Sign in with facebook
Search for Best Value wines made ULTRA easy
Cash-strapped South Africans are discerning in their search for quality, affordable wines. But they need not look far. “Quaffable, pocket-friendly wines are found in abundance in the 2013 edition of the Best Value Wine Guide. The handy pocket book, published by RamsayMedia and sponsored by Ultra Liquors, takes the angst out of making a decision when faced with a bewildering selection of labels on wine shelves,” says publisher Jacqueline Lahoud.
For the first time in four years, the Best Value price threshold has been increased, from R60 to R80, reflecting incremental increase in prices of everything else over the same period. And the results speak for themselves.
A total of 549 wines under R80 feature in the guide, including 41 award winners. 418 wines cost less than R50 a bottle, and 285 of those are less than R40. Making these -numbers even more impressive is that more than half of the wines – 310 – are rated 3 stars or better!
Three 4½-star wines and an outstanding 32 4-star wines also appear in these pages. In fact, for the- first time in the competition’s history there is a clear 5-star wine. The KWV Classic Cape Tawny, with its 5-star rating, is considered to be ‘world class, a masterpiece’ and is going for a steal at R63, illustrating that this year’s competition has seen a lot of good value, as well as good quality overall.
In total, 1 114 entries were received from wine producers across South Africa, of which 810 wines made it through the initial screening. After five days of blind tastings by a panel of expert judges, led by chairperson Christine Rudman, CWM, 549 wines were ultimately deemed worthy of a 2½-star rating, a prerequisite for inclusion in the Best Value Wine Guide. Wines were then scored out of 20 for Value, using a price-per-star formula developed by auditors PKF Chartered Accountants, with those earning 19 or 20 on the Value scale receiving Value Awards. Top honours for Best Value Winery went to Orange River Cellars with four Best Value Awards.
The iconic red Best Value sticker continues to differentiate the Best Value wines from the masses on retail shelves, and this year Value Award winners are eligible for a new Best Value Winner sticker to further highlight their achievement.
The 41 Best Value Award winners for 2013 are:
White wines
BC Wines Chenin Blanc 2012 (Brandvlei Cellar) R20.00
Bain’s Way Viognier 2011 (Wellington Wines) R24.30
Boland Cellar Five Climates Chenin Blanc 2012 R25.50
Bon Courage Andre’s Fame Colombard 2012 R22.00
Flutterby Sauvignon Blanc 2012 (Boland Kelder) R25.00
Pulpit Rock Brink Family Chenin Blanc 2012 R24.00
Goedverwacht Crane White Chardonnay 2010 R25.00
Goudini Chenin Blanc 2012 R24.00
Martinique Johannisberger 2011 (Du Preez) R21.55
Savanha Chenin Blanc 2011 (Spier) R32.00
Versus White 2012 (the company of wine people) R23.00
Rosé wine
Live-a-Little Rather Revealing Rosé N/V R21.00
Red wine
Allée Bleue Starlette Pinotage 2011 R32.00
Boschendal The Pavillion Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 R38.00
Cape Vinelands Merlot 2010 (Asara) R24.99
Goedverwacht Crane Red Merlot 2011 R25.00
Groot Eiland Shiraz Pinotage 2011 (uniWines Vineyards) R50.00
Eikendal Cuvée Rouge 2011 R30.50
Excelsior Purebred Red 2012 R30.00
Havana Hills Lime Road Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Cabernet Franc 2008 (Du Plessis) R22.80
Ken Forrester Petit Pinotage 2011 R34.50
Namaqua Beachbraai Cabernet Sauvignon N/V R45.00
Obikwa Merlot 2011 R29.99
Obikwa Shiraz 2011 R29.99
Orange River Cellars Ruby Cabernet 2011 R29.55
Tangled Tree Spicy Shiraz 2011 (Van Loveren) R25.00
Van Loveren Blackberry Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2011 R39.33
Dessert wine
Bovlei Winemaker’s Selection Hanepoot Jeripiko N/V R32.00
De Wet Cellar Rooi Muskadel 2010 R30.00
Namaqua White Muscadel R35.00
Orange River Cellars Rosé Natural Sweet 2012 R24.40
Orange River Cellars Red Jerepigo N/V R36.50
Orange River Cellars White Muscadel 2011 R36.50
Robertson Winery Gewürztraminer Special Late Harvest 2011 R29.95
Wagenboom Hanepoot 2008 R23.00
Port and Sherry
Bon Courage Cape Vintage 2011 R40.00
Bain’s Way Jagters Port (Wellington Wines) R40.50
De Wet Cellar Cape Ruby N/V R35.00
KWV Classic Cape Tawny R63.00
KWV Classic Full Cream R61.00
Sparkling wine
Du Toitskloof Cape Secco Beach Club Blanc N/V R26.50
The 2013 Best Value Wine Guide sells for R32,95 and can be ordered online at www.magsathome.co.za.
Seventy-five thousand copies of the guide will be bagged with all October issues of Getaway magazine.
Want to browse the Best Value wines online? Visit the newly launched www.bestvaluewineguide.co.za.
