Duimpie Bayly

Legend of Frans Malan alive and well as Simonsig turns 50

~ emile ~ 3 Comments
Frans Malan in the vineyard.

Regular attendees of wine events will have experienced an inspired wine maker or marketer stating that “wine is made in the vineyard”. Which is, with respect, becoming a bit of a cliché.

The role of the human hand in making wine can never be underestimated. As Duimpie Bayly, a true South African wine legend and former head of production for Stellenbosch Farmers Winery says: “Wine might be made in the vineyard, but I’ve never seen a horse winning the Durban July without a jockey.

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Pleasures of Being Savage

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I was chasing salted squid, eating baby pigs and talking to jaded fado songstresses when I missed the party. Well, one of them.

The one I was sorry to have slipped-up on was the maiden launch of two wines in the solo portfolio of Duncan Savage, also known as Cape Point Duncan. You know the dude I am referring to: the eternally boyish winemaker, he of the disarming smile and manicured facial hair who single-handedly turned Cape Point Vineyards into a South African icon winery in less than a decade.

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No Cult Wine in the Making – Keets First Verse is Already Here

~ emile ~ 6 Comments
Chris Keet (photograph plagiarised from Neil Pendock's blog.)
Seeing as wine commentary is ?+¦-+???+¦-ú?-¦?+¦-ú?+¦+¦ like all commentary ?+¦-+???+¦-ú?-¦?+¦-ú?+¦+¦ personal and subjective, one is allowed the confident luxury of making big statements. Make too many of them, and their effect is obviously diluted. So before coming up with a massive missive on a space such as this read by about 12 wine enthusiasts, three of my closest friends as well as my brainy dachshund Maximillian, careful consideration is required. Continue reading →

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Young Pinotage Wines Show Grace Under Pressure

~ emile ~ 2 Comments
The prospect of tasting 14 Pinotage wines barely out of their nappies is about as daunting as engaging in a bit of face-sucking with a komodo dragon. At the best of times, three-month-old red wines are a tad tough on the mouth of any human not involved with the profession of tasting barrel samples before the day’s All Bran. And in its youth Pinotage can be an especially trying customer due to its penchant for infantile volatility and the wine’s love of,clinging onto any trace of wood like baby-shit to a Pep Stores blanket.

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