Our Stories

One can hardly mention Darling without mentioning Evita Bezuidenhout, or Tannie Evita as she is affectionately known by South Africans. The former stateswoman owns the local railway station and has a whole boulevard in the quaint town named after her.

We sat down with a glass of her favourite wine, Groote Post Old Man's Red Blend, as she shared her recipe for that quintessentially Afrikaans confectionary, koeksisters, with us. Cheers skattie!

Of South Africa’s 23 wine and brandy routes, the Darling Wine Route is one of South Africa’s most charming enclaves. Besides its exquisite West Coast location and famed music festival, Darling draws oenophiles to the route, due to a bevy of reasons. We talk to Charles Withington, proprietor of Withington Wines and the Darling Wine Shop, about what not to miss when visiting this quaint little town.

In the Middle Ages wax seals were used to authenticate documents. South Africa’s own sustainability wine seal does a similar job. The seal guarantees that the information on the bottle label about the variety, vintage and origin of the wine is accurate and that the wine has been grown and made in an environmentally friendly way. To date, South Africa is the only country in the world with such an all-encompassing guarantee.

Stanford has always been a popular break-away destination thanks to a combination of factors. It’s a mix of well-preserved historical buildings, lush gardens, muted CBD, diversity of activities on surrounding farms and distance from the city all conspire to make it so. This month we visit the relatively young Stanford Wine Route and explore what its members have to offer visitors on the look for a country retreat.

If you love being immersed in nature, but still enjoy those small luxuries (like fresh linen and your own loo), glamping is the perfect solution. Don’t worry about pitching tents, setting up a mobile kitchen or dragging along your toolbox with outdoor gadgets – it’s been taken care of.

You can just rock up, start the braai, pour a glass of wine and relax at any of these glamorous camping spots in South Africa’s winelands.

If you come to South Africa, you should certainly celebrate your visit with a glass of Pinotage, our very own wine, “born” in South Africa over 80 years ago.

Pinotage was developed by Abraham Perold, the first Professor of Viticulture at Stellenbosch University.

Let us help you pick a wine estate or event to celebrate Pinotage Day at on Saturday, 10 October 2020!

The world celebrates Cabernet Sauvignon Day on September 3. Clifford Roberts highlights Worcester as an area to explore an alternative expression of the variety.

The Worcester wine region has become a champion of Chenin Blanc. So much so that it isn’t popularly associated with Cabernet Sauvignon as much as it once was. To disregard it completely however, is to make a serious mistake.

As if from nowhere, the small producer Tesselaarsdal Wines appeared and quickly became a darling of the wine world. Owner Berene Sauls tells Clifford Roberts how it happened and how she’s dealing with the travails of 2020.

On August 18, the world celebrates Pinot Noir. Hemel en Aarde, with Elgin, is one of the Cape’s regions associated with the most sought-after cool climate wines. And it has been the Burgundian grape varieties of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir most at its prow.

There are numerous locations to enjoy Pinot Noir in the region. We include a selection by Clifford Roberts on our blog.

The day August 9 officially highlights the contribution of women in South Africa. In winemaking, they have become leaders in their own right.

Celebrating innovation and excellence in wine tourism throughout the greatest wine regions in the world, Wesgro extends a call for applications across the province for wine producers, wine experiences and wineries to enter into the prestigious Great Wine Capitals Best Of Wine Tourism Awards 2021, free of charge.

The journey from vine to glass is a matter of science and circumstance. There are a wide number of species of vines which bears a variety of grapes, known as varietals. Each varietal, affected by soil type, climate, wind, farming practices and other factors produces various characteristics.

Tshepang Molisana shares the journey of a grape from vine to wine glass with us.