Tradition Brut | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

* The Elite 100 fine-dining restaurants in the world have been announced for 2014, with three Cape restaurants on the list: The Test Kitchen at 45th place, The Tasting Room at 82nd, and Rust en Vrede (which the Cape Argus placed in Durbanville rather than in Stellenbosch!) at 85th place. The world’s top 10 restaurants, according to Elite, are Alinea in Chicago, Daniel Restaurant in New York, The Fat Duck in Bray in the UK, Eleven Madison Park in New York, Le Bernardin in New York, El Celler de Can Roca in Girona in Spain, Azurmendi in Vizcaya, La Pergola in Rome, The Ledbury in London, and Osteria Francescana in Modena in Italy. The Cape Argus incorrectly created one restaurant name out of the 7th and 8th ranked restaurants! A surprise is the omission of five hundred at The Saxon, which kitchen is headed by South Africa’s Top Chef David Higgs.

* After 45 years in the local and international hospitality industry, which includes the One&Only hotel group, Sol Kerzner is retiring, after selling a substantial stake of his Kerzner International Holdings to a Dubai-based company.

* New York Travel focuses on Spring Travel in South Africa, specifically in Cape Town and surrounding areas. In Cape Town the article mentions I Love my Laundry, the The Crypt Jazz Restaurant and The Marly in Camps Bay. It also refers to Cape Town’s role as host of World Design Capital 2014. Continue reading →

Well-known MCC producer Villiera has listened to consumer demand for light wines, in producing a lighter and fresher sparkling wine they have called Starlight Brut, with an alcohol content of 9,5%.

The lightness of the Starlight Brut is communicated by a very light silver star-shaped label, with no foil over the wire closure. The ‘Starlight’ name comes from the reaction of delighted drinkers of the new sparkling wine, likening it to tasting the stars. The back label states: ‘Since then it has truly become the drink of the stars, from romantic dinners, to parties beneath them. Where there are stars there is Starlight MCC’. Jeff Grier is the Villiera winemaker.

The current Villiera MCC range of Tradition Brut NV, Monro Brut 2007, Tradition Rosé Brut NV, Brut Natural 2009, and Brut – Special Dosage NV has an alcohol content of around 12%. The new Villiera Starlight Brut retails for R95.

The packaging for the delivery, organised by PR agency Grapevine Publicity on behalf of Villiera, was in a bag made by Freedom’s Enterprizes from re-used newspapers, a nice eco-friendly touch.

Villiera, Koelenhof, Stellenbosch. Tel (021) 865-2002. www.villiera.com Twitter: @Villiera

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: WhaleCottage