South Africa Wine Forums

Book events to celebrate local literature

Admin — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 21:09:50 GMT

We are very proud of our affiliation with South African literature. By sponsoring many book launches and events such as The London Book Fair's South African market focus, we try to illustrate our solidarity with and support of the burgeoning...

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Vilafonte Series M & C kick butt in Wine Spectator

Admin — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:49:59 GMT

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Crush! Online: Gemoedsrus 2009

Admin — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:33:00 GMT

*Click here to see Crush! Online and*click through to page 15 Michael�s Wine Finds scroll into A Stunning local drop - to read his review on Gemoedsrus 2009. If you haven�t yet subscribed to your free issue of Crush! Online do so � it�s a truly delicious and inspiring read!*
Click here to see Crush! Online and*click through to page 15 Michael�s Wine Finds scroll into A Stunning local drop - to read his review on Gemoedsrus 2009. If you haven�t yet subscribed to your free issue of Crush! Online do so � it�s a truly delicious and inspiring read!

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Another public review of our ?unusual? varietal tasting

Admin — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:33:00 GMT

Following up from our earlier post by Anna-Mart Fourie, our second taster was Tara, and you can read her post on her website.

About two(ish) weeks ago, Fairview asked for volunteers to take part in an �unusual varietals� tasting at their wine estate and to blog about their experience*. Well, needless to say I fired off a response to their Twitter stream and Facebook page and basically did the equivalent of bouncing in my chair waving my arm in the air! Something must have worked because they picked me (and a partner) to come along and participate. I was thrilled!
Read the rest of Tara’s review here…

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The original Supermodels at 40 � Still stunning and fashion icons

Admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:46:10 GMT

The �original supermodels� who dominated fashion in the late eighties and early nineties are now all in their 40ties and they are still style icons and fashion ambassadors.
Here is a run-down *of what some the ‘original super models’ are up to now.
Claudia Schiffer (40)
The youngest of the original super models, turned 40 in August and this mom of three still continue to pose part-time for brands like Chanel and Yves St. Laurent.
Cindy Crawford (44)
The American beauty appeared on hundreds of magazine covers. She also acted in a few movies and hosted the MTV series �House of Style� is the owner of a few extremely successful business including anti-aging skincare products called Meaningful Beauty
Naomi Campbell (40) *
Discovered at 15 while window-shopping in London’s Covent Garden, Campbell quickly went from being an in-demand catwalk star to posing for numerous magazine covers, many of which had never before featured a black model. Now , although plagued by personal scandals, Campbell is still a fashion-world star.
Elle Macpherson (47)
A leggy blonde Australian known within the industry as “The Body,” Macpherson appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue a record five times. She also kept a foot in the high-fashion world, walking runways for designers like Azzedine Alaia and John Galliano.
Now , the model-turned-entrepreneur’s signature lingerie line, Elle Macpherson Intimates, is a best-selling success, stocked at Bloomindales, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus.
Linda Evagilista (45)
Canadian-born Evangelista got her start when she was spotted by a talent agent at a Miss Teen Niagara pageant in 1978. Ten years later, she lost a number of major runway bookings when she suddenly swapped her then-shoulder-length hair for a boyish, close-cropped style, but her ever-changing ‘do eventually became her trademark.
Now, Evangelista has worked more or less steadily for the last twenty years — recent gigs include ad campaigns for Prada, Talbots, and John Galliano.
And what about Kirty Turlington, Helena Christensen and the rest of the original supermodels? Find out what they’re up to on InStyle.com now
Source: cnn

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Wine Farms/Estates that do picnics

jannie247 — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:18:46 GMT

Since it is spring again I thought it would be appropriate to post an email I compiled last year for a friend enquiring about wine farms/estates that do picnics.

PLEASE NOTE: This information is supplied as is. I did the research for this a year ago and the information should only serve as a rough guide. If you are interested in a picnic on one of the farms/estates, please contact them and confirm that they still do picnics.

Constantia Wine Route (Cape Town):
- Buitenverwachting
- Simon’s Terrace, Groot Constantia Wine Estate

Durbanville Wine Route:
- Diemersdal (you're welcome to picnic as long as you contact them to confirm and buy their wines for the picnic. They also have a lovely cheese plater available).
- Altydgedacht (They've always had a very lovely grass covered picnic area under trees and are usually very accommodating, just contact to confirm before the time.)
- Nitida Cafe, Nitida Estate

Franschhoek Wine Route:
- All�e Bleue Wine Estate (alternative link)
- Le Pique Nique, Boschendal Wine Estate (alternative link)
- Rickety Bridge, Restaurant in the Vines

Stellenbosch Wine Route:
- Vergelegen Wine Estate (alternative link)
- Warwick Estate (alternative link)
- Vredenheim
- Longridge Winery
- Zevenwacht Wine Estate
- Zorgvliet
- Delaire (alternative link)
- Uitkyk
- Mount Rozier (They also offer outrides on horseback. Lovely experience.)
- Hazendal
- Spier

Paarl Wine Route:
- Nederburg
- Landskroon Wines
- Rhebokskloof
- Kleine Draken (alternative link)
- Seidelberg Wine Estate
- Backsberg

Breedekloof Wine Route (Wellington):
- Badsberg / Jason's Hill Restaurant
- Diemersfontein
- Welbedacht

Robertson Wine Route:
- Ashton Cellar (alternative link)
- Wolvendrift

Oh and btw., according to this site (http://www.ewine.co.za/thingstodocape.php?regionID=2), they you can bring your own basket for Berg River Resort & Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve and picnic baskets are also sold during summer at Boland Wine Cellar, Nelson’s Creek, African Terroir, Avondale & Taalmonument Koffie Shoppe. All these farms, estates & venues are located in Paarl.

Then there's the following links with a nice list, but I think I've got them all above:
http://www.mothercityliving.co.za/20...-wine-estates/
http://www.wine.co.za/search/search-...?SEARCH=picnic

Please share any other wine farms/estates, information or updates that you might have, so that we can build a very complete list.

Franschhoek Uncorked pops out at Solms-Delta

Admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:02:22 GMT

Spring has been a little late coming to the Boland this year. The weather on the weekend of 4 September, date of the Franschhoek Uncorked Festival, started off looking threatening enough to pop the corks right back in the thousands of bottles of wine that awaited the festival-goers. So the staff at the Fyndraai restaurant [...]Spring has been a little late coming to the Boland this year. The weather on the weekend of 4 September, date of the Franschhoek Uncorked Festival, started off looking threatening enough to pop the corks right back in the thousands of bottles of wine that awaited the festival-goers. So the staff at the Fyndraai restaurant stood about a bit nervously as the first musical act, the Klein Handjies mini-choir from the cr�che, assembled on stage. By the time the ultra-cute choristers, all decked out in the blue and white klopse costumes, started to sing at 12.:30 a trickle of guests had started to come in. By 13:00 it was a stream, and at 13:30 Annelize, the manager of Fyndraai rallied her troops, �Get your takkies on, we�ve got a flood here!� Extra tables were set up on the lawn and a steady flow of Kaapse kos was soon issuing from chef Shaun Schoeman�s kitchen.
The music was also picking up speed. The Nick Turner Sextet provided a tuneful mix of reggae, Cape traditional music and Nick�s other original compositions. They were then joined by the Delta Soetstemme choir, who just keep getting better and better. They have been joined by several new members from Kylemore as a result of the expanded music development programme.
As the guests tucked into the food (the platter of 7 starter portions prepared with ingredients from the Dik Delta Culinary Garden was in huge demand) the performers were joined by the Delta Langbroek band. They were led by Adriaan Brand, with the participation of Les Javan, the artist-in-residence, and of Mandla Mlangeni, the new trumpet tutor.
By now the musical mood was Cape music in all its forms, traditional liedjies, gospel, and the instantly recognizable compositions of Les Javan. Every time I hear this group perform I am amazed at how professional they have become. And what a performance they provide! This is no concert put on by a bunch of amateurs, it�s a real show. And it�s a show based on the music of the Franschhoek Valley.
The afternoon was rounded off by a performance by Les Javan, singing his own songs in his inimitable way. No wonder his CD is selling so well, his songs range from those that reach into the depths of his experience to lyrical love-songs that charm �the birds from the trees� as one admirer puts it.
The final act was the Delta Valley Entertainers, consisting of the Langbroeke and the Pniel band. The many visitors that had stayed to the end agreed that the combination of local music, local food and local wine made the Solms-Delta Uncorked a real winner in the Valley.************

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Parow Preparatory visit to Fairview

Admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:02:22 GMT

The Fairview goats were happy to have a scurry of excited visitors this past Friday, with the arrival of The Parow Preparatory Full Service School. With the big blue school bus having arrived, full of scholars eagerly awaiting their first encounter with our funny and gregarious goats, there was no doubt that this visit would prove to be a HOOT!
In 2001 the school was started with only 12 learners. At present, this school boasts 350 learners, of which 80 learners are students with special needs. Parow* Preparatory School regards these challenges as an opportunity for growth. And whilst some activities may prove more challenging than others for these students, they obtain the necessary support they need in order to perform. A vast majority of the learners also come from sub-economic circumstances and are unable to afford the necessary support and therapy offered by the private sector. And so, it was decided to reach out to the community for specialists and good-doers. Today this school offers the children play therapy, a psychologist, occupational therapist as well as speech therapy. In addition, they are offered language support as well as taught culinary and entrepreneurial skills.
And so, with this excited group of students, the Fairview team introduced our goats to them, to be met by bursts of laughter and an eagerness to take part of the proceedings as much as possible.
Donald Mouton, Fairview’s resident Goat Whisperer and General Manager of the farm, led the children through the goat stalls, while regaling them with stories about the animals and offering glasses of fresh goats’ milk to taste. With goat milk moustaches, the students were extremely excited to move onto the next stage of their tour, being the adorable kids. �Oohs� and �aahs� echoed from the nursery, while the students cuddled and spoilt the little babies with hugs and kisses.
With their ‘baby sitting’ duties completed, the children were urged to go and say, “Hello” to the big- eyed ostriches and cool looking Zebra in the farm’s wildlife camp. After a fun filled afternoon, dusty shoes and hungry tummies, the students lazed under the trees next to the Goat Tower for a picnic, before heading back home.
We hope that the Parow Preparatory School enjoyed their visit with us, as much as we did.
(Tours of the goats are subject to previous arrangement only and are available week days from 9am-5pm)

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Your Invitation to The Loft Project

Admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:02:22 GMT

Join Neil Jewell – acclaimed Bread & Wine Head Chef and Charcuterie King – and Clayton Reabow, award-winning M�reson Winemaker, for an exceptional evening of Franschhoek food and wine at The Loft Project in East London, United Kingdom.Experience 10 courses of South African inspired cuisine paired with award-winning wines from (yes you guessed it) M�reson.Dates: [...]

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Douglas Green is a SA Blog Award finalist � Please vote for me

Admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:27:55 GMT

*

Great news. This blog has been nominated for a SA Blog Award in the Best Company Blog category. Thanks to everyone who nominated this blog.
If you like what I�ve done on this blog,* please vote for me for a SA Blog Award.
It�s easy. Click on the banner on the right of the page.* Fill in your email (confirm) and you done.
Thanks!

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On the release of our 2007 Vilafonte Series C, Phil Freese provides a detailed harves

Admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:27:55 GMT

Due to our location of the Vilafont� vineyard in the Southern Hemisphere, our growing season begins in the calendar year ahead of our harvest date. For the 2007 vintage we are watching the winter temperatures of May through August 2006 for the ability to accumulate sufficient �chill units� which assures that the vines are fully into dormancy and the cold units provide the stimulus for good budding in the spring. The Cape is truly a �Mediterranean� type of climate and the cold winter months of late 2006 gave us a good accumulation of cold units.
Both winter and spring rainfall amount was slightly above �normal.� Perhaps more importantly, the timing of the rains was good with small amounts of rain in mid-September and early October before our flowering in late-October. While these rains can cause anxiety for the vineyard team since the rainfall and associated cool temperatures and long periods of high humidity provide ideal conditions for mildew - there were no problems since the spacing of the rains was nearly ideal.
Dr. Phil Freese, Zelma Long & Mike Ratcliffe The Vilafont� vineyard is a low to moderate vegetative growth area so we did not have issues of overly dense canopies from the small amounts of rain. (In fact we do not even own or use a hedging machine.) Standard canopy management practice has us retain just one shoot per spur location on our uniquely designed cordon trained vines. Thus the canopy begins the season nicely spaced with good air and sunlight penetration and low disease pressure. These canopies are much like a cane-pruned vine but with the benefit of the extra stored carbohydrate supply of the cordon�s permanent wood structure. In cool springs we have good storage reserves for flowering and moderate vegetative growth with the uniformity of shoot growth afforded by cordon-trained vines.
These attributes were important in the flowering of October. Our Malbec and Merlot vines are always first to bloom and they were at 50% flowering in the mild temperatures of the 3rd week of October. There were then 3 days of windy and cool weather where much of the Cabernet was in flowering. Our experience is building to give us confidence in our site that Cabernet Sauvignon, being the hearty Bordeaux varietal, seems to be less sensitive to cool weather at flowering than some of the other red Bordeaux varieties.

Cabernet Franc in the cool weather of late October 2006 tended to give us more variability in flowering timing and thus led to more variability in veraison-time coloring of the fruit. Also the crop level was somewhat lower due to poor �set� or fertilization of the flowers and their development into berries � again related to the cool temperatures and some overcast skies.

In January 2007 we introduced a practice that we thought was revolutionary - the full-scale practice of veraison thinning on a �per berry� basis. Instead of going through the vineyard and throwing off entire clusters that are late in coloring � we instead used our observations of the flowering variability in October and wanted to remove only the individual green berries.
Fortunately we had a small team of highly trained women who were accustomed to working in table grape vineyards. When we ask them to carefully hold and turn each cluster of fruit and remove only the green and pink berries within the clusters, they simply said �fine � we can do that.� While we thought this would be a challenging concept and practice � they did it with ease as it is a common practice in some table grape varieties.
The growing season was moderate with its normal 3 to 5 days cycles of a build of daily high temperatures then a cooling of several days and then the gradual building again. The exception to the normal seasonal pattern came near the end of January with 5 days of high daily temperatures near 400 C and warm nights. Most of our varieties were finishing veraison stage and not affected by the burst of heat.
There is the theory that a burst of heat will accelerate the ripening process. Such heat events can in fact accelerate the apparent sugar concentration due to loss of water from the stressed vines but we do not look at this as true ripening. We applied some drip irrigation and waited patiently for our customarily early Merlot and Malbec to recover their flavor profiles and �composure� after the heat.
Harvest began on the 31st of January with �Z� block Merlot � a �core� wine that can contribute strongly to both Series C and M wine blends. This was followed with the Malbec blocks of �V� and �W� on February 2nd.
The second week of February had a forecast of more rain and we brought in additional merlot just before 3 days of rain (20 mm).
Mid-February provided regular daily rhythm of warming and cooling cycles and an even ripening of the balance of the Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

March began with 3 days of rain and cool temperatures which gave us over 35 mm (more than 1.4 inches) of rain fall. We often call these late-season rains on Cabernet as �cleansing� of the fruit referring to washing off any bit of dust. In fact the rains are valuable for the last bit of natural moisture needed for the final ripening but the cooler temperatures associated with a typical storm system also send key signals to the vines that it is getting on to what we call �game over� stage for the growing season and the push to finish tannin ripening of seeds and skins and softening of the last bit of under-ripe characters.

We finished the vintage with the balance of our Cabernet Sauvignon blocks at the end of the first week of March.

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RadioSonderGrense: Hein en Shaun - Dik Delta en Fyndraai

Admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:53:25 GMT

Fyndraai’s head Chef Shaun Schoeman and Hein Joubert, project manager of Dik Delta Fynbos Culinary Gardens and Park, chat in-studio to Martelize Brink on RSG - showing her some of the plants and herbs from the garden and they*also taste some of Shaun’s veldkos - RSG Dik Delta 2010 SeptFyndraai’s head Chef Shaun Schoeman and Hein Joubert, project manager of Dik Delta Fynbos Culinary Gardens and Park, chat in-studio to Martelize Brink on RSG - showing her some of the plants and herbs from the garden and they*also taste some of Shaun’s veldkos - RSG Dik Delta 2010 Sept

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Fynbos Friday 43: Tecoma Capensis

Admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:53:25 GMT

The Cape Honeysuckle was one of those Fynbos plants that really got its hooks stuck into me when it came to the propagation side of Fynbos and really was one of the first plants I had any success with in our nursery.** They are pretty bulletproof so they managed to pull through my early and rather disastrous adventures in learning how to manage a nursery properly almost 6 years ago.
Apart from its relative hardiness, it is still a fascinating and a beautiful member of the Fynbos.* They can grow in a wide range of soil types, and cope well with varying shade and wind conditions.** If one puts the time in; they can be a well maintained and beautiful hedgerow; alternatively if they are left to their own devices they can sprout into some amazing shapes.* Which is more of what we encounter on the farm here, the weird and wonderful different shapes they all take on.*** Colour is also an important part of this plant, as we on the farm have 4 different colours of Tecoma flowering.** It is always interesting to see which plant is more attractive to bees and sunbirds.* The sunbirds can spend all day in a big patch of Honeysuckle, and the bees go particularly mad for this as soon as the sun hits the plant and the pollen starts warming up.
The reason I chose this plant as this week�s Fynbos Friday was for no other reason than the amazing pictures I was able to take this morning of the mist leaving drops behind on the flowers.
Hope you enjoy Uncorked this weekend, if you are in the valley you might bump into us at Lynx for delicious tapas and Shiraz, or next door at Boekenhoutskloof.* Come and say hi. And wherever you are enjoying this weekend please remember to travel safe.
http://www.plantzafrica.com/planttuv/tecomarcap.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecoma_capensis

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Not kidding around

Admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:53:25 GMT

Charles Back is the owner of Fairview, and his daughter Bridget Back is the fourth generation of her family to work at the farm. She has spent the past couple of months at the goat sheds for the annual goat kidding season and provided this post.

Cyril and Bridget Back

With the kidding season having started here at Fairview, I found myself spending a lot more time down at the goats, admiring these inquisitive and quirky animals.
After helping the ‘Mammas’ with bottle feeding, old memories of being taken down to play with the goats by my grandparents came flooding back. My grandmother, Beryl, would hold my hand, while leading me down to the sheds, where we would spend hours giggling at the baby goats together. While it was my grandfather, Cyril, and his love for goats that introduced them to the farm many years ago, my grandmother also expressed a love for them through her art. Paging through her sketch pads, one was sure to stumble upon a few, starring back at you.
This year, we have seen 140 kids born so far, amongst three different breeds.* The farm is home to the better known Saanens, (the white ones) of which, two Billie Goats reside in their goat palace, The Goat Tower. Amongst the Saanens, one is sure to spot brown and black goats. These are our Toggenbergs and Alpines, adding diversity and charisma to our charming group of Saanen ladies.
Rosie Lebitsa

Everyday, there is a very specific feeding routine that is followed to ensure that the kids are given exactly what they need to mature into strong robust animals. Watching the bottle feeding take place, I feel touched by the amount of affection and love which these little ‘babas’ receive from our adoring ladies. Rosie Lebitsa, who has been caring for our goats since 1994, says that the little ones are children to her. In her eyes, they are all beautiful, and feels very heart sore when they get sick. �Die werk is baie belangrik, want die bokke moet groot word en melk en kaas vir die plaas gee� says Rosie. (“The work is very important, because it is these little goats who will grow up to provide the milk for our farm cheeses.”)
Our goats produce approximately 450 000 litres of milk a year. The milking may start as early as 3am, with the last taking place late afternoon. From this milk, the cheese factory produces 54 000kg of goats milk cheese. Chevin with various toppings, such as Garlic and Herb, Sundried Tomato and Paprika and other delicious spoils can all be found in the Tasting Room on the farm as well as in selected stores across the country.
If only Rosie and her ladies knew how valued they really and truly are!
Here�s to you Rosie! xx

Not Kidding around

With the kidding season having started here at Fairview, I found myself spending a lot more time down at the goats, admiring these inquisitive and quirky animals.

After helping the �Mammas� with bottle feeding, old memories of being taken down to play with the goats by my grandparents came flooding back. My grandmother, Beryl, would hold my hand, while leading me down to the goats, where we would spend hours giggling at the baby goats together. While it was my grandfather, Cyril, and his love for goats that introduced them to the farm, many years ago, my grandmother also expressed a love for them through her art. Paging through her scetch pads, one was sure to stumble upon a few, starring back at you.

This year, we have seen 140 kids, amongst three different breeds, born so far. The farm is home to the better known, Saanen Goats, (the white ones) of which, two Billie Goats reside in their goat palace, The Goat Tower. Amongst the Saanens, one is sure to spot brown and black goats. These are our Toggenberg and Alpine goats, adding diversity and charisma to our charming group of Saanen ladies.

Everyday, there is a very specific feeding routine that is carried out to endure that the kids are given exactly what they need to mature into strong robust animals. Watching the bottle feeding take place, I feel touched by the amount of affection and love which these little �babas� receive from our adoring ladies. Rosie Lebitsa, who has been caring for our goats since 1994, says that the little ones are children to her. In her eyes, they are all beautiful, and feels very heart sore when they get sick. � Die werk is baie belangrik, want die bokke moet groot word en melk en kaas vir die plaas gee.� Says Rosie.

Our goats produce approximately 450 000 Litres of milk a year. The milking may start as early as 3am, with the last taking place late afternoon. From this milk, the cheese factory produces 54 000kg of Goats milk cheese. Chevin with various toppings, such as Garlic and Herb, Sundried Tomato and Paprika and other delicious spoils can all be found in the Tasting Room on the farm as well as in Selected stores across the country.

If only Rosie and her ladies knew how valued they really and truly are!

Here�s to you Rosie! xx

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Franschhoek Uncorked - The Tumbling Strawberry and Bubbly by the Glass

Admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:53:25 GMT

Post from: Cabriere Blog
Franschhoek Uncorked - The Tumbling Strawberry and Bubbly by the Glass
Experience the magic of*The Tumbling Strawberry at Franschhoek Uncorked this weekend!

CC attribution itsray on Flickr

Enjoy a glass of Pierre Jourdan Belle Rose with a ripe strawberry tumbling in the bubbles for R20 per glass. Or sip away on a glass of Pierre Jourdan Brut, Pierre Jourdan Brut Sauvage and Pierre Jourdan Blanc de Blancs for just R20 a glass.
See you this Saturday!

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