Guru of the grape Michael Olivier has had a rummage and come up with a brilliant aged rum – the 12 year old Appleton Estate from Jamaica.

John Fraser throws back his dreadlocks and hosts a studio tasting with Prosopa Restaurant’s Dino Fagas, Jeff Osborne from Gumtree, IT guru Michael MacDonald and cask-strength brander Jeremy Sampson.

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Chef and wine guru Michael Olivier uncorks a glorious Cape red,  the 2012 Shiraz from Groot Constantia.

The Johannesburg tasting panel are IT genius Malcolm MacDonald, wine writer and branding consultant Jeremy Sampson, wine list award winner and Prosopa proprietor Dino Fagas, and Gumtree Auto’s Jeff Osborne.

John Fraser also hosted another chat about the merits of decanting wines, if only so you can collect the decanters….
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Food and drink pioneer and evangelist Michael Olivier presents another stunning Cape Red for our latest wine tasting podcast.

It is the 2012 Lanzerac Pioneers Pinotage.

John Fraser is joined in the Joburg studio by guest tasters: branding rock star Jeremy Sampson, restaurateur Dino Fagas of Pretoria’s Prosopa, Jeff Osborne from Gumtree Auto SA, and IT genius Malcolm MacDonald.

The podcast also includes a chat on how best to market ZA wines, and the role Pinotage may play in this.

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Man met die pan Michael Olivier joins man met die pun John Fraser for a tasting of two treasures from Muratie, with names reflecting the Estate’s historic background.  

They are the 2013 Laurens Campher white blend and the 2011 Ansela Van de Caab red blend.

Restaurateur Dino Fagas from Prosopa, IT superstar Malcolm MacDonald, Jeff Osborne from Gumtree and wine fanatic  Jeremy Sampson join John in the Johannesburg studio.

As well as the tasting, this podcast features a chat about corked wine.

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Food and Wine guru Michael Olivier has unearthed another gem for our latest Die Vine Intervention wine tasting.  It is an impressive Cape Red – the Kranskop Tannat.    Johannesburg tasters are Cape Wine Master Debi van Flymen of Wine Cellar, branding Professor Jeremy Sampson, and Tersos’ George Mantchorov. The Divine Interveners also chat about low-tech decanting and the benefits of using the Internet to find out more about wine.  And not just to listen to our podcasts.

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Food and Wine guru Michael Olivier returns to the mike in our CT studio for another Die Vine Intervention wine tasting, featuring a lovely Cape white – the 2014 Creation Chardonnay.

Johannesburg tasters are Cape Wine Master Debi van Flymen of Wine Cellar, brand old Jeremy Sampson and Tersos’ George Mantchorov.

There is also a chat on how SA might export less wine in bulk and more in bottles.

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Cape Town’s top sniffer and spitter Michael Olivier presents the 2012 Dorrance Chardonnay to rave reviews from a distinguished bunch of tasters.

John Fraser is joined in Johannesburg by branding expert Jeremy Sampson, Debi van Flymen from the Wine Cellar and Tersos’ George Mantchorov.

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Wine scribe and chef Michael Olivier sips and spits his way through another Cape gem, the Groot Constantia Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc 2014 white.

John Fraser is joined in the Johannesburg studio by Cape Wine Master Debi van Flymen from the Wine cellar, vintage quaffer Jeremy Sampson and techno-wizard George (Gantcho) Mantchorov from Tersos.

The panel also offers a few tips on tips. Is it OK to fail to leave a tip after poor service? And how do you handle an aggressive waiter?

(Apologies to all. The audio quality on the line from Cape Town was not up to the normal high standard.)

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Gurulicious food and wine expert Michael Olivier introduces two stylish reds from the same stable – Belfield’s 2011 Syrah and the 2011 Magnifica.

John Fraser is joined in The Die Vine Intervention Jo’burg studio by IT expert Malcolm MacDonald, Corlien Morris from Wine Concepts and Gumtree Auto’s Jeff Osborne.

The tasting is followed by a chat on topical food and wine issues.

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You may have seen the recent articles about wine being made with Rooibos and Honeybush woods, which has the massive benefit of having no added sulphites.   Here is a link to the recent Business Day article on the topic http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/innovation/2015/02/26/rooibos-revolution-for-cape-wine

Michael Olivier has unearthed one such wine – KWV’s Earth’s Essence Pinotage 2014.   He presented it to our tasting panel of Corlien Morris from Wine Concepts in the Bluebird Centre, Jeff Osborne of Gumtree Auto and IT expert Malcolm MacDonald.

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