On Thursday I attended a Woodview Wagyu Beef Tasting at Rare Grill, invited by its owner Chef Greg Bax, accompanied by my friend Gary Peterson. The different Wagyu meat cuts were paired with a number of Boekenhoutskloof wines. Continue reading →
Tag Archives: Free State
Climate change could reduce SA wine production by half by 2050!
Climate change could reduce the land available for vine growing and wine production in South Africa by up to 55% by 2050, according to a study conducted by the British Conservation International, reports The Times.
The Conservation International study focused on the effect of climate change on the world’s wine-producing areas, and estimated that all wine-producing land internationally will reduce by 25% by 2050, the reduction in our country’s Cape Floral region expected to be double that of the global average.
Climate change may also influence the vine varieties that are grown, due to an increasing shortage of water, as is expected for the Western Cape. More vines may need to be irrigated too in the future. New wine producing areas will also develop, as a result of climate change, it potentially including KwaZulu-Natal, the Northern Cape, and the southern parts of the Free State in our country.
Climate change may enhance the quality of our wines, the ‘warmer temperatures hastening ripening, producing grapes with bolder flavours and more sugar, and wine with more alcohol‘, the article concludes.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @Whale Cottage
Western Cape less affected by recession
The Western Cape has been less affected by the credit crunch than Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and the Free State, reports Cape Business News.
Since 2004 the Western Cape has shown the highest level of growth, and in the 12 month period ending February 2009 the economic decline in the region (- 7%) was lower than in Gauteng (-16%) and the Eastern Cape (- 15 %).
Factors to the benefit of the Western Cape are that it does not have a mining industry, which has been severely affected by the credit crunch; it has fewer job losses and a broader base of business sectors; its agricultural sector is diversified; manufacturing is diversified, with little involvement in the depressed motor industry; and last, but not least, the tourism industry is larger and stronger, and is attracting visitors from Southern Africa who are not travelling overseas this year.
Professor Wolfgang Thomas from the Stellenbosch Business School advises businesses “to not panic” due to the credit crunch, and sees it bottoming out soon.
Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com