Tag Archives: pinot noir

Ken Forrester celebrates 20 years of Rhône varietals and blends!

Ken Forrester Wines Whale CottageYesterday we were invited by Ken Forrester Vineyards to attend a tasting of twelve of its Rhône blends, produced in the last twenty years of its journey in making Rhône varietals and blends.  One could not help associate owner Ken Forrester with the character of these wines, having interesting names of Renegade, Three Halves, and Gypsy.  The tasting was followed by lunch at 96 Winery Road, a restaurant co-owned by Ken with his brother.Ken Forrester View Whale Cottage

We met at the Ken Forrester Tasting Room, on a gorgeous sunny autumn day, dressed with a Gypsy theme, in table cloths, carpets, staff outfits, bunting in the vineyard, a banner at the entrance, and ribbons on our media packs, all reflecting the Gypsy theme. Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 10 March

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Edelweiss Air will offer two return flights per week between Cape Town and Zürich during the Cape’s next summer season, in new-look interior aircraft.  New seat configurations and an in-flight entertainment system with touch screens will be available.

*   Cape Town has the potential to become a tourism link to Antarctica, an opportunity which is not being utilised at all by our tourism authorities, shows research conducted at the University of Western Cape. The 6 hour flight from Cape Town has few seats reserved for tourists, the bulk of the 35000 tourists per year arriving by ship from Argentina.  Tourism facilities are minimal on the island, and the flights are expensive, not favouring the development of tourism currently.   Cruise tourism to Antarctica via Cape Town could also be encouraged.

Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 13/14 December

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Newton Johnson Cellarmaster Gordon Newton Johnson has been admitted to the Cape Winemakers’ Guild as its 46th member.  It recognises his achievements as winemaker of Pinot Noir in particular, and winning this year’s Platter’s Red Wine of The Year.  Membership is by invitation only. (received via media release from GC Communications)

*   ‘Festive Franschhoek’ runs until Tuesday, and is intended to attract Capetonians and tourists to come and do their Christmas shopping in Franschhoek rather than in manic Cape Town.  Shops such as Peacock Blue, Indian Summer, Masquerade Antiques & Things, and Troll Beads will stay open until 20h00, misleadingly marketed as ‘late night shopping’!  Misleading too is the invitation to ‘Enjoy a five-star meal at Reuben’s...’, the restaurant only having made a 4-star rating in the Diners Club Rossouw’s Restaurant Guide this year, irresponsible overmarketing by Mariette du Toit-Helmbold of Destinate, running the promotion!   One suspects that all participants had to pay her company for the promotion!

*   Miss South Africa, Rolene Strauss, has won Miss World 2014, a wonderful marketing opportunity for our country!

*   Wesgro and Happy Snappy are jointly developing a mobile campaign to inform visitors to Cape Town and the Western Cape Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 8/9 November

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Moody’s has downgraded our country’s debt rating to Baa2, one level lower, due to ‘poor growth prospects and rising public debt’, a rating on a par with the company’s ratings of Russia and Brazil, and two notches removed from ‘junk status‘. Electricity shortages were highlighted as one specific reason for the downgrade.

*   The Volvo Ocean Race yachts have arrived in the V&A Waterfront, and a host of activities are planned until the yachts head for Abu Dhabi on 19 November.  Only seven teams are participating in the world’s leading offshore sailing race covering four oceans and five continents.   An inaugural Open Ocean Festival runs in this period, but has been very poorly publicised (shoppers to the V&A Waterfront received brochures yesterday as they entered the underground parking).  Events of the Festival include the Open Ocean Film Festival this weekend, Fly Boarding today, Xtreme Water Polo from 10 – 12 November, Canoe Polo today, a Sunset Mile open ocean swim on 12 November, and the third day of the IRC National Regatta today.

*   Waterford Wine Estate has been named a Global Winner in the categories Wine Tourism Service and Sustainable Continue reading →