Tag Archives: afternoon tea

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 24 July

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   SA Tourism CEO Thulani Nzima seems to have making a rare visit to Cape Town, the jewel in the tourism crown, where he has come to attend the Mercedes-Benz  Cape Town Fashion Week at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.  He is upbeat about tourism to our country, saying it is ‘the new mining‘!  It is good to hear him compliment our city, which receives the bulk of international tourists to our country: ‘It is endowed with natural beauty. No matter how other provinces want to compete, they don’t have Table Mountain, Robben Island, the wine routes’.  Good media coverage for Cape Town, as well as its conference facilities benefit Cape Town.  When asked about the new Immigration Regulations he said that he would wait for the Ministers of Tourism and Home Affairs to discuss the impact of the Regulations on tourism.

*   Lovers of the MasterChef cooking series can now join a MasterChef Cruise around the Caribbean from 8 – 15 November, passengers being put through their paces in a  number of challenges including Pressure Tests and Mystery Boxes.   MasterChef judge Graham Elliot, and past winners of the series will be taking the passengers through the cooking programme, which includes blind taste tests, making macaroons, sushi, pasta, cocktails, all leading to a winner chosen as the MasterChef Cruise Champion.

*  The Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition 2015 has kicked off, seeking the best cocktail in the country.  The competition Continue reading →

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

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Indaba will have 23 African countries promoting their countries’ tourism products, making it the first comprehensive Africa tourism exhibition.   A total of 400 exhibitors has been signed up for the show, held in Durban from 10 -12 May, with more than 1000 visitors confirmed to date.

*   Mozambique and South Africa have signed a biodiversity and an anti-poaching agreement to combat the poaching of rhino in the Greater Limpopo Cross-Border Park in particular, which is a culmination of the Kruger Park, the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique, and the Gonarezhou in Zimbabwe.  The number of rhino killed due to poaching has grown almost 300-fold in the last seven years!

*   BBC Worldwide will not be doing a fourth season of ‘Come Dine with Me South Africa‘, despite attracting 5 million local viewers.  The broadcaster is looking at doing a more localised program.

*   ‘Cook Franschhoek‘ will be held in Franschhoek from 13 – 15 June, with Franschhoek chefs doing cooking Continue reading →

One&Only Cape Town Sweet Service and Franschhoek Police Sour Service Awards!

The Sweet Service Award goes to the One&Only Cape Town and its Hotel Manager Gerhard Erasmus, who is its most amazing ambassador, in welcoming feedback about their Afternoon Tea and a recent experience at the One&Only Spa, even assisting in the making of a reservation, with which we had struggled. Gerhard is a stickler for detail, and made work of the feedback immediately, providing feedback about the improvements made.  Gerhard has impressed with his openness, honesty, availability on the phone, and professionalism.  Sad for Cape Town and the hotel is his departure today, to take up a new position in Croatia.

The Sour Service Award goes to the Franschhoek Police, who arrested Garth van Zyl, the Medicare EMR village medical emergency paramedic, for ‘hindering a police officer to perform his duties’.  Van Zyl had assisted at an accident scene, regulating traffic, as the police had not yet arrived.  Despite having a broken leg in plaster, the police roughly forced him into their van, as can be seen on a YouTube video.   Dan Plato, Western Cape MEC for Safety, is reported by iol to have been very critical of the conduct by the police, questioning their ability to manage the accident scene, and indicates that the police has a poor relationship with the local community!

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com.   Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.

Ken Forrester has Noble Late Harvest down to a ‘T’!

Earlier this week I was one of a group of bloggers and wine writers invited to attend the launch of the 2009 ‘T’ Noble Late Harvest of Ken Forrester Vineyards, on a sunny afternoon on the terrace of the Mount Nelson Hotel, ‘paired’ with the Nellie’s famous High ‘T’!

We were welcomed with a glass of Billecart-Salmon, which is distributed in South Africa by Ken Forrester Vineyards. The latest 2009 ‘T’ vintage, and the celebration of ten years of its production, was presented as a vertical tasting of six ‘T’ vintages, going back as far as 2000. Produced from his Stellenbosch vineyard, Ken Forrester said that they have used ‘fresh’ botrytis grapes from a 32 year old Chenin Blanc bushvine block, which is only 6 km from the Atlantic Ocean, with a moderate and cool climate, and good humidity in winter.  It is low-lying, with autumn morning mist, ensuring ideal botrytis conditions. The block is picked eight times or more during the harvest, an aerial photograph technique identifying which pockets of grapes have optimal ripeness.  It is a ‘concentrated essence of Chenin Blanc’, reflecting what this grape variety is about, Ken said.

Ken named this noble beverage in honour of his wife Teresa, known to her friends and family as ‘T’, for the first time in 1999, as a gift to her.  The bottle shape and design was chosen to resemble a perfume bottle, and was designed by Mark Ransome of Fireworks.

Only the very best botrytis grapes are used to make ‘T’, and the Noble Late Harvest has not been made every year, out of quality considerations. The 2009 ‘T’ has 12% alcohol, while the 2008 had 11%.  The older vintages have an alcohol content of 13% or more.  The juice was fermented in French oak for 18 months, with peach, apricot, melon and pineapple notes.  It is recommended to be drunk with fruit tarts, wild berries, ice cream, and full-bodied cheeses.  A 375 ml bottle of the 2009 ‘T’ Noble Late Harvest costs R195.

Ken Forrester is a great story-teller, with a successful career in the hospitality industry, before he ventured into wine-making, and is co-owner with his brother of 96 Winery Road just down the road from his wine farm. He is ‘Mr Chenin Blanc’ in South Africa, and heads up the Chenin Blanc Association, promoting this variety ardently.  He is also Chairman of the Stellenbosch American Express Wine Routes.

After the vertical tasting of the 2009, 2008, 2006, 2005, 2001 and 2000 vintages of the ‘T’, we were invited to partake of the Afternoon Tea, and the table was filled with sandwiches, quiches, cakes, flapjacks, macaroons, and a large variety of other sweet treats.

Disclosure: All guests received a gift of a bottle of 2009 ‘T’ Noble Late Harvest.

Ken Forrester Vineyards, Stellenbosch.  Tel (021) 855-2374. www.kenforresterwines.com Twitter: @KFWines

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