The judges for the Prescient Chardonnay Report 2015 found that the sixty Chardonnays that they evaluated were so superb, that they acknowledged all 29 wines that scored 90 and more points.
The 5th Chardonnay Report 90+ score winners event was held at MOMA on Buitengracht Street, a spacious if not noisy gallery filled with works of Continue reading →
Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines
* South African consumer confidence is at its lowest level in ten years, records the Bureau of Economic Research, and expects it to become worse next year!
* To celebrate World Tourism Day (27 September), Western Cape Tourism Minister braaied at Oudekraal, cycled through Chapman’s Peak, and stopped at pavement cafés en route on Heritage Day. (via media release from Minister Winde’s office)
* More than 15000 UK restaurants and pubs are participating in a Tax Parity Day, protesting the 20% VAT on hotel, restaurant, pub, and catering costs. The aim is to prove that sales will increase if the VAT is reduced.
* A four course Winemakers’ Dinner will be held at the Franschhoek Kitchen at Holden Manz on 26 September, with wines from Arra, Maison, Noble Continue reading →
An ad for the “Klassische Kaproute”, appearing in the latest edition of Suedafrika magazine, proudly displays the Winchester Mansions in Sea Point, the Devon Valley Hotel in Stellenbosch, the Belvidere Manor in Knysna, and the Lalibela Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape, inviting guests to “erfahren Sie die atemberaubende Schoenheit des Kaplandes!” (experience the awesome beauty of the Cape!).
However, Lalibela is not in the Western Cape, which is traditionally referred to as “The Cape”, making this ad misleading. Prior to the political change in 1994, the Eastern and Western Cape were one province, called the Cape Province officially and The Cape colloquially.
The Winchester Mansions Hotel page in the brochure on the website of the Cape Clasical Route pushes the boundary of believability when it claims to be “Cape Town’s leading Beachfront boutique hotel – situated on the Atlantic Seaboard”. The hotel has four stars, and fellow Atlantic Seaboard hotels The Ambassador, the V&A Hotel, The Twelve Apostles, the Table Bay, the Cape Grace, the Radisson, The Peninsula and the Bay Hotel could equally make such a claim as far as location goes. However, only the Bay Hotel in Camps Bay is at the beach, while the Winchester Mansions is not. Furthermore, the hotel can hardly be described as “boutique”, a much abused term in accommodation marketing. Nils Heckscher, ex-FEDHASA Chairman and ex-Cape Town Routes Unlimited director, is the GM of the Winchester Mansions Hotel.