Tag Archives: Atlantic Ocean

Hermanus forms winegrowers’ association and wine route

The Hermanus Hemel & Aarde Valley has some of the country’s best wines, and its pinot noir and chardonnays are legend.   The growing number of wine producers in this fertile valley at the entrance to Hermanus have formed the Hemel en Aarde Winegrowers’ Association, a blend of the Hemel-en -Aarde Valley, Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge wine wards in the Walker Bay Wine District.   A new Hermanus Wine Route has been created.

The wine estates in the new Association are Hamilton Russell Vineyards, Southern Right, Ashbourne, Bouchard Finlayson, Vrede, La Vierge, Sumaridge, Newton Johnson, Lelienfontein, Pearly Gates, Southend, Tokara – Siberia Vineyards, Hemel-en-Aarde Country Retreat, Deja Vu, Hemelzicht, Klein Hemel, Spookfontein, Ataraxia, Babylon Farm Vineyards, Creation, Mount Babylon, Jakob’s Vineyards, and Domaine des Dieux.

The area is characterised by small production runs and produces cool-climate wines of exceptional quality.  Wines from the region are characterised by their above average natural acidity and below average pH, a below than average alcohol level, and more ‘tightness and minerality’.    It is strongly influenced by its close proximity to the ocean – interestingly defined as the Atlantic (rather than the Indian Ocean) in the media release of the newly formed association.

Johan Holtzhausen of Mount Babylon is the first Chairman of the new Hemel-en-Aarde Winegrowers’ Association.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio www.whalecottage.com

Whale of a study on humpbacks

The largest genetic study of humpback whales in the southern hemisphere has been conducted, reports Science Daily.

 DNA samples of 1 500 whales were analysed, and the results have been published in PLoS ONE, an interactive open-access journal for scientific and medical research.   South African researchers at Marine  and Coastal Management and the  Universities of Pretoria and Cape Town, as well as contributors from the Wildlife Conservation Society, The American Museum of Natural History, and researchers from Brazil, France, Oman and Gabon participated in the study.

Humpback whales have been studied in depth in the northern hemisphere, but little was previously known about those in the southern oceans.

The study found that humpback whales had been found to move between oceans, the first such recording, especially along the two oceans around Africa.   The songs of these humpback whales in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans were found to be similar, probably indicating that they connect in the Antarctic.  The humpback whales in the northern Indian Ocean and Arabian peninsula are far less likely to migrate, and only number 200.

A study conducted by the Cascadia Research Collective in the USA found that humpback whales travelled up to 8 300 km to Costa Rica from the Antarctic, in 161 days.   This is the longest ever humpback whale migration recorded.  The study also found that whale spent their winter in waters of between 21 – 28 C.

For more information about the humpback whale research, click here.

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

Salt of the earth

Salt restaurant at The Ambassador Hotel has a most apt name, with its close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean in Bantry Bay.   Earlier this week the restaurant hosted a most successful food and wine pairing gourmet evening, in conjunction with Dalla Cia wines and grappa.

The Dalla Cia Sauvignon Blanc 2008 was served on arrival, followed by the Dalla Cia Chardonnay 2008 to accompany a most delicious goats’ cheese and butternut rotolo.   The Dalla Cia Giorgio 2006 accompanied a roast quail, served with mushroom polenta.    The main course was an excellent springbok pie in a fine two-coloured pastry, served with Dalla Cia Cabernet Sauvignon 2006.  The pannacotta included grappa, and was served with the Dalla Cia Grappa.   The wine offering was generous, with a top-up served per variety, and the evening was good value at R 350 per head.

The nicest part of such an evening is the wonderful company one is lucky enough to enjoy.  George Dalla Cia, and his charming Italian wife Elena, was a gracious host, and his distributor Mark McCarthy, and partner Tanja Schuermann, exchanged interesting information about new restaurant openings, and wine news.   Lauren Newhouse, from the hotel’s PR company, was an entertaining and bubbly table companion.

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

Cape Town in Frommer’s Top Twelve

Frommer’s travel guides have selected Cape Town as one of the top twelve destinations , described as ” value picks that’ll wow you”, reports www.sagoodnews.co.za

 

The publishers write about Cape Town:  “South Africa is gearing up to host the worlds best football (or soccer, if you’re from the U.S.) teams during the 2010 World Cup, and Cape Town promises to have one of the grandest venues for the event. Get here before the crowds do to take advantage of a spruced-up city. Truthfully, though, the city has one big advantage: Cape Town, the oldest city in southern Africa, is regularly heralded as one of the most beautiful on earth. The massive sandstone bulk of Table Mountain, often draped in a flowing “tablecloth” of clouds, forms an imposing backdrop, while minutes away, pristine sandy beaches line the cliff-hugging coast where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. You can visit African Penguin colonies at Boulders Beach along False Bay or take the ferry to Robben Island, the former prison home to political prisoners such as Nelson Mandela.”

 

The other destinations on the Frommer’s top list are Belfast, Berlin, Waiheke Island in New Zealand, Istanbul, Cambodia, Cartegena in Columbia, Lassen Volcanic National Park in Alberta in Canada, the Civil Rights Trail from Selma to Montgomery in Alabama in the USA, Saggara in Egypt, Washington DC, and Waterston Lakes National Park  in Alberta in Canada.