Welcome to Alchemy

At Alchemy, we celebrate craft booze, and proudly stock many craft drinks produced in South Africa. We are inspired by tradition and moved by innovation. Our commitment, work ethic and dedication to excellence are old fashioned. But our cocktails are not.

al·che·my \ ˈal-kə-mē \
“… a seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination…”
“… the process of taking something ordinary and turning it into something extraordinary, sometimes in a way that cannot be explained…”

chasing wine

occasional Musing about all things wine by Theo. read about his journey of exploration, of challenge and of WONDROUS new discoveries.

Our wine mojo

Special wine finds and new discoveries are generally hard to come by, and, at the risk of generalisation, in KZN we tend to go for "safe" varietals. So the mojo behind our wine choices in The 'Other' Room is clear: we aim to bring wine lovers in our corner of the world extraordinary South African wines, introduce the pioneers who are blazing new trails, and encourage winos to challenge themselves, step out of their comfort zone and try something new. While always striving to provide good value.

I hate Burgundy

This (somewhat deliberately controversial) statement raised a few eyebrows at a recent wine tasting. Fact is, a trip to Burgundy some years ago left me unimpressed with the wines though moved by an extraordinary cellar and tasting experience. As always with wine, I have recently had to challenge my own prejudice. South African wine makers are creating fascinating Pinot Noirs worth exploring, especially as summer approaches. Sometimes all it takes is to keep trying previously dismissed options!