There can be no doubt that our wines are catching the eye of the international wine fraternity. Trophies galore from around the world are coming to roost in our Cape cellars.
The International Wine and Spirit Competition, held in London every year, is regarded by most connoisseurs as the most important wine show in the world.
Wines from 66 countries were on show this year, and more than 4 500 products competed for the awards. So it's particularly pleasing to see South African wines right up there among the trophy winners.
The Boland Cellars in Paarl, for example, won the trophy for the best Shiraz on show with their Boland Shiraz 2000. This was no mere flash in the pan, as the 1998 vintage received the same trophy in the 2001 competition.
South African wines surprised many wine-lovers by dominating the red wine categories with no fewer than five of the 20 international trophies.
Besides the Boland Kelder Shiraz 2000, the La Cave Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 of Wamakersvallei Wine Cellar in Wellington received the international trophy for the Best Cabernet Sauvignon; the L'Avenir Pinotage 2000 of L'Avenir Estate near Stellenbosch received the international trophy for the Best Pinotage; the Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir 2001 of Hamilton Russell Vineyards near Hermanus received the international trophy for the Best Pinot Noir; and the Vergelegen Flagship 2000 of Vergelegen in Somerset West the international trophy for the Best Red Blend.
Glen Carlou's fine 2002 Shiraz won a gold medal, repeating the success of the 2001 vintage, which won a gold at last year's IWSC.
It should have come as no surprise that the Boland Kelder Shiraz 2000 won the IWSC trophy. So far this year the same wine has received a trophy as the best Shiraz at the Citadelles du Vin in France and won a gold award at the Vino Lubljana wine competition in Slovenia.
The Boland Pinotage 1999 and Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 also received gold medals at Vino Lubljana.
Earlier this year Bouchard Finlayson of the Hemel-en-Aarde valley near Hermanus achieved a gold award for the Pinot Noir Téte de Cuvee 2001, after bringing home the Pinot Noir trophy in 2000 at London's other prestigious competition, the International Wine Challenge.
- I was delighted to taste the first of the wines under Vergenoegd Estate's new label, Terrace Bay.
The Terrace Bay 2000 is a blend of Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. It's a mouth-filling, gutsy wine that should last a long time in the bottle.
It's full of ripe fruit flavours with a nice smack of vanilla and spices to back them.
I think it's a really worthwhile wine to serve with good food,
and it retails for about R62 from the farm.