Platter's South African Wine Guide 2018, by Philip van Zyl

Platter's South African Wine Guide 2018, by Philip van Zyl. The Guide to cellars, vineyards, winemakers, restaurants and accommodation. ohn Platter SA Wine Guide (Pty) Ltd. 38th edition, Hermanus, South Africa 2018. ISBN 9780987004673 / ISBN 978-0-9870046-7-3

Philip van Zyl, editor of Platter's South African Wine Guide since the editon of 1980, reviews some trends in South African wine as shown in the following excerpt.

Some Trends in South African Wine

There's much evidence that it's the best of times in a dynamic, exciting South African wine industry. But for some it's the worst of times, so let's get the bad news out of the way first. Industry wide, there's a crisis of profitability for many grape farmers. There are over 3,000 of them in the country (only two-thirds as many as there were at the turn of the century). This compares with fewer than 600 cellars which actually crush grapes, ranging from tiny private wineries to the enormous facilities of the big merchants and the 'producer cellars' (the commercialised co-operatives). Incidentally, but significantly, no other country in the world has such a large proportion - about 85% - of its wine produced by big merchants and co-ops. Many of the farmers, the backbone of the industry, are suffering for reasons going deeper than the drought which has for a few years laid a heavy load on them, and at the time of writing, looked set to continue, with even worse and more widespread effects. Simply put, for many farmers, their income from grapes has for some years been rising much more slowly than their costs. The frequent consequence is farmers confronted by the difficult choice of increasing yields to maintain their income (which generally produces poorer quality wine), or abandoning their vineyards, or neglecting the expensive task of maintaining and eventually replacing them. For a decade now, the country's total vineyard has shrunk each year. Nonetheless, South Africa's place in world wine production rose to 7th place in 2016, with 3.9% of the tota,  overtaken by China since 2015, but moving ahead of Chile and Argentina, which have had their own problems. Fortunately, the rest of the news is mostly good. The South African wine revolution proceeds to develop and show remarkable dynamism, and critics everywhere agree that quality at the top level continues to rise (giving remarkable value for money by world standards). [...]

Tasters for Platter's South African Wine Guide 2018

Angela Lloyd, Cathy van Zyl, Winnie Bowman, Greg de Bruyn, Tim James, Christine Rudman, Meryl Weaver, Hennie Coetzee, Joanne Gibson, Cathy Marston, Fiona McDonald, Gregory Mutambe, Samarie Smith, Dave Swingler. Tasters of previous editions: David Biggs, David Clarke, Christian Eedes, Higgo Jacobs, Ingrid Motteux, Khuselo Mputa, Jörg Pfützner, James Pietersen.

Content: Platter's South African Wine Guide 2018, by Philip van Zyl

A WARM WELCOME FROM DINERS CLUB
SOME TRENDS IN SOUTH AFRICAN WINE
EDITOR'S NOTE
WINERY & WINES OF THE YEAR
Our Method & the Accolades We Award
Winery of the Year
Red, White, Fortified & Unfortified Dessert Wines of the Year
Five Stars
Highly Recommended
Hidden Gems
Buy Now, Drink Later
TASTERS FOR THIS EDITION
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
A-Z OF SOUTH AFRICAN PRODUCERS
THIS YEAR'S RATINGS SUMMARISED
THE INDUSTRY
Overview
Industry Organisations
Winegrowing Areas
Grape Varieties
Competitions, Challenges & Awards
Wine & Brandy Education
Make Your Own Wine or Brandy
A-Code Numbers & Certification Codes
STYLES & VINTAGES
Recent South African Vintages
Older Vintages
South African Wine Styles
South African Brandy, Husk Spirit & Sherry-Style Wines
WORDS & PHRASES
Winetasting Terms
Winemaking Terms
TOURING WINE COUNTRY
Wine Routes, Trusts & Associations
WinelandsTourism Offices
Specialist Wine Tours
Restaurants in the Winelands and Cape Town
Accommodation in the Winelands and Cape Town
Disabled Access in SA Wineries
Winelands Maps

This is an excerpt and a table of content from Platter’s South African Wine Guide 2018.

Title: Platter’s South African Wine Guide 2018
Subtitle: The Guide to cellars, vineyards, winemakers, restaurants and accommodation
Editor: Philip van Zyl
Publisher: Jean-Pierre Rossouw
Publisher: John Platter SA Wine Guide (Pty) Ltd
38th edition, Hermanus, South Africa 2018
ISBN 9780987004673 / ISBN 978-0-9870046-7-3
Hardcover, 11 x 20 cm, 664 pages, several map insets, colour photos and tables, text: English