Tag Archives: Pierre Jourdan

Corks pop at 19 ‘Franschhoek Uncorked’ wine estates this weekend!

franschhoek-uncorked_logo-1_841For the first time in six years Franschhoek Uncorked is blessed with excellent weather, having had the most unfortunate bad weather luck in the first five years of the event, which sees wine lovers drive from wine estate to wine estate in Franschhoek today and tomorrow.

Each wine estate offers a unique mix of entertainment and food to serve with its wines, many launching its latest vintages.  Highlights include:

*   Antonij Rupert:  ‘La Dolce Vita’ at the Terra del Capo tasting room and Antipasto Bar, with free tastings of latest releases, and antipasto platters (R120).  Private Italian food and wine pairing lunch at R280 per person for 3 courses including wine. Newton& Co live music. At the Anthonij Rupert tasting room exclusive tasting of top Continue reading →

Pendock picks Pinotage to open his new Wine Gallery at Taj Cape Town!

Pendock Wine Gallery full view Whale Cottage PortfolioNotorious Neil Pendock is launching his Pendock Wine Gallery at the Taj Cape Town hotel at 18h00, to many a most unusual move, in a minute space which would not allow more than a handful of persons to move inside the gallery at any time.  The Gallery concept and its link to the hotel’s Mint Restaurant is as quirky as Pendock is.

The roughly 2 by 4 meter space is half of the Edit[ed] hotel shop, and once inside Pendock’s Wine Gallery one can see inside the shop through a glass door, a design weakness, as it does not match the less-is-more sparse design of the Gallery.  Six ornate shelves will hold a bottle of wine each, according to a monthly theme, September being dedicated to Pinotage, but the choice of six is not explained, other than space constraints.  However, Pendock does pride himself on his selection, in that the six (Black Elephant Vintners, Diemersdal, Manley Continue reading →

Shimmy Beach Club: friendly and inexpensive, sushi superb!

Shimmy Beach Club exterior Whale Cottage PortfolioWe were invited to try Shimmy Beach Club recently, not having had a chance to have a meal there since it opened six months ago, the restaurant, bar, and beach not being visible to visitors to the V&A Waterfront as it is hidden away in the port.  Given the client profile, and the R40 million expenditure invested in the new building, we were surprised about the good value and friendly dining we experienced.

One drives to the harbour entrance near the Caltex garage, and initially signage leads the way.  However, almost as one reaches a dead end, there is no further signage, until one sees a faded sign on top of a building with a guarded gate.  We were told that there had been an issue with the Transnet National Port Authority about the signage, and it had to be removed.  The building is adjacent to the Cape Town port authority, which regulates the shipping traffic entrance to and exit out of the port.  There was enough parking, but it could be limited Continue reading →

Restaurant Review: SeaFood at The Marine very grey, poor seafood, very poor service!

Seafood at The Marine interior Whale Cottage PortfolioAfter seeing a Tweet by The Collection by Liz McGrath Executive Chef Peter Tempelhoff about the new interior of SeaFood at The Marine earlier this week, I decided to lunch there yesterday, being in Hermanus for the day.  It was a most disappointing experience, given the five star and Relais & Chateaux status of the hotel.

The Marine hotel has a long heritage and was bought by Mrs McGrath a number of years ago. and sat on its own on the cliffs overlooking Walker Bay, technically a magnificent location, but little is made of the beautiful view.  A recent flurry of development across the road from the hotel has given it a lift.  Mrs McGrath appears to be like Le Quartier Français owner Susan Huxter who renovates her establishment annually.  Mrs McGrath did the latest interior design of SeaFood at The Marine, her staff told me.  The colour scheme now is grey, with grey chairs, grey tables, and grey Continue reading →