Tag Archives: V&A

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 13/14 December

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Newton Johnson Cellarmaster Gordon Newton Johnson has been admitted to the Cape Winemakers’ Guild as its 46th member.  It recognises his achievements as winemaker of Pinot Noir in particular, and winning this year’s Platter’s Red Wine of The Year.  Membership is by invitation only. (received via media release from GC Communications)

*   ‘Festive Franschhoek’ runs until Tuesday, and is intended to attract Capetonians and tourists to come and do their Christmas shopping in Franschhoek rather than in manic Cape Town.  Shops such as Peacock Blue, Indian Summer, Masquerade Antiques & Things, and Troll Beads will stay open until 20h00, misleadingly marketed as ‘late night shopping’!  Misleading too is the invitation to ‘Enjoy a five-star meal at Reuben’s...’, the restaurant only having made a 4-star rating in the Diners Club Rossouw’s Restaurant Guide this year, irresponsible overmarketing by Mariette du Toit-Helmbold of Destinate, running the promotion!   One suspects that all participants had to pay her company for the promotion!

*   Miss South Africa, Rolene Strauss, has won Miss World 2014, a wonderful marketing opportunity for our country!

*   Wesgro and Happy Snappy are jointly developing a mobile campaign to inform visitors to Cape Town and the Western Cape Continue reading →

New Watershed in V&A Waterfront showcases ‘Africa’s largest collection of craft and design’!

Watershed logo Whale CottageThe V&A Waterfront has completely transformed what was previously the Blue Shed near the V&A Market on the Wharf, renaming it Watershed (a corny name which tries to be clever, but it does not reflect at all what is inside the building), and creating a showcase of 168 crafters, designers, and more under one roof.

I was invited to attend the official opening of Watershed on Watershed Star Whale CottageThursday evening, and so were thousands of others, as the traffic jam inside the V&A was unbelievable, a trip between Kloof Street and the parking garage opposite Watershed taking 45 minutes traveling time!  There was no warning on radio nor through the V&A’s electronic Continue reading →

Mercedes-Benz Sweet Service and V&A Waterfront Sour Service Awards!

Mercedes-Benz logoThe Sweet Service Award goes to Mercedes-Benz Culemborg in Cape Town, for the assistance by its Service Manager Dean Guimaraes in opening my car roof, which stopped working yesterday morning. Despite arriving at 16h00 on a Friday afternoon after returning from a function in Stellenbosch, Dean checked out the car.  He found that a part of the roof mechanism had broken, and managed to open the roof, despite the broken part, which they will replace next week, once ordered on Monday. Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 11 July

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Mercedes-Benz South Africa will be taken for a ride by the V&A Waterfront for the next 12 months,  as a member of the V&A Waterfront Partners Programme, which comes with a number of exclusive rights to connect with the V&A’s visitors, including receiving their e-mail addresses, using their venue for events, outdoor advertising, and business to business campaigns.  The V&A sees the advantage as being increased footfall, which it overclaims at 23 million per year!   For Mercedes-Benz the deal is an opportunity to become ‘visualised at the V&A Waterfront to aspirational consumers‘.

*   Fodor’s Travel has written a comprehensive article entitled ‘Wine Lover’s Guide to South Africa‘, praising our country for its excellent terroir suited to wine farming, and becoming ‘world-renowned’, especially our indigenous Pinotage.  Linking food and wine, the Western Cape is becoming increasingly associated with food excellence too. Wine tasting in Stellenbosch is recommended, at Kanonkop, Tokara, and Waterford Estate, while Indochine, Delaire Graff Restaurant, and Jordan are recommended restaurants.   In Franschhoek La Petite Ferme, Haute Cabrière, Môreson, and the unique Franschhoek Wine Tram are recommended.  The Tasting Room and Bread & Wine are recommended restaurants. In Paarl KWV is recommended, with Bosman’s Restaurant, which is overpraised as ‘one of the best restaurants not only in South Africa, but in the world’ (sic)!  Groot Constantia is mentioned as being the oldest wine estate, and La Colombe and The Greenhouse are recommended restaurants.

*   A clever and cheeky reply to EFF Commissar Andile Mngxitama, who wrote to Sir Richard Branson, saying that the Continue reading →