According to recent research ,  British women choose and buy eight out of every 10 bottles of wine that are drunk at home. The study also found that  a third of British women who enjoy wine as a treat at the end of the day admit that they prefer to drink it alone – in the bath.

The data, the result of industry research among more than 1,300 British women aged between 18 and 60, overturns common perceptions that

men take the lead in wine buying, and reveals that in many cases women are far more influential.
Six out of 10 women in Britain said they drank wine at least once a week. And the same proportion said they preferred red wine to white or rosé. Read more »

Visitors to the Northern Cape should not be surprised to find a team of winemakers from the Western Cape visiting our region. For the traditional winemaking regions of Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl are experiencing some of the most freakiest weather conditions in history.

First there was a set of thunder and hail storms, the latter decimating some vineyards. Then came a gale-force South Easterly wind that ripped many a vineyard to shreds. And this was followed by cold winter rains, all playing havoc with the coming crop.
Many a winemaker has fled north to experience some decent weather!

Is this climate change? Nobody can be sure. But if it is, research has shown that the Cape’s traditional wine lands in the south-west are going to be moving north. Let’s hope the Northern Cape stays sunny and temperate as we are blessed to experience it!

It may feel like summer, but the Orange River Valley is resplendent in its green spring dress. I was in Upington over the week-end and mile-upon-mile of fabulously green vineyards greet you as you drive between the lovely sounding names of Kakamas, Keimoes, Grootdrink, Kanoneiland and Groblershoop. The vines are the greenest-of-green and the clean desert air ensure they are healthy and untarnished by any of those bugs that flourish in moist conditions. And chatting to viticulturalist Henning Burger, it appears that next year’s harvest is going to be a spectacular one. In the meantime, get your hands on a bottle of Oranjerivier Wine Cellars Chenin Blanc, Colombard or Nouveau. You may not be able to visit the Valley, but you can taste it in the wine!

It is amazing how the perceptions are changing about wines from the Orange River region. Twenty years ago the area was seen to be a table grape and distilling wine producer. Now the wines are really impressing the market with quality and – more importantly – consistence. Take the Chenin Blanc, for example. There is no better Chenin in the country at this price, and it has not failed to impress over the past three vintages.

Refreshing, dry – yet fruity and sumptuous – it is difficult to believe such a great wine is being produced on the edge of the Kalahari desert! The reds are coming on in leaps and bounds, and I predict that in four years time Oranjerivier’s Shiraz, Pinotage and Cabernet are going to be serious competitors, punching above their weight in terms of price and quality.

I really hope this magnificent region gets the recognition it deserves. There is no wine region like it anywhere in the world.