Wine Wizard

Wine Wizard SA's authoritative wine site offering Michael Fridjhon's tasting notes, recommendations, news and more. www.winewizard.co.za

South Africa's foremost wine critic, Michael Fridjhon a.k.a. Wine Wizard, helps you every step of the way in choosing the right wine by offering tasting notes and scores, as well as food pairings, occasion recommendations and more. Use the magic wizard on www.winewizard.co.za or download the app for Apple and Android.

It is unusual to have an opportunity to taste the full line-up of the auction selection for the annual Cape Winemakers’ ...
22/08/2026

It is unusual to have an opportunity to taste the full line-up of the auction selection for the annual Cape Winemakers’ Guild sale, and even more unusual to be permitted to taste them blind.

Producers have a right to be concerned about the impact of an adverse score on their sales prospects, though it is equally true that those whose reputations have longevity and weight can easily counter less-than-sumptuous score/notes.

Either way, Michael Fridjhon was very happy to again engage with the wines without the impact of the brand to influence his opinion.

Click below to see the full article, including his scores and comments obtained from tasting blind the wines to be offered on the 2026 Cape Winemakers Guild Auction.

https://winewizard.co.za/article/1899

📸 Cape Winemakers Guild on their way to Johannesburg, proudly dressed in green and gold 🏉 🍷

Very few businesses remain under the control of the founding family for more than a century. The successful ones general...
17/08/2026

Very few businesses remain under the control of the founding family for more than a century. The successful ones generally become public companies, either because they need to fund expansion or because later generations want to cash out.

Read the full article on winewizard.co.za

Image by Champagne Louis Roederer

Long ignored by our growers (and our wine writers) Chenin - locally referred to as “steen” - was the work-horse grape of...
13/06/2026

Long ignored by our growers (and our wine writers) Chenin - locally referred to as “steen” - was the work-horse grape of the Cape wine industry for most of the 20th century. No one even mentioned it by name - it was the unspoken, unnamed base in most South African blended wines (and the fruit source for our once vast brandy industry) from the 1960s until its renaissance a little over 25 years ago.

Now Chenin is widely regarded as the nation’s vinous calling card, a splendid noble cultivar more widely planted in South Africa than anywhere else in the world, and yielding wines of great finesse and versatility.

Amongst the best of our recently tasted examples are:

2022 City on a Hill Old Vine Chenin Blanc (95 Points)
2023 Paulus Wine Co. Bartàs Chenin Blanc (92 Points)
2022 Fuselage Staggerwing Old Vines Chenin Blanc (92 Points)
2024 Marras Vixen Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc (91 Points)
2024 Perdeberg Wines G.O.A.T Old Vine Chenin Blanc (91 Points)
2024 Muratie Laurens Campher Chenin Blanc (90 Points)

It would be difficult to pretend that the world of wine is in a happy state. Worldwide consumption has fallen to pre-196...
12/06/2026

It would be difficult to pretend that the world of wine is in a happy state. Worldwide consumption has fallen to pre-1960s levels, tariffs have contaminated long-established trading relationships and disrupted sales, the mother-grundies are getting ample airtime for their half truths about the dangers of alcohol and consumers are under pressure.

The term “perfect storm” has too positive a connotation for the situation.

Read what’s on winewizard.co.za

Michael Fridjhon wanders Cape vineyards with Brigid Hamilton-Russell (Red Tape: The Untold Story of a Visionary South Af...
19/05/2026

Michael Fridjhon wanders Cape vineyards with Brigid Hamilton-Russell (Red Tape: The Untold Story of a Visionary South African’s Battle Against Bureaucracy, and The Birth of a World-Renowned Wine Region) and Emile Joubert (Meerlust: Beyond the Rubicon) at this year’s Kingsmead Book Fair in Johannesburg on the 23rd of May.

Join Michael Fridjhon and Bridgid Hamilton-Russell at the Franschhoek Literary Festival as they unpack the remarkable st...
22/04/2026

Join Michael Fridjhon and Bridgid Hamilton-Russell at the Franschhoek Literary Festival as they unpack the remarkable story of Tim Hamilton-Russell and the legacy of Hamilton Russell vineyards, blending biography, history, legal challenges, political obstacles and family heritage through an insider’s view in the first book to chronicle the Hemel-en-Aarde wine region.

Book your tickets now by visiting flf.co.za or webtickets.co.za

Address

Rockridge Road, Parktown
Johannesburg

Opening Hours

Monday 08:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 08:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 08:00 - 17:00
Thursday 08:00 - 17:00
Friday 08:00 - 17:00

Telephone

+27114829178

Website

,

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Wine Wizard posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Wine Wizard:

Shortcuts

Share