Open space

Archived topics discussed on the website

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Note: Most comments are appended to the articles which prompted them. Some, however, are just general topics raised (or questions asked) by readers, and mostly that is what is covered here

•    Finding hanepoot in Oregon

•    Scrutinising Winex Another wine show gets at least one person wondering

•    The Fridjhon-Sawit clash (2) Clarifying some issues, raising some questions

•    The Fridjhon-Sawit clash A response to the Sawit allegations against Michael Fridjhon

•    How to store those screwcapped bottles

•    Local bubbly, French guests Advice sought

•    Adding tannins to pinotage, and the annual pinotage vintage tasting

•    Those high-alcohol wines – and the shows that reward them, and the labels that mislead about them

•    Ecological aspects of closures – and of wine transport

•    More anti-cork views

•    Uganda, wine and nuns An update requested – and given by Philip Jonker

•    Drinking Zonnebloem 1967

•    Special selections, unrepresentative samples, etc A group of related questions

•    'Tasting with one's eyes': Some Platter discrepancies?

•    Bretty Ernie Anyone out there also disappointed with Ernie Els 2002?

•    Downward pressure on prices  How long before quality suffers, asks an anonymous producer?

•    Overrated or 'great' South African wines?

•    Are blind tastings always best? A defence of the sighted version

•    Parker, pomposity and Tassies

•    Platter time again – Platter problem?

•    Screwcaps vs 'ancient technology

•     Is Makro wrongly bullying wineries?

•     Michel Rolland on film and in the Cape

•    The flavourants scandal: was Grape defamatory?

•    A Gary Player wine?

•    Bretty, Bretty, Brett: Winemaker Tom Lubbe questions whether Brettanomyces is always a fault

•    The Cape's worst wines

•    Brett and award-winning wines

•    Cheese and wine: not a great pairing after all?

•    Queries: Armagnac availability; the value of Kanonkop Cab 1989

•    The 'unnatural' flavour of cheap red wine?

•    Some views on cultured and 'wild' yeasts

•    Are fungicides and pesticides contaminating grapes and wine?

•    Dire Hibiscus Coast wine lists....

•    Does vine age influence wine quality?

•    Home winemaking kits – any ideas?

•    Biodynamic viticulture

•    Low alcohol wines

•    Restaurant wine lists

•    Laying down 2005s for 21 years

•    A radical idea for conducting wine competitions

•    Monitoring changes in wine over 12 or more hours

•    The costs of wine farming

•    Matching regions and varieties in South Africa