Six of the Best-Value Wines From South Africa

Soft, chillable and so easy to enjoy, this is a delicious ambassador for the quality, value and finesse South Africa`s reds can offer. The country`s signature grape, pinotage, is blended expertly with syrah and handled gently in the winery by the outstanding Radford Dale team, resulting in a joyful, cherry-scented Wine Champion. Radford Dale are a brilliant case study in pioneering sustainable practices, despite challenging circumstances. They employ practical low-intervention solutions in the vineyards such as encouraging raptors to manage pests, and creating a natural water purification system with reeds. They also run a trust using revenue from the sale of wines of the Land of Hope range to fully pay all educational costs for the children of their black employees.

Impressive Cape White Blend from Piekenierskloof with majority chenin blanc alongside dashes of grenache blanc and palomino. Exclusive to The Wine Society the chenin and grenache are tank fermented with the palomino seeing used wood resulting in a broad, supple white with flavours of peach, stone fruit and light cedar.

An exclusive blend for The Wine Society sourced exclusively from older Swartland vines that can handle the warm, dry conditions of this in vogue region. Offering great richness and complexity for the price this is brimming with herbs and spice notes complementing the crunchy bramble and redcurrant fruit. Bottled in the UK to provide even greater freshness and value. Riebeek Valley Wine Co. shares the ideals of the Integrated Production of Wine (IPW), a South African initiative aiming to reduce the use of chemicals and improve waste management across the country’s wine industry. They’re members of WWF’s Biodiversity in Wine Initiative (BWI), highlighting their commitment to protecting the native ‘renosterbos’ shrub and adopting better farming practices for a healthier ecosystem. Their Wine & Agriculture Ethical Trade Association accreditation shows their commitment to ethical trade, fair labour policies and top-level occupational health and safety compliance, and they run an empowerment project for their farm and cellar workers, who are shareholders in the vineyards.

Generous and spicy South African blend of shiraz and mourvèdre with floral perfume, enhanced on the palate by notes of forest fruits, cassis and spice.

Taken from old chenin vines in the heart of the Swartland this is an impressively complex South African chenin for the price, with crisp stone-fruit and tropical notes and a smooth mouthfeel with a crisp, fresh finish.

Crisp, refreshing citrus-and-nettle packed sauvignon blanc from Robertson in South Africa, and it's a real crowd pleaser.