Tastings of sweet wines, both unfortified & fortified, as well as aged, are hardly everyday events. Presented to our group by The Foundry’s Chris Williams, this diversity of styles was delightfully different & interesting. The Tokaji, Gonzalez Byass & Banyuls were my top 3.

Our new podcast is out! One firm says that its AI tech can help wineries blend better #wine: just one of the claims that Telegraph wine critic @victoriamoore.bsky.social discuss here. Can it? And will AI help you choose a better bottle? Find out on Apple bit.ly/4xGk9iB, Spotify bit.ly/4al5tLP etc

An area new to me; Bordeaux varieties, full-bodied & rather rustic, which gives it a certain attraction & suits the style.

Thanks for the recommend @tomlewiscambridge.bsky.social. Great beer, pizzas & vibe here tonight with my stepdaughter & family.

Today is Endangered Species Day. The Trump administration has rolled back protections for: —Wolverines —Sea turtles —Monarch butterflies —Bison —Polar bears —Rice's whales —Alligator snapping turtles —Saltmarsh sparrows —Florida panthers

Hey South African writers, this is a general call out for flash stories (500 words), both fiction and creative non-fiction for the IN OTHER STORIES anthology I edit with @karavanpress.bsky.social Deadline: 1 June 2026. Email address: [email protected]. Information in the attached image.

Winemakers, MWs & wine savvy people blind tasted these 10 2016 Bordeaux, with the aim of identifying each commune. Many confident guesses, few on target (I did get Cos!). Wine is forever humbling.

I’ve learned never to judge a wine on day one if it doesn’t quite live up to expectations; day two may tell a different story, as happened here. From showing lumpy 15% alc & little sign of fruit to a drawstring of acidity, bright flavours & refined delight.

These camera trap pictures from the Masaai Mara are absolutely, jaw-droppingly beautiful. Great story as well. blog.burrard-lucas.com/2026/04/secr...

Sustainability is usually associated with vineyards, but it is also an important consideration when building, as Reyneke Wines are showing with their new winery. outofthepress.wordpress.com/2026/03/27/b...

The ancient, heritage vines of Franschhoek & their contribution to the wonderful Boekenhoutskloof semillon. outofthepress.wordpress.com/2026/04/05/u...

Are you a wine-loving photographer? Well, here's something that might interest you. The first annual Old Vine Photography Contest. Submit your best old vine images (old vine = any vineyard over 35 years of age) for fame and prizes.

Today I'm celebrating a pretty big milestone -- we've now registered 10,000 vineyards in the non-profit, crowdsourced Old Vine Registry. We hit our audacious goal 15 months earlier than we'd hoped to.

A great article on what is Cape Town. www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/...

US bomber leaving England to bomb Iran. Even all the fences and closed roads can't stop people from filming it.

Our tasting group took a little wander through well-known Rioja brands. On the day, always great value Bosconia 2014 prevailed over big brother Tondonia 2012, both have time to go.

On left from the film "1984" with photo of Big Brother. On right the new image Trump had posted outside DOJ. The resemblance between these two is NOT a coincidence.

Vineyard Area per Capita Worldwide (2023): Moldova is the distant #1

Misleading? At first glance, this appears to be another Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. However, this Kiwi-style wine is not from New Zealand’s “South Island,” but from South Africa. Producers all over the world like to associate their Sauvignon Blanc with the success of New Zealand’s wines.

Compared to 2024, South Africa’s wine exports increased by US$21.6 million (3.3%) in 2025. The strongest growth was recorded in the Netherlands (US$6.89 million) and Zimbabwe (US$5.40 million). In contrast, exports to Namibia (–US$10.96 million) and the U.S. (–US$7.41 million) declined significantly

Latest for Wine Mag in South Africa winemag.co.za/wine/opinion...

Minneapolis has been nominated for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize by The Nation magazine, a magazine with.connections to Nobel laureates, including the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

New from me for @timatkinmw.bsky.social: with Elton John climbing aboard the NoLo bandwagon with his new alcohol-free wine this #DryJanuary, I hazard a tentative opinion: it’s a load of tedious rubbish in the service of neo-prohibitionism and has nothing to do with #wine timatkin.com/the-curse-of...

Anyone want flights to South Africa from london 31st Jan to 15th Feb? Cost of transfer of name only.

Alsace riesling + a classy pinot gris for our monthly tasting group. Schaal easier to get as they make wine here; the RG’s brought back from Alsace made for interesting comparison in levels of sweetness & texture. No duds; all round pleasure.

Gewürztraminer is a marmite wine (you love it or hate it); this is delightful, understated spice, rose petals & Turkish delight, richness with freshness & best, those flavours memorably long. An enjoyable summer sundowner Not every producer is a Trimbach, but gewurz is underrated.

Every year I review 10-year-old wines kept in my air-con cellar since release. In some years there are many; this year, there’s just one 2016. For why & how it’s doing, here’s the link. outofthepress.wordpress.com/2026/01/07/v...

As we ease into 2026 (Happy New Year!), thoughts turn to travel. If you could visit any wine-producing country for the first time & return to one already visited, where would they be? For me, a first time to Georgia & yet another exploration of fascinating Italy.

Happy & peaceful Christmas to all. May 2926 bring positivity, reward & hope. 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄

Our motley monthly tasting group, winemakers & others involved in wine, blind tasted this lot (always international wines, no saffas); told one region, different areas. Eventually got there; for now non-plussed 2020 rated best since sliced bread. Buying 2nd bottle of reds to try in 5years.

Annual reminder to water your Christmas tree poems …

Some reflections on my forty years as a contributor to South Africa’s leading wine guide, Platter’s outofthepress.wordpress.com/2025/12/04/f...

“A stupid man's report of what a clever man says can never be accurate, because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand.” — Bertrand Russell

Technical & artistic brilliance.

Just arrived; looking forward to reading & discovering how much being sustainable sometimes follows a twisted path. Thanks for tackling a very important subject @hernehillandy.bsky.social

I’m not afraid to admit when I’m wrong & I was about this wine. Peter-Allan Finlayson⁩ was, understandably not so happy. All it needed was time to harmonise & evolve to its complex layers of pinot’s pure, dark fruit with the freshness to focus & let them linger. How much I’m enjoying this!

Congratulations:The Golden Vines Slate Aviation World’s Best Rising Star Award – Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines, South Africa and The Golden Vines Amorim Cork Innovation Award – Rosa Kruger, The Old Vine Project, South Africa harpers.co.uk/news/fullsto...

South African wine in the 1970s was highly regulated, quantity was valued more than quality. Red Tape is the story of Tim Hamilton Russell who wanted to produce world class wines, but vines were illegal where he wanted to plant. outofthepress.wordpress.com/2025/11/04/a...

The Swartland, home to golden wheat in rolling fields, to green, eager vines climbing the mountain sides. Taken today in the lush of spring, much wheat yet to be harvested, the vines starting to flower. It’s an inspirational region of the Cape.

New book on the shelves, a memoir of Tim Hamilton-Russell by his daughter, Brigid. She has unearthed much otherwise unknown information about this advertising executive/wine-farmer pioneer in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley. He was also an Incubator of many of today’s winemaker stars in the valley.

New from me in Club Oenoloqique: facing up to #wine’s biggest challenge, sustainability cluboenologique.com/story/rooted...

In part 1 of 2 in-depth reports on #CapeWine2025 @thebuyer11.bsky.social analyses the opportunites South Africa has to take its wines to another level & challenges it still faces to get buyers to pay the more premium prices it expects & wants for its wines www.the-buyer.net/insight/cape...

In September 2023, a storm devastated the Hemel-en-Aarde valley; the river separating north from south-facing slopes cascaded, sweeping away every bridge. The road through the valley is still under repair, the scarred mountain slopes will never be. Fortunately, few vineyards were severely damaged.

This shouldn’t be divisive, but probably will, pinotage can be refined, as this is. Sleek & silky with pure raspberry/strawberry flavours, freshness & neat tannin trim. The next few days are peak pinotage with its centenary art celebrations as a pinot x cinsaut cross

This shouldn’t be divisive, but probably will, pinotage can be refined, as this is. Sleek & silky with pure raspberry/strawberry flavours, freshness & neat tannin trim. The next few days are peak pinotage with its centenary art celebrations as a pinot x cinsaut cross