Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines
* Our economy is struggling, business confidence having fallen to its lowest level in 16 years. The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry Business Confidence Index fell from 88 in July to 84 in August! This scenario may cost the country’s workers 60000 jobs.
* Given that the 2022 Commonwealth Games will be held in Durban, Continue reading →
Mulderbosch Faithful Hound 2013 was named the top Bordeaux-style White blend at the RisCura White Hot Wine Awards, held at Tjing Tjing Torli (in Dear Me) in Cape Town yesterday. The wine was made by Adam Mason
and scored 94.
Winemag.co.za Business Manager Jacqueline Lahoud welcomed wine makers and writers, and announced that of 30 entries received, twelve scored 90 or more points out of 100. She said that Winemag is a digital platform for news about the wine industry and showcases its achievements. The first RisCura White Hot Wine Awards for Bordeaux Blends were presented in 2013. Earlier this year the first RisCura Red Hot Wine Awards for Bordeaux Blends were held in Stellenbosch. A niche had been identified to recognize Bordeaux Blends, and RisCura agreed to sponsor the awards. RisCura Continue reading →
Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines
* Entries are open for the Diners Club 2014 Winelist Awards, with a closing date of 29 August. The main element of judging the winelists is content, followed by a lesser weighting for balance, suitability, and presentation. Dave Hughes will chair the judging panel. (received via media release from African Sky Media)
* The Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild is making its wines available for tasting ahead of its prestigious Auction at Spier on 4 October. The Cape Town showcase will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on 21 August, while in Johannesburg it will be held at the Nedbank Head Office The Atrium on 27 August. All proceeds of the Auction go to the development program of the Cape Winemakers’ Guild. Entrance costs R170. (received via media release from GC Communications)
It was restaurant reviewer and now Platter’s South African Wines 2014 publisher JP Rossouw who told me about Springfontein Eats outside Stanford, asking me at the launch of the wine guide whether I had already eaten there. Having spent the past weekend in Hermanus, I drove to the restaurant on Saturday, finding a culinary oasis, with former 1 star Michelin Chef Jürgen Schneider preparing a lunch feast just
for me!
I had booked for lunch and was the only patron in the restaurant, despite it being a long weekend. The restaurant opened two months ago. Springfontein was bought by Jürgen and Susanne Schneider as well as by Johst and Jen Weber in 1994, then a cattle farm. The farm had belonged to David Trafford’s father in law, and it was suggested to them that the abundance of water, the terroir, the limestone soil, the nearby ocean location, the difference in daytime and nighttime temperatures, and the slope on the farm, would be ideal for wine production, which advice they followed and they started planting vines eleven years ago. They were laughed at initially, being ridiculed for the ‘vinegar’ that they would be producing, but they have proven their critics wrong! Springfontein is the oldest wine farm in Stanford. They sold their grapes to Hamilton Russell and to Rupert & Rothschild initially, until they started making their own wines 7 – 8 years ago.
The road to Springfontein is not the easiest to find in Stanford, one driving down Stanford’s main road, and then turning left into Moore Road, and carrying on straight, the road becoming a gravel one and taking one to Springfontein 5 km along. The road signs are tiny, not brown tourism ones, as I had expected. Gravel roads are not my favourite, due to a childhood experience of a car accident on such a road, but the condition of the road was reasonable.
Three cottages on the farm have been transformed into guest accommodation, and the Springfontein Winery wine cellar was built. The old homestead was transformed into Springfontein Eats restaurant, the most recent of the facilities on the wine estate to open. I asked Chef Jürgen why he would leave a lucrative and successful Michelin star graded restaurant Strahlenberger Hof in Schriesheim they have run for 18 years, Continue reading →