At the conclusion of The Business of Wine & Food Tourism Conference held at Spier over the past two days, the seven South African winners of the 2016 Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism Awards were announced.  (more…)

A number of records were broken last night when 94 wines and one brandy were awarded 5 star status at the launch of  the Platter’s by Diners Club South African Wine Guide 2017 at the Table Bay Hotel, a new venue, the event having been held at the Mount Nelson for years. The colour of the 2017 Platter’s Guide is Harvest Green.  (more…)

Franschhoek is celebrating the best of its white wines, Rosés, and MCCs at Franschhoek Summer Wines, to be held at Leopard’s Leap Family Vineyards tomorrow (Saturday 6 February) from 12h00 – 17h00. (more…)

I have been to The Plettenberg hotel a number of times to eat at its former Sand and now renamed Seafood restaurant.  Given that the hotel is five-star graded, a Relais & Chateux property, and under the supervision (long distance) of Eat Out Top 10 Chef  Peter Tempelhoff, my expectations are high of the restaurant in being the best in Plett, yet sadly are  (more…)

Earlier this year I was shocked to see that the La Motte Culinary Director (and wife of its red wine maker Edmund Terblanche) as well as Kokkedoor judge Hetta van Deventer had reviewed De Warenmarkt for Eat Out. Now it appears from the new Eat Out 2016 magazine that she reviewed a number of Franschhoek and other Boland restaurants (many on wine farms too) that are in direct competition with Pierneef à la Motte restaurant!

At the time that I saw the De Warenmarkt review by Van Deventer I (more…)

It could have been a disaster, changing the venue from the Mistico Equestrian Centre outside Paarl to the SunEvents Centre at GrandWest two days prior to the 17th Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards 2015 today. It turned out to be the best Friday the 13th disaster for New Media Publishing, organizers of the Eat Out Awards, described by many as the best Eat Out Awards ever! (more…)

Chef Michael Deg of Delaire Graff Restaurant must be a happy man, with the news that the restaurant has been named the Best Winelands Restaurant in our country, in the 2016 Great Wine Capitals Global Network Best of Wine Tourism Awards!

The news must be  even more joyous for Chef Michael, given that he was excluded from the Eat Out Top 20 Restaurant (more…)

Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

* DA Leader Mmusi Maimane has challenged President Jacob Zuma to ‘show leadership’ by repealing the visa regulations, which are costing the country in Tourism arrival declines. Maimane said that an inter-Ministerial committee meeting will take too long to show results.

*   The City of Cape Town has been accused of waiting more than three years before it brought a review application about the proposed (more…)

Vicky Cristina’s is the name of a movie made by Woody Allen. Now a Spanish style restaurant with the name of the movie has opened in Camps Bay. Vicky Cristina’s tapas bar y restaurante españo is inexpensive, has an upmarket interior, and good service.

Vicky Cristina’s took over the space from Sofia’s on the upper level of the Camps Bay Promenade, above Pick ‘n Pay, a few months ago.  It has sister restaurants in Johannesburg and Durban. The owner of the (more…)

In my book CNN is a credible news agency, but this image has been severely dented by an article entitled ‘7 stunning Cape Town vineyards with food as good as the wine’, written last week by one Griffin Shea. Not one of the seven wine estates featured are in Cape Town!

The article introduction is short and sweet: ‘It’s no secret that in Cape Town, good wine abounds. But wine farms also host some of South Africa’s best restaurants, which pride themselves on serving up meals from ingredients often grown just steps away from the tables. These restaurants have won enough awards to fill walls, but like so many of South Africa’s best places to eat, they’re generally relaxed, unpretentious affairs where the prices won’t break the bank. Many of the menus are deceptively simple, heavy on local ingredients and farm fare, but prepared with passion and care’.

It does not state on which basis the wine estates were selected, but obviously they had to have a ‘great‘ restaurant, (more…)