SA Wine Harvest Commemorative Event at Groot Constantia - Judy
The South African Wine industry celebrates the annual wine harvest on 2 February, commemorating the first harvest documented by Jan van Riebeeck on 2 February 1659. In the evening, I joined South African wine industry roleplayers at the glamorous SA Wine Harvest Commemorative Event at Groot Constantia to celebrate our birthday and also to honour four of the industry's hardest workers.
Mzansi Tavern Chef 2023 cook-off competition - Judy
The Mzansi Tavern Chef competition is the apex of a campaign by Distell to promote food serving in taverns as one of the measures to address binge drinking. The inaugural Mzansi Tavern Chef cook-off took place on Tuesday 7 February 2023 at Nederburg, where 15 tavern chefs cooked up a storm. Click HERE to find out more about the competition.
Launch dinner of the Manor House Food and Wine Experience at Spier - Jeanine
The Manor House at Spier has been beautifully restored to host small, intimate food and wine experiences. A small group of media and friends was invited to the launch dinner of the Manor House Food and Wine Experience on Wednesday evening 8 February. Some of the highlights of the event included exploring the manor house, getting a harvest update from cellarmaster Johan Jordaan, sampling Chef Phil Carmichael's delicious food, and enjoying some of Spier's amazing wines.
Vinimark's Night of the Stars trade wine tasting at One&Only - Jeanine and Suheena
Night of the Stars is Vinimark's annual trade wine tasting event where they showcase the best of the best from their wine brand partners. These wine brands present their wines with a Platter's five star-rating as well as Double Gold medal winners at the Michelangelo Wine and Spirit Awards and Veritas Awards. This year, the event took place at One&Only Hotel in Cape Town on 13 February.
Brampton Words for Wine book handover on International Book Giving Day - Trudie and Zikhona
"When you give someone a book, you don't give him just paper, ink, and glue. You give him the possibility of a whole new life." - Christopher Morley. For most, 14 February is Valentine's Day, a day for romantic dinners, roses and chocolates. But, DGB and Brampton celebrated a different love, the love for books, by donating 150+ books on International Book Giving Day on 14 February.
Opening of Brookdale Tasting Room and Bistro - Erica, Jeanine and Judy
Brookdale Estate in Paarl opened their very own tasting room and restaurant in February 2023. Found at their newly established cellar, the Tasting Room & Bistro offers relaxed wine tasting and dining overlooking a sea of vineyards and the mountainous landscape of the estate. We attended the opening function of the new space on Wednesday 22 February. A wonderful experience!
Sustained by wine at Jordan Wine Estate - Trudie
Perfect early autumn day in Stellenbosch meets Jordan wines and hospitality = perfection. In the middle of the busy harvest season, it's easy to see that the Jordan team lives and breathes wine. They work hard and play hard, with new toys in the cellar to keep innovating and create new special wines. On Thursday 2 March, we got a behind-the-scenes view of the magic happening in the cellar in harvest time.
Launch of PYDA's World of Work Centre - Jeanine, Judy and Zikhona
At the soft launch of the World of Work Centre on Monday 6 March, the Pinotage Youth Development Academy (PYDA) introduced their exciting new initiative. This new youth employment centre in Stellenbosch is offering unemployed individuals between the ages of 18 and 34 years work readiness support to access opportunities across all economic sectors.
