South Africa’s old vines: in the ground and in the glass

Protecting old vines in South Africa not only reaps benefits during water shortages but also pays dividends for drinkers, as Peter Ranscombe reports. AS SOON as you land at Cape Town airport, it’s impossible not to be struck by how much the recent water shortages have hit the city, with posters inside the terminal warning…

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Pairing food and wine at Creation in South Africa

Peter Ranscombe visits one of the regions on his wine bucket list, Hemel-en-Aarde in South Africa, and enjoys dining with JC and Carolyn Martin at Creation Wines. “WE DON’T run a restaurant,” maintains Carolyn Martin as we sit down to dinner at Creation winery on Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge in South Africa. As I glance around the…

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Six of the best from South Africa’s Hemel-en-Aarde

Peter Ranscombe selects six of the best wines from the Hemel-en-Aarde ridge in South Africa, which is renowned for its chardonnay and pinot noir. SUPERLATIVES don’t do Hemel-en-Aarde justice: beautiful, stunning, picturesque – none seem to capture the greenness of the trees, the blueness of the skies or the majesty of the surrounding hills. It’s…

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‘The Italian Job’ becomes the ‘South African Job’

Peter Ranscombe examines how producers in South Africa are using Italian grape varieties to craft wines that have identities all of their own. WITH its stone archways and wooden beams, the building that houses Idiom’s wine tasting rooms and restaurant could pass as a modern Italian villa – if it wasn’t in South Africa. The…

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WINE TO DINE – OCTOBER 2018 – WILD MUSHROOMS

Drinks writer Peter Ranscombe selects five wines to go with wild mushrooms. FEW ingredients are as versatile as mushrooms, offering plenty of pairing opportunities, from crisp whites that cut through sauces and creamy chardonnay that accentuates buttery accompaniments all the way through to fresh and fruity reds for meatier dishes. Check out the wild mushroom…

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Glen Scotia brings Campbeltown to the Fringe

If visitors won’t come to the distillery then the distillery will come to them, as Peter Ranscombe discovers. IT’S safe to say that only the most hardcore whisky fans will have visited Campbeltown. While many Scotch nuts will make the pilgrimage to Speyside or catch a plane or a ferry to Islay, the three-hour drive…

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Glengoyne toasts its history at the Fringe

Peter Ranscombe raises a glass to Glengoyne’s Fringe show and food pairings at Contini’s Cannonball restaurant. “SLOW” isn’t a word you’d normally associate with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. During August, 56,796 performers will stage 3,548 shows in 317 venues across Scotland’s capital city, from the biggest theatres all the way through to the tiniest church…

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WINE TO DINE – SEPTEMBER 2018 – GROUSE

Drinks writer Peter Ranscombe picks five wines to go with grouse. TO MARK the start of the shooting season on 12 August, grouse is the star ingredient in the September 2018 issue of Scottish Field magazine. Here are a brace-and-a-half of wines that will help grouse dishes take flight, with a combination of red and…

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Pommery adds some sparkle to the Fringe

Peter Ranscombe toasts the return of Champagne Pommery to the Fringe with a laser show at The Signet Library. I HAVE very fond memories of lasers – they were a big part of my course as a physics student at St Andrews – but I’d never associated them with drinking wine… until last night. The…

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There’s more to New Zealand than sauvignon blanc

Few countries have as close ties with a single variety as New Zealand does with sauvignon blanc, but Peter Ranscombe has been discovering that Scotland’s antipodean twin is much more than a one-trick pony. THINK New Zealand, think Marlborough sauvignon blanc – it may have only been planted for the first time as recently as…

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