Tag Archives: Blaauwklippen

Blaauwklippen launches first SA Zinfandel Diva MCC 2013!

Blaauwklippen Diva logo Whale CottageBlaauwklippen launched the tenth Zinfandel-inspired product in its range last week at a lunch held at Blues restaurant in Camps Bay, the new Diva Zinfandel MCC 2013 being the first made with this grape varietal in our country.  Only two others are made with Zinfandel, in California, we were told by Rolf Zeitvogel, Cellar Master and MD of Blaauwklippen.  The launch of Blaauwklippen Diva MCC 2013 forms part of the wine estate’s celebration of its 333rd anniversary this year.

Blues has operated in Camps Bay for more than 25 years, and was a
clever choice in ‘pairing’ the two ‘blue’ brand names.  It was a perfect summer day, and we were welcomed on the terrace with canapés of chicken liver paté, and mushroom with truffle oil bruschetta on the Continue reading →

Stellenbosch squeezes most out of its 2015 Wine Festival, poor website!

Stellenbosch Wine FestivalBilled as a three-day event but stretching over a week, the Stellenbosch Wine Festival presented by Pick ‘n Pay draws to a close today, with a feast of events offered.  It is the largest wine festival in the country, and the oldest.  The media blurb proudly brags that the Stellenbosch Wine Festival presents the best of Stellenbosch’s ‘great wine, gourmet food, breathtakingly beautiful nature, and performances by some of South Africa’s most popular musicians‘.

Held at the Coetzenburg Sports Grounds since Friday, 200 wines of 148 wine estates that make up the Stellenbosch Wine Routes are available to taste, creating a ‘virtual wine route‘.  The Pick ‘n Pay Wine Shop will sell Stellenbosch wines to drink at the Festival, to take home, or to ship back to one’s home destination.   Winemakers from Waterford Estate, Spier, Kleine Continue reading →

New Restaurant openings in Cape Town and Winelands continue!

Tiger's Milk Main Table and lights Whale CottageEven though we are halfway through the summer season,  new restaurants continue to open, and more are planned before summer ends.  This list of restaurant openings and closings and restaurant staff movements is updated continuously, as we receive new information:

Restaurant Openings

*    Michael Townsend (who owns the Harbour House emporium, with La Parada, Lucky Fish, and Harbour House restaurants) has opened Tiger’s Milk in Muizenberg (photograph).  The Lucky Fish on Long Street will be transformed into Tiger’s Milk.

*    Kokkedoor judge and Chef Nic van Wyk and Roxy Laker have opened bistro 13 at Stellenbosch Vineyards (Welmoed)

*   Idiom Wines is said to be opening a restaurant.

*   The Butcher Shop & Grill has opened next to Sotano in Mouille Point. Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 3 December

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Business confidence reached a 7 month high last month, good news for the economy, and reflecting a more stable exchange rate, higher share prices, and reduced impact on production due to strikes.  In November the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (SACCI) Business Confidence Index (BCI) increased to 90.8 in November.  Loadshedding by Eskom, and a retraction of the economies that our country trades with may reverse the positive trend.

*   The second Veritas Young Wine Writers Competition has been won by Sandile Mkhwanazi,  assistant winemaker and acting viticulturist at Elsenburg Agricultural College, and winning R15000.  He enjoys to communicate about wine in a fun way, rather than academically.  His two articles ‘The South African Wine Continue reading →