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www.thevillagenews.co.za
18 November 2020
Five-star performance by Overberg wineries Writer Hedda Mittner
W
ine producers from the Overberg once again made us proud when the 2021 Platter’s by Diners Club SA Wine Guide announced South Africa’s winning wineries and 5-star wines last week. No less than 14 local producers were awarded the coveted Platter’s 5-star seal of approval. “2020 was, to say the least, incredibly challenging for the South African wine industry,” said the publisher of Platter’s by Diners Club, Jean-Pierre Rossouw, “and the after-effects of the prohibition will be with us for some time to come. But, as the results in the 2021 Wine Guide will show, the quality of our wines and the progressive energy of our winemaking teams cannot be denied.” Taking top honours in the 2021 Platter’s Wine Guide is Kleine Zalze Wine Estate, situated just outside Stellenbosch, which produced seven 5-star-winning wines and was awarded the title of Top Winery of the Year. De Trafford Wines (also in Stellenbosch) and Sadie Family Wines (Malmesbury) each secured six 5-star ratings. Noticeable mention was given to Alheit Vineyards, situated in Hemel-en-Aarde, which
produced five 5-star wines: Cartology 2019, Magnetic North 2019, Hemelrand Vine Garden 2019, Lost & Found 2019, and Nautical Dawn 2019.
to the impact of the prohibition on the sale of alcohol, as well as the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions on the hospitality and tourism industries, the announcement of the latest Platter’s 5-star ratings was welcomed by our embattled wineries.
Two other local wineries each produced three 5-star wines – Oak Valley in Elgin (South Ridge CY548 Chardonnay 2017, Chardonnay Groenlandberg 2019, and South Ridge CY95 Chardonnay 2017) and Newton Johnson in Hemel-en-Aarde (Pinot Noir 2019, Windandsea Pinot Noir 2019 and Chardonnay 2019). Also located in Hemel-en-Aarde, Bartho Eksteen’s two flagship wines, Vloekskoot 2019 and Houtskool 2019 were both 5-star winners, as were two Restless River wines (Main Road & Dignity 2017 and Ava Marie 2018), two produced by Storm Wines (Vrede Pinot Noir 2019 and Ignis Pinot Noir 2019) and two by Crystallum (Cuvée Cinéma 2019 and Mabalel 2019). Beaumont Family Wines in Botrivier was again awarded five stars for Hope Marguerite 2019 and Vitruvian 2017.
ard Finlayson’s Tête de Cuvée Pinot Noir 2019 (Hemel-en-Aarde), Lomond’s Pincushion Sauvignon Blanc 2019 (Cape Agulhas), Shannon Vineyards’ Mount Bullet Merlot 2017 (Elgin), Strandveld Vineyards’ Pofadderbos Sauvignon Blanc 2019 (Cape Agulhas), Wildekrans’s Cape Blend 2017 (Botrivier) and Thorne & Daughters’ Rocking Horse 2019 (Botrivier). For the past 40 years, the Platter’s Wine Guide has been regarded by discerning wine connoisseurs as the top authority on South African wines. Star ratings are determined by a points system ranging from 0 to 100. According to JP Rossouw, sighted tastings of more than 9 000 wines were conducted over a few months and only wines that scored 93 points and above proceeded to a second round of blind tastings by a small panel of experts. Making Platter’s annual 5-star wine list is regarded as one of the greatest achievements in the industry.
Beaumont Family Wines also announced that they were “jumping with joy!” Fantastic news! Beaumont has won two Platter 5 stars this year! Beaumont Hope Marguerite 2019 has cemented her place at the top with another 5-star vintage. Our Vitruvian blend has also been awarded its first ever 5 stars… this is a huge moment for the whole team at Beaumont Family Wines. Well done to the @wineonaplatter team and tasters for making this happen in such challenging times.
Joining the 2021 Platter’s five-star list are Bouch-
After having suffered heavy losses this year due
Bartho Eksteen posted his reaction on Facebook: Wow! A year of exceptional highs and heartbreaking lows. We’ve been hit by the greatest blow our industry has seen since Phylloxera, during lockdown. It all became a little sweeter with the news of our two flagship Sauvignon Blancs receiving some of the highest honours in the country!
The complete Platter’s South African Wine Guide 2021 is expected to be on shelves in December.
Pioneering wine farm honoured for innovation by Great Wine Capitals Earlier this month, the Great Wine Capitals (GWC) Global Network announced six 2021 International Best of Wine Tourism Awards, which recognise outstanding wine tourism initiatives that exhibit standards of excellence. This year, the 18th edition was held in a virtual format and the regional winners were: Wirra Wirra Vineyards (Adelaide, Australia), Creation Wines (Cape Town, South Africa), Weingut Thörle (Mainz-Rheinhessen, Germany), Superuco Winery (Mendoza, Argentina), Monteverde Wine Experience Hotel (Porto, Portugal), and Albino Armani Viticoltori dal 1607 (Verona, Italy). This was followed by the announcement that Creation Wines had also been declared the 2021 GWC Global Winner for Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences. Co-owner and marketing director Carolyn Martin says congratulations have been pouring in from all over the world. “On behalf
of the Creation team we’d like to thank all our friends, clients, suppliers and agents for their heart-warming support,” she said. The GWC Global Network stated that “Wine tastings at Creation Wines are always a complete immersion into the entire experience of wine. On the back of Covid-19, this winery situated in the picturesque Hemel-en-Aarde region, launched their virtual tasting packs to allow their customers to enjoy a sensory and guided tasting of six wines in the comfort of their own homes. Another innovative initiative is to assign one ‘tasting ambassador’ from the Creation team to each visitor, limiting guests’ interaction to that one person and ensuring exclusive attention and engagement.” GWC is a network of major global cities sharing a key economic and cultural asset: their internationally renowned wine regions. The annual
Best of Wine Tourism Awards is an international competition designed to reward the wineries in member cities and wine regions that have distinguished themselves in terms of delivering quality experiences to the public. Asked what the global award means to her, Carolyn replied: “To me the 2021 award is all about how we pivoted over the past months. Our team went to extraordinary lengths to mitigate the challenges imposed on wineries during the Covid-19 lockdown and the ban on the sale of alcohol. This happened on many levels: from sourcing materials and upskilling the team to the development of new products and delivery systems. I see the award as recognition for their resilience and courage during a time of great uncertainty and I would like to thank the judges for noticing. Sometimes innovation is born out of adversity; this year was nothing short of a miracle with suppliers, agents, friends and
clients rallying around to create our inspired new reality.” The estate has played a pioneering role in the field of Wine and Food Pairing, presently offering no less than six options. The latest is the ‘Summertime Story of Creation’ pairing menu which Carolyn describes as “most original and scrumptious”. “The Summertime Story of Creation is about grace and gratitude. It’s about our deep thankfulness to Nature, our dedicated team and our loyal clients for having made it possible to overcome the restrictions imposed on us by Covid-19. It’s about counting our many blessings and rewarding our clients not only with the finest of wines and seasonal foods from our pristine region but also with the gentle, joyous ambience of our magnificent setting – creating memories.”
