(By Peter) I took part in a blind tasting in late September 2022 for Which? magazine to find some great value sparkling and red wines for Christmas. Full results are in the magazine or the PDF below. It's quite a handy guide if you're on the lookout...
Banks Brothers Chardonnay No.3, 13%, Hemel-en-Aarde, South Africa (13%) (£21 for three 250ml cans) We've been trying a fair few wines in so-called alternative formats recently. Including cans - like this one. And this is, without doubt, the best wine we've ever tried out of a can. It's very...
David & Nadia Aristargos 2018, Swartland, South Africa, 13.5%, (£25, Justerini & Brooks) We cracked open this voluptuous but energising white to mark South Africa’s Heritage Day (24th Sept). You can see a short vid we filmed for the occasion, as below. Many wine industries around the world...
When I was asked to compile a selection of thirty great New World buys under £30, my first thought was: what does New World mean? And my immediate reaction was: excitement. That's what I want wines from new countries to give me - a real sense of...
Sadie Family Wines Treinspoor 2016, Swartland, South Africa (c. £35, Lay & Wheeler, Noel Young, Uncorked, Hedonism, Handford, Philglass & Swiggot & more via WineSearcher) First things first: this is a wildebeest of a wine. It's wild - no domesticated decorum here. It has almost animalistic tendencies...
The Ned Noble Sauvignon Blanc 2015, New Zealand (from £12.99 for 375 ml, Majestic or via Wine Searcher) It's isn't easy finding good sweet wines to suit not only your own taste but also to go with the food you have before you. What's more, the good ones just don't...
Stellenrust Stellenbosch Manor Chenin Blanc 2016, South Africa (from £8, Sainsbury's) This was my Saturday Kitchen wine choice to go with steamed halibut, asparagus and shellfish by Tom Kitchin. It's a very wine-friendly dish. What does this mean, quizzed presenter Matt Tebbutt? It's a good question, so perhaps...
Journey's End Honeycomb Chardonnay 2016, South Africa (£10, Marks & Spencer) Poor old Chardonnay. I was told of someone recently who refuses to even allow it into the room, such is the virulent distaste they have for it. I'd argue this is to throw the baby out with the...
Meerlust Pinot Noir 2016, South Africa (£17-22, 2015 vintage currently at The Wine Society, Four Walls, Hedonism or via WineSearcher) I remember my first visit to Meerlust, back in 2003. Over a very convivial lunch with gravel-voiced owner Hannes Myburgh, a fair old quantity of his fine Pinot Noir...
Paul Cluver Ferricrete Riesling 2015, South Africa, 10.5% (£9.75 down from £13, Marks & Spencer) I was so impressed by this wine, and how well it went with Wolfgang Puck’s langoustines with charred aubergine and red Thai curry that I couldn’t resist blowing our Saturday Kitchen budget....