Last week I attended a small intimate Media Event at Musgrave Spirits in Salt River, with only ten guests, to introduce its Musgrave Copper flavour-infused Pot Still Brandy. Musgrave Spirits is well-known for its Gin, and its Pink Gin in particular. We were introduced to the Brandy on ice, with mixers, as Savoury drinks, and ended off the evening with delicious Don Pedros. Continue reading →
John Platter’s name is synonymous with the wine industry, having created the Platter’s Wine Guide 36 years ago with wife Erica. His surname is still linked to the Guide by name, even though he has sold the Guide. Launching a new book, it was obvious that it would have something to do with wine. ‘My Kind of Wine‘ is such a book, Continue reading →
Looking at the past 20 year’s of our country’s democracy yesterday, I chose an article written about a recent ‘Culinary Conclave’ (or Indaba or Kosberaad, as we would call it) held by one of the world’s greatest chefs, Ferran Adrià of the former El Bulli, for inspiration for today’s blogpost.
Adrià and fellow chef Andoni Luis Aduriz invited 15 ‘gastronomic journalists‘ from around the world (none from our country) for a two day discussion about the past 20 years of gastronomy. Each attendee was requested to present the gastronomic trends over the past two decades in their country, the impact of gastronomy
on society and culture, how the media has changed and influenced gastronomy, and how the definitions of ‘great cuisine‘ and ‘dining experience‘ have changed.
These were some of the gastronomic trends identified: Continue reading →
Beer is a declining threat to wine sales, Malbec is big, Millennials and Gen X are key to future wine sales, wine blends have a role to play, and fine wine enjoys support despite the recession. These are some of the findings of American ‘Emerging Trends within Beverage Alcohol’, a presentation by Nielsen, and assembled from retail scans, consumer surveys, and other information sources. The presentation was attended by American Joe Roberts of 1WineDude blog, who summarised the key findings on his blog. These were some of the highlights for him:
* Wine sales are growing
* Sales of wine at $20 or more showed a strong increase in November/December 2013. Wine sales in the $12 – 15 price range are also showing growth.
* The share of beer is declining relative to wine and spirits, and adspend is now below 50% of total alcohol adspend.
* Millennial (36 years and younger) and Gen X (30 – 50 year olds) wine buyers are increasingly buying wine, at Continue reading →