By Giorgio, a taste of Italy at Dalla Cia
Tim James discovers the tale behind winemaker Giorgio dalla Cia’s wines and grappas.
Tim James Author
Wet winter yields wonderful summer wine
South Africa’s white wine is getting far more acclamation than red wine receives locally and internationally.
Obsession worms its way into pinot noir
In his novel A Maggot, John Fowles gives an archaic meaning of his title word
Grappa sprung from Cape soil will lift a humble spirit
Grappa was once rough trade, the uncouth Italian peasant not fit to associate with the aristocratic grape spirit, cognac.
Eeny, meeny, miny, mourvèdre
Expertise in hedonic or aesthetic matters must always be trumped by personal taste.
Great whites make a meal out of full-blooded reds
A happy whiff of change wafts over the wines to be sold at the Cape Winemakers’ Guild auction in October.
SA’s best wines on a Platter
The latest guide to South African wines might have some flaws, but it sets an international standard.
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Simple shiraz blends make for drinking comfort
Shiraz-based blends that are not too complicated but fresh and delicious are my own "house red".
SA wines take a fair step in the ethical direction
The Wine and Agricultural Industry Ethical Trade Association announced last week that a sticker would be produced for wineries that passed its audit.
Bursting the bubble
What is it about bubbles that prompt so many people to forget that the wine containing them is often either acidic or insipid?
Judging top 100 is an exercise in futility
The first of this year’s wine competitions announced its results last week and there have been the usual responses from the wine-chattering class.
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Those weren’t the days in Franschhoek
The past is a foreign country peopled with incomprehensible beings. Or, in this case, it is different winelands from those we know and perhaps love.
Raise a glass of the Cape’s finest to our top 20 wineries
South Africa’s winemaking industry is evolving and only eight producers who were top of the pops in 2001 still cling to eminence.
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Good value is just one aspect of a rising star
Finding good value is not always straightforward.
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Enjoy a fine seat on the fruity lower rungs
On the bottom rung of the wine ladder and worrying about it? Drinking Four Cousin and sure there must be more to alcoholic sophistication than this?
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Too much plank and you get plonk
Sometimes ambitious winemakers seem to use a sad bit of illogic, assuming that if a little of something is good, a lot must be better.
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Incentive to rock ‘n riesling
Riesling: If you have never riesled, it is time to start.
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Old faithful settles into a new niche
Cinderella and workhorse were favourite clichés to describe the role of chenin blanc in the local wine industry of olden days.
Get into the spirit with the A-Z of festive drinks
A is for anticipation, B is for bottoms up — and T is for tanked. <b>Tim James</b> guides you through the best of the season.
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Podlashuk’s heirs fulfil his promise
Bellingham Johannisberger, that long-surviving triumph of semi-sweet, modestly priced insipidity, is part of a much more elegant family.
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All’s fair in posh and plonk
Wine lovers in Jo’burg can choose between the Cape’s famous, fancy or fresh wines this weekend.
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Adventurers are spoilt for choice
There are an awful lot of South African wines out there — about 7?000. It’s tempting to abandon adventurism and reach for another bottle of the same.
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Wild claims and outrageous price leave a bitter aftertaste
Too many producers regard wine journalists as badly paid PR people.
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Shilowa turns sumptuous Epicurean
It’s not every wine show that has a once-powerful politician pouring sips of wine for all and sundry.
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Lammershoek grows caution to the wind
Wine sales generally are bad, exports less lucrative than they should be — the industry is bleeding. Is this the best time for experiments?
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The case for parental guidance
Meerlust has just about everything going for it these days.
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Platter high-fives to diverse vineyards
Although the 2012 <em>Platter’s Wine Guide </em>will be released only next month, the winners of its top ratings were announced this week.
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Dynamism doesn’t end at Swartland
Which are the most exciting wine areas of the Cape? I increasingly hear murmurs of discontent of too much focus on the Swartland and on its wineries.
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Pinot’s troubled affair has its good moments
The "heartbreak grape" they call it — a cliché used by wine-growers who’ve tried and failed to get pinot noir to produce the wonders of Burgundy.
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Keeping sweet with the rich
The wine industry seems to be pandering to a conservative, rich market that likes flashy stuff.
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Poor yields from grapes of wrath
It’s been threatening for a long time: a report from a responsible international body replete with accusations of shocking farmworker conditions.
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Malbec trades on Argentina’s success
Homeland remains heartland for most grape varieties. Possibly the only important exception is malbec.
