German Pinot Noir comes of age
by Tim Atkin
Question: which country is the world’s third biggest producer of Pinot Noir? I’d always imagined the top five would be France (Champagne boosts the numbers), the USA, Australia, New Zealand...
Country: South Africa
Who needs generic wine tastings?
by Tim Atkin
Hands up who watched, let alone attended, any of the party conferences this autumn? Yup, I thought so. You have to be a serious political wonk (or a paid lobbyist...
Human rights in the Cape winelands
by Tim Atkin
Talk about negative publicity. No wine industry would welcome headlines about the “dismal, dangerous lives” of its agricultural workers, but for South Africa, still keen to persuade the world that...
2008 AA Badenhorst Family White, Swartland
( £24, 14.5%, Swig )After an impressive tenure at Rustenburg, Adi Badenhorst is doing some really exciting things at his new project in the Swartland. This fruit salad white blend of mostly Chenin Blanc with Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Verdelho, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc is a stunner. There’s a sheen of French oak, but what distinguishes the wine is its fruit depth and complexity: perfumed and blossom-scented with notes of honey, ginger spice, fresh apples, peach and a crunchy, refreshing finish. A producer to watch, given his track record.
South Africa’s Mediterranean future
by Tim Atkin
For anyone interested in South African wine, London has been as exciting a place to be as Cape Town over the last month. First we were treated to an audience...
The cult of the winemaker
by Tim Atkin
The death of the Nouvelle Vague film director Claude Chabrol earlier this week has prompted a spate of national mourning in France, with president Sarkozy comparing the great man to...
Novelty wines: Arrogant Frog and other labels
by Tim Atkin
Back in the early 1980s, the Australian producer Wolf Blass invented a sparkling red called René Pogel. Wolfie, as he’s known to friends, is a brash, but extremely successful bloke,...
The other side of own-label
by Tim Atkin
As oxymorons go, they may not be as absurd as “French resistance”, “amicable divorce” and “camping holiday”, but there’s still something fundamentally silly about Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Spaghetti Bolognese,...
Where now for post-World Cup South Africa?
by Tim Atkin
The idea of golf being used as a symbol for the new, racially integrated South Africa might sound absurd to some. You’ve only got to walk around a top course...
Eating out? Please bring a bottle
by Tim Atkin
How do you spend $47,221.09 on lunch for six people? Assuming your credit card company will authorise the transaction, it’s surprisingly easy if you’re a billionaire. To paraphrase Withnail in...
What makes a great sommelier?
by Tim Atkin
It’s been a mixed month for Gallic gastronomy. If the French were insulted by the fact that their country didn’t feature once in Restaurant Magazine’s list of the top 10...
Teaching students to drink wine
by Tim Atkin
When I first heard about a French government proposal to hold wine tastings on university campuses, I assumed it was a belated April Fool. But the more you think about...