Miguel Chan Note on his tasting and rating procedures

Miguel Chan Note on his tasting and rating procedures


I do not verify any other rating prior to reviewing a wine sample, should mine be higher or lower than any good and well respected South African or International judge(s), wine writer, I leave it up to my growing (daily) loyal followers who read my buzz, blog, tweet or Face Book page to arrive at their own conclusion of either they agree with me or not, as I will always respect my peers, as there is no right or wrong in wine tasting, the only plausible answer to their review will be either a lack of experience in international benchmark, or over zealous confidence that cannot be substantiated.

Hence the need to constantly taste wines of the world and monitor their evolution if any!


I am convinced in today’s modern society of information freedom and overload, the New South Africa, have it’s place for honesty and integrity!


Wine enjoyment is about sharing of accurate information as truthfully as it gets, and there is no personal interest whatsoever and most important of all no time for politics or personal vendetta!, towards wine writers or producers, life is too short to waste unproductively!


The more South Africans drinking better quality wines as well as better value label not inflated by Marketing nonsense or brands appeal (Branding in wines is irrelevant and best left for Coco Cola, at least they can get the consistency right! Year on year!), especially the emerging African market*, who is extremely adventurous and certainly represent the future of South African wine drinker, the better it will be in establishing a sound domestic wine culture and will make the life of a good Sommelier easier on the floor!


*The emerging African wine market/clientele as it is seen in Johannesburg today is certainly the future of the South African wine industry, they are adventurous and are not as difficult as the majority of conservative South Africans from other major metropolitan cities, demanding yes but within reasonable request, willing to spend on the right recommendations, they are clear in their needs and are willing to experiment and learn, and they frequent and support the restaurant & bar business with far more regularity and consistency than any international visitors visiting South Africa for the last 16 / 17 years and I urge wine producers to engage, like very few have done so far instead of wasting their time in Asia, America or Europe as after all African population in South Africa is over 40 million, potential new customers!! Able to drink up the lake of unsold wine which is roughly under 200 million litres surplus as of now! And keep the economy going!