For the past two days I have participated in a Blind Tasting of more than 130 white, Rosé, and red wines at the offices of sponsorship specialists Divine Intervention, to select wines which will be incorporated into the winelists for the four restaurant brands of the new Cowboys & Cooks restaurant group, which has been founded by highly respected restaurateur Michael Townsend and his strong support team. Continue reading →
Tag Archives: Journey’s End
Premium Independent Wineries of South Africa holds first ever Wine Car Boot sale!
Yesterday was the first time that I experienced Journey’s End Vineyards, not having heard of it before. It was the home of the first ever Wine Car Boot sale of the members of the Premium Independent Wineries of South Africa (PIWOSA), eleven of the thirteen members offering their wines to taste and buy from the boots of unusual and largely vintage vehicles yesterday! Mulderbosch an
d Newton Johnson did not participate.
PIWOSA is a collective of like-minded, premium, independent wine producers from across the diverse wine regions of the Western Cape, says its website. It was started in January 2013, and is endorsed by Wines of South Africa (WOSA), Wine & Agriculture Ethical Trading Association (WIETA), and Independent Producers of Wine (IPW). Its goal is to jointly promote premium South African wines internationally.
WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 24 June
Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines
* From 25 October FlySafair will offer flights between Cape Town, Durban, and East London, as well as between Johannesburg and the two cities. Costs start at R399 one way, reports Southern African Tourism Update. The routes were selected after a vote by 20000 passengers.
* Saronsberg is the wine estate which has been ranked highest in the South African Wine Index 2015 Wine Awards Report, of all local wine Continue reading →
WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 22 May
Tourism, 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 →