Tag Archives: Hermanus

Australian Hayden Quinn makes Capetonians proud of their beautiful and sustainable city!

Hayden Quinn Title page sunflowersIt is ironic that Australian 2011 MasterChef Finalist (and not even a winner) has become a celebrity, to such an extent that he has become the host of a 13 series SABC3 programme about sustainable eating in our country, also combining the travel highlights of the regions Hayden will visit. Beautifully filmed, with some product placement overkill, the first episode last night made one proud to be a Capetonian, and to see our beautiful city through the eyes of the guest chef! Hayden described Cape Town as the ‘tip of the iceberg‘, whilst raving about loving South Africa.

The episode begins with Hayden doing some surfing, sharing his passion for the ocean, saying it is the place at which he feels most at home.  The link to the ocean  is made, to share that he is a WWF SASSI ambassador, our local organisation that educates consumers about only ordering and buying orange-listed fish.  It explains Woolworth’s dominance in the programme, with a number of TV commercials, although none match the beautiful ads which it created for MasterChef SA in Seasons 1 and 2.  Hayden is ‘crazy about adventure’ and good food, he shared.

The start to Hayden’s food adventure was the Neighbourgoods Market at the Old Biscuit Mill, where he sampled sandwiches from The Kitchen, and samoosas from Cumin Catering.  He described it as a ‘buzzing inner-city market‘, reflecting the flavours and fresh foods of Cape Town. Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 12 June

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*  Google does not only have a Google Doodle in honour of the 2014 World Cup, but it also has a YouTube video in honour of the kick-off date of the soccer tournament in Brazil today.

*   Load shedding appears to be rearing its ugly head again, with freezing conditions throughout the country this week, with snowfalls spread between the Helderberg in Somerset West to the Drakensberg in KwaZulu-Natal.  Last night a sms warned of load-shedding in Hermanus, Gansbaai, and Stanford, 15 minutes before it was due to commence at 20h00, but its commencement was delayed later into the evening.   The City of Cape Town has posted possible scheduled times for load-shedding, but seems confident that it will not happen any time soon.  Camps Bay is not marked as a load-shedding area, nor is the airport understandably, and the townships and residential areas to the east of the airport also appear load-shedding-free!

*   The Two Oceans Aquarium in the V&A Waterfront is adding a multi-million Rand development in the previous parking area Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 2 June

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   The 2014 season will be remembered by local winemakers as one of the most challenging. For Sumaridge Wines in the Hemel en Aarde Valley it was the smallest harvest in ten years, and the most stressful for winemaker Gavin Patterson.  For Kleine Zalze winemaker Johan Joubert it was the most challenging too, brought about by unseasonal rain in October, November, and January, which affected the Kleine Zalze Chenin Blanc bushvine in particular, the bunches doubling in volume. Spraying regimes were affected too.  For Sumaridge’s investors it was a ‘year of sacrifice’.  For Kleine Zalze the harvest was delayed, and more tartaric acid was added.  Chardonnay, Pinotage, and Merlot benefited from the weather conditions, while Sauvignon Blanc was negatively affected, with disease and ripeness.  The Hemel-en-Aarde Valley in Hermanus was more strongly influenced by the weather than was the Swartland.  Patterson said about the 2014 vintage: ‘It’s really going to sort the sheep from the goats.  Very sadly many winemakers are driven by accountants at the head of their companies and that will have an effect on how 2014 is judged’.

*   Next year sees two major motor shows in Johannesburg: AutoMechanika will take place from 6 – 9 May, while The Johannesburg International Motor Show will be held from 14 – 25 October.

*   Alan Winde, the Western Cape Minister of Economic Development, Tourism, and Agriculture, is at the Regional Leaders Summit in Atlanta in Georgia, to sign a ‘strategic agreement’ between the province/state. Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 22 May

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   After having focused on Cape Town earlier this week, Huffington Post has included Hermanus in an article entitled ‘5 Lesser-known African wonders you have to see’.  Whale-watching is recommended, from July – November, with twenty to thirty whales being seen in Hermanus on average per day in that period, announced by the whale crier on his kelp horn.  The other wonders are the lunar rainbow in Zambia, the South Carmine Bee-eater migration in Zambia, wildebeest calving in Tanzania, and the Fruit-bat migration in Zambia.

*   South Africa’s premium wines over £10 a bottle were praised at a blind tasting held in London on Tuesday, offering quality and value for money.  The tasting was organised by the drinks business and the Premium Independent Wineries of South Africa, a collective of 15 local wine producers, promoting premium wines costing £10 or more.  Only 4% of wines are bought at that price-point, warned Tesco’s South African wine buyer, but he praised the quality of our wines, saying that they are ‘fantastic‘.  He said that our country’s premium wines need to promote their credentials.    Local wines tasted were Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc 2000, Beaumont Hope Marguerite 2009, Journey’s End Destination Chardonnay 2012, Mulderbosch Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2010, Radford Dale ‘Nudity’ Syrah 2013, Mullineux Syrah 2012, Mvemve Raats de Compostella 2012, Jordan Cobblers Hill, South Africa 2011, Newton Johnson Family Vineyards Pinot Noir 2012, The Drift ‘There are still mysteries’ Pinot Noir 2012, and Paul Cluver Pinot Noir 2012.

*   Italian anti-trust and competition authorities are investigating TripAdvisor for its Continue reading →