Tag Archives: Ultra Liquors

Corona Virus: Lockdown Journey Journal, Day 53 of Level 1, 12 November 2020

 

Thursday 12 November 2020, Day 53 of Level 1, Day 231 of Lockdown đŸ˜·

Corona Gratitude 🙏

#Grateful for a beautiful hot day, at 27C or more, Camps Bay jam-packed, even at 20h00 when I drove back home; for having written today’s blogpost yesterday, so I could walk to Clifton before it got too hot; for having an afternoon free when a meeting was postponed to tomorrow, which meant that I could work on other stories; for buying a bottle of brandy at Ultra, combining it with a trip I needed to do anyway, I being the only client at Ultra, which may now close at its regular time of 19h00, after the President’s Speech last night; for an invitation to a launch party in Bantry Bay; and for being happy and healthy. 🙏💙 Continue reading →

Corona Virus: Lockdown Journey Journal, Day 31 of Level 2, 17 September 2020.

 

Thursday 17 September 2020, Day 31 of Level 2, Day 175 of Lockdown đŸ˜·

Corona Gratitude 🙏

#Grateful for sun, sun, sun, after a misty morning, with a slight chill in the 17C day; for a late sleep in, having written today’s Blogpost last night; for a walk in Camps Bay, making a leg waxing appointment for tomorrow, shopping at Woolies, and collecting discount vouchers from Tindlovu; for learning more about the cost of electricity in our apartment block, after the Power Audit was done; for having the patience in filling in more forms to be registered with CATHSSETA as a Tourist Guide, a challenging career when it comes to all the governmental paperwork prescriptions; for dropping off the forms at the lecturer’s house in Rondebosch, combining it with a number of other stops in the city, including buying my first alcohol in almost six months of Lockdown, having run out of Jameson; for more fantastic service from PnP Clothing in The Point in Sea Point; for a slice of carrot cake and tea and company from the lovely staff member at Bokeh Creative Space, looking forward to dancing there soon Adrian Lazarus; for popping in at Oxalis Eatery to drop off a bottle of ADHARA extra virgin olive oil, with four female owners of the restaurant, which opened in late August; for a half an hour stop at Pilcrow & Cleaver, having a glass of Valley Pinot Noir and a Scallop Ceviche with Orange segments, pine nuts and sultanas, oh wow…; for ending off the day with a first visit to the home of Stuart Bailey, loving my Jameson đŸ„ƒ; for a Discovery Insure Fuel Cashback; and for being happy and healthy. 🙏💙 Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 31 May/1 June

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Going on safari is an increasing trend, which is good for tourism in Africa, popular not only amongst European and American tourists, but also amongst BRICS travelers from Brazil, India, Russia, and China.

*   SA Tourism has appointed Gaining Edge to help increase our country’s profile as a Business Events destination in India and China, for the South Africa National Convention Bureau.  South Africa is ranked highest as a business events destination in Africa, and 34th in the world.

*   Topless Tours have a new meaning, and do not refer to Cape Town’s Hop On Hop Off buses.  It’s a new trend started in the UK, whereby ladies take photographs of themselves topless at top tourist spots, Continue reading →

Wine Sommelier training becomes Tourism priority!

A new R11 million one-year Sommelier training program has been launched by the Department of Tourism in conjunction with the Cape Wine Academy.  It is apt that the program was launched in Franschhoek, which was described by Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk as ‘the best blueprint for wine tourism in SA’.

Launched at La Motte last month, the objective of the training program is to grow the skills of 200 learners in one of the identified ‘niche sectors being of particular importance for SA, wine tourism being one of them’, said Minister van Schalkwyk, reported the Franschhoek Tatler.  He added that there were good job prospects once the trainees have completed their program.  The new sommelier training program follows the Minister’s recent Youth Chef training programme.

Cape Wine Masters Lizette Tolken and Derek Ramsden are some of the lecturers involved in the Sommelier training program, which incorporates four six-week practical work segments in the wine industry. For the first practical, which has been completed, distributors and wholesalers such as Distell, Meridian and DGB, Vinimark, Smollens, Liquidity, Panniers, Wine Logistics, Swirls, NixAn Wines, Nicholson Smith, International Wines, together with Beyerskloof, Delheim, Simonsig, Vergelegen and Spier, all took in learners. The practicals will also include front-of-house training in restaurants, retail outlets and hotels such as Southern Sun, Ultra Liquors, Spar, Shoprite Checkers, The Butcher Shop & Grill, and The Baron Group.

Minister Van Schalkwyk has appealed to the private sector to support and enhance the programmes of his Department, and thanked it for the important role it plays in the development and promotion of tourism. “It is well known that the private sector bears the major risks of tourism investment, as well as a large part of the responsibility to satisfy tourists. Through its training programmes, government is committed to encouraging the further growth, development and profitability of the tourism private sector by providing already-trained staff, such as these sommeliers, who are immediately able to fulfil a productive role in the hospitality sector,” the Minister concluded.

While the Sommelier training program is commendable, one wonders why the South African Sommelier Association, under the chairmanship of respected Sommelier and Burrata owner Neil Grant, was not involved.

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