais, Mrs Balls, fynbos and Chateau Libertas. Are there any better words to make an ex-pat South African drop to their knees?

Thursday, 4 February, 2016

The 1855 Bordeaux Classification; complete nonsense, sorry Jancis.

So much has been written about the 1855 Classification of the wines of Bordeaux that it seems almost in bad faith to state that most of what is written is wrong.