Tag Archives: Batonage

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 23 July

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*     South Africa has two of CNN Travel Top 10 golf courses in Africa:  The Gary Player Country Club at Sun City, and the Fancourt Links course.

*   All Gold is South African’s best loved brand, and the top 10 brand list includes nine FMCG household brands and the Clicks Club Card.   No beverages other than Coca Cola feature on the Top 10 list, and no wine nor beer brands feature on the Top 30 list, in a study conducted about 8000 brands amongst 15000 South Africans.

*    Durbanville Hills is offering a tasting on 22 August of Sauvignon Blancs and Merlots, from Durbanville Hills, Chile, France, New Zealand and Australia,  led by cellar master Martin Moore.  The tasting will be followed by a Thai green curry dinner. (via De Kock Communications)

*   Madame Zingara’s ‘The Miracle Tour’ is extending its run in the V&A Waterfront to include the rest of winter, the company has announced by e-mail today. Continue reading →

RE•CM 10 Year Old Wine Awards honour Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2003 as the best!

RE•CM (standing for ‘Regarding Capital Management‘) is a wealth management company based in Cape Town, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Wine writer Christian Eedes encouraged the company to celebrate this anniversary with a ten year old wine awards competition. Out of the top three entered finalist wines, Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2003 achieved the highest rating by the judges.

The event was held at The Greenhouse at The Cellars-Hohenhort on Thursday evening, a hotel that is Relais & Châteaux certified, but has the most inefficient ‘boomsman’ who ultimately allows one to drive through anyway after a long story, does not offer enough parking for larger functions, has ineffective signage as to the whereabouts of the different buildings and venues inside them on the property, and has staff that has no interest (nor knowledge) in directing one to the function venue.  A pre-dinner glass of sparkling wine on the manicured lawn, and a few canapés that did not reach many of the guests, highlighted that a large number of the guests were writers.  We discovered later at the table that the other guests were clients of RE•CM who had supported the company since its inception, as well as staff of the investment company.  I sat next to Daniel Malan, Investment Director of the company, who shared two or three sentences throughout the whole evening! A charming table neighbour and client guest on the other side was Chris van Wyk, once a top executive at Sanlam, and who has more recently been involved with PSG Consult in its Hermanus branch.  RE•CM is a ‘privately-owned, independent asset management company that follows a bottom-up value approach based on thorough, fundamental research’, the brochure we received states. Commendably there was no hard sell during the dinner at all, and the focus was purely on the 10 year old wine awards.

After welcoming the guests, RE•CM Executive Chairman Piet Viljoen quickly handed over to Eedes, who provided the background to the competition. He said that like investments, wine requires patience for its quality and value to emerge over time.  He deplored that wine libraries do not exist in South Africa, in which the top wines are stored.  For the competition wine estates were invited to submit their best ten year old wines, and had to be able to provide 24 bottles for the tasting and to be served at the dinner. A total of 73 entries was received from 39 wineries. Judging was done blind by wine educator and entrepreneur Nkululeko Mkhwanazi, sommelier Jörg Pfützner, and Eedes, pictured here with Boekenhoutskloof’s Marc Kent.   All wines were scored out of 20.  Eedes writes in his report about the wines of 2003: ‘2003 was a cracking vintage, described in Platter’s 2013 as “(o)utstanding, especially for reds – concentrated and structured, and often slow to show their best”’.

Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2003 was the only wine that achieved a 5 star (‘extraordinary, profound‘) score from the panel, and Eedes describes it as follows: ‘From a single vineyard in Wellington. Matured for 27 months in only used French oak. Hugely complex showing red and black fruit, floral perfume, crushed herbs, spice and some pepper. Pure and fresh with fine tannins. Still remarkably primary with great flavour intensity – a very precise offering’. After the judges had tasted this wine, there was a ‘moment of silence’, and it was the most impressive wine of all, Eedes shared.

Rudera Syrah 2003 achieved a score of 4,5, and Eedes described it as: ‘From Faure and Koelenhof vineyards. Matured for 11 months in French oak, 20% new. The nose shows red and black fruit, some floral character but also earthy, malty notes. Pleasantly sweet on entry but offset by fresh acidity. Has a noble rusticity about it – powerful but not at the expense of complexity’. Equally Remhoogte Estate Wine 2003 achieved a 4,5 rating, and it was described as follows: ‘59% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Pinotage. Matured for 22 months in French oak, 40% new. Upfront red and black fruit (cherries, cassis) offset by some herbal and spicy notes. Oak smartly used adding just a hint of dark chocolate. A carefully assembled wine which appears medium bodied with well integrated acidity and fine tannins’.  Other 4,5 score wines were Tokara 2003, Morgenster 2003, and Chamonix Troika 2003.

The food at Eat Out Top 10 Restaurant The Greenhouse is always a treat, and assured the hosts an excellent attendance. Chef Peter Tempelhoff was in attendance in the kitchen, we were told, but he did not come into the restaurant. The menu had been prepared to pair with the three top ten year old red wines.  A bread basket was brought to the table, with a variety of bread styles, with two tiny glass bowls with soil, avocado, and miniature vegetables from the hotel garden, to share amongst a table of twelve.  The amuse bouche was a West Coast lobster and bisque poured into the plate at the table, which was served with a sweet corn and roast garlic espuma, and crispy leeks, paired with Villiera Monro Brut 2007.

Springbok tataki was served with a fig and almond pesto, honey roasted figs, almond crumble, celeriac remoulade, and a shiraz gel, and was paired with the Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2003, which everyone at our table wanted more of.  A course of Beetroot Risotto was served with cepe purée, mushroom fricassee, fresh baby peas, and a parsley and pecorino sauce, and was paired with the Rudera Syrah 2003.

The main course was a combination of lamb loin and braised shank, which was accompanied by artichoke dauphinoise, smoked aubergine purée, black olive jam, and tomato fondue, which was paired with Remhoogte Estate Wine 2003.  The tiniest dessert/palate cleanser was a pineapple compote with foam, and buchu ice cream, sprinkled with chocolate. We loved the petit fours that were served with the coffee, and how they were served, our table ordering seconds because they were so delicious, being chocolate truffles and nougat.

The evening ended far too quickly, and the reality of a working day lying ahead sent us home.  Good food (although quite uncharacteristic of The Greenhouse I felt, but perhaps they have special menus for corporate functions and to assist the kitchen with a small pass in coping with preparing the food for close to 60 guests), excellent wines, and the good company of Chris van Wyk and his wife and Hennie Coetzee and Maggie Mostert of Batonage Blog made it a special evening.

Disclosure: We received a bottle of Remhoogte Estate Wine 2007 with our media pack.

RE•CM, Tel (021) 657-3440. www.recm.co.za Twitter: @RECM_Online

The Greenhouse, The Cellars-Hohenort, 93 Brommersvlei Road, Constantia.  Tel (021) 794-2137.   www.collectionmcgrath.com/cellars/the-greenhouse/ Twitter: @GreenhouseCT

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage

Blogging Burn-Out? Where have all the bloggers gone?

Has blogging lost its charm and appeal, three years after taking off in a big way?  It would appear so, if the blogging habits of some of the longer-standing food and wine bloggers are analysed.  I have observed, for example:

*   Dax Villanueva, of Relax-with-Dax Blog, recently Tweeted about taking a blogging break.  Some food bloggers identified with the sentiment of the ‘blogging holiday’, but Dax does not appear to have reduced his frequency of blogging.

*   Spill Blog has reduced from one blogpost a day at its start last year, to infrequent blogging on weekdays, and does not blog on weekends.  Their infrequent Tweeting (@MackSpill) has rendered them almost invisible.  One wonders how advertisers view the reduced Blogging activity.

*   David Cope’s The Foodie Blog now sees one blogpost a month, compared to many more when he first started blogging.  He almost exclusively Tweets.

*   The Jamie Who? Blog is interesting, as blogger Andy Fenner closed down his blog by this name last year, and incorporated it into a joint lifestyle blog called Aficionado, with two other bloggers.  Its clean and neat design, and top level brand endorsements, did not attract enough advertising revenue for the three partners to live from, Fenner blogged honestly, and therefore it was closed down last week.  Now Fenner will have to start from scratch in building readership, an expensive price to pay.  Even Fenner’s blogging frequency on Aficionado dropped significantly, only blogging once in the past month.  Fenner may have lost interest in blogging generally, announcing that he is opening Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants in the next month.

*   Matt Allison of I’m No Jamie Oliver Blog has not Blogged since the beginning of this month, and will be moving to a new blog he will call ‘Planting Thoughts’, reflecting his new passion for urban farming.

It would appear that Blogging Burn-out may be occurring amongst more established bloggers.  Either they are making good money out of their blogs (or not), or they are making money from other sources.  Those bloggers who do not accept advertising on their blogs, blogging for the love of it, appear to be more frequent bloggers.  Serious bloggers spend a good two hours in writing a post, and it is the posting of the photographs that is time-consuming, especially those taken with a better quality camera.  Attending the function that one blogs about, driving there, and then writing about it, can take almost a full day, a luxury for bloggers who have a ‘day job’.

Recently a ranked list of lifestyle blogs and websites, some incorporating food and/or wine, and almost all accepting advertising, was published by Wyncc (linked to Spit or Swallow and Winetimes), based on daily page views (on 17/10):

  1. food24.com126 592
  2. 2oceansvibe.com104 158
  3. winetimes.co.za47 539
  4. watkykjy.co.za – 25 105
  5. capetownmagazine.com19 763
  6. imod.co.za16 558
  7. wine.co.za14 956
  8. bangersandnash.com14 422
  9. lifeissavage.com8 546
  10. jhblive.com6 944
  11. missmoss.co.za – 6410
  12. cooksister.com5 341
  13. capetowngirl.co.za4 807
  14. winemag.co.za – 3 739
  15. aficionado.co.za3 205
  16. relax-with-dax.co.za – 2 671
  17. whalecottage.com2 671
  18. kimgray.co.za2 671
  19. whatsforsupper-juno.blogspot.com 1 068
  20. spill.co.za1 068

Using The South African Food & Wine Blogger Directory as a guideline, I checked the Blogging frequency of a number of blogs.  Pendock Uncorked and Sommelier Miguel Chan Wine Journal Blogs post daily or even more frequent blogposts in general, while Cook Sister, Just Food Now, Food & the Fabulous, Hein on Wine, Batonage, Cape Town by Mouth, Betty Bake, and Scrumptious South Africa blogposts appear more than once a week, on average. It is a shame that Sardines on Toast blogger Kobus van der Merwe last blogged in August, and that Pete Goffe-Wood, with a sharp wit, only blogs once in six months on the Kitchen Cowboys Blog.

The annual S A Blog Awards entries closed at midnight, and appears to be a non-event this year, if the low-key Tweeting about it, and the large number of Bloggers who could not be bothered to enter, is an indicator.  Every year the SA Blog Awards attracts criticism, and this year is no exception.  The biggest surprise is that only ten Blog categories will be contested, compared to 24 categories last year, benefiting more focused Bloggers, and not those writing more generally about a diversity of topics:

  • Best Business / Political Blog
  • Best Entertainment / Lifetstyle (sic) Blog
  • Best Environmental Blog
  • Best Fashion Blog
  • Best Food & Wine Blog
  • Best Music Blog
  • Best Photographic Blog
  • Best Science and Technology Blog
  • Best Sport Blog
  • Best Travel Blog

There is very little consistency and comparability with the SA Blog Awards of 2010. Noticeable by their absence this year are the Most Controversial Blog, Best New Blog, and Micro-Blogging (Tweet) categories. The rules have changed too, and for the first time the Blog entries are limited to Bloggers residing in South Africa, automatically excluding regular past-winner in the Food & Wine category, London-based Cook Sister Blog, and the Indieberries Blog winner of last year. Only two categories may be entered per Blogger.  Voting will be limited to one vote per Blog, and closes on 9 November.  Judges will only evaluate the top three publicly-voted Blogs per category.  Judges will choose the Blog ranking in each category.  The judges vote will decide the overall winner of the SA Blog Awards.  Radio sport presenter JP Naude will be running the organisation, not being a blogger himself, with support of last year’s Award’s organiser Chris Rawlinson.

It will be interesting to see how Blogging evolves over time, and whether the rate of new Blog start-ups will reach saturation.   Loyal Blog readership remains at a high level, readers being more active supporters of Blogs than their writers, it would appear.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage

Batonage bloggers bubble at Food & Wine Bloggers’ Club!

The July Food & Wine Bloggers’ Club meeting, held at What’s On Eatery on Wednesday, was a bubbly affair, with Batonage bloggers Maggie Mostert and Hennie Coetzee sharing their passion for the good things in life, being eating out and drinking wine, and then blogging about it. Siris Vintners kept things bubbly too, by taking the bloggers through a tasting of five Moreson sparkling wines.  It was the first Food & Wine Bloggers’ Club meeting to be sold-out the day before the event.

Batonage is made up of two very passionate foodies and wine lovers, says its Blog introduction:  “Together we decided to create a record of our adventures in food and wine, something we indulge in almost daily.  We are avid wine hunters, always on the lookout for something new and unique to talk, write and spread the word about.  When it comes to food we consider ourselves adventurous eaters, scavenging the latest food and wine pairing at the best eateries, but equally happy to indulge in uncomplicated fare at our local bistro.  The focus will be on visiting wine farms and restaurants, both old and new, and telling you dear reader, of our experiences there.   Every attempt will be made to make the information relevant and we might even make you smile once in a while”.

What makes Hennie and Maggie interesting and unique is that their day job is far removed from their food and wine blogging, and that they write about both wine and food on the same Blog.  Hennie developed a love for wine whilst studying at Stellenbosch University, moving from financial management to wine sales, and ultimately, as sommelier at Singita, a leader in the accommodation industry. To become a sommelier, one must drink a lot of wine, he said, and he completed courses at the Cape Wine Academy.  While he learnt a lot about excellence in food, wine and service, the hospitality hours were not for him, so he has returned to the financial industry.  Maggie studied Accounting at the University of Stellenbosch, worked as a waitress at the Spur in Stellenbosch and did her articles, before setting up her own practice.  Her past experience as a waitress and her accountant’s perspective gives her a unique evaluation of restaurants and wineries. She advised bloggers to be honest ‘nicely’, and to write what they would be prepared to tell someone to their face.  Photographs and writing should not be ‘ho hum’, and one must spellcheck. She advised newer bloggers to attend functions, to eat out and drink a cross-spectrum of wine, and to discover new things.  Hennie advocated the drinking of sparkling wine on more than just special occasions, and even Champagne, when the occasion calls for it. 

Terence van der Walt is a wine merchant at Siris Vintners, a company established by Nigel Cattermole, and Willeen and Philip Burdell.   Terence took the bloggers through the Môreson MCC tasting.  Môreson was established in 1986, and first wines were bottled in 1994.   Clayton Reabow was appointed the winemaker in 2007, after studying at Stellenbosch University, and working at Grande Provence, Distell, Laroche L’Avenir, Vrede & Lust, Chateau de Fleur du Bouard, and in Zell.  We started with Miss Molly 100 % Chardonnay MCC Non Vintage, named after the Weimeraner at Môreson, and captures her personality and passion for life.  The wine label has braille on it, saying “I’m delicious”, and a portion of the sales is donated to the Guide Dog Association.    Solitaire MCC Non Vintage is a new release, with 24 month maturation.  Its palate is a fine mousse with well-balanced acidity complimented by biscuit and marzipan aromas.  Gala MCC Non Vintage has a balanced fruit-forward palate with good structured acidity, made from Pinotage (70%) and Chenin Blanc (30%) grapes, has a sweeter taste, and has matured for 24 months.  The One is Môreson’s first Vintage (2007) MCC made from Pinot Noir (60%) and Chardonnay (40%),  matured for 36 months in bottle, and described as ‘extra brut’.  It can only be bought from the farm, at R160 a bottle.  Pink MCC Non Vintage has strawberries and cream aroma and palate, is made 100% from Pinotage, and was matured for 12 months.

To demonstrate the principles of food and wine pairing, Maggie and Hennie had asked Trevor Jordaan of What’s On Eatery to prepare snacks that would pair well, and some that did not pair at all.   Hennie told us that food and wine pairing is not an exact science, but one’s evaluation of it is a subjective opinion.  It helps to know the acidity of the wine, and that of food, when deciding on a good pairing match.  He explained that sparkling wine is segmented into Brut (very dry), Sec (dry), Demi-sec (semi-sweet) and Doux (sweet).  The acidity in a sparkling wine prevents it from having too sweet a taste, Hennie said.  Some would advocate pairing an acidic dish with a bitter wine, or vice versa, but Hennie disagreed with this approach.   Neither of the two should dominate, and we smiled when Hennie said that food is masculine and wine is feminine. The Tempura prawns on avocado and papaya salsa, and smoked salmon and cream cheese wrap paired well with the Môreson MCC Miss Molly, good value in only costing around R25 a glass in restaurants.  The truffle infused cream on parmesan tuille was not regarded as a good pairing, the parmesan being too dominant.

The Food & Wine Bloggers’ Club was formed to reflect the tremendous growth in and power of food and wine blogs in forming opinion about food, restaurants and wines.  Most bloggers do not have any formal training in blogging, and learnt from others.   The Food & Wine Bloggers’ Club aims to foster this informal training, and to serve as a social media networking opportunity.  Each of the two bloggers talk for about half an hour about their blog, and what they have learnt about blogging.  The Club gives fledgling as well as experienced bloggers the opportunity to learn from each other and to share their knowledge with others.  Attendees can ask questions, and get to know fellow bloggers.  The Club meetings are informal and fun.

   Future Food & Wine Bloggers’ Club meetings have been organised as follows:

   *   17 August:  Nikki Dumas of Swirl Blog, and Matt Allison of I’m no Jamie Oliver Blog, Den Anker venue, Jordan wines

   *   21 September:  Chef Brad Ball of Bistro 1682, and wine speaker from Steenberg, at Steenberg

   *   19 October:   Roger and Dawn Jorgensen of Jorgensen’s Distillery and Honest Chocolate, with a chocolate and potstill brandy tasting, at Haas Coffee on Rose Street. 

   *   12 November: Visit to new Leopard’s Leap tasting room and cookery school in Franschhoek   

Wines are brought along by the wine blogging speaker.  Snacks are served by the restaurant. 

Food & Wine Bloggers’ Club. Bookings can be made by e-mailing Chris at whalecot@iafrica.com.  The cost of attendance is R100. 

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com.  Twitter:@WhaleCottage  Food and Wine Bloggers Club on Facebook