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Tuesday, 8 January, 2019

“There is Brandy and there is Cape Brandy”

“There is Brandy, and there is Cape Brandy”, says Oude Molen commercial manager Danie Pretorius. Consistent success in international competitions by several SA brands reflects the incredible quality that SA Brandy maintains across all price points.
Dave March CWM
Wednesday, 19 December, 2018

Taking Liquid Photographs with winemaker Ian Naudé

Ian Naudé is a passionate winemaker, after so many years his enthusiasm for wine is undimmed, and his enjoyment of a lovely glass of wine is infectious. Ian radiates happiness and positivity.
Dave March CWM
Tuesday, 11 December, 2018

New dawn for Sulphur Free Wines?

In 2010 Audacia owner Trevor Strydom was given a cup of Rooibos tea by his daughter as he pondered how he could differentiate his wine. He was looking at the answer.
Dave March CWM
Monday, 26 November, 2018

Ntsiki Biyela and the grandmother behind Aslina Wines

The first classes Ntsiki Biyela took at Stellenbosch University were very difficult for her, not just because she knew nothing about the subject, but also because they were in Afrikaans, a language she didn’t speak.
Dave March CWM
Thursday, 25 October, 2018

Robots, Dassies and Drones in the Vineyard

There are vineyards in the Cape which don’t just see the tread of the human foot, shoe of the horse or tyre of the tractor, some see the caterpillar pattern of a robot, too.
Dave March CWM
Friday, 21 September, 2018

Ansela; the Slave, the Love Story and the Wine Farm

There is a story from deep in South Africa’s winelands which is awe inspiring. It is that of a slave who’s strength, hard work and love carries her from the slave lodge to wealth and independence. It is that of Ansela Van die Kaap.
Dave March CWM
Thursday, 19 July, 2018

The Real Beaujolais

Beaujolais Nouveau did for Beaujolais what bulk wine exports did for South Africa.
Dave March CWM
Friday, 13 July, 2018

The Answer lies in the Soil

The distance between the vines of Romanée Conti and Grande Rue vineyards is a couple of metres, separated by a dirt path.
Dave March CWM
Thursday, 12 July, 2018

Hermitage; myth and reality

I had few preconceptions of Hermitage before I arrived. Like every wine lover I knew the image of the slopes surrounding the hermit’s chapel, and imagined idyllic Romanesque villages dotted at its feet. Time moves on and civilization sprawls, and wine lovers and wine producers are not always the most important people on the planet.
Dave March CWM
Monday, 9 July, 2018

Springtime madness in Chablis, France

Chablis, the northern most part of Burgundy, has always had a marginal winemaking climate; meaning that being able to fully ripen grapes every year is a lottery and disasters are just around the corner.
Dave March CWM
Monday, 11 June, 2018

What do Wineland visitors really want

Tour guides reveal what wine tourists expect of our wineries
Dave March CWM
Friday, 11 May, 2018

The Art of the Master Distiller with Marlene Bester

South African Brandy is amongst the best in the world, often (in fact, always) awarded trophies and gold medals in international competitions. It has achieved such status through the constant pursuit of excellence. Over many decades. Indeed, since the late seventeenth century.
Dave March CWM
Thursday, 10 May, 2018

The French (and Italian) connection at Morgenster Wine and Olive Estate

Morgenster recently celebrated the release of owner Giulio Bertrand’s selected eight wines as well as their first MCC, Cuvée Alessandra 2016.
Dave March CWM
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?
Dave March CWM
Monday, 5 March, 2018

Genie In The Bottle

What is behind the thousands of wine bottles on our shelves?
Dave March CWM
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.
Dave March CWM
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.
Dave March CWM
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.
Dave March CWM
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’.
Dave March CWM