Michael Fridjhon

Michael Fridjhon: Where to for VinPro?

By Michael Fridjhon, 24 January 2018

I suspect it's a thankless task trying to run VinPro, the wine producers' representative body. For a start, you are dealing with literally thousands of...

Michael Fridjhon: Why it’s a good time to be in wine – five reasons to be optimistic about in 2018

By Michael Fridjhon, 29 November 2017

It hasn't been an easy year for South Africa, notwithstanding the ever-increasing excitement around our wines in many of the international markets. The local market...

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Michael Fridjhon: Is score inflation really more akin to currency devaluation?

By Michael Fridjhon, 25 October 2017

A recent Twitter debate around the upward movement of wine scores (elsewhere called “score inflation” - though really it's about currency devaluation) is much more...

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Michael Fridjhon: SA wine’s ongoing lack of transformation

By Michael Fridjhon, 27 September 2017

I was privileged to attend a pre-release showing of a documentary entitled “The Colour of Wine” which dealt with the first very tentative steps towards...

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Michael Fridjhon: Sommeliers and the state of restaurant wine service in SA

By Michael Fridjhon, 26 July 2017

Ten years ago the word “sommelier” did not exist in the active vocabulary of any but the most wine-literate of South Africans. “Wine steward” was...

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Michael Fridjhon: Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon – not waving but drowning

By Michael Fridjhon, 28 June 2017

Before the 20 or so producers who participated in the Stellenbosch Cabernet jamboree in Johannesburg earlier this month do themselves an injury by prolonged...

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Michael Fridjhon: Time to overhaul the business of SA wine

By Michael Fridjhon, 31 May 2017

We have a most curious wine industry: at present it enjoys greater visibility in more international markets than most other wine-producing nations, garnering more column...

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Michael Fridjhon: Is there a difference between authentic wine vs wine made to taste expensive?

By Michael Fridjhon, 26 April 2017

What makes a wine “nerdy” - and for that matter, are these the same features which communicate authenticity? I recently – somewhat frivolously – wrote...

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What constitutes “good” wine?

By Christian Eedes, 12 April 2017

What constitutes “good” wine? It was a question I confronted yet again while officiating at the recent Wine Judging Academy, the annual three-day course convened...

Michael Fridjhon: On the Nederburg Auction selection process

By Michael Fridjhon, 29 March 2017

The Nederburg Auction has been changing the way it goes about its business, a decision which both reflects a change of guard at Distell, and...