Tag Archives: European Union

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 26/27 October

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Auslese Summer Sessions will pair tapas dishes created by Aubergine owner Chef Harald Bresselschmidt, fine wines, and good jazz every second Thursday evening, from 21 November onwards. (received from Auslese via e-mail)

*   The 325th anniversary of the arrival of the French Huguenots was celebrated with a special concert, ranging from classical music to cabaret, last night at the Endler Hall. (received from the University of Stellenbosch via e-mail)

*  Tour operator ‘Great Safaris’  has launched a ‘South African Culinary Treasures Journey’ 7 day tour of the Winelands and Cape Town, which includes learning about wine blending, food and wine pairing, bread baking, and a cooking class ‘in Cape Malay‘!

*   The South African Pinotage restaurant is opening in Beijing.

*   Scandinavia, Russia and the United Kingdom could become the main vine growing regions in Europe by 2050.

*   ‘Franschhoek Uncorked’, the annual event in which the Continue reading →

Solms-Delta launches Gemeenskap wine club for its gemeenskap!

Solms Delta Gemeenskap Mark Solms Whale Cottage PortfolioI have not previously experienced Solms-Delta owner Professor Mark Solms as such a ‘grapjas’ (could this be a new name for a future wine?), bringing the house down with his honesty and ‘loskop professor’ talk about his wines and its Gemeenskap, losing the thread of what he wanted to say on a few occasions.

Mark is a passionate wine estate owner, whose mind races ahead faster than he can say the words, and is internationally renowned as a neuropsychologist, lecturing in London and at the University of Cape Town. His students must have a ball in his lectures. On Sunday he hosted members of the wine estate’s gemeenskap, to introduce to them the latest vintages of his wines, to introduce the new winemaker Solms Delta Gemeenskap Hagen Viljoen Whale Cottage PortfolioHagen Viljoen, and to introduce the Gemeenskap community club.  He came to the farm in 2001, and explained that the building in which we were tasting the wine was already called Fyndraai, and therefore they kept the name.  They now have consolidated three neighbouring farms, ‘because we are so good at what he do’, he said.  Music is an important passion on the farm, and Mark said that they ‘farm with music’ as much as they ‘farm with wine’!  Next year a Music Centre will be established on the wine estate. Continue reading →

The House of Machines not just a bikers bar, serves good coffee and healthy food too!

The House of Machines Interior Whale Cottage PortfolioThe House of Machines opened on Monday in a pedestrian lane on Shortmarket Street, and promises to be a good coffee spot as a start, as its co-owner Brad Armitage was a co-owner of Vida e Caffè when it first opened.  We found a motorcycle shop discreetly positioned at the back of the outlet, and experienced a vibrant coffee shop, bar, and light snack restaurant with very friendly and attentive service.

The building dates back to the 1890s and has housed a bar, a restaurant, a workshop for furniture designer Gregor Jenkin, and most recently a yacht design company. All three the co-owners designed the interior.  It is dominated by a massive black bar/serving counter, with wooden table counters attached to the wall at which one sits on signal red (not Vida red, as I joked with Brad!) stools.   Each table can seat up to four comfortably, and has a glass jar with Bakers & Chef cutlery, and Natural salt and pepper grinders.  Beautiful ceiling beams and weathered cement floors have been left as is.  The seating wall is covered with a collection of photographs of the three co-owners with their bikes, on their visit to the USA, which they undertook to obtain ideas and inspiration for their new venture.  Paul van der Spuy is one of the owners, who loves coffee shops, is a men’s fashion designer who owns Blue Collar White Collar, is the unofficial ‘Mayor of Cape Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 17/18 August

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Perfect China is sending 700 of its salespersons to Cape Town next month.  The collaboration between Perfect China, and Leopard’s Leap/La Motte was born from a friendship between the two companies’ leaders and their complementary focus on social responsibility.

*   Australia, the USA, and South Africa export more than half of their wines in bulk, and bottle them in the countries in which they are sold.

*   Close to 800000 Botswana residents visit South Africa annually, a market which SA Tourism, is targeting.

*   The Overstrand Municipality is spending more than R6000000 in its Continue reading →