South Africa Wines - February 2026

The varied palate of our members was clearly shown at our February 2026 South African wine tasting, hosted by the very popular Preet, of Egmond Wines.
42 members were present for this tasting and although it's normally hard to guage popularity on the night, people's propensity to buy as a result of a tasting can be a good measure of the quality and enjoyment of the wines. It was never so true as this evening.
​This chart shows which wines were purchased most often by the members. To give some indication of their enjoyment, 210 bottles of wine were purchased on the night.
Leading the way was a very light and freshly drinkable sparkling wine, Truida 2022. Made in the traditional champagne method - Méthode Cap Classique (MCC), it was a great start to the evening and extremely popular.
Nearly tipping the list was the Cloudskraal Sauvignon Blanc 2025. Most of the members had already enjoyed the previous years Cloudskraal, so they would have likely bought this years even without a tasting. Once tried, it was a no-brainer to buy more.
Yet, as-if to demonstrate the wide tasting preferences of the group, just behind the Cloudskraal came the wonderfully named Winkelshoek Cape Vintage 2022, a fortified wine made in the traditional vintage port method using 45 year old Pinatage vines. It’s a deep ruby coloured dessert wine with oaky spice notes and mocha underpinned by a fruity core of plums and red berries. It’s really tasty, like a ruby port might taste.
According to Winkelshoek, the producers, ‘Cape Vintage’ is the South African term for a port-style wine made from a single vintage, which has been matured in oak barrels or tanks for at least one year. The wine is supposed to pair well with dark chocolate, venison & blue cheese – and I wouldn’t argue as I could just imagine it doing so, although possibly not at the same time. It’s definitely worth a try and a good bottle to give as a gift or enjoy at a dinner party.

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