Much Vaunted Independence Denied Gentleman Farmers
Provocative column on the Swartland by Michael Fridjhon in today’s Business Day available here or if you wait a few days, rehashed on the Grape communal blog. Written by the “hack” (his description)...
View ArticleLost Fart
“I see Michael’s now telling everyone you’ve bought a farm in the Swartland” was my greeting from larger-than-life Jozi restaurateur Alan Pick at the Vergelegen launch last night. “I guess its a...
View ArticleIn Vergelegen, Veritas
Spent the day in Stellenbosch. A day which started by bumping into Vergelegen MD Don Tooth and winemaker André van Rensburg at Cape Town airport. The duo was back from Jozi on BA where they presented...
View ArticleAsk the Guru about Wild Ferments
The drinks Q&A interview in Travel & Food in the Sunday Times ran out of road last month and has been replaced by an Ask the Guru column. Q: From Meisie in Malmesbury. I see you are presenting...
View ArticleSwartland Revolution: The Aftermath
Bumped into Grande Roche head sommelier Josephine Gutentoft at Bar Bar Black Sheep this lunch time. Josephine reports that over 600 people attended the Real Men Ferment Wild tasting I hosted yesterday....
View ArticleTelegraph Twits
No surprises in yesterday’s Telegraph revelations that Brits can’t tell their Claret from their Bordeaux blends, but what does surprise is how France dominates the piece, even after WOSA offered 300...
View ArticleAnni Dewani Prequel
I had even more to say about the mysterious murder of honeymooning bride Anni Dewani in the Sunday Times yesterday. Chas Withington, the Darling negoçiant who sources wine for Mzoli’s reports “I was...
View ArticleIdiot Winds and WikiWines
While entrepreneurs of the blogosphere ponder how to monetize their activities, I’ve decided to keep my head down and fix the things I find broken. In the case of wine on the web, it’s a desperate lack...
View ArticleCelebrity Wine Confusion
This posting is a fourth order effect, spun off from Cape Town’s most glamorous New Years Eve party hosted by “Texan Billionaire” Preston Haskell IV. The bash went down in Fresnaye, in Preston’s...
View ArticleWine of the Day #43: Bergwater Royal Reserve 2005
How much? R50; Where? Bergwater Vineyards, Prince Albert, Great Karoo 27 (0)23 541 1703; Why? The Afrikaans nickname for the Karoo of Groot Dorsland (Great Thirstland) is now redundant with the arrival...
View Article
