If we’re looking for fine wine, we take advice from Platter’s South African Wine Guide 2023 – where we found it’s been a star-studded year for Steenberg Vineyards. And in particular for their flagship Sauvignon Blanc, The Black Swan. Acclaimed as one of the country’s top Sauvignon Blancs, this 5-star wine is fresh, with scents of lime zest, white blossom, elderflower and persimmon supported on the palate by bursts of fresh grapefruit and subtle hints of nectarine and mange tout. This wonderful food wine pairs well with Asian-style grilled line fish, calamari with an apple and sumac salad or a tomato salad with ricotta and basil. You’ll find it for R255 at steenbergfarm.com.
A year of drinking only fine wines. Not necessarily the most expensive, but definitely the best in their class. So we’ll be keeping our wine bible – Platter’s South African Wine Guide 2023 – on hand. This is the 43rd edition of the authoritative South African wine guide – and it features the Five Star wines out of the more than 8000 reviewed (nice job!). There are descriptions of producers across the wine regions of South Africa and has useful info for learning about and traveling in our gorgeous winelands. R399 from Exclusive Books.
Another one topping the Platter’s charts … the guide honoured Trade Winds Wine with one of the highest accolades … that of Platter’s 2023 Newcomer Winery of the Year. So this month we’ll be trying the Trade Winds Sauvignon Blanc 2021, described in the guide as “Melange of ripe tropical flavours mingle with bright, zingy acid & citrus vivacity. Light lees contact in tank adds structure & length”, and the Trade Winds Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 … “Confident debut of 2019. Fruitcake-toned body given spice from 18 months in seasoned French oak. Inky depth & concentration delivered without loss of refinement, 18 months mellowing in bottle at cellar adding to the elegance.”
Details: tradewindswine.com
