South Africa is one of the most important wine producing countries in the southern hemisphere. With over 300 years of wine making history, it is often described as a bridge between the Old and New Worlds. The majority of wines are produced using New World winemaking techniques, but they often have more stylistic similarities with their Old World counterparts. Since the end of apartheid, South African wine has received international attention and recognition for its wide variety of styles.
The South African wine industry is spread across the lush and rugged landscape of the Western Cape. Here, the abundance of mountains, valleys and plateaus allows winemakers to produce a wide variety of styles. Wineries can also be found in the Orange River region of the Northern Cape, where the flat, arid landscape is dominated by the Kalahari Desert. Most of South Africa's wine regions have a MediterraneanClimate, strongly influenced by the meeting of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
The country's signature Grape is Pinotage">Pinotage, an indigenous cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsaut that is rarely found in quantity in any other wine producing country. Shiraz is also widespread, as are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (often combined in a Bordeaux blend).
However, white grape varieties account for 55% of the country's 96,000 hectares of vineyards. Chenin Blanc is the most planted grape variety in the republic with 18.
Most certainly Portuguese, more precisely in the Douro region where it is very present. It can be found in Spain, Portugal, South Africa, ... almost unknown in France, registered in the Official Catalogue of A2 list varieties.
pink wines from the region of South Africa go well with generally quite well with dishes of game (deer, venison), poultry or veal such as recipes of duck breast with honey-orange sauce, turkey leg with dijon sauce or veal grenadin with balsamic vinegar and honey.
On the nose in the region of South Africa often reveals types of flavors of cream, fresh strawberries or butter and sometimes also flavors of earthy, green apple or lime.
The 5cl miniature bottles of Springbank 1919 50 Year Old and Malt Mill 10 Year Old were sold this month for £7,360 ($8,871/ €8,659) and £6,670 ($8,039/ €7,848) respectively by online auction house Whisky.Auction – record sums for both distilleries. Another miniature of Springbank 1919 sold at auction in August 2021 for £6,440, while a miniature of Malt Mill fetched £3,400 when it was sold by Scotch Whisky Auctions in February 2018. The record sum for any whisky miniature at auction is believed t ...
Severe drought in northern Italy has led to the country’s government declaring a state of emergency in several regions, including Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto. Funds of €36.5m (£31m) would be made available to these regions for drought relief, the government said. Agriculture body Coldiretti said last week that the Po river, which flows across northern Italy to the Adriatic Sea, was almost unrecognisable. Drought in the Po Valley threatened around 30% of n ...
Bordeaux’s administrative court of appeal has effectively validated the St-Emilion 2012 Classification after rejecting long-standing complaints from three châteaux. France’s national appellation body, INAO, said the decision upholds an original court ruling from 2015. It added the complainants still have two months in which to appeal the judgement, however. Legal challenges to the St-Emilion 2012 Classification have been a feature of the past decade in Bordeaux. INAO said it was ‘reassured’ by t ...
