Tag Archives: shiraz

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 10/11 May

May 11, 2014

Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

* Writing in The Guardian, Fiona Beckett warns against generalising the wine styles of a New World country like South Africa, and not acknowledging that different styles do well in particular regions of our country. So she highlights that Constantia, Darling, and Elgin are synonomous with Sauvignon Blanc; the Hemel-en-Aarde valley with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay; Stellenbosch with Bordeaux-style red wines; and the Swartland with Chenin Blanc and Syrah. She further highlights Elgin in particular, and its wines Elgin Ridge 282, Paul Cluver Ferricrete Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling, and Kershaw Elgin Chardonnay 2012.

* A South African Attractions Management Conference will be held in Cape Town at the Old Mutual Conference and Exhibition Centre at Kirstenbosch on 4 and 5 June, The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company CEO Sabine Lehmann being the driving force for the Conference. Topics include staffing, Seasonality, online ticket sales, Social Media, crisis management, market research, family-friendliness, and customer requirements. The Conference is aimed at the management of Cape Town and the Winelands’ tourist attractions.

* More than 10000 tourism and travel executives are expected to be attending Indaba, Africa’s major tourism expo, which runs in Durban until tomorrow, according to The New Age. The expo is expected to generate R150 million for Durban, Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 26 – 28 April

April 28, 2014

Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

* On Freedom Day President Jacob Zuma bestowed a number of awards upon South Africans as well as some international recipients, for their contribution to our country. Sadly many of the awards were made posthumously. The recipients included Caster Semenya (Bronze Order of Ikhamanga), Cameron van der Burgh (Silver Order of Ikhamanga), Fanie van der Merwe (Silver Order of Ikhamanga), Zakes Mda (Silver Order of Ikhamanga), Sandra Prinsloo (Silver Order of Ikhamanga), Raymond Ackerman (Silver Order of the Baobab), Chris Ball (Silver Order of the Baobab), Alex Boraine (Silver Order of the Baobab), Frederick van Zyl Slabbert (Silver, Order of the Baobab, posthumous), Lord Richard Attenborough (Silver Order of the Companions of OR Tambo), Danny Glover (Silver Order of the Companions of OR Tambo), and Quincy Jones (Silver Order of the Companions of OR Tambo).

* American tour operators are seeing a shift of bookings to South Africa, due to the weak Rand, comparing the cost of a top end ‘five star’ meal in our country to the price one would pay for a meal at McDonalds in the USA, and praising the price of the good value ‘world class wines’ locally compared to those from Napa.

* Express in the UK praises Cape Town’s scenery, its beaches, as well as ‘sensational wines and innovative chefs’, with the headline ‘Dining on Cape Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 15 April

April 15, 2014

Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

* More direct flights between Cape Town and Luanda in Angola could create close to 4000 jobs and close to R400 million for the economy, an Air Access strategy study has estimated said Alan Winde, Western Cape Minister of Finance, Economic Development, and Tourism. The province’s Air Access strategy ‘is to improve our competitiveness and we will focus on routes into Africa. Research shows a direct link between economic growth and improved air access. We are serious about investment, exports and tourism and direct routes play a major role in stimulating growth in these areas‘, the Minister said. Two years ago the value of trade between Angola and our country was R31 billion, almost half of this from the Western Cape. An increased number of direct flights would benefit tourism, and the oil and gas industry. The Minister said that his department will work on increasing the number of flights. (received via media release from Minister Winde’s offices)

* Tourism performance in the first quarter of 2014 (at 114.6) dipped slightly from the last quarter of 2013 (112.4), despite the weaker exchange rate and international leisure tourism demand, the Tourism Business Council of South Africa FNB Tourism Business Index has measured, in a study conducted by Grant Thornton. Tourism businesses’ optimism remains for the period ahead. Interesting is that the study found that the tourism industry sees the general election on 7 May to have a negative impact on tourism. (received via e-mail from the Tourism Business Council of South Africa)

* The Van Ryn range has won a double gold for the Van Ryn 15 Year Old, and two gold medals for its 12 Year Old and 20 Year Old at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. (received via media release from De Kock Communications)

* The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa sister hotel Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve & Wellness Retreat will host a 5 course Continue reading →

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

March 8, 2014

I 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 Winery‘. 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 →