We all love those chilly days, cosying up in front of an oversized fireplace with a glass of red. If you are looking for the perfect companion, we suggest our wine of the month – a robust red from Haut Espoir in Franschhoek.

This 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon has dominant cranberries and plums on the palate. The tannins are silky smooth and integrated with smokey oak notes. This is an elegant wine that can hold its own with a hearty stew or casserole.

Making this wine the winemaking team de-stemmed all the bunches and crushed only 20% of grapes lightly. The rest of the grapes were fermented as whole berries. All grapes were transferred to open fermenters with skin contact for 3 days, after which some bins were inoculated with yeast and the rest underwent wild fermentation. Malolactic fermentation started spontaneously. This Cabernet Sauvignon was matured for 43 months in French oak barrels.

If you find yourself in the Franschhoek wine valley, pop around to the Tasting Shed at Haut Espoir. The cosy space is being kept warm with sustainably sourced firewood and visitors can join Master Host Siya for an exclusive wine tasting.