Tag Archives: Anthonij Rupert Wines

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 9/10 September

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Africa now has 100 million Facebook users, still only half of the number of internet users on the continent.  The majority of Facebook users access the site via mobile phone.   While the growth in Social Media usage in Africa is massive, it is still very costly.

*   The Open Book Festival will run at The Fugard Theatre for the second year running, from 17 – 21 September, with authors from 12 countries attending.  Local authors will include Wilbur Smith, Zakes Mda, and Zelda la Grange.

*   Shock news is the resignation with immediate effect of SA Tourism Chief Marketing Officer Jan Hutton. No reasons are provided, but the suddenness of the resignation is ominous.  The industry has expressed its regret about the resignation of this dynamic marketer of our country.

*  It’s a bad week for flying in Europe.  On Monday a bomb scare at London Luton airport caused the cancellation of all EasyJet Continue reading →

Lanique Restaurant & Bar opens within Andiamo in De Waterkant!

Lanique Board Whale CottageA month ago we were given the scoop of the then planned opening of Lanique Restaurant & Bar within Andiamo in the old Cape Quarter, which opened in the record time of two weeks thereafter.  The former Andiamo Deli space is unrecognisable as the new Lanique Restaurant & Bar, and its new look reflects the history and heritage of the Lanique spirit.

The venue is named after the exclusive Lanique 200 year old Polish crafted liqueur made with Attar of Rose, the oil said to be worth  its weight in gold.  A former employer of Nigel Price, Lawrence Huggler from Jersey, liked the liqueur so much that he bought the brand!   Nigel hasLanique-Liqueur-Spirit-cid_image001_jpg@01CF9154-209x300 been given the right to distribute Lanique in Africa, and Australia and New Zealand will follow.   The Lanique Restaurant and Bar within Andiamo is a collaboration between Nigel and Andiamo owner Bruce Walker, who got to know each other as Nigel’s mineral water company aquav supplies Andiamo.

The previous Deli space has been cladded with red brick, to give the space an old world feel.  A Lanique Bar Whale Cottage Portfoliostage for live music, a dance floor, and a door separating Andiamo restaurant and Lanique have been built.   Tables and bar stools have been made from wood, a banquette has blue and gold upholstery, and chandeliers have been added.  During the day the Lanique Bar counter will be closed off, but lunch will be served and its coffee bar will be open throughout the day. The Lanique Bar within Andiamo will stock a full complement of spirits, beers, and wines, and its liquor licence will allow it to remain open until 2h00.  Electro Swing Alternative is played when the dance floor operates.  Free wifi Continue reading →

Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons quietly opens its new Tasting Room!

Rupert & R Tasting desk Whale CottageI have visited almost every winery in Franschhoek, but never Rupert & Rothschild, its tastings having been by appointment only in the past ten years since we have operated Whale Cottage Franschhoek.  It was a set of Facebook photographs of Hein Koegelenberg, brother-in-law of co-owner Johann Rupert, that attracted attention to the new Tasting Room, which opened on 1 July.

The farm Fredericksburg was owned by a French Huguenot, and was established in 1690, and taken over by the late Dr Anton Rupert and the late Baron Edmond Rothschild in 1997 when they established their partnership.  The owners shared a commitment to preservation and conservation.  Grapes are harvested by hand, and the berries are hand-sorted after destemming, to generate the best quality juice.  Intervention during the wine-making process is kept to a minimum.

I popped in yesterday, and found a very elegant yet informal and friendly Tasting Room, with a beautiful setting overlooking the Simonsberg mountain and the vineyards of the wine farm.  From the R45 between Klapmuts and Simondium one cannot see any buildings on the wine estate, being set back far from the road.  The Tasting Room door is locked from inside, so one of the staff must go to the door to press a button to unlock it, which is not clear when one arrives, and appears unfriendly if the staff do not get to the glass door quickly enough.  One enters close to the Tasting Desk, seating about 20 tasters on both sides of the desk Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 18 June

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and news headlines

*   ‘People love our country and continue to visit South Africa‘, said President Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation Address at the opening of Parliament last night. He set our country’s tourism target at 15 million visitors per year by 2017, with a revenue of R125 billion generated.

*   TripAdvisor is testing amongst a sample of American hotels a new Question and Answer service on listed property pages, so that guests can request further information before they book, including  for example questions such as the cost of a mini-bar, availability of tickets to attractions at reception, opening times of the pool, etc.   Other travelers and the property can answer the questions. Hotels in the same town are not allowed to answer about another hotel in the discussion forums.

*   Much admired and liked Eat Out Top 10 Chef Jackie Cameron from Hartford House is leaving the KwaZulu-Natal hotel at the end of July, to open Jackie Cameron’s School of Food and Wine in Hilton in January next year. Continue reading →