Suggest a winning name for a new white blend from Doran Vineyards and you could win a 12 bottle case of Doran Vineyard wines!
]]>Edwin has a challenge where he needs to find a name for a new white wine blend from his Horse Mountain brand.
Wine drinkers love to hear the story behind a vineyard and the wines they drink. It adds to the romance of what they are drinking.
Edwin Doran owns a South African vineyard. We feature his wines, many of which have family connections e.g. Rosie D named after his wife as well as Arya & Romy D named after his grandchildren.
The current blend on this new wine are Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne and Viognier, however, it could also include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Marsanne, Sémillon, Riesling and Gewürztraminer.
The main countries the wine will be sold in will be South Africa, UK and Ireland.
The blend of this wine may change over the coming years, so the name needs to be one that doesn't link to specific varietals.
Should your suggestion be chosen, you will win a 12 bottle case of Doran Vineyards wine!
Send us your suggestions in the comments below.
]]>Tim Killen wins our special magnum of Annandale Nostalgia signed by Hempies du Toit!
Congratulations Tim!
]]>At our recent Festive Wine Tasting event we had a special magnum bottle of Annandale Nostalgia to win for anyone ordering wine on the day.
We are very pleased to announce that Tim Killen was the lucky man!
The wine is made by Hempies du Toit as a special release in honour of his dad and Maria Malan who started the wine farm Alto. It was a blend that Marie exported to the UK in 1921 to a company called Burgoyne. It was shipped in 225 litre barrels from Cape Town docks. Marie, who was also an agent for Burgoyne wines, sourced wine from Annandale to be blended with Alto. This export stopped in 1959. The blend was 2/3 Cinsault with the balance split equally between Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Nostalgia is the very same blend made up of 2003 Cinsault, 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2005 Shiraz and was specially signed by Hempies for Cape Wine & Foods.
]]>We are delighted to be stockists of signed books of author, freelance producer/war correspondent, full time lecturer, Professor Paul Moorcraft.
]]>Dr Moorcraft is a regular broadcaster (BBC TV and radio, as well as Sky, Al Jazeera, CBC etc.) and op-ed/columnist for major international newspapers (the Guardian, New Statesman, Washington Times, Canberra Times, Business Day, Western Mail etc). One of his recent books is Shooting the Messenger: The Politics of War Reporting (2011).The Total Destruction of the Tamil Tigers: The Rare Victory of Sri Lanka’s Long War was published in 2012. Omar al-Bashir and Africa’s Longest War came out in 2015. He does charity work to help dyscalculics ─ It Just Doesn’t Add Up: Explaining Dyscalculia and Overcoming Number Problems for Children and Adults (Filament, Croydon, 2014). Dr Moorcraft is also an award-winning novelist; his best-known non-fiction is Anchoress of Shere.
Besides writing 2-3 books a year in his spare time, he is the director of the Centre for Foreign Policy Analysis, London, and visiting professor at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Europe’s leading journalism centre.
]]>Quite simply some of the best wines we've tasted!
We have imported 3 red wines and one sumptuous port and all were highly rated at a recent VIP wine tasting event. We can't sing the praises of these wines enough, they're simply delicious!
]]>We have imported 3 red wines and one sumptuous port and all were highly rated at a recent VIP wine tasting event. We can't sing the praises of these wines enough, they're simply delicious!
Gerhard (Hempies) du Toit is a fifth generation South African Huguenot winemaker who traces his winemaking heritage back to the founding of South Africa and anticipates a continued contribution to South Africa's winemaking future. Hempies du Toit continued this family tradition of viticulture and oenology being raised on the Alto Estate, one of South Africa’s oldest vineyards with heritage dating back over 300 years. Annandale is situated on the slopes of the Helderberg Mountains in Stellenbosch.
The history of Annandale Wine Estate traces back to the founding of South Africa. Annandale is the oldest farm in the Helderberg Valley. In November 1679, less than one month of arriving at the Cape, Governor Simon van der Stel left Cape Town on horseback to explore the Dutch East India Company’s outpost near the Hottentots Holland Mountains and, amazed by the beauty of his surroundings, founded the eponymously named town of Stellenbosch, South Africa’s second oldest town.
Click below to see our hand picked selection of Annandale wines on offer.
View all our Annandale winesWe have limited stock
]]>Laurence Wells did an amazing job of organising a fantastic golf day raising money for the Christmas Lunch on Jesus (CLOJ) charity. This charity ensures those less fortunate get an opportunity of having a fantastic Christmas lunch like the rest of us.
]]>What fun was had at our Golf Day. Laurence Wells did an amazing job of organising a fantastic event. All who attended had a great time.
The players all received a goody hamper with all sorts of donated goodies such as the Progolf book, biltong, golf balls and Prep Crème.
After bacon rolls and coffee the competition commenced with lots of fun, photographs and a pit stop at the 10th tee.
All competitors won a prize, even those who came last received some “pap” and a wooden spoon!
The raffle and auction were extremely successful with a total of £1000 raised which feeds 40 families for Christmas Lunch on Jesus (CLOJ).
This charity ensures those less fortunate get an opportunity to have a fantastic Christmas meal during the festive season.
Laurence managed to donate caps, flags and photographs signed by golfing legends such as Rory McIllroy, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Sergio Garcia.
The weather was great and all could enjoy the outdoors and a BBQ dinner and wine tasting.
We hope to make this an annual event, so those who couldn’t make it this year, please keep a look out for when we advertise next year’s event – I am sure you don’t want to miss out!
700 bottles of gorgeous fine wine all the way from South Africa arriving this week!
Read more to find out about this exclusive selection of fantastic wine.
]]>Over 700 bottles of exclusive South African wine from three estates.
We are so excited to let you know that our very own exclusive selection of South African wine is due to dock this week!
Four & Five Star Decanter Ratings
All the way from the Stellenbosch and Durbanville regions, this very special shipment, contains an incredible selection of fine wines, many of which have been awarded four and five star Decanter ratings.
You won't find these wines anywhere else in the UK
We have carefully chosen and lovingly tasted these wines to bring you an exclusive selection of fantastic South African wine, not found anywhere else in the UK!
As soon as we've unpacked, we'll let you know!
]]>Wine lovers gathered at our Summer Food and Wine festival. We had around 80 wines to taste and even if I say so myself, there were some amazing wines. There was something for everyone – from light and fruity to deep, dark and brooding.
]]>Wine lovers gathered at our Summer Food and Wine festival. We had around 80 wines to taste and even if I say so myself, there were some amazing wines. There was something for everyone – from light and fruity to deep, dark and brooding.
The weather didn’t play along and we couldn’t really enjoy time in the garden sipping our wine and enjoying our hog roast, whilst looking out over the Thames, like I had envisaged.
Nevertheless I think a good time was had by all. Many thanks to our agents, other exhibitors and our many helpers who all contributed to another successful tasting.
As I've mentioned, all the wines have something special in my opinion, but I have highlighted the following wines as being well received on the day.
This is Bouchard Finlayson’s Iconic wine – this wine is littered with awards over the last decade. This wine from the Hemel en Aarde valley, made by the winemaker Peter Finlayson who is a well known and respected winemaker. This wine is grown in a Burgundian style with vines planted closely together.
The competition between the plants creates much more depth and colour. Dark berry and plum flavours, with a long finish. This wine will continue to improve with age. Bouchard Finlayson is an accredited Championship member of the Biodiversity and Wine initiative (BWI).
This wine is full of rich, voluptuous black fruit and has an intense in the mouth sensation! This 100% pinotage spent 30 months in new French oak which imparts some notes of vanilla and milk chocolate from the oak, as well as hints of sweet banana and smoke.
Once again this wine has won umpteen awards and is a joy to drink. This is a heavy wine and should be enjoyed with a hearty beef stew. The winemaker is Danie Steytler who is also a member of the prestigious Cape Winemaker's Guild and has been since 2000.
Neil Ellis, the winemaker believes that “no single vineyard can satisfy the needs of all grape varieties”. This Chardonnay comes from three blocks in Elgin. It has lemony/lime aromas with a fresh mineral palate, balanced acidity, spicy oak and an elegant long finish.
The team at Neil Ellis Wines believes in responsible environmental practices. We aim to respect the soil, cut water use, recycle and reduce energy use and greenhouse emissions. We are a member of the IPW, a voluntary environmental sustainability scheme, and comply with their regulations.
Last week we had the undeniable pleasure of meeting Neil Ellis, founder and winemaker of Neil Ellis wines. We were fortunate to taste 5 of his fine wines and found each one more pleasurable than the last!
]]>Neil believes that no single vineyard can satisfy the needs of all grape varieties. So each of his varieties are grown in terroir he believes they will excel in. He feels very strongly not only about the environment but also on caring viticultural practises by his growers and winemakers.
This farm dates back to around 1688 and is the oldest farm in the Helderberg Valley. You can sense the history from the moment you drive up to the barrel cellar.
The farm is far from the usual manicured lawns, pristine white buildings and slick signage one normally associates with visits to wine farms.
]]>We were lucky enough to visit the Cape in March this year and our first visit took us to Annandale Wines.
This farm dates back to around 1688 and is the oldest farm in the Helderberg Valley. You can sense the history from the moment you drive up to the barrel cellar. The farm is far from the usual manicured lawns, pristine white buildings and slick signage one normally associates with visits to wine farms.
It is essentially residence and working environment for the no nonsense charismatic winemaker, Hempies du Toit. This giant ex-Springbok rugby player makes some stunning red stuff!
After the second world war the farm became a shelter of abandoned and abused horses and was a riding school. It has now returned to its roots and is home to 45 hectares of red wine grapes. Their logo and wine labels reflect a horse head as a nod to the horses.
His best known wine must be the “Chalbert” which is the wine chosen by Prince Albert of Monaco to drink at his wedding to Charlene.
We have been promised a little of this but it will be very limited. WATCH THIS SPACE!
However, his Cabernet Sauvignon made in the old world style and spent 8 years in French barrels as did his Cavalier Blend. Both of these will make welcome additions to the Cape Wine and Food stable.
However, his Shiraz with it’s bees wax tip was outstanding. I can’t wait for you to taste this!
We are also hoping that we will be able to import some of his port style wine CVP which was so moreish.
]]>Well what a success, you need only look at the smiling faces of the lovely people who graced the table. The delightful Lynda Mellor contributed greatly to the success by being her warm, welcoming and knowledgeable self. In her very capable hands we were kept interested and charmed by her knowledge of the wines for the evening, leaving us to take care of the food.
On arrival we served Moreson Solitaire Sparkling alongside biltong pate. This gave everyone a chance to introduce themselves and get settled. We served spicy butternut soup which was complemented by Kanu KCB Chenin. There was just the right amount of oakiness in this to pair beautifully with the soup.
]]>Well what a success, you need only look at the smiling faces of the lovely people who graced the table. The delightful Lynda Mellor contributed greatly to the success by being her warm, welcoming and knowledgeable self. In her very capable hands we were kept interested and charmed by her knowledge of the wines for the evening, leaving us to take care of the food.
On arrival we served Moreson Solitaire Sparkling alongside biltong pate. This gave everyone a chance to introduce themselves and get settled. We served spicy butternut soup which was complemented by Kanu KCB Chenin. There was just the right amount of oakiness in this to pair beautifully with the soup.
Bobotie served with Spier 21 Gables Pinotage, Malva pudding with Vondeling Sweet Carolyn, Godminster Organic cheddar with Blaauwklippen White Zinfandel and Seed & Bean Espresso chocolate with Holden Manz Good Sport followed.
Even if I say so myself, these pairings all worked wonderfully!
I want to thank my guests for attending, Phil for taking these gorgeous photographs, Lynda for talking about the wines and Mike for being my all round support.
For more photos of the night, please see our Facebook page.
On the back of our success, we will be having another Cape Kitchen Supper soon.
If you would like to attend, please contact us.
Debbie
]]>We have a range of prices and styles - something to suit everyone.
]]>Every pack of boerewors you buy will entitle you to £1 off your charcoal.
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