Kleine Zalze Wines from Stellenbosch saw its offering of Chenin Blanc and Shiraz/Syrah wines topping two leading international and South African awards shows this week, with a Gold Medal at the international Syrah du Monde held in France as well as a top-scoring and top 10 spot respectively in the Prescient Chenin Blanc and Shiraz Reports presented by leading on-line wine publication Winemag.
Kleine Zalze, the award-winning Stellenbosch wine estate that is among others renowned for its selection of premium Cap Classique sparkling wines, has released its first range of Cap Classiques in the burgeoning Nectar category. The selection of off-dry sparkling wines comprise the Kleine Zalze Cape Nectar Blanc and a blush-hued Cape Nectar Rosé, two non-vintage products whose complexity and multi-layered flavour profiles result from using the traditional classic Cap Classique cultivars of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Mushroom lovers and nature enthusiasts will this year once again have the opportunity to experience a weekend dedicated to foraging for wild mushrooms as well as attending a number of informative workshops centered around these delectable fungi on Delheim Wine Estate. Delheim’s mountain pine forests are home to over 20 species of wild mushrooms, and from 16 to 18 June, this well-known wine farm on Stellenbosch’s Simonsberg will be welcoming new and experienced mushroom foragers to get out there and collect their own mushrooms, as well as offering visitors the opportunity to attend workshops hosted by specialists in the fields of all things mushroom.
As a Burgundy acolyte, Andries Burger, winemaker of Paul Clüver Family Wines in Elgin, found renewed respect for the vignerons of that famous French wine region with this year’s challenging weather conditions Paul Clüver Family Wines experienced during vintage 2023. “Burgundy is known for steep variations from vintage to vintage due to the erratic weather conditions that differ every year in that part of the world,” says Burger. “The unexpected rainfall experienced in Elgin and throughout the Cape this year, seldom seen in our summer, gave me practical insight into what Burgundy goes through during harvest in terms of its ever-changing array of climatic challenges.”
Erratic weather conditions and unseasonable summer downpours in the Cape winelands have already ensured the region’s 2023 wine grape harvest being termed as one of the most memorable in recent memory. And for Kleine Zalze Estate in Stellenbosch this year will be remembered as a vintage in which human foresight and the Kleine Zalze team’s experience in and understanding of their vineyards played a crucial role in avoiding damage to harvest-ready grapes or the dilution of crushed juice.
Premium Stellenbosch wine estate Kleine Zalze secured one of only 26 gold medals to be won by South African producers in this year’s ground-breaking international Concours Mondial du Sauvignon competition for Sauvignon Blanc wines which was held outside Europe for the first time in the show’s 14-year history. This year the exclusive competition travelled to Franschhoek, South Africa with 50 international wine experts judging 1 210 wines from 20 countries, resulting in a gold medal for the Kleine Zalze Family Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2020.
In the first Concours Mondial du Sauvignon competition to be held outside Europe, Diemersdal Estate in Durbanville won one of only 26 gold medals that went to South African producers after this year’s judging. The Concours gold medal went to the Diemersdal Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2022, a wine that last year drew spectacular accolades, winning an FNB Sauvignon Blanc SA Top 10 spot, as well as double gold at the Veritas Wine Competition.
