Gentleman Spirits | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

* SAA and SA Express are in financial distress, and cannot continue operating as they not meeting the requirements of a going concern, meaning that they require financial support from the government. The Department of Public Enterprise is withholding the financial statements of both entities, which means that the AGM of the SAA Board must be delayed for the third year running.

* According to Cape Town Tourism CEO Enver Duminy tourists from countries that require visas to travel to our country (mainly China, Japan, and India) are cancelling due to the stringent new biometric visa requirements, tour operators reporting booking declines of 35 – 90 %! The fear of Ebola on the African continent is compounding the problem. Traditional source markets in Europe, the UK, and USA are not affected by the new Immigration Regulations.

* Blaauwklippen has opened its newly named and relocated Tasting Room, which contains a Spirits Room with a selection of Continue reading →

On Friday a number of writers was invited to to the launch of Gentleman Spirits, a German-speaking trio of three gentlemen who are producing spirits of the highest quality, led by Master Distiller and alchemist Hubertus Vallendar from Germany, on the Blaauwklippen wine estate, its Managing Director and Winemaker Rolf Zeitvogel being one of the spirited trio. Nine products have been launched initially.

Rolf shared over lunch that he met Hubertus, a leading distiller with 25 years experience and a string of awards, as well as Swiss citizen Urs Gmür, a Pinot Noir collector and a connoisseur of wines, two years ago at a dinner party in Germany. Hubertus had travelled to South Africa regularly since 1999, and loves our country, having had two associations with local distillers Wilderer and Continue reading →