For the first time I was invited to assist in the judging of the 2016 SA Dairy Championships, 72 judges evaluating 895 dairy products entered by 85 producers, both record numbers. A total of 23 products received a Qualité Award, and one of these was named as the South African Dairy Product of the Year 2016, namely Dalewood Fromage Huguenot 12 months matured. Continue reading →
Tag Archives: Chenin Blanc Association
Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge 2015: Chenin Blanc has ‘come of age’, a ‘national treasure’!
Yesterday the second Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge was held at the Cape Grace, with the Top 10 Chenin Blancs selected out of a total of 145 wines entered. The banner in the pre-lunch venue summarized the stature of Chenin Blanc, with the pay-off line ‘A South African National Treasure‘!
Canapés of pastry cases with salmon and hollandaise sauce were served with Sparklehorse Chenin Blanc MCC made by Ken Forrester Wines. Ken Forrester is the Chairman of the Continue reading →
Entry open for Standard Bank/Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge 2015!
The 2015 Standard Bank/Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge is open for entries, to be evaluated as the most prestigious Chenin Blancs in our country.
Entries close on 3 July. The panel of judges is UK wine writer Jamie Goode, wine consultant and sommelier Higgo Jacobs, Singita wine sourcer Francois Rautenbach, Master of Wine Cathy van Zyl, and associate judges Jaap-Henk Koelewijn of Tokara and Tongai Joseph Dhafava of La Colombe. Continue reading →
Chenin Blanc ‘Summer Showcase’ with a view at Meloncino!
The Chenin Blanc Association hosts a tasting of its top members’ wines twice a year, to match the summer or winter season. Last week a tasting of 25 top Chenin Blancs was followed by a summery Italian-inspired lunch with a view onto Table Mountain at Meloncino in the V & A Waterfront.
The tasting of the 25 Chenin Blancs was divided into five groups of five wines, and was led by Jeff Grier of Villiera, a gentle good off-the-cuff speaker, being so good with his notes that he often knew more about the wines 
than was shared by the winemakers. Jeff stood in for Ken Forrester, Chairman of the Chenin Blanc Association, who spends a lot of his time marketing his wines in the USA. What makes these events great is that writers can meet a number of the winemakers at the table, getting to know them a little better, the Simonsig (Hannes Meyer), Ayama (Liezel Delport), and Rijk’s (Pieter Waal) representatives sitting Continue reading →