Wine Goggle
Wine, food and fun through rosé-tinted spectacles.
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5 hours 12 min agoMarch 11, 2010
09:45
A Wine-maker in Kenya
James Farquharson, formerly of Boschendal, headed for the wine-making region of Kenya a few years back. Many of us have been wanting to know how it is going up north. Well, here’s the story so far, as told by James. Growing and making wine in Kenya is challenging indeed. I came to Kenya at the end [...]
Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English
March 8, 2010
11:51
PR for Tulbagh
I have decided to give the Tulbagh wine region a punt. Beautiful area, great wines and any place that has survived an earthquake has a story to tell. So, thanks to ML Communications for a lekker release. Tulbagh Winery has this year appointed a new production manager and a fulltime viticulturist, namely Naudé Bruwer and Hugo [...]
Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English
March 6, 2010
08:28
Star-struck in the Winelands
AMERICAN magazine Wine Spectator has been having a bit of late by comparing wines to actors. All this with coming Sunday’s Oscar awards in mind. The magazine’s tasting panel has selected ten wines, across five categories, each of which suitably ‘personifies’ the nominee, and, by implication, the role he or she plays in the movie. Stellenbosch’s [...]
Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English
March 4, 2010
11:06
Wine Distributors’ Frail Egos
Distribution seems to be the unknown force in the wine industry, and it would appear as if distributors would like keep it this way. These forces generally have the wine producers by the short and curlies, buying at a discount and then slapping on an average of 30% when selling to the retailer, who then [...]
Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English
March 3, 2010
20:03
A Bar at Portofino
PORTOFINO RESTAURANT Harbour Edge, 10 Hospital Street, Green Point. Tel. 021-418-4500 I was to meet Calculus to talk about a war and a good suit, and he suggested a bar and restaurant at the end of town run by an Irishman with a great hair-cut. Balking, I asked whether said Irishman was the so called “rudest restaurateur” [...]
Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English
20:03
A Bar at Portofino
PORTOFINO RESTAURANT Harbour Edge, 10 Hospital Street, Green Point. Tel. 021-418-4500 I was to meet Calculus to talk about a war and a good suit, and he suggested a bar and restaurant at the end of town run by an Irishman with a great hair-cut. Balking, I asked whether said Irishman was the so called “rudest restaurateur” [...]
Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English
February 27, 2010
09:04
Garden Route Wine Bonanza for 2010
After spending millions on international fact-finding trips and marketing jollies, the Cape winelands have failed to secure a base-camp for one of the 32 teams participating in World Cup 2010. As mentioned in a previous post, hosting an international team and its horde of followers and national media brings myriad short and long term benefits to [...]
Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English
February 21, 2010
18:55
KWV to Close Head-Office
One of the South African wine industry’s most iconic symbols, the KWV La Concorde head-office on Paarl’s main road, is to be vacated by KWV staff within the next few months. According to a wine industry insider, KWV staff will move to the vast buildings the company owns closer to the railway line. “La Concorde will [...]
Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English
February 20, 2010
11:11
The Power and the Glory of Constantia Glen
“Come on, man, I ’ve never seen a horse win a race without a jockey!” enthused Duimpie Bayly, owner of more South African wine industry positions than you’d find in the first 35 pages of the Kama Sutra. Duimpie was responding to Dominique Hebrard, former owner of Bordeaux icon Cheval Blanc, who was discussing his involvement [...]
Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English
February 17, 2010
18:00
16:54
Wine Industry Laments Budget Decision
The hike in excise duties, as announced by the Minister of Finance, will cause the serious financial plight of many wine producers toreach breaking point. VinPro therefore expects that this will be a watershed year for producers who have been under severe financial pressure in recent years. Despite the fact that producers have done their utmost [...]
Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English
February 16, 2010
21:31
February 14, 2010
09:32
Chateau Jack Black, Anybody?
AS ONE of the sharper tools in the wine marketing shed, my pal Mike Ratcliffe is a constant source of inspiration and quirkiness. Mighty Mike is known as the dude running the Warwick Estate which his formidable Mom, Norma, put on the map. O yes, and then Mike is also behind the scenes of Vilafonté, the [...]
Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English
February 7, 2010
21:08
Getting into Restaurant Rip-Off Spirit
The first time I hit someone older than myself was on the Greek Island of Santorini. There I was peaceful, friendly and minding my own business when some hairy Greek git, all chains and Old Spice, tried to pull me into the restaurant he was working for. “Best souvlaki for you!” he exclaimed grabbing my [...]
Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English
February 6, 2010
13:06
10:01
Time for Wine Industry to Rock Complacent Government
The latest study on the macro economic impact of the SA wine industry would make for exciting reading if it didn’t highlight the slackness of the local and national government in recognising the vinous jewel in the South African crown. According to the independent study commissioned by the SA Wine Industry Information and Systems, the [...]
Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English
February 1, 2010
07:20
The Juice is Loose at Kanonkop
WineGoggle’s roving harvester, Riaan Smit, is currently working the grapes at Kanonkop between his Elsenburg studies. Herewith his first contribution. When I left in late August last year to work a harvest at Chateau La Gordonne in Provence, the Pinotage bush vines at Kanonkop were already growing shoots. Now, a few short months after returning from France [...]
Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English
January 28, 2010
21:33
Kanonkop Blasts Wine Market with Pinotage Power
When the word hit the street that a bottle of Pinotage with a R1 000 price-tag was about to be released, reaction in my circles was unanimous: Only Kanonkop could justify such a price. And so it was, with Kanonkop Estate this week releasing its first new label in almost 40 years, namely the Black Lable Pinotage [...]
Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English
21:33
Kanonkop Blasts Wine Market with Pinotage Power
When the word hit the street that a bottle of Pinotage with a R1 000 price-tag was about to be released, reaction in my circles was unanimous: Only Kanonkop could justify such a price. And so it was, with Kanonkop Estate this week releasing its first new label in almost 40 years, namely the Black Lable Pinotage [...]
Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English
January 23, 2010
09:57
Waterford: the Real Deal
There is a cynical adage stating “if it looks and sounds too good to be true, it probably is”. Whilst certainly applicable to ponzi schemes and time-share agents, there are exceptions. Zimbabwean author Alexandra Fuller writes like Hemingway and looks like a runway model. Former French rugby captain Fabien Pelous would rip a whole opposing [...]
Categories: Wine Blogs from South Africa, Wine Blogs in English
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