Published by Struik, Mixed Case is an attractive addition to the rather crowded field of wine literature.

It is sub-titled A unique guide to the Cape Winelands. Unique is an overworked word, and there is nothing in this 210-page book that is spectacularly novel or hitherto unknown. But it is a very pleasant digression from the catalogue style of many wine books.

The author is a newspaper and magazine wine columnist, and he adopts a rather whimsical and highly personal approach. He discusses wine estates, production methods, cost and pricing problems, cellar technology, restaurants, side entertainments and a host of other topics that touch on the Cape wine industry.

The photographs, all of them in colour, are exceptionally good, and so is the quality of the paper. It is in fact a kind of small format coffee-table book, and it is a credit to the publishers that they can bring something like this at a price of R140. - Michael Green