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It is an absolute pleasure for
me to distribute all the good
news from Stellenbosch on a
monthly basis – and this month
is no different! |
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In the spirit of
2010 - the Stellenbosch American
Express® Wine Routes donated R5000 to
the all women Glen Eagles Soccer Club
in Cloetesville, to enable the club to
register for the Vodacom Provincial
League.
The club celebrated their 30th
anniversary this year, and ladies older
than 15 years can sign up. Three of the
players, Henriëtta Adams, Christolene
Jantjies and Ilze Jones have been
selected for the Ikapa team, who will
compete in Argentina in 2009. The team
has been together for 3 years now, and
they won the Boland Super league, as
well as the Women’s Day tournament.
Randall
Christians, Richard Poole, Annareth
Jacobs, Peter Smith and Mark Francois
Small
(front)
Each of these
dynamic women needs to raise R3 500, and
the club also is in dire need of
equipment, transport and medical
services. The club hopes that more
businesses will lend a helping hand to
this proudly Stellenbosch team!
Coach Mark Francis says he is very proud
of his team, and that they get
inspiration from players like Joanne
Solomons who started her soccer career
at Glen Eagles, and now represents South
Africa playing for Bajana Bajana.
If any business would like to make a
contribution, please contact Richard
Poole on 084 410 8500.
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Stellenbosch Wine Routes and
EKOV (Elsenburg Cellar
Technology Old Students
Association) and its educational
arm, Wine Training South Africa,
has been working together for
years, bringing wine courses to
the workers on our farms.
For the first time ever, we will
be hosting a Special Wine
Appreciation Course for Farm
Worker Women. The aim of
this course, with a special
Christmas theme, is to honour
the women on our wine farms for
the important role which they
have in the vineyards, but also
in our communities. In South
Africa, we have more than 80 000
farm workers working in the wine
industry. We know of a lot of
these who are women, and who
approach their daily tasks with
love and dedication.
The aim of the course is to
introduce the attendees to Wine,
the correct use of wine, as well
as food and wine pairings.
Attendees will learn more about
Stellenbosch wines, and they
will also get to know some
well-known personalities from
the wine industry. A focus of
the course will be Christmas on
a Stellenbosch wine farm –
whereby attendees will be able
to plan a Christmas lunch that
will suit any pocket, keeping
with the festive spirit! |
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The course is taking place at Doornbosch on
27 November 2008.
Time : 08h30 to 16h00 (Coffee/tea and lunch
will be served)
Cost : R200 pp (Stellenbosch Wine Routes is
subsidizing the normal R440 pp)
For more information, please contact Emma
Burger on 082 851 3164, or Liesl de Kock at
082 375 5710. |
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Speaking
about festivities – Simonsig has
opened their new restaurant just
in time for the silly season,
with loads of tourists on our
doorsteps!
Fulfilling a
lifelong dream of the Malan
family, their new restaurant
cuvée (koo-VAY), gives a new
meaning to the concept of
restaurant design, flaunting an
elegant milieu with a quirky
nature that offers an element of
surprise, apparent in the décor
as well as in the menu.
“cuvée is not
your typical fine dining
restaurant. Rather a Cape Dutch
voorkamer where friends meet for
an unsurpassed eating experience
saturated with nostalgia and
emotion. Unpretentious yet
stylish, cuvée embraces a
typical languid Sunday lunch
mood whilst radiant with
contemporary inspiration,”
explains Neil Stemmet, co-owner
of Koncept Design & Architecture
and the creative mastermind
behind this Simonsig heirloom.
Together with
business partner, Jacques
Erasmus – acclaimed food artist
– they have succeeded in their
quest to instill the same
excellence and sophisticated
flair at cuvée, for which
Simonsig wines enjoy world
acclaim.
As the
pioneers of South Africa’s first
Méthode Cap Classique (sparkling
wine made in the classic French
Champagne tradition) great
inspiration lies in the name of
Simonsig’s signature restaurant.
In wine terms, including French
Champagne, cuvée refers to the
best grape juice selected for
producing the finest wine in the
cellar.
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Other unique cuvée
impressions include
a wine library and a
mural of irregular
white empty frames,
whilst crystal
chandeliers are
transformed into
magpies of charming
trinkets.
cuvée also treasures
nostalgic memories
through the creative
use of old pieces of
the Malan family
such as the wall
installations of
ceramic plates of
Liza, the beloved
late mother of the
three brothers who
own Simonsig today. |
cuvée’s menu celebrates
traditional Cape cuisine
inspired by the seasons with
dishes prepared or paired with
an array of Simonsig’s finest
red, white and sparkling wines.
Guests can expect nothing less
than honest food, made with the
freshest ingredients harvested
from the herb and vegetable
garden on the farm. Presenting
culinary excellence with a
conscience, cuvée tries to stock
its pantry with as much locally
produced products to support
surrounding communities.
cuvée is open from Tuesday to
Thursday, 9am until 5pm, Friday
to Saturday, 9am until 10pm and
Sundays for lunch. Private
evening functions and parties
can also be reserved. For more
information or to book your
table contact cuvée at tel (021)
888 4932 or send an email to
cuvee@simonsig.co.za. |
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Have you
visited the Stellenbosch
Fresh Goods Market yet? This
local market at Bosman’s
Crossing has proven to be a big
hit, and on Saturday 8 November
the market will be dedicated to
strawberries and jazz. From
09:00 – 16:00, expect to find
strawberry wafels, pies, soap,
ice cream, salads, and much
more. Also taste local red
wines, champagne and rosé. Enjoy
the slow jazz bands, while there
is more than enough
entertainment for the children.
For more
information, visit
www.slowmarket.co.za,
or phone 072 922 9311 |
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The Ratcliffe family has had a
very successful year, with
unbelievable accolades for both
Vilafonté and Warwick.
Wine Enthusiast Magazine has
selected Vilafonté Vineyards as
one of their five nominees for
“New World Winery of the Year”
in the Winestar Awards for 2008.
At the recent Proefschrift
Wijnconcours in Holland, the
Warwick Trilogy was announced
“Overall winner of the Boutique
Wineries for a wine retailing
more than Euro 20 per bottle”.
The US-based wine publication,
Wine Spectator, also awarded the
Trilogy 93 points – the joint
highest score ever for a South
African Bordeaux-based blend. To
top all that, the Trilogy was
also awarded a Gold medal at the
Mundus Vini in Germany.
What a year! Congratulations to
the team, you sure make us
proud!! |
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Stellenbosch
Wine Routes has been the pioneer
of the wine industry for many
years, and our status as
favourite wine destination has
just been confirmed AGAIN! In
its recent 'Top 10 grape
getaways where the wine is
divine',
www.tripadvisor.com listed
the 10 wine destinations that
were most often mentioned by the
website's own users. The site
has 25 million monthly visitors.
'We have
noticed that many travellers
frequently share reviews,
opinions and photos of wine
destinations and tours in our
forums, and the number of people
doing so is constantly
increasing,' said the company’s
UK-based spokesperson Amelie
Hurst.
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The most
popular
destinations:
1. Bordeaux,
France
2. Napa Valley,
California
3. Tuscany,
Italy
4. Champagne-Ardenne,
France
5. Barossa
Valley,
Australia
6. La Rioja,
Spain
7. Sonoma
Valley,
California
8. Valle
Central, Chile
9.
Stellenbosch,
South Africa
10. Marlborough,
New Zealand |
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According to figures, the Western Cape
receives more than 1.2 million international
tourists per year. And with 2010 just around
the corner these figures are growing.
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The average
tourist,
however, is
bombarded with
options when it
comes to
visiting the
winelands. A new
innovative
wine emporium
in the
Stellenbosch
region promises
to keep
Stellenbosch as
the number one
choice for both
locals and
tourists alike.
With 16 wine
routes in South
Africa and
hundreds of wine
farms to choose
from, the
emporium will
ensure that
tourists are
attracted to
Stellenbosch and
stay in
Stellenbosch.
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“This initiative will be the ideal way to
offer an unforgettable wine experience to
tourists”, says Strydom.
The emporium, which will be positioned on
the R44 between Stellenbosch and Somerset
West, already has the industry talking!
According to Mr Trevor Strydom (co-owner of
Audacia with Mr Paul Harris) five other
friends who own wine farms could be involved
in the emporium.
The farms involved decided
to pool their resources and work together in
view of the steep rise in building costs
(over 70% in the last two years). “In
today’s world with crashing markets and
recession at the door, it is impossible to
do it alone especially if one wants to
create something iconic and meaningful in
terms of global wine trends,” says Strydom.
“We
are not busy with just another little farm
stall – this emporium will have national and
international significance and will showcase
the very best in food, wine and art", says
Strydom. The architects of this wine
initiative are Boogertman & Partners, and
their basic approach has been to design a
free form, sculpturally shaped structure
blended into the landscape. The emporium has
a fine dining restaurant, located in a glass
wine barrel. The more informal wine lover’s
restaurant, wine tasting, and deli food wine
retail area with an entrance to the art
gallery are all on the ground floor,
spilling out into sculptured gardens.
The
building structure is well camouflaged with
greenery and, with its back turned onto the
R44, opens itself up towards the spectacular
views of the Stellenbosch and Helderberg
Mountains. A great deal of planning has gone
into reducing traffic noise and interference
from the R44 / Annandale Roads.
The
pioneers of this venture hope that if all
goes well, building can commence by April
2009. Won’t it be wonderful for Stellenbosch
if they can have their doors open by the
middle of 2010, in time for the Soccer World
Cup!
For
more information, contact Lezille Hickley on
021 881 3052, or
lhickley@audacia.co.za. |
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Delaire – meaning
‘From the Sky’ – was purchased in 2003 by
Laurence Graff, founder of London based
Graff Diamonds International, and is
currently undergoing a major transformation.
Laurence
Graff is the world's number one dealer in
diamonds and gems, and Britain's 36th
richest man, with five luxurious homes in
England, France, Switzerland and New York, a
private jet that reaches Tokyo from London
non-stop, a Mediterranean yacht, his own
diamond mine outside Johannesburg, half a
dozen properties in Mayfair (including
Cartier, Van Cleef and most of his rival
jewellers), and clients from Elizabeth
Taylor to Donald Trump, to royal families
around the world.
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His road to a
billion began with leaving
school at fourteen and starting
his first job – a jeweller’s
apprentice - at fifteen. His
father was a suit-maker, and his
mother a tobacconist and
newsagent. His father told him
that disasters would come in
life, and that they could be
overcome. He was told the value
of working hard and getting up
early, completing one’s daily
tasks with integrity. Today he
is one of the world’s richest
men.
The first
phase of the changes at Delaire
- the building of a modern,
hi-tech cellar - has now been
completed. This boutique wine
estate, perched high on the
crest of the Helshoogte Pass –
is celebrating the completion of
the new cellar with the release
of three new wines.
The three releases include the
aromatic Delaire Sauvignon Blanc
2008, the maiden vintage of New
Zealand-born winemaker Chris
Kelly who joined the estate in
2007. The other new releases are
Delaire Chardonnay 2007 and the
flagship Cabernet Sauvignon
based red, Delaire 2006. |
Other prominent
developments at this Cape Winelands gem
include a chic new restaurant and an
exclusive hotel.
The temporary tasting room has re-opened due
to public demand, and is open seven days per
week. Delaire is also celebrating the taste
of summer with al fresco winemaker’s
lunches. From now until the end of
January 2009, winemaker Chris Kelly and his
team invite families and friends to sidestep
the festive rush and to join them for a
languid al fresco affair under the oaks,
served up with awe-inspiring views of their
‘vineyards in the sky’ and valleys below.
Think superb wines, genuine company and
good, honest food shared at one long table
where strangers become friends over a seven
course tapas lunch enjoyed with the finest
gems from the newly built state-of-the-art
Delaire cellar.
These laidback lunches, hosted each Friday,
offer the perfect setting to ease into the
weekend and can accommodate up to 20
individual bookings at R150 per person. The
meal includes an exclusive barrel tasting
and a complimentary glass of Delaire wine.
Either book an entire table for you and your
friends, or join a mixed group of
like-minded folks for this ‘elevated’
Winelands encounter.
Bookings for the Delaire Winemaker’s
Friendship Lunches are essential! To reserve
your seat contact Christo Bezuidenhout at
021 885 8160 or 072 744 5997 or send an
email to
info@delaire.co.za. |
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I would like
to use this opportunity to
invite all Stellenbosch Wine
Routes members to our Annual
General Meeting, taking
place at Kleine Zalze Wine
Estate on Thursday 6 November
2008, at 17:30 for 18:00.
Following a short meeting, we
will be tasting the top
Stellenbosch wines of 2008.
Please confirm your
attendance : phone 021 886 8275,
or e-mail
annareth@wineroute.co.za.
Until next time!
Annareth Jacobs
CEO Stellenbosch American Express®
Wine Routes
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