Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines
* After having focused on Cape Town earlier this week, Huffington Post has included Hermanus in an article entitled ‘5 Lesser-known African wonders you have to see’. Whale-watching is recommended, from July – November, with twenty to thirty whales being seen in Hermanus on average per day in that period, announced by the whale crier on his kelp horn. The other wonders are the lunar rainbow in Zambia, the South Carmine Bee-eater migration in Zambia, wildebeest calving in Tanzania, and the Fruit-bat migration in Zambia.
* South Africa’s premium wines over £10 a bottle were praised at a blind tasting held in London on Tuesday, offering quality and value for money. The tasting was organised by the drinks business and the Premium Independent Wineries of South Africa, a collective of 15 local wine producers, promoting premium wines costing £10 or more. Only 4% of wines are bought at that price-point, warned Tesco’s South African wine buyer, but he praised the quality of our wines, saying that they are ‘fantastic‘. He said that our country’s premium wines need to promote their credentials. Local wines tasted were Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc 2000, Beaumont Hope Marguerite 2009, Journey’s End Destination Chardonnay 2012, Mulderbosch Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2010, Radford Dale ‘Nudity’ Syrah 2013, Mullineux Syrah 2012, Mvemve Raats de Compostella 2012, Jordan Cobblers Hill, South Africa 2011, Newton Johnson Family Vineyards Pinot Noir 2012, The Drift ‘There are still mysteries’ Pinot Noir 2012, and Paul Cluver Pinot Noir 2012.
* Italian anti-trust and competition authorities are investigating TripAdvisor for its action on fake reviews. Booking.com and Expedia.com are also being investigated for their rate agreements with hotels possibly being to travellers’ disadvantage.
* Western Cape Tourism Minister Alan Winde retains his Economic Development and Tourism portfolios, and now handles Agriculture too.
* SAA CEO Monwabisi Kalawe is being investigated for four alleged misdemeanors: buying a stake in the bankrupt Senegal Airline, charging passengers for luggage-wrapping services which were not delivered, irregular fuel buying procedures, and not making himself available for a performance evaluation. Kalawe has replied that he is being subjected to ‘sabotage’!
* The Galito’s restaurant chain is to expand into India (10 outlets), the Middle East (15 outlets in the UAE), and Sri Lanka, following the signing of a franchise agreement with Tablez Food Company.
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