This weekend is WINEderland, the Tops at Spar Wine Show at Monte Casino. The show opened last night, and was already well attended with people bustling between numerous food stalls, taking a short tasting class, and even contemplating the design of wine bottle labels. In the end, though a wine show is about the wine, and dotted around the venue are some of the best wines in South Africa. These are the estates you should definitely stop by when you go.
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Cape Chamonix has been delivering remarkable wines for years. Back in 2013 they were awarded four 5-star wines in the Platter’s guide and were named Winery of the Year. Since then they have not been resting on their laurels, bringing in new barrels specifically for the Pinot Noir, and they have continued to deliver regular four and a half, and five-star, Platter’s guide reviews.
Look out for: The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir Reserves and the red blend Troika.
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Rising from the ashes of a fire that consumed their vineyards, tasting room and restaurant Idiom has been steadily building a reputation for flavourful, velvety wines that offer exceptional quality in almost every category.
Look out for: The Semillon, Zinfandel and Viognier, which are all great examples of their varietal.
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The Babylonstoren wine farm is known for many things from the immaculate gardens, to the hotel and prized restaurants. People should definitely be paying more attention to the wines. Since the first vintage in 2011 the quality of the wines has steadily been increasing,
Look out for: The Shiraz and flagship Nebukadnesar have always been strong, but this year the Semillon joins its more famous cousins, scoring 95/100 on the Winemag alternative varieties report.
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One of our picks for estates of the Juliet Cullinan Wine Festival, Holden Manz is also making its presence felt at the Tops at Spar Wine Show. The estate has been rapidly developed from its days as Klein Genot, quickly becoming a state of the art facility with top quality small batch wine production and a drive to become fully sustainable.
Look out for: The flagship Big G, is a towering red blend, while other strong wines include the Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc and Syrah Reserve.
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The unique location of the farm at the Southern end of the Hemel en Aarde Valley nearest to Hermanus and closest to the sea gives this estate plenty of different options when it comes to growing their grapes and it shows. Natural vegetation flourishes on the farm and as a result leopards, cerval and baboons have all been spotted there. For a wine farm that claims not to take itself seriously, the quality is up there with the most serious estates.
Look out for: The Swartskaap Cabernet Franc and Die Arnoldus are both top quality wines, but if you want something to buy that’s great value for money, you can’t go wrong with the delightful Kleinboet.
The Tops at Spar WINEderland Wine Show is on this weekend, Friday and Saturday, at Monte Casino. General access tickets cost R185, while couples pay R385 and a VIP Lounge entrance is R495. Tickets can be bought here.
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