Gerald Clark | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

* Cape Wine 2015 will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 15 – 17 September next year, and is organised by Wines of South Africa (WOSA). DHL Express will be the first-time sponsor. WOSA CEO Siobhan Thompson said: ‘Delegates will have the opportunity to experience the range and depth of South Africa’s vinous dexterity, strengthened by new approaches to wine-growing and winemaking that have resulted in bold, unique and unmistakably local wines. As Tim Atkin MW remarked in his South Africa 2014 Special Report: ‘There’s never been a better time to write about, taste or buy South African wine.’ Thompson said that the DHL sponsorship will take the wine showcase to a new level. (received via media release from De Kock Communications)

* Peter Cheales of Hello Peter has sold his business of 14 years to an unnamed consortium of businessmen, he wrote in a letter to past users of his service, a South African type of Sweet and Sour Service Awards. In his letter he wrote: ‘It’s time for fresh blood, more energy, and new life. I will continue to watch from the sidelines. The site will always be a part of me’. Cheales will write books and speak at conferences.

* Raats Family Wines’ winemaker Bruwer Raats received the accolade of ‘most exciting and forward-thinking winemaker inStellenbosch‘ by Neal Martin, in his 2014 vintage review in Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. Martin added the following Continue reading →

Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

* Cape Town will be jazzing it up on the last weekend of the month, with not only the sold-out Cape Town International Jazz Festival taking place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 28 – 30 March, but the inaugural Sounds Fringe Festival will offer 60 performances between 27 – 30 March. The list of performers includes The Rudimentals, Spencer Mbadu, Dan Shout, Gerald Clark, Beatenberg, Sterling EQ, Saudiq Khan, Blackie Tempi, and Touchwood. Norwegian trumpeter Arne Hiorth will perform with a choir of 100 singers. Venues are concentrated around Wale Street, at Mandela Rhodes Place, The Twankey Bar, The Reserve at The Taj, Motherland Coffee Company, The Crypt Jazz Restaurant, the Iziko Slave Lodge, and Inn on the Square. The goal of Festival founder Frank Gormley is to position Cape Town as a city of musical note.

* Anna Trapido has been appointed as Editor of Rossouw’s Restaurants, the guide started by JP Rossouw but which he cannot continue with due to his duties as recently appointed Publisher of Platter’s wine guide, and will also handle this role for Rossouw’s Restaurants. Diners Club bought both the Platter’s and Rossouw’s Restaurants guides last year. Trapido is a former Eat Out Top 10 Restaurant judge, and wrote ‘Hunger for Freedom’ about the food which the late Nelson Mandela liked to eat. (received via media release from Africa Sky)

* Cape Town restaurant prices are not increasing because there are more tourists in town, but because food prices Continue reading →