I’m a white blend fan – white wines in general really, but blends in particular. It’s a category that South Africa does particularly well, which is hardly surprising given our huge diversity of terroir, and therefore our unique ability to merge ‘old world’ austerity with ‘new world’ fruit.

Love it or not, everyone is talking aboutcoffee Pinotage. The creators of the original version, Diemersfontein, certainly got it right when they devised the idea of launching each vintage with a ’sneak peek’ party for loyal fans. Pinotage on Tap has acquired a reputation as a must-do festival.

Riesling isn’t a cultivar that’s captivated me. Vague recollections of disastrous examples from early drinking days led me to think the wines were probably best for stripping red wine stains created by better-tasting counterparts – til I read Edo Heyns’ article in a recent issue of Wineland.

The life of a PR consultant is frenetic at best (read: NOT glamorous most of the time!), so it’s hard to find the time to take a day away from the office. Still, I didn’t hesitate when I heard about the Swartland regional tastingarranged by the resident lads.

Eben Sadie’s tastings are a convoluted exercise in philosophy and culture that are fairly apt given the complexity of his wines. His recent Under the Influence session at the Roundhouse in Camp’s Bay held all of the entertainment value that I’ve come to expect; with the unexpected bonus of the Terroir Al Limit wines.

It’s hard to know where to start when rating a seminar like the Wine Tourism Conference that took place last week. The level of international expertise was pretty high on the agenda to me, and I promise that’s got nothing to do with my country of origin!