The Western Cape is home to the vast majority of the South African wine industry, and the country's two most famous wine regions, Stellenbosch and Paarl. The city of Cape Town serves as the epicenter of the Cape Winelands, a mountainous, biologically diverse area in the south-western corner of the African continent.
A wide variety of wines are produced here. Wines from the Shiraz and Pinotage">Pinotage grape varieties can be fresh and juicy or Full-bodied and gutsy.
The Western Cape's Elegant, ageworthy Cabernet Sauvignon wines and Bordeaux Blends were at the vanguard as exports recommenced in the mid-1990s, while Burgundy-style Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Walker Bay are gaining global acclaim, and cool-climate style Sauvignon Blanc from Darling and Overberg is rivaling that made in any other New World country.
The Western Cape's wine regions stretch 300 kilomers (185 miles) from Cape Town to the Mouth of the Olifants River in the North, and 360km (220 miles) to Mossel Bay in the east. Areas under Vine are rarely more than 160km (100 miles) from the coast. Further inland, the influence of the semi-arid Great Karoo Desert takes over.
The climate can be cool and rainy (as in Cape Point and Walker Bay) but is more often than not Mediterranean in nature.
The Western Cape is littered with spectacular mountain ranges that form the Cape Fold belt. These are extremely important for viticulture across the whole region, contributing soils and mesoclimates ideal for the production of premium wines. Of particular importance are the Boland Mountains, which form the eastern border of the Coastal Region, and the Langeberg range, which separates the Breede River Valley from the Klein Karoo semi-desert.
A very old grape variety grown in the Italian Piedmont. It has a great resemblance with the Freisa, which also comes from the same Italian region. Among the various massal selections made in Italy, we find lampia, michet and rosé. It can be found in Italy, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Mexico, the United States (California), Australia, etc. In France, it is practically unknown, perhaps because it is a delicate and demanding grape variety with, among other things, a fairly long phenological cycle.
red wines from the region of Western Cape go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, lamb or game (deer, venison) such as recipes of chinese fondue, moroccan tagine with lamb and cardoons or wild boar, roe deer or doe leg.
On the nose in the region of Western Cape often reveals types of flavors of oaky, apricot or red currant and sometimes also flavors of red plum, toasty or stone. In the mouth in the region of Western Cape is a powerful with a nice balance between acidity and tannins.
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 ...
Despite the very dry conditions, this feels like a more naturally balanced vintage than 2017, 2018 and 2019. Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for the top-scoring Crozes-Hermitage 2020 wines {"content":"PHA+VGhlIHdpbmVzIGFyZSBqdWljeSBhbmQgY29uY2VudHJhdGVkIHdpdGhvdXQgZmVlbGluZyBoZWF2eS48L3A+CjxwPjxkaXYgY2xhc3M9ImFkLWNvbnRhaW5lciBhZC1jb250YWluZXItLW1vYmlsZSI+PGRpdiBpZD0icG9zdC1pbmxpbmUtMSIgY2xhc3M9ImlwYy1hZHZlcnQiPjwvZGl2PjwvZGl2PjwvcD4KPHA+U29tZSBoYXZlIGEgZ3JlZW4gc3RyZWFrIGR ...
Bordeaux 2021 en primeur releases really picked up speed this week, and the launch of Ausone, Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Canon, Montrose, Léoville Poyferré, Beychevelle and La Gaffelière in recent days – to name just a few – has given prospective buyers plenty to look at. Let’s not forget the debut for Lafite Rothschild 2021, too. Ausone, Canon and Pichon Comtesse 2021 Ausone is St-Emilion wine royalty, of course, and UK merchant Bordeaux Index quoted a release price of £6,000 (12x7 ...
