Tag Archives: Winery of the Year

Platter’s by Diners Club Wine Guide 2023 Awards 5 stars to 196 wines!

 

The 43rd edition of Platter’s by Diners Club Wine Guide has announced its 2023 list of 196 wines in 28 categories that were awarded 5 stars this year. A total of 8000 wines by 900 producers was evaluated this year.

Red and White Blends as well as Chenin Blanc are the biggest 5 star classes, with 28, 27 and 28 individual labels, respectively. The Chardonnay, Shiraz/Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon wine categories also performed well, with 22, 16, and 12 brands, respectively.

The Top Performing Winery of the Year goes to the winery that achieves the most five-star ratings after the annual final tasting round, it being Mullineux this year, with 8 five-star wines. It is the Swartland- Continue reading →

Platter’s Wine Guide 2021 bizarre announcement of 5-star wines, Kleine Zalze Wines named Winery of the Year!

 

On Wednesday Platters Wine Guide announced its 2021 5-star Wines List, unusually quietly, not revealing the individual winners names on Instagram or on other Social Media platforms, nor at a function traditionally held at the Table Bay Hotel. It appears that its emphasis is on its App, and selling its information by subscription.

Kleine Zalze Wines was named Top Performing Winery of the Year 2021, having seven five-star wines on the 2021 List, achieving this accolade for the first time in the more than 40 year history of the Platter Wine Guide. The Winery celebrated its achievement with a star-studded cake. Continue reading →

Mullineux & Leeu winery roars with Indian investment!

Mullineux Mull9A renamed rhyming Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines has been created with the selling of the shares in the Mullineux Family Vineyards, owned by British business partner Keith Prothero, to Analjit Singh, owner of Leeu International Investments Limited.   The newly named winery may be on the lips of wine lovers when Platter’s announces its 5 star wines and 2014 Winery of the Year later this month, Mullineux having been a close contender for the 2013 Winery of the Year accolade, with three 5 star wines.

Mr Singh is a highly regarded Indian entrepreneur from Delhi, being Chairman of Max India Limited, with business interests in the healthcare and insurance industries, and who has bought three wine farms in Franschhoek since his son brought him to South Africa for the first time in 2010 to attend the World Cup, having fallen in love with the Cape. I had heard of him from MasterChef SA Continue reading →

Platter’s 2010 toasts 30th anniversary!

South Africa’s most used wine guide has celebrated its 30th anniversary with the launch of its 2010 edition.  To date 1,4 million copies of the wine guide have been sold, reports wine.co.za.

 The Platter’s South African Wines 2010 edition evaluated 6 000 wines, and 41 of these were rated as 5-star, the highest number of top rated wines ever selected. This year the 5-star wines were selected for the first time by means of a blind tasting from a short-list of 105  top wines.

At the launch last week, the Winery of the Year Award went to Sadie Family Wines.   The winery’s Palladius 2008 won the Platter’s White Wine of the Year accolade.   Sadie Family Wines was one of the first estates to explore winemaking in the Swartland, and “continues to set the benchmark and to retain its status as a true Cape icon”, said editor Philip van Zyl.   Villiera Wines’ 2009 Chenin Blanc won the Superquaffer of the Year award.

The 2010 Platter’s lists 6 000 wines, and 800 wineries and brands, of which 50 are new ones, together with information on what to do, where to sleep and where to eat in the Winelands.   The focus is on 2010, and the events to be hosted by the wineries during the 2010 World Cup are listed in the wine directory.

As sustainability is the central challenge for the wine industry, Platter’s has launched an electronic version of its directory via Apple iPhone and iPod Touch, in conjunction with Wine-Oh!  Also, the company is up-grading its web presence, and will run courses for wine farmers on online wine marketing with e-business company Britefire and the University of Stellenbosch Business School.

The 2011 edition of Platter’s will focus on wine estates’ sustainability, it was announed at the launch.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com