Two South Africans walk into a bar...

... along with many restaurants, hotels and wine merchants across the UK. And all in just five short days with the Bancroft team! 

Part of the week's line-up on the banks of the Thames

Last month we were joined by two old friends, colleagues and drinking buddies, Kevin Grant of Ataraxia Wines (Hemel-en-Aarde) and Carl Schultz of Hartenberg Wine Estate (Stellenbosch), along with Kevin's wonderful wife Hanli. We were lucky enough to have their company for almost a whole week, meaning that we were able to fit in a lot of tastings and visits, both in London and the regions. Each day was jam-packed with activity; we weren't taking any chances, considering that the last time we saw Carl in the UK was 3 whole years ago! 

The elusive(!) Carl Schultz, teaching all things Hartenberg to the Bancroft Team 

The week's activities included Bancroft Staff Training (as pictured), many lunches and dinners, some braaibroodjies and of course a lot of absolutely brilliant wine! Both wineries showed their current and upcoming releases, which included the return of a revamped Ataraxia Serenity 2015 and the brand new (not yet labelled!) Hartenberg Rhone Blend 2014, plus some very special back-vintages of Carl's flagship Shiraz, Gravel Hill.   

Kevin Grant of Ataraxia sharing his (ever-brilliant!) insights and anecdotes

We would like to thank Carl, Kevin & Hanli for their time, their hard work and their wonderful company, and we hope that everyone we visited came away feeling as inspired and excited about South African wine as we do!

Dates for your Diary: Producer Visits and Tastings

We've got a busy few months coming up, with lots of producers due to visit us, plus an exciting new series of monthly tastings from now until the summer months take hold.

*NEW* Bancroft Spring Snapshot Tasting

When: Wednesday 19th April, 10am - 4:30pm

Where: Roosevelt Room, Brown's Hotel, 33 Albermarle Street, London W1S 4BP

Theme: ICYMI - bitesized portfolio tasting

We would like to invite you to the first in a series of brand new 'snapshot' tastings, which we will be holding once a month, starting in April - same time, same place, same set-up, different theme. Simple!

Click here to view the Invitation, and to register

This series of tastings will have a different theme each month, and will include some guest appearances from our wonderful winemakers! Each month we will send out a new invitation, detailing the upcoming date and theme - all of the other details will stay the same. Our aim is to bring you a fresh, carefully curated snapshot of our portfolio, perfect for speed-tasting in your break or for mulling over in more detail. 

Stay tuned for more... 

Producer Visits

April

Tuesday 25th - Thursday 27th - Arnaud Bergasse from Viranel (St Chinian) will be in London for one day, and then will be touring the South West for two days! 

May

Tuesday 2nd - Friday 5th - Chateau Montelena (Napa). Bo Barrett (GM/Master WInemaker) and Brian Baker (VP Sales & Marketing) will be in London for a few jam-packed days of events celebrating all things California, Napa and, well, Chateau Montelena! Enquire here for event information.

Tuesday 16th - Thursday 18th - Herència Altés (Terra Alta) Official UK Launch. We are delighted to announce the dates for this launch of our incredibly exciting new Spanish agency, from the beautiful Terra Alta in Catalunya. The core team from the winery will be in London for a series of events, including a focused trade tasting and press launch. Watch this space and your inboxes for more details!

June

w/c 12th - The South Africans are in town! Kevin and Hanli Grant of Ataraxia (Hemel-en-Aarde) and Carl Schultz of Hartenberg Wine Estate (Stellenbosch) are gracing us with a tandem visit. Throughout this week, we will be hosting a number of lunches, dinners and tastings to showcase the diversity of the Western Cape and probably to eat lots of biltong too.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of our upcoming events. Please keep an eye on our events calendar, your inbox (if you are not yet subscribed, email us to do so). Pop us an email to express your interest in getting involved with any of the above events, or to receive more details of our plans.

Ataraxia Chardonnay Top of the Class - Decanter Panel Tasting

We are delighted to announce that the Ataraxia Chardonnay 2015 leads the field in Decanter's rather impressive South African Chardonnay Panel Tasting, published yesterday in Decanter Magazine. Across a panel of three MWs, Kevin Grant's fabulous Hemel-en-Aarde Chardonnay garnered a score of 96 points meaning that it is officially Outstanding!

Huge congratulations to Kevin Grant and the team at Ataraxia! The tasting very much encompassed the who's who of South African Chardonnay, so this is no mean feat. This wine is no stranger to great press scores, with previous vintages receiving high praise as well, but we are delighted to see the 2015 being recognised so decisively as a result of a blind tasting by an expert panel.