Claire Danes | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

* Minister of Tourism Derek Hanekom has reacted to the changed Immigration Regulations for the first time, disappointingly so, in not taking a strong stand against the Department of Home Affairs! Minister Hanekom placed the blame for the legislation at the door of the Department of Home Affairs, but supported its actions in its attempt to stamp out child trafficking. Global best practice in this regard would be studied, he added. He promised to evaluate the ‘well-intentioned measures‘ in their impact on international tourist arrivals.

* The Spectator tasted two South African wines out of a selection of four ‘Politically correct wines worth drinking’, describing them both as a pleasure to drink and having an economic benefit, which the writer described as ‘philantrophic consumption‘! BlouVlei Collection (from Mont du Toit Cellar) Sauvignon Blanc (vintage not divulged, and not to the writer’s liking) and Springfontein Terroir Selection Chenin Blanc 2011 were supplied to the writer by Private Cellar in the UK.

* Café Paradiso served ‘Homeland’ actress Claire Danes and actor and director Sean Penn earlier this week, and regularly attracts local and international celebrities, including Kris Kristofferson, Hilary Swank, Denzel Washington, and MasterChef Australia judge and chef Marco Pierre White. Continue reading →

Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

* Women business travelers want to ‘feel safe, comfortable, empowered, and pampered’, says an American research report. About 50 % of business travelers are women, and they control up top 85% of business travel expenditure.

* Actress Claire Danes is in Cape Town for the filming of the fourth season of the TV series ‘Homeland’. She and her husband have been spotted eating at Harbour House in Kalk Bay, dining at The Test Kitchen, shopping at the Biscuit Mill, and walking down Kloof Street, near Yours Truly. Cape Town is doubling up for ‘both Istanbul and Turkey‘ (sic)!

* Chenin Blanc was praised by Greg Sherwood of Handford Wines in London, at a tasting of Chenin Blanc and Pinotage wines, organised by Wines of South Africa (WOSA). Sherwood led the Chenin Blanc tasting, and said about the varietal: ‘Chenin is a massive and unique selling point for South Africa. It has a variety of styles and gives you a Burgundy textural experience without having to pay Burgundian prices. The days of too much oak and batonnage are now in the past. These practices have Continue reading →