Tim James discovers the tale behind winemaker Giorgio dalla Cia’s wines and grappas.
South Africa’s white wine is getting far more acclamation than red wine receives locally and internationally.
In his novel A Maggot, John Fowles gives an archaic meaning of his title word
Grappa was once rough trade, the uncouth Italian peasant not fit to associate with the aristocratic grape spirit, cognac.
Expertise in hedonic or aesthetic matters must always be trumped by personal taste.
A happy whiff of change wafts over the wines to be sold at the Cape Winemakers’ Guild auction in October.
The latest guide to South African wines might have some flaws, but it sets an international standard.
Shiraz-based blends that are not too complicated but fresh and delicious are my own "house red".
The Wine and Agricultural Industry Ethical Trade Association announced last week that a sticker would be produced for wineries that passed its audit.
What is it about bubbles that prompt so many people to forget that the wine containing them is often either acidic or insipid?
The first of this year’s wine competitions announced its results last week and there have been the usual responses from the wine-chattering class.
The past is a foreign country peopled with incomprehensible beings. Or, in this case, it is different winelands from those we know and perhaps love.
South Africa’s winemaking industry is evolving and only eight producers who were top of the pops in 2001 still cling to eminence.
Finding good value is not always straightforward.
On the bottom rung of the wine ladder and worrying about it? Drinking Four Cousin and sure there must be more to alcoholic sophistication than this?
Sometimes ambitious winemakers seem to use a sad bit of illogic, assuming that if a little of something is good, a lot must be better.
Riesling: If you have never riesled, it is time to start.
Cinderella and workhorse were favourite clichés to describe the role of chenin blanc in the local wine industry of olden days.
A is for anticipation, B is for bottoms up — and T is for tanked. <b>Tim James</b> guides you through the best of the season.
Bellingham Johannisberger, that long-surviving triumph of semi-sweet, modestly priced insipidity, is part of a much more elegant family.
