Planet Wine

Date posted: April 21, 2025 Planet Wine, the website, has come to an end after about 15 years of sharing stories about our journey into food, wine and the world. Over this period we’ve shared many and varied stories with people who share our love for food, wine and travel.

“The wines of harvest 2025 are now snuggly resting in the cellar,” says Hannes Storm of Storm Wines in the Hemel en Aarde Valley. “It was an intense and condensed harvest, possibly one of the driest - the promise of a remarkable vintage.

As jy van volronde rooiwyne soos cabernet sauvignon en shiraz hou, sal nero d’avola (uitgespreek nair-oh-davo-la) beslis in jou smaak val. Hierdie minder bekende kultivar van Sicilië verdien beslis meer erkenning as wat hy tans kry, en as ’n wyn wat ernstig opgeneem moet word. Nero d’Avola is nie net die belangrikste rooi kultivar in Sicilië nie, maar ook een van Italië se vernaamste inheemse kultivars.

As part of its newly presented wine package, the EU executive has proposed three new classifications seeking to harmonise terminology across member states and support the growing market for non-alcoholic wines. “Alcohol-free”, “0.0%” and “alcohol light” are the new standardised denominations proposed by the European Commission for no and low-alcohol (NoLo) wine products in a bid to enhance their appeal.

Is dit die kleur – lewendig, veranderend met die lig? Is dit die aroma – uitlokkend, bied ’n  fluistering van wat kom? Is dit die toeloop van geure, of dalk die sagte weerklanke wat talm? Sommige sê dis tyd – die manier hoe ’n wyn verdiep, versag en transformer, en geduld beloon. Ander glo dis glad nie die wyn nie, maar die plek waar mense hulself bevind, of eenvoudig die oomblik – soos die stilte van die sonsondergand na ’n lang dag. ’n Herrinnering, onverwags, aangewakker deur ’n enkele teug.

“In general, we were impressed with the overall quality of the entries for this year’s competition, which was reflected in the high ratings,” says Cape Wine Master Christine Rudman, chair of the judging panel. “No wine scored below silver. “This is confirmation that cellars were being selective in their submissions, entering only those wines they believed were of high enough quality to do well. This sense of pride made the panel’s job not only easier but a pleasure,” she added.

Elke wyn vertel ’n storie en elke storie het ’n verlede en ’n hede, met die toekoms wat nog geskryf moet word. Dikwels begin die storie in die verre verlede, soos dié van Meerendal in die Durbanville-wynvallei. Ek wonder hoeveel mense weet dat hierdie wynplaas se geskiedenis so ver terug dateer soos 1702 toe 60 000 wingerdstokkiers aangeplant is. Meer as 300 jaar later word sy trotse geskiedenis en erfenis voortgesit, maar vandag met meer as 150 000 wingerdstokke.

In the world of wine, there’s nothing quite as romantic as the idea of popping open a decades-old bottle and examining how it’s evolved over the years. From the relaxing of tannins to the softening of acidity, aging wine has the potential to completely change a wine’s taste and structure, bringing forth textures and flavors that were not present at the time of bottling.

Deur Jim Clarke - Soos wynliefhebbers se voorkeure verander, verander sommige van die wêreld se bekendste rooiwynstreke hul fokus na witwyne, maar dis moeiliker om verbruikers se persepsies van ’n streek te verander. In die Rhône-vallei in Frankryk waar rooiwyn oorheers, is witwyn besig om in sowel produksie as prestige toe te neem. In Lirac, byvoorbeeld, het die jaarlikse produksie van witwyn byna verdubbel en verteenwoordig nou byna 12% van die streek se produksie.

Both the Leopard's Leap 2021 Culinaria Grand Vin and the 2024 Culinaria Chenin Blanc received Grand Gold Medals at the recent 2025 Mundus Vini Spring Tasting in Germany. Grand Gold is only awarded when the international judging panel scores a wine with at least 95 points.