Tag Archives: Pitching Presentation

World Design Capital 2014: Audacia sulphite and preservative free wines inspired by design!

Audacia Merlot Whale Cottage PortfolioI was invited by Eclipse PR to attend a media briefing at the offices of Cape Town Design NPC, the company operating Cape Town’s role as World Design Capital 2014, on Thursday, the first such invitation, and received earlier in the day.  While it was thin on media news, and poorly attended, it was a most interesting session, in learning about the unique new sulphite and preservative free Audacia Wines using indigenous woods for its maturation, one of the about 450 registered World Design Capital 2014 projects.  Being an official project, it has raised the bar of Audacia’s design elements.

Co-owner Trevor Strydom is passionate about his pet project, and started talking to me about it in the reception whilst we were waiting for the meeting to start.  Audacia Wines is a partnership between Trevor and Paul Harris of Rand Merchant Bank and Ellerman House, describing itself as ‘The Red Wine Boutique WineryAudacia Trevor Strydom Whale Cottage Portfolio (2). Given how tough the wine industry is, and that there are no subsidies for farmers, it is hard to survive in the industry. Harris inspired Trevor with the quote: ‘change only occurs when the pain exceeds the joy‘, and advised him to find a point of difference for his brand, which currently is very well known for its weekend market off the R44.

Trevor read up about the law of winemaking and additives, and found that only two additives are allowed: enzymes, and wood.  He made his winemaker Michael van Niekerk make samples of red wines with different woods, given that every winemaker uses oak, whether as staves, chips, or powder, and they tried woods such as bluegum, acacia, and fig, to the amusement of van Niekerk. Being offered tea by his daughter one afternoon, she drinking a cup of rooibos tea with him, he had the brilliant idea to try rooibos wood (Aspalathus linearis), and they were delighted with the results, not being picked up on the nose nor on tasting the wine.  Whilst consulting his patent lawyer Mohammed Valli, he was initially sceptical whether a non-drinking lawyer could identify with his project.  He was most impressed with Valli’s conclusion that the anti-oxidant properties Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 24 February!

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   The V&A Waterfront appears to be getting the go-ahead from the City of Cape Town for its new development in Granger Bay, which will include parking, residential accommodation, and a coastal walkway connecting it to Sea Point, reports People’s Post.

*   Africa Travel Week, a triple travel and tourism exhibition, will be held in Cape Town from 28 April to 3 May, the first time a tourism exhibition will be held on such a large scale in Cape Town.   International travel brand names such as TripAdvisor, Hilton Worldwide, Starwood, and Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group (with brands Radisson Blu, Park Inn by Radisson, and Hotel Missoni)  will be present at the inaugural World Travel Market (WTM) Africa.   Africa is regarded as the ‘next key region for international travel brands’, making the continent attractive to global airlines, hotel groups, and technology companies, WTM Africa Event Manager Polly Magraw said.

*   Cape Town International is experiencing a shortage of jet fuel, Chevron has announced, saying it is working with Shell and other ‘colleagues’ to solve the problem, proudly stating that no flights were affected today.  On Kfm news however a Cape Town International spokesperson said that two flights were delayed by an hour each today as a result of the fuel problem.

*   A week ago the MyCiTi Bus introduced new routes (108 and 109) from Hout Bay, through Continue reading →