If there is a country that I have visited which I regret not having had more time to tour its wineries, it is South Africa. We holidayed there a couple of years ago, travelling from the Waterberg to the north of Johannesburg all the way to Cape Town via the Great and Little Karoos.

The plan was to have a good few days around Franschhoek and Stellenbosch to do the vineyards justice. In the event, we were so heavily distracted by the beauty of the Karoo that we arrived with far too few days in hand.

The visit that I'm most disappointed not to have managed was to the Jordan Winery, just outside Stellenbosch.

I was particularly keen to go as the wines have always stood out for me as being among South Africa's loveliest and most reliable wines.

It wasn't for the want of trying. We did actually get to the winery but we had overindulged in yet another delicious lunch and so tore up the drive barely five minutes before closing time.

So I promised myself that I would make the time to visit the Jordan Winery stand at the recently held London Wine Fair.

I didn't get off to the most auspicious start. I managed to get on the Tube going in the wrong direction on my way to meet them and stumbled on to their stand slightly frazzled and not exactly on time.

This is invariably the way of things when you find yourself faced with the neatly presented, utterly professional husband and wife team that are Gary and Kathy Jordan.

The couple have been making wines at their vineyard since 1993, arriving via a period of study at UC Davis, one of the world's leading centres of learning for viticulturalists and oenologists, and spells in various vineyards around the world.

The Jordan vineyards are planted on sites that rise from between 160m above sea level to in excess of 400m and it is this, combined with a variety of different soils - 13 in all - and the cooling influences of both that Atlantic and Indian oceans that allows for each of the varieties to be planted in the top spot for optimum ripeness.

This is one of the key factors in ensuring that the Jordan wines don't suffer from under-ripeness, a fault that has been cited as one of the key challenges for South African wines.

It was equally interesting to learn that purposeful segregation doesn't stop in the vineyards. Even the Jordan cellars are divided individually for each grape variety.

In the same way that many educationalists argue that single-sex schools deliver better academic results, so Gary and Kathy believe that keeping the grapes apart delivers the best wines. By keeping them separate, they can ensure that each variety is transformed from juice to wine in the conditions that best suit their needs.

When I made my fleeting visit two years ago, the one wine I did manage to buy a bottle of was the Jordan Sauvignon Blanc. I distinctly remember drinking it while sitting on a B&B veranda overlooking the incredible Cape scenery and thinking that life didn't get much better.

I know and I understand the craze for New Zealand Sauvignon wines but I have got to tell you that this South African number is just as worthy as its Antipodean cousins.

If you don't believe me, try it.

Gary tells me that plans are afoot to build a top-class restaurant at the winery and this combined with the fact that I have already seen the breathtakingly beautiful scenery that surrounds their estate makes me more eager than ever to visit them at home. With food on site and no Tube trains to negotiate, you never know, I might just make it on time.

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