Last night I attended a tasting of six wines by Cederberg Wines with Altitude at OpenWine on Wale Street. The Wine estate has the highest location above sea level, at 1036m, of all vineyards in the Cape. Continue reading →
Tag Archives: Decanter
Saronsberg Full Circle SA’s most awarded red wine locally and internationally!
Tulbagh winery Saronsberg is our country’s top red wine producer when it comes to winning wine awards, its Full Circle being the most lauded red wine, followed by its Shiraz, over the past ten years. Continue reading →
WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 13 January
Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines
* Eskom remains a laugh-a-minute, its CEO Tshediso Matona saying yesterday to a meeting of 100 business and agriculture executives that ‘one unexpected event at any of its power stations can push the country to the total failure of the national electricity system that may take weeks to resolve’. Loadshedding was predicted for late last week, but did not take place. It has now been predicted for next week. Economists predict that Eskom’s ability to prevent loadshedding will influence the country’s economy. A shortage of diesel appears to be affecting electricity supply.
* The City of Cape Town plans to revise its loadshedding schedule, to make it more equitable and fair to all its residents from 1 February. This comes in response to the claim by COSATU Western Cape leader Tony Ehrenreich that the City’s current loadshedding schedule is ‘racist and unfair’, and plans to take the matter to the Human Rights Commission!
* Franschhoek wines Boekenhoutskloof Semillon 2010 and Chamonix Chardonnay Reserve 2012 are the only two South African Continue reading →
Platter’s Publisher JP Rossouw introduces changes to top wine guide: will wine lovers and wine estates be happy?
Slowly a number of changes are being introduced to the publishing and marketing of ‘Platter’s South African Wines’ since JP Rossouw took over as Publisher of the wine guide about six months ago. Not all the changes may be to the liking of the wine estates, users, and advertisers of the Guide.
For the first time Platter’s has advertised! Yesterday I saw an advertisement for Platter’s in the Sunday Times Food Weekly supplement, advertising the Guide, with its newish parent Diners Club benefiting from it too. The advertisement
bears the headline ‘Platter’s Wine Guide discovers the perfect pairing’, being a self-aggrandizing accolade to the marriage between Platter’s and Diners Club! The copy reads: ‘Platter’s Wine Guide, South Africa’s original and most authoritative guide to who’s who and what’s what in the Winelands, has the perfect partner in Diners Club, the world’s original and most prestigious charge card. Platter’s has always been the go-to-guide to discovering, rating, pairing and sharing South African wines. Now there’s a quick and easy way to also enjoy Platter’s on your mobile device or desktop. Filled with the latest wine news, festival alerts, hot picks and competitions, Platter’s has become an even more valuable guide. Whether you are shopping for wine, wanting to learn more, or need help planning a trip to cellars, Platter’s will enhance your journey. No App required. Simply go to www.wineonaplatter.com to subscribe’. The pay-off line is corny and meaningless: ‘When your thirst for knowledge coincides with the means to enjoy it, you BELONG‘! One would hope that Rossouw was not the copywriter of this nonsensical ad, given his past copywriting career! More likely is that the advertisement comes from the Marketing department of Diners Club, the give-away being that it contains the Facebook page address and Twitter handle of Diners Club, but not of Platter’s, a bizarre omission! Continue reading →