South Africa- The Trailer...

January 24, 2017

South Africa- The Trailer...

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Wine Merchant in want of a really exciting, exclusive, heart-stoppingly brilliant range of South African wines, needs to get off his fat, lazy, all too well proportioned arse and do something about it.

And so it was, dear readers, that the first weeks of 2017 saw us assembling a hit list of potential targets whose wines, whilst recognised and regarded in many markets, are still to cross the radar in the UK. I can’t tell you how many coffee-fuelled hours have been spent poring over John Platter’s guide, Tim Atkin MW’s 2016 report and, tragically but necessarily, Google but perhaps the most fun we had was dragging our very own tame Afrikaaner, Lucas Swanepoel, down into the bowels of the Connolly’s cellars where we shone bright lights into his eyes and pumped him for the names of his favourite winemakers – the scars may eventually heal but I’m not sure his fingernails will ever grow back!

Suitably armed, approaches have been made to said wineries, appointments arranged, flights booked and camera retrieved from the pawn shop. Departure may still be three weeks away but let there be no doubt, we are very excited about the visits we have lined up; numerous commentators (yours truly amongst them) have described South Africa as the most exciting of southern hemisphere wine producers and it is a reputation built largely on the vision of a new generation of winemakers. I shall be blogging on a regular basis throughout the trip to whet your appetites for the delights to come and it is safe to assume that we shall be hosting a whole series of tastings in the Spring – watch this space……





Also in Blog

Tasting Sessions- Italian Masterclass Offer
Tasting Sessions- Italian Masterclass Offer

September 04, 2024

You really should have been there………………

There are tastings and then there are tastings and last month we served up the most phenomenal Italian Masterclass in the company of Michael Palij, Master of Wine, who steered us through some of his most recent discoveries (notably a Sardinian quartet which provided all the evidence you need of the revolution taking place in the island’s vineyards and cellars).

Continue Reading

Tastings - The Guest Sessions
Tastings - The Guest Sessions

May 01, 2024

Continue Reading

April's arrival heralds a spring of sporting heroics from Arch 13/Connollys ......................                    Alternative title: Oh blimey, s*** just started to get real
April's arrival heralds a spring of sporting heroics from Arch 13/Connollys ...................... Alternative title: Oh blimey, s*** just started to get real

March 29, 2023

Recent visitors to the Arch 13/Connolly’s emporium may have chanced upon a frankly ridiculous poster which could lead you to question the sanity of certain members of the team.

Continue Reading

The Half Bottle – it’s a thing of beauty
The Half Bottle – it’s a thing of beauty

March 14, 2023

Years ago, before very clever folk started coming up with all manner of means to keep open bottles of wine (reasonably) fresh, half bottles of wine were a thing. Growers would routinely bottle a modest proportion of their harvest into half bottles and restaurants in particular, would carry them, largely for the benefit of solo diners

Continue Reading