Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines
* A Red Alert has been issued for Europe air travel, with the imminent eruption of the Bardarbunga volcano in Iceland, the most serious alert indicating an expected ‘significant emission of ash into the atmosphere’. Four years ago the Eyjafjallajokul volcano erupted, and caused international travel chaos, with 100000 flights cancelled at that time, threatening the arrival of passengers for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
* Yesterday’s earthquake measuring 6,2 on the Richter scale has shaken San Francisco and Napa Valley, and is expected to have caused damage to bottles of wine in America’s prime winemaking region.
* Sadly MasterChef SA Season 1 Top 4 Finalist Sarel Loots, better known by his Twitter handle @SarelvanSabie, passed away from a heart attack today. In the last episode in which he appeared, he was described by the judges as having ‘a big heart’.
* The 2014 SA Young Wine Show awards attracted 1972 entries. Trophies were awarded on Friday, the award history dating back to 1833. The Jan Smuts Trophy for overall winner, as well as the trophy for SA Champion Chenin Blanc, went to Boland Cellar; Badsberg was named SA Champion White Blend as well as Dessert Wine; Spier was named SA Champion Sémillon and Chardonnay (Wooded); Bon Courage won SA Champion for Natural Sweet White Wine as well as for Noble Late Harvest; Perdeberg won SA Champion for Sauvignon Blanc; Stettyn won SA Championship Other White Cultivar Colombar; KWV won SA Champion for Red Blend Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon (Wooded); Bellingham won SA Champion for Pinotage (Wooded); Audacia won SA Champion for Shiraz (Wooded); Lutzville SA Champion for Cabernet Sauvignon (Wooded); Namaqua won SA Champion for Merlot (Wooded); Babylon’s Peak won SA Champion for Other Red Cultivar Grenache (Wooded); De Krans won SA Champion for Port; and Montagu won SA Champion for Muscadel.
* Western Cape entrepreneur Ilse Rutherford won the National Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries Women in Agriculture Award, having been one of the Western Cape finalists. She is the Financial Manager at Compagniesdrift farm’s wine storage facility, which is an equity scheme, of which half the ownership is an empowerment trust. The company provides storage, bottling, and labelling services to the wine industry. Alan Winde, Western Cape Minister of Tourism and Economic Opportunities described her as a ‘role model‘. (received via media release from Minister Winde’s office)
* To celebrate Spring, The House of JC le Roux is offering sweet treats from 5 – 7 September for visitors tasting their La Fleurette and La Fleurette Non-Alcoholic MCC. During September the winery will also offer La Vallée gift packs which have been designed with a Spring theme. Tasting cost is R70. (received via media release from GC Communications)
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage Facebook: click here
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