Franschhoek Tatler - August 2015

Teacher attends Space Camp

Page 2

Not all carbs are equal

Page 8

Q&A: Geddan Ruddock

Page 17

Scan the QR code to read the Tatler online

Aug

ust 2

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Le Quartier Français sold to Leeu Collection

A new era has arrived for iconic Franschhoek property Le Quartier Français – it has been sold to Analjit Singh’s Leeu Collection. Singh’s family will take over the boutique hotel from current owner Susan Huxter and her family on 1 September.

“With Analjit’s introduction of new offerings and exciting luxury lifestyle contributions to Franschhoek, I feel confident and happy that he and his family are the right people to take Le Quartier Français to the next level,” said Huxter about the deal. Huxter has offered to work closely and hand-in-hand with the new owners to achieve a smooth transfer.

“Le Quartier Français has always been about family. It is a very special place full of soul, happiness and above all else wonderful people,” she said. “Between us all we have 924 years of service with two generations working here. It is the people that make Le Quartier Français the special place it is. I feel it is the right time to pass on this sanctuary to a new family who will love it and treasure it. I also believe there lies an exciting time ahead for the Le Quartier Français team, a wonderful opportunity for them to grow and spread their wings and I will be watching from around the corner.”

Award winning Executive Chef Margot Janse will see to it that the magic continues at The Tasting Room with her cutting edge cuisine. She, along with the rest of the Le Quartier Français team, will ensure that the exceptional service and experiences continue to charm guests from around the world.

This latest acquisition forms part of Leeu

Collection, the manifestation of owner Analjit Singh’s vision for sophisticated escapes and unique winelands experiences. The first phase of the collection, Leeu Estates (a 21-room, five-star boutique hotel and winery) and Leeu House (a private five-star 12-room boutique hotel in the heart of the village) is set for a phased opening from the last quarter of 2015.

According to Singh, the respected Le Quartier Français brand will be retained and for now only changes such as soft refurbishments and landscaping developments will take place. Further additions and alterations will be considered in 2016.

“I am passionate about South Africa, its energy and sense of place,” says Singh. Leeu means lion in Afrikaans as does Singh in Sanskrit. “This latest acquisition makes me excited because I love to be part of creating something special. The team involved in the Leeu Collection portfolio, headed by Hector de Galard, shares this excitement and is determined to create world-class experiences in a luxurious environment of which Le Quartier Français will form a part. This opportunity is a natural for us,” he said.

Complementary to the Leeu Collection is Heritage Square – opposite Leeu House in Huguenot Street – which will bring an exotic new culinary element to Franschhoek. The square will be home to Marigold, the first classical Indian cuisine restaurant in Franschhoek; Haiku, offering modern Asian tapas-style fare; and Madira, a trendy bar and popular meeting place for visitors and locals alike.

FLTR: Leeu Collection’s Hector de Galard with Le Quartier Français’ Susan Huxter, Analjit Singh and The Tasting Room’s Executive Chef, Margot Janse.

2 Franschhoek Tatler August 2015

Boschendal Village to change the face of Groot Drakenstein

A proposed mixed-use property development at the intersection of the R45 and R310 in Groot Drakenstein is set to change the landscape of the area.

Boschendal Estate’s owner, Canombys Ltd, is proposing the development of a new urban node, Boschendal Village, on 27.8 ha of unused and disturbed agriculturally-zoned land. The proposal falls within the urban edge as determined in the 2013 Stellenbosch Strategic Development Framework and will add another node to the row of villages starting at Kylemore and ending at Simondium.

The development is described as “a publicly orientated, walkable village, where scale, mix of land uses and design contribute to the quality of the ‘street’. The development will aim at providing the residents and visitors with an exceptional experience where the visual, historical and agricultural assets of the estate and surrounding areas are combined in a sustainable lifestyle experience.”

A mix of land uses is proposed, including: residential development at various densities; small artisan and deli shops, a farmers market and other specialty shops; commercial and office development; and tourism-related development including tourist accommodation.

The mixed-use core of the development is expected to offer about 5000 m² of Gross Leasable Area. A hotel or guest accommodation of ± 100 rooms is also proposed.

The village core will be surrounded by residential developments of varying densities and unit sizes. These range from high-density flats and double-storeyed town and row houses to one- and two-storeyed free-standing residential units. In total about 440 residential

units are proposed with the highest density near the core and lower densities around the edges.

The Groot Drakenstein Police Station will not be affected by the development and an upgrade of the clinic is in the offing.

Significant infrastructure improvements will form part of the development. Two new traffic circles are proposed – one at R45/R310 intersection and another at the R310/minor road 6/4 intersection. Between these two traffic circles a new intersection is proposed to provide and additional access point to the village. Other infrastructure investments include storm water systems, sewer pipes and sewerage pump station, water supply pipes, a reservoir and water pump station.

The developers recognise the area as a “significant heritage resource and the development proposals are seen as a key long-term intervention to ensure the long-term economic viability of a key heritage resource. This will in turn provide for the ongoing preservation and conservation of not only the Boschendal historical manor house, but also the surrounding agricultural landscape.”

In 2004 the then owners of the greater Boschendal Estate applied for authorisation for mixed-use property development on 22 portions of the estate. These proposals met fierce resistance from various quarters and were eventually shelved for a variety of reasons. The new owners’ property development proposals are limited to Boschendal Village with the rest of their plans focussed on agriculture and hospitality.

www.boschendal.co.za | 021 870 4200

USAVE open in Groendal‘n Nuwe Usave supermark het einde Junie in ‘n

splinternuwe gebou in Groendal begin handel dryf. Rooi en geel baniere, duidelik sigbaar van die R45, is ‘n vrolike aanduiding van die ligging van die supermark.

Usave is ‘n Shoprite konsep wat suksesvol in die buiteland toegepas word. Dis ‘n eenvoudige filosofie wat die koste van verpakking en prystoevoeging weglaat uit die waardeketting met die belofte “as ons spaar, spaar jy ook”. Daar word gemik na verbruikers wat nie behoefte het aan duur tierlantyntjies soos wat ‘n mens in winkelsentrums teëkom nie. Geen kompetisies met groot pryse word aangebied nie, alle besparings word herlei na pryse op die rakke.

Caroline Moses is die bestuurder by die Franschhoek tak van Usave en is heel in haar skik met haar personeel.

Al 12 is plaaslike inwoners wat deur Usave opgelei is. Sy sê dat al die Shoprite Money Market dienste by die Groendal tak beskikbaar is. Dit sluit SASSA uitbetalings en kontantonttrekkings deur bankkliënte in. Daar is egter nie ‘n deli, slaghuis of bakkery nie; vleis- en broodprodukte is vooraf verpak.

Caroline glo dat Usave in die gemeenskap se behoefte vir bekostigbare kruideniersware en huishoudelike benodigdhede voorsien en beloof glimlaggend dat die fokus “elke dag laer pryse” is. Die gebou is volgens voorskrif vir hulle gebou en word deur ‘n privaat sekuriteitsmaatskappy beveilig.

Usave is Maandae tot Vrydae van 09h00 tot 19h00 oop, Saterdae van 08h00 tot 17h00 en Sondae van 09h00 tot 14h00

TO FRANSCHHOEK

TO PAARL

TO S

TELL

ENBO

SCH

Diagramme from the Stellenbosch Strategic Development Framework with the location of Boschendal Village superimposed

Bastille Festival: C’est magnifique!

Franschhoek Bastille Festival, winner of the Crowd Pleaser category at last year’s Klink Awards, ticked all the right boxes again this year.

Visitors came in droves and both the food and wine marquee and town hall tickets for the Saturday were sold out before the weekend. Both venues were filled to capacity as more than 7000 visitors made their way through them over the weekend. Fortunately no reports of bad behaviour were received!

The festival again had a Seychellois touch. Last year a group of dancers visited and this year it was eminent chef Marcus Fréminot who joined some of the valley’s most popular restaurants in sating the crowd’s appetite for fine fare.

On the second day some unexpected Aussie accents could be heard as a film crew – directed to the event by SA Tourism in Sydney – captured some footage aimed at persuading visitors from down under to include Franschhoek and Bastille Festival in their itineraries.

Although the weather required the planned

market at BICCS to be cancelled, owners of, mostly covered, stalls in the village reported a busy day with brisk sales. Shop owners on Huguenot Street also reported good business, better than last year, but say they missed the buzz in the village of previous years.

Festival goers were keen to buy almost anything in red, white and blue to help them get into a Gallic mood. Scarves, berets, rosettes and tricolor clothes practically flew off tables and shelves, lending a festive air to the pedestrian traffic and fun activities.

Residents of Dirkie Uys Street say they were pleased at the efficient way the traffic was handled in their street.

The Salomon Bastille Trail Run was another feather in the cap of the organisers – Energy Events. The run’s gorilla photos proved so popular on Facebook that CNN contacted the organisers to find out just what was going on!

All in all a bon weekend of red, white and blue, celebrated with local food and wine was had by all.

Not all participants in the Salomon Bastille Trail Run were scared by the skinny gorilla. That didn’t stop the photos from going viral though!

Food & wine was the big attraction and nobody left disappointed.

The barrel rolling competition was closely contested.

Bridge House teacher attends Space Camp in USA

Shaun Keyser, a Grade-7 teacher at Bridge House School, attended Space Camp® at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, NASA’s official Visitor Information Center for the Marshall Space Flight Center from 18 – 22 June 2015. The educational program promotes science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), while training students and adults with hands-on activities and missions based on teamwork, leadership and decision-making.

Keyser was part of the Space Academy for Educators Program, which is designed for teachers who want to advance education in the STEM fields. Shaun experienced astronaut simulators and took a virtual tour into space to save the International Space Station. Trainees also followed lesson plans based on NASA content (which is

correlated to the National Science Education Standards) and received content and knowledge to pass on to their students in the classroom.

“Attending HESA has been a life-changing experience! It has opened my eyes to new teaching possibilities. My aim is to inspire young boys and girls to learn about space and to encourage them to follow a path of Maths and Science and explore the endless possibilities out there. Who knows, maybe the second African in space is sitting in my class,” said Keyser after his return.

Space Camp and Aviation Challenge crew trainers who lead each 16-member team must have at least a year of college and 67% of the staff are college graduates. Space Camp operates year-round in Huntsville, Alabama, and uses astronaut training techniques to engage trainees in real-world applications of STEM subjects. Trainees sleep in quarters designed to resemble the ISS and train in simulators like those used by NASA. Nearly 700 000 trainees have graduated from Space Camp since its opening in Huntsville in 1982, including STS-131 astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger and European Space Agency Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. Last year, children and teachers from all 50 US states and 64 international locations attended Space Camp®.

www.spacecamp.com | www.bridgehouse.org.za

Bridge House teacher, Shaun Keyser (circled), with his team, Team Zarya, in front of the only full-sized shuttle stack in the world. The team’s name, Zarya, is Russian for sunrise and was also the name of the first module

of the International Space Station.

Phot

o: C

raig

Fox

3Franschhoek TatlerAugust 2015

Careers exhibition: Minister Winde meets future agricultural stars

Around 600 school learners from across the province attended the Western Cape Government’s career exhibition showcasing the agricultural sector’s innovative career options.

The two-day career exhibition (24 - 25 June 2015) was hosted by the Provincial Department of Agriculture in partnership with Boschendal. Exhibitors included the Provincial Departments of Economic Development and Tourism and Education, Elsenburg College, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Stellenbosch University and the private sector.

On the first day, Alan Winde, Minister of Economic Opportunities, addressed the learners at the event.

Learners came from schools in Paarl, Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and the Cape Town metro.

Speaking to the learners, who ranged from grade nine to matric, Minister Winde highlighted the importance of the agricultural sector. “Agriculture is involved in almost everything we do. When you had breakfast this morning, agriculture was involved. Some of the clothes you are wearing, have links to agriculture. Even our venue today is a farm, which

makes great products and sells them to the world.“There is a misperception that the only job in

agriculture is being a farmer or a farmworker. These jobs are very important, but our economy also needs agri-processing specialists and agricultural scientists. You are the future of our economy.”

Ciara Engel, a grade nine learner from South Peninsula High School, said the exhibition had opened her eyes to a new side of agriculture. “Many people only think of farms when they hear about agriculture. One of the reasons I came here today is to learn more about agriculture.”

Darian Kühn, a grade nine learner from South Peninsula High, told Minister Winde he had aspirations of becoming the Minister of Agriculture one day. “I have always had an interest in agriculture. One day I’d like to visit farms and give farmers advice on running their businesses.”

In this financial year, the Departments of Agriculture and Economic Development and Tourism will invest R100 million into skills development initiatives for young people. These projects include:

The Work and Skills programme, which offers young people the on-the-job experience they need to further their careers. Around R10 million is allocated to this initiative annually and about 1000 young people participate in the programme.

The Agricultural Partnership for Rural Youth Development partners with tertiary institutions and the private sector. It gives young people, mainly the children of people working on farms, access to internships and bursaries for high school and tertiary studies. Just under R6 million is allocated to this project.

Minister Winde encouraged the young people to consider a career in agriculture, and to apply for the bursaries available.

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K

For reservations please contactT 021 876 8600 or

E [email protected]

Main Road Franschhoek PO Box 102 Franschhoek 7690

Western Cape South Africawww.grandeprovence.co.za

Join us for an evening of exquisite wine and superb cuisine at Grande Provence Heritage Wine Estate,

when we host our Wine and Dine Collaborations for 2015.

29 May 2015 : Pinot NoirGrande Provence, Oak Valley Estate, Newton Johnson and Creation

26 June 2015 : Cabernet Sauvignon

Grande Provence, Neil Ellis Wines, Thelema Mountain Vineyards and Spier

31 July 2015 : ShirazGrande Provence, Hartenberg Wine Estate, Eagles Nest Wines and Lammershoek

21 August 2015 : The Grande Provence Red

Grande Provence, Joostenberg, Warwick Wine Estate and Hermanuspietersfontein

25 September 2015 : White BlendsGrande Provence, De Morgenzon, Strandveld Vineyards and Tokara

23 October 2015 : Sauvignon BlancGrande Provence, D’Aria, Steenberg and Klein Constantia

GRANDE PROVENCEWINE AND DINE COLLABORATION

• 10% discount for a mixed case of 12 wines

• Accommodation at our superb Owners Cottage available.

Contact us for further information.

GP1

5.01

Minister Winde and Joyene Isaacs, Head of the Western Cape Agriculture Department, with learners from the South Peninsula High School.


presented in association with “Les Vignerons de Franschhoek”

La Bri Syrah 2012

Leopard’s LeapCulinaria Grand Vin 2012

Allora’sFilletto al Allora: the finest aged fillet steak topped with rocket, mascarpone cheese and parmesan cheese

Rotisserie at Leopard’s Leap’sDuck Cassoulet

This vibrant wine entices with an explosive mix of violets, mint, thyme and white pepper. The entry is juicy, leading to a fresh palate that combines flavours of mulberries, mint and dark chocolate. Rich, lingering and elegant. The wine was matured for 24 months in barrel. Cultivar Composition: 97% Syrah, 3% ViognierCellar Price: R175

La Bri Tel: 021 876 2593 Email: [email protected]

Grand Vin is a Bordeaux-style blend with complex layers. Aromas of black currant and mulberry are backed by clove and cedar wood. The complex, elegant structure of this wine provides an interesting base for food and wine pairing. Cellar Price: R90

Leopard’s Leap Wines Tel: 021 876 8002 Email: [email protected]

Ingredients: 1 Fillet steak (any size you prefer)ButterSalt and pepperBasting sauce15ml Mascarpone cheese15gr Grana padana (good quality Italian parmesan cheese)

Method:Season the steak with salt & pepper.Brush with butter and grill/pan fry to your liking.Just before you remove the steak from the grill brush both sides with basting sauce.

To serve:Serve the steak with any starch of your liking and with vegetables in season.While resting your steak for a minute or so, use a potato peeler and make shavings from your parmesan cheeseTop the steak first with the mascarpone cheese.Put the parmesan shavings on top of the mascarpone cheese.Finish the dish with fresh rocket on top of the parmesan cheese. Serves 1

Allora

Tel: 021 876 4375 Email: [email protected]

Ingredients200 g butter-beans; 100 g red kidney-beans; 100 g haricot-beans/cannellini; 3 tablespoons duck fat; 200 g smoked pork belly, cubed; 1 onion, chopped; carrots, cubed; 2 star anise, peel of ½ orange; 1 teaspoon peppercorns; 1 bay leaf; 1 teaspoon tomato paste; 3 ripe plum tomatoes; 2 litres white chicken stock; 2 legs and thighs confit duck, meat removed100 g smoked, spiced sausage (bologna), sliced; salt and pepper; bread-crumbs

MethodSoak the dried beans in cold water for

12 hours.Preheat the oven to 180 °C.Drain the beans and set aside. In a casserole, heat the duck fat, add the cubed pork belly and brown slightly. Remove from the casserole and set aside. Add the onions and carrots and sauté until translucent and soft.Place the star anise, orange peel, peppercorns and bay leaf in the casserole. Add the tomato paste and tomatoes and cook for a further 5 minutes. Place the pork belly and soaked beans in the casserole. Add the chicken stock and season with salt and pepper. Cover with

lid and place in the oven for 90 minutes.Remove the casserole from the oven, add the duck meat and sliced sausage, then place back in the oven for a further 90 minutes.Just before serving, adjust the seasoning and add a handful of bread-crumbs to the cassoulet and bake uncovered for 10 minutes. Once browned, remove from the oven and serve with a glass of Leopard’s Leap Culinaria Grand Vin.

Rotisserie at Leopard’s LeapTel: 021 876 8854 Email: [email protected]

How to enterSend your answer to: [email protected].

The winner will be informed by return mail before 15 August 2015. Prizes have to be collected from the Franschhoek Info

Office before end August 2015 or be forfeited.Who went to space camp?

Answer this easy question!

Tel: +27 (0)21 876 3386 email: [email protected]

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As I write this, today, Tuesday 14th July, is ‘Le Quatorze Juillet’. In Franschhoek we celebrated it the previous weekend as the Bastille Festival, which seems to have been blessed with relatively good mid-winter weather. From the crowds I observed it certainly continues to be a sought-after event for so many.

My French background will insist I personally continue to be festive throughout the day and evening, so allow for a shortened article.

Part of my celebration will include receiving my personal copy of the Franschhoek Coffee Table Book published by Jeremy Browne. This publication, launched during the Bastille Festival, promotes many of the iconic venues of Franschhoek, be they hotels, guesthouses, wine estates, restaurants, art and boutique shops, as well as nature reserves.

I admit to a bias towards this publication as I wrote most of the copy. But be pleased that Jeremy Browne’s photographs are the core of this regular publication, as well as the quality of design from Franschhoek resident Gillian Fraenkel. They have captured the essence of portraying the beauty of this fabulous part of the winelands and reading my enthusiasm and respect for all

the participants isn’t at all essential. The book is available throughout Franschhoek and also on www.takealot.com.

Sadly, during the festival I learnt that two of my favourite restaurant venues, actually not in the coffee table book, The Stall and The Salmon Bar are destined to close during this year. This is not because of a lack of success, but due to landlord decisions. I wish both the individual owners involved in these well-run properties to hopefully continue their skills in Franschhoek. I intend to visit both venues and offer a glass of bubbly, to celebrate not only Bastille Day, but also a toast to a job well done and a good future to come.

On and Off CourseLawrence Gould

Franschhoek Wines at cellar door prices.Open 7 days a week • 23 Huguenot Road, Tel: 021 876 3185

FRANSCHHOEK

Wines Franschhoek proudly presents

WINE OF THE WEEK - FREE TASTING

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[email protected] Cabriere Street, Franschhoek, 7690

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Explore Boschendal at roving dinner

Follow-my- leader takes on a whole new meaning at the Boschendal Roving Dinner on Saturday, 8 August when Executive Chef Christiaan Campbell will guide a group of happy diners around the historic werf area for a farm-to-table experience with a difference. A welcome drink, starter, main course and dessert will each be served in a surprise venue at this historic wine farm.

Diners wishing to stay over in one of the estate’s luxury cottages will benefit from a discounted price.

Saturday, 8 August 2015, from 18h30 at Boschendal Werf. Cost: R450 pp. (includes welcome drink, starter with wine, mains with wine, dessert and coffee). Contact [email protected] or 021 870 4274

www.boschendal.co.za/events


24 dirkie uys street · tel 021 876 4304 www.davidwalters.co.za

designer craftsman · ceramic studio · gallery

HANDMADE IN FRANSCHHOEK

More than wine to taste at Anthonij Rupert Wines

Visitors to the picture-perfect Anthonij Rupert Wine Estate can look forward to two new tasting experiences.

The first is a delectable Italian Cheese and Wine Tasting at the Terra del Capo Tasting Room. This interactive, fun and educational tasting is presented by one of the tasting room assistants, who will take visitors through the cheese tasting, sharing information about how the cheeses are been made and their places of origin.

The fine cheese selection includes both local and imported artisanal cheese, made in true Italian style. They range from mild to strong and creamy to grainy, and include well-known cheeses such as smoked Mozzarella, aged Fontina, and Gorgonzola.

Wine from the food-friendly Terra del Capo range accompanies the cheese tasting to create an authentic Italian taste experience.

Tea enthusiasts can look forward to an elegant Tea Tasting at the Anthonij Rupert Tasting Room amidst exquisite mid-nineteenth century art and décor. The Premier Grand Cru or Specialty Rooibos Tea tastings are recommended to be enjoyed in conjunction with the estate’s High Tea offering, or before or after a wine tasting.

Included in the tasting is a selection of four teas, presented by the tasting room assistants in a fun and educational fashion. Choose from either the Rooibos Tea Tasting, which includes: traditional Rooibos as well as delicious flavoured versions. Alternatively there is the opportunity to sample Grand Cru Prestige Teas from the TWG Luxury Tea Company.

The Italian Cheese and Wine Pairing costs R60 per person and the Tea Tasting R30 per person.

These tastings are available during normal tasting room hours with pre-booking required for 6 or more. A maximum group size of 20 guests can be accommodated.

[email protected] | 021 874 9004

Cape of Good Hope Altima Sauvignon Blanc 2015

The Cape of Good Hope Altima Sauvignon Blanc 2015 forms part of a range created in recognition of South Africa’s more than 350-year-old vinous heritage.

The range is the result of the Old Vines and Terroir Specific Initiative launched in 2006 by Johann Rupert, who took on the wine mantle of the Rupert

family following the untimely death of his brother, renowned winemaker Anthonij, in 2001.

The Altima vineyard is situated in a steep valley north of Villiersdorp and is surrounded by mountains that rise 1km from the valley floor. During the winter months these mountains are typically covered with snow and, coupled with the elevation of 600m to 700m, results in a very cool climate. This unique terroir produces wines with a high natural acidity and upfront aromas.

Winemaker Mark van Buuren describes this wine as displaying appealing tropical fig and pear aromas with granadilla and lemon zest adding brightness and vivacity. The wine is vibrant and lively with well integrated acidity. The palate is textured and round with good mouthfeel, allowing the wine to finish on a light, dry, flinty note.

Available from the farm only, the Cape of Good Hope Altima Sauvignon Blanc 2015 sells for R105 per bottle. The wine is perfect to enjoy on its own or partnered with foods such as scallop ceviche with and an avocado and tomato dressing, sushi, sticky pork ribs with lime, chilli and ginger, baked Chèvre with salad greens or sautéed prawns served with grilled lemon and toasted sesame seed dressing.

www.rupertwines.com | 021 874 9041

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A centenarian with ‘long legs’ Landau du Val Private Selection Semillon 2013

Semillon makes up less than 1% of South Africa’s vineyards. This in itself makes it a rare wine. Finding one that’s made from 110-year-old vines to boot pretty much puts it in black swan territory.

When Basil and Jane Landau bought their farm, La Brie, in 1986 they were at first unaware of the very special vineyard on the slope behind the house. It appeared such a mess that uprooting it seemed a good idea. After consulting a viticulturist it was however decided that the vines should be saved and nine years after buying the farm the first Landau du Val Private Selection Semillon was bottled in 1995. Wine cognoscenti have been grateful ever since.

The 2013 vintage of the wine, made by Wynand Grobler since 2012, was launched to the media during a luncheon at Chef Chris Erasmus’ Foliage Restaurant on 29 June 2015. Gathered in expectation around a table next to an warming hearth while rain drizzled down outside those assembled already knew they were in for a memorable experience. Their spirits were further lifted when it was announced that some older vintages of the wine they’d come to savour – all the way back to 2002! – were also to be opened.

Chef Erasmus’ pairing of the 2013 vintage with Yellow fin tuna tartar, basil and lime, tomato chutney, avocado & horseradish mousse, pumpkin and ginger yoghurt ‘yolk’ proved inspired. The wine’s fresh lime and apple aromas and full palate of citrus and nougat flavours hit just the right notes with the tuna – elevating them both from

memorable to sublime. The more oxidatively-styled 2012 vintage was

perhaps less successful with the tuna, but really shone when paired with Dukkah-crusted Karoo lamb shank, harissa spiced marogo & chickpea ragout, nettle and tomato butter curry. Whoever still maintains white wine with white meat only is clearly missing out on some notable tricks, or treats, if you prefer.

After a sampling of the still remarkably fresh 2009 vintage it was time for dessert: Acorn frangipane, carrot cream cheese, buchu chocolate rocks and bolette marshmallow. Here the pairing was with the 2002 and 2003 vintages. Some thought the 2002 (the very last bottle was opened for the occasion) was ‘dead’, but others thought it perfect with blue cheese. All agreed though that this is a white wine with ‘long legs’ and that the recommendation to cellar it for up to 10 years is definitely appropriate.

The time shared around the table was over all too soon and the Monday reality had to be faced again. Crossing Huguenot Street I looked up just in time to see the rays of the winter sun glint on the Franschhoek Mountains. “Ah”, I thought to myself, “even wintery Mondays in Franschhoek can be fabulous!”

The wine can be purchased directly from the farm or from La Cotte Inn Wine Sales at R250 per bottle.

[email protected] | [email protected] | 021 876 3775

Jane and Basil Landau with chef Chris Erasmus and winemaker Wynand Grobler The Altima vineyards in the Elandskloof Valley


In the same way that an air hostess may balance the privilege of foreign destinations with the drudge of high altitude waitressing, those of us in the wine industry may be compensated by the interesting folk that we meet on the way.

I have been fortunate enough to meet a number of personalities in this country and abroad but the one that comes most easily to mind is sadly no longer with us. Some may remember Pamela Vandyke Price, the doyenne of South African wines in the 70s and 80s.

This remarkable lady lived in London spending her time waving the South African wine flag. It was the time of the infamous ‘trolley boycotts’, when customers would fill a shopping trolley with our wines and then simply leave the trolley at the check-out counter and walk away, thereby causing the staff to re-pack the shelves.

It was a pleasure, not only to meet her, but to share the stage with her at a ‘duo’ wine presentation. This took place at a charming Cotswold restaurant in Nailsworth called The Stone Cottage. As the

restaurant owners knew both Pamela and me it was not difficult to pair us up for a South African dinner with SA wines to match.

I regarded our meeting as a distinct privilege. Her persistent efforts to promote our wines in a country where sanctions were beginning to bite won her great favour with KWV. They made sure that at least once a year Pamela was invited to this country for a serious refresher course. And this paid off. Even if the usual high street ‘chain’ in the UK was under pressure not to stock our wines, they had, thanks to the likes of Pamela, a plan for the future. After closing hours their staff would meet at least weekly in the stock room. There they would taste and evaluate those SA wines that were available; this being to ensure that when sanctions were lifted the staff would be sufficiently familiar with the wines to effect significant sales.

Pamela Vandyke Price wrote some 30 books on wine and was a ‘prickly’ and highly disciplined tutor at wine gatherings. She could tell if anyone wore perfume, deodorant, had recently smoked and even detected shoe polish, all enemies of correct tasting procedures. Her forte was in developing support for new world wines and she was, I think, the first woman to excel in wine journalism. Although she was a giant in her field and held considerable international respect, I shall always remember her as the little old lady who paid her own train fare to help pair SA wines with yours truly.

Cellar ChatMark Tanner

Pamela Vandyke Price

Cashing in at Col’CacchioA group of Tatler correspondents recently had

occasion to try the 4 for 3 Winter Warm-up Special at Col’Cacchio. The offer is available on Mondays and Tuesdays until the end of August, so we planned it for a Tuesday lunch in late July. It turned out to be an excellent idea as making lunch on a Tuesday is not really anyone’s favourite pastime and company at a lunch table is a social plus.

Lunch, dinner and take aways are all part of the 4 for 3 offer. One can order any four items on the menu and pay for only three; the cheapest dish being free. We amused ourselves by wondering what would happen if all four dishes were the same price!

We loved the varied menu and as we were in a pizza mood, we carefully selected gourmet wood-fired pizzas from the Half & Half section. We also ordered a beautiful Volatilia salad with very nice seasoned chicken and avocado. Having a pizza with two different toppings, each filling one half of the pizza is a wonderful idea and gave us the chance to sample the Smokey Babe, Indian Butter Chicken, Nacho Libre and.a filling featuring a lot of perfectly ripe avo. The Arrosto was too good to limit to half a pizza and only comes in full size anyway. It turned out

to be a meat lover’s lunchtime dream.Although no-one at the table was on a Banting eating

plan, it would not have been a problem as there is a selection of Banting dishes on the menu. You can’t believe the inventive crust they use for the pizzas.

Everyone at the table wanted a different wine, so we indulged in the luxury of ordering by the glass and so effortlessly pleased four fussy palates. Talking of which, the sweets should not to be missed and we kept calorie space for some white chocolate cheesecake. Some good coffee made for a perfect ending to a most enjoyable lunch.

www.colcacchio.co.za | 021 876 4222

Dr Glynn Till

ChiropracticSpecialist Clinician

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Not all carbs are created equalYou can’t go too far nowadays without hearing about

a Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) diet. The question is – are carbs really so bad for you? The short answer is “It’s complicated.” It really depends on the kinds of carbs you’re consuming.

“Carbohydrates are actually a really broad category and they don’t have to be completely excluded from your diet – but they must be consumed moderately and it’s important to remember that not all carbs are created equally,” says Dr Peter Hill, from Met-S Care and a specialist in Metabolic Syndrome. “While there may be many different schools of thought when it comes to healthy eating, it’s generally agreed that people should avoid sugars, starch and refined carbohydrates. These are called glycaemic carbs, and they’re responsible for spiking your blood sugar and insulin levels.”

Refined carbohydrates are easily converted into blood glucose and as a result increase insulin levels. Bread, pasta, biscuits, cakes, breakfast cereals, sweets and chocolate, sugar-sweetened beverages, fruit juices and even some fruits and vegetables are just some products that drive our insulin levels. Sustained high levels of insulin prevent the efficient burning of fat and can result in a metabolic dysfunction called insulin resistance.

So what kinds of carbohydrates are considered “good”? Dr Hill says good carbohydrates are those containing high amounts of fibre. “These are called ‘low glycaemic carbohydrates’, and your body responds differently to them, with a more moderate effect on blood-sugar levels. Your body digests them slower than they do high glycaemic carbs. The high fibre in “good” carbohydrates provides roughage and aids in digestion.

“In the LCHF world we are primarily interested in the carbohydrates that impact on blood glucose and, therefore, insulin levels. Insulin is the main ‘fat building’ hormone,” Dr Hill explains. “Eating less high glycaemic carbohydrates is important in addressing metabolic syndrome and obesity.”

When you limit the amount of carbohydrates you consume (good or bad), your body goes into nutritional ketosis, which means it begins to use ketone bodies, which are derived from fatty acids. Your body produces ketones and uses these as a source of energy, rather than using the carbohydrates as a source of energy. Hunter-gatherer tribes such as the Inuit, Maasai, San and others derived almost all of their energy from fat rather than carbohydrates. They would go for very long periods of time without consuming any carbohydrate foods at all.

When transitioning to a low-carbohydrate diet, your

body might experience some withdrawal symptoms commonly known as ‘carb flu’. “It doesn’t happen to everyone, but when some people dramatically reduce their carbohydrate intake, they might experience headaches, brain fog, crankiness and tiredness. This doesn’t last more than a few days and symptoms can be dealt with by increasing sodium intake by consuming broth, for example,” he advises. “Once your body has adopted to a low- or no-carb diet, perhaps the most marked initial effect you can expect to experience is a significant increase in energy, as well as clearer thinking, absence of bloating, heart burn, improved sleep, better mood and, of course, weight loss.”

Dr Hill continues to say he understands that many people feel confused about good and bad carbohydrates, as it’s not always clear cut. “I would love to see current food labelling legislation to be altered to all consumers to be able to clearly and easily distinguish high glycaemic foods from low glycaemic foods. This is important from a metabolic syndrome perspective.”

Here are some meal swap ideas to try:• Instead of bran flakes and milk for breakfast, try an

egg breakfast. There are so many options for eggs – have them fried or boiled, or make an omelette, frittata, or quiche.

• Instead of a chicken sandwich on brown bread, make a chicken salad with a good helping of olive oil or low carb mayonnaise.

• Instead of mashed potatoes and fried steak, try a cauliflower mash or green beans with your steak.

• Instead of muesli try sugar free granola. To find out more visit www.metscare.com.

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NEW – Alfa Romeo Giulia QVAll-new Giulia represents a fresh start for Alfa RomeoTake whatever you think you know about Alfa

Romeo and throw it out the window. This car’s immediate predecessors for instance – make no mistake, they were both very good and highly-rated cars, but what were 155 and 156 really beyond glorified Fiats? Yes, they pretended to be BMWs, but were they ever that? Quite honestly, No!

The ‘manne’ drove AlfasTruth is Alfa Romeo had lost the plot a long time

before that – when I was a kid, Giuliettas, Giulias and even Berlinas and Alfettas were the cars the ‘manne’ drove. Today they drive BMWs and M3s and people have come to see through the charade – they’ve just come to laugh at poor old Alfa Romeo.

Yes, its common garden sedans may have looked great and had a couple of virile aspects going for them versus a 316 or a 320i, but step up a notch and there was simply no way Alfa could even attempt to claim it in any way ever built an M3 rival.

But that’s all about to change and when the biggest news from Alfa Romeo in 25 years broke while Andrea Boccelli sang the all-new Giulia into that Arese auditorium. It is clear from the moment you set eyes on the thing that the Alfa Romeo Giulia is out to not only match M3, but it seems it wants to teach that Bavarian champion one hell of

a lesson too. Never mind that this car will initiate a whole new range, it carries a revised Alfa badge and even the old Alfa museum they launched it at has been given a makeover.

Is that intentional? Well, I certainly think so – Alfa Romeo makes no bones at all about the fact that this car has M3 firmly in its sites. And why not – as they say – if you can’t beat ‘em, join them.

No bones M3 rivalSo if this car proves to be anything as effective as

it looks – and promises – and if it can even match – or God forbid – topple M3 from that heady perch, would Alfa Romeo not have achieved pretty much the impossible? I think so.

Anyway, Alfa Romeo certainly has gone all out to address its failings from the top down – there is nothing Fiat about this car and nor will there likely be in any future Alfas either – Alfa Romeo is now after BMW’s blood, finish and klaar – and dare I say as it always should have been. Those GTAms in the basement of the museum are testament to that.

So what’s so special about this Alfa? First up, Giulia is rear-wheel driven – goodbye FWD – leave that to BMW. And it is built on the same platform as the Maserati Ghibli – where it has already proven to be quite a chassis.

Alfa says Giulia is built around the driver – as an

extension of his or her character and they say that the rear-drive QV (there will be AWD models too) ‘is a technical solution that guarantees high performance and astounding fun’ through perfect 50/50 weight distribution and sophisticated suspension with an ‘innovative front end’ that delivers the most direct steering on the market.’

Add torque vectoring, an integrated brake system, active aerodynamics and ultra-light materials like carbon fibre, aluminium, aluminium composite and plastic in return for the best weight-to-power ratio in class and it seems Giulia has it all?

380kW Ferrari-derived V6But wait – it gets even better – Giulia will bring ‘state-

of-the-art, innovative engines’ including the 380kW ‘Ferrari-developed’ V6 (suppose that sounds better than a Renault-developed Merc mill…) promising thrilling performance including 0-100 km/h in just

3.9 seconds. Which, by the way is what we achieved with M3.

It also gets electronically controlled cylinder deactivation among other fuel-saving measures to ensure surprising fuel efficiency.

But the biggest message from Arese is that Alfa Romeo is back. It is doing everything in its power to unshackle itself from that Fiat mantle as it moves forward on its own strengths with its sights set squarely on BMW – not just to beat the three to a pulp, but to do that to that God of threes, the M3 too. If God forbid Giulia QV should topple M3 from that heady perch, would Alfa Romeo not have achieved pretty much the impossible?

Can it do that? Well we’ll have to wait until we drive it to know if it has a chance – and to be honest, we simply cannot wait for that moment. I’m prepared to bet it’s going to be a telling experience.

Battery hassles during the winter monthsBattery issues are a common complaint from car

owners during the colder months. Les Mc Master, Chairman of the Motor Industry Workshop Association (MIWA), says the cold can be tough, especially on weak batteries. “As it gets colder it becomes harder for the engine to turn over because the oil inside the engine thickens which demands far more current from a battery and the battery cannot produce its normal amount of energy because of the cold,” he explains.

Along with that, the ability to accept a charge drops so the battery doesn’t recharge as quickly when the vehicle is being driven. Another consideration is the load increase when heaters, blowers and lights are switched on.

“There are warning signs to look out for that may point to a battery on its way out. A grinding or clicking sound when you start the ignition is an

indicator of a weak battery, for example. Others include headlights dimming when idling but brightening when the engine revs and if the vehicle cranks slowly when attempting to start it,” he says.

While three to five years is a typical life span of a battery various internal and environmental conditions impact on a battery’s long term health. Mc Master says that the climate, how far and often you drive your vehicle, and the length of time electronic accessories are plugged into your vehicle are all contributing factors.

“It’s important to remember that when your car is not running, the battery continues to supply power

to the clock, the anti-theft system, and the other conveniences. Accessories like smartphones and tablets also add to the drain. It therefore makes sense to unplug mobile phones, tablets, chargers and other electronic devices when you don’t need them, especially when the car is turned off. While the car battery won’t run down immediately if a device is being charged while the engine is not running, the battery’s capacity over time will be affected from multiple devices drawing current from it,” he explains.

Along with removing devices, Mc Master offers these other tips to reduce the chance of your battery

dying in the colder months:• If the battery is more than five years old and

there's any sign of it struggling to start the car, get it replaced. Some batteries will struggle on for a bit longer but many won't. It's much better done at your convenience than as a roadside emergency.

• Check that everything electrical is turned off when you park overnight – even an interior light, boot light, or radio left on overnight can kill a battery when it's cold.

• Switch off everything electrical when you start a cold car.

“If you are unsure about the state of your battery, drop into an accredited workshop and speak to a mechanic. There is a simple battery check that will let you know whether you’re battery is weak and needs replacing. Don’t wait until you breakdown to find out your battery is the issue,” he advises.

Tatler MotoringMichele Lupini



Bastille Boules Tournament 2015As always a bevy of hardy Pétanque players joined

us for our 21st Annual Bastille Boules Tournament. They came from near and far join in our slightly crazy, sometimes serious, often nail biting but … always fun Bastille tournament.

Most players were wrapped up in winter woollies, except for a couple of brave shorts-wearing players, and stood their ground in the cold, rain and wind on the courts generously donated by our Dutch Reform Church. French flags and colours flapped around the courts and occasional shouts or gasps from disappointed teams could be heard. Of course there were also victory cries from the winning teams!

Play continued throughout Saturday and Sunday. The best Saturday team was ‘PP2’ from Pniel for the highest achieved points of the first day. This team then went through to the second day of the tournament. The introduction this year of a ‘Shoot Out’ at the end of play on Saturday brought lots of laughter and fun. The ‘Shoot-Out’ saw individual players compete against each other with the aim to ‘bomb’ or knock out the other player’s boules to get nearest to the ‘couchonette’. It’s all down to accuracy and it turns out there are some excellent players who are extremely accurate ‘bombers’. In the end the winner was Brett Dendy-Young.

On Sunday, allowing for the church service to finish, players quietly and slowly began to arrive and set up their gear in anticipation of the restart. After thrilling

quarter and semi-final matchups PP2 from Pniel and L’Ormarins 5 from Anthonij Rupert Wyne went head-to-head in the final – lit by car headlights as has almost become the custom! Play went on until 19h30 and just as rain began falling the nail biting game ended with a close victory by L’Ormarins 5 making them our Bastille 2015 Champions. Congratulations to the winners and to the runners-up and to all those other teams who joined us at Bastille 2015 Boules.

The Best Franschhoek Team, winning the ‘Egalité Trophy’, was ‘Boules Dogs’. We are sad to say we had no ladies team taking the ladies trophy … come on ladies get your teams together for next year!

While the tournament was taking place our SPCA volunteers raised funds at other parts of the Bastille Festival. This included running a raffle and book sale at the Church Market, walking around rattling tins, some selling Anita’s beautiful handmade rosettes and our beret pins. Huge thanks to Anne Stone, Anita Henrich, Jane Parkfelt and Katherine, Jessie the doggy who became a star accompanied by Julie & John Thomlinson, Tracey Leigh-Mitchell, Annette Phillips, Margie Ellis, Polly Meyer, Aliki Starke, Inspector Lilly, Trainee Haneley and Field Officer Nathan for all their efforts. Thanks also to our youths Grant, Kurtlee, Austin and Corné (who ended up playing for another team and proved himself to be quite a player), to Pat Morgan and Maggi Marjoram.

Of course, none of this could happen without the support of the Dutch Reformed Church Team (this year headed by Blommie, Sterna, Luba, Oom Japie and Oom Chris) and all of the very generous local and some distant businesses who donated wonderful prizes for our fund raising. There are too many to mention in this article, but thanks will be sent to each of you individually from our SPCA including thanks on our SPCA Facebook page. Your wonderful donations have helped raise much needed funds. Words cannot be found to thank you enough!

An Evening in ParisFranschhoek Hospice would like to thank Gert,

Louis and the team of Café Bon Bon for the An Evening in Paris fundraising event and helping us raise over R25 000. We are grateful to the following sponsors for making the evening another successful fundraiser enjoyed by everyone who supported Hospice: Mostert Groente, Dalewood Cheese, Malan Dairy, Gourmet Foods, Walton’s, Franschhoek Vrugte Pakkers, Porcupine Ridge, Franschhoek Cellar, Alfio on piano, Danie for the French music and Indian Summer for the raffle prize.

Bastille FestivalVolunteers and staff members rolled and sold 6 500

pancakes, 1 800 berets and scores of scarves, rosettes and bow ties. To the staff members and volunteers, regulars and new ones – several of whom did double shifts – I thank you. You helped us raise over R60 000 over the week-end.

We had four stalls that needed to be run efficiently and without help from the following people this would not have happened: Liz Mills, Larry, Pam, Lindy, Brian, Tracey, Rachel Swanepoel, Chris, Tulia, Marelize, Liz King, Paul, Barry Phillips, Jenny, Barry Fletcher, Carol Yammin, Monika, Helen, Jason, Alison, Tiana, Chrizelle, Andrea, Rodney, Maylene, Tiaan, Elvin, Cheslin, Darryl, Evelyn, Rachel, Paddy, Meg, Mervin, Mary, Rosemarie, Geoff, Joan, Grace, Haydn, Jane, Ina, Elizabeth, Carol Dendy Young, Merilyn, Bonnie, Aidan, Leigh Ann, Gundi and Jim. Thank you also to Wendy and her team for helping us with the scarves. The Bastille week-end was hectic but everyone had fun.

Reuben Riffel Golf Day11 September is our Reuben Riffel Golf Day at

Pearl Valley Golf & Country Estate. R1000 per person. Wonderful prizes to be won and great items to be auctioned e.g. 3 nights at a very luxurious private resort – Kilindi Zanzibar.

For further information and bookings please call Colleen on 082 876 3085 or 082 887 8666. It’s a wonderful day not to be missed.

The Probus Club is a local association of retired or semi-retired professional or business people, (or others who have had a measure of responsibility in any field of worthy endeavor), who are of good character and are respected in their communities.

The Club meets once a month on the first Monday, for fellowship and interesting talks. Come along and see what it’s all about. We meet at Café Bon Bon at 12h30 for 13h00.

The joining fee is only R50, and an annual fee of R100. We have a very good speaker for this coming month’s

meeting. On Monday, 3 August, our speaker is Terry Crawford-Brown who is involved with the uncovering of the cover-up around the arms deal scandal. His talk is entitled "Arms Deal Whistle Blowers".

We are also changing things around a bit this month by having a wine tasting at Café Bon Bon before our speaker, so do come and join us at 12h00 for a 12h30 wine tasting, followed by our speaker and lunch.

If you would like to join us please contact the secretary Julie Mitchell on 083 303 333 5 or email [email protected]

Probus ClubJulie Mitchell

Hospice NewsColleen Douglas

SPCA NewsMaggi Marjoram

Franschhoek United season report 20152014/2015 SAB regional football league season ends

Franschhoek United FC played their last match of the 2014/2015 season against Newtons AfC from Stellenbosch at the Cloetesville Stadium on Saturday, 20 June 2015. It has been a very tough season for the team with big challenges and also new developments for the club and community as a whole.

At one stage we faced relegation with only 3 games left in the season, but we fought back as a team e secured our place in the top flight league for the next season starting in early September.

We would like to thank our sponsors, Black Elephant Vintners, for supporting us throughout the season. You guys have been a source of inspiration to the team and our supporters. Thanks for the new developments you’re bringing to our beautiful village.

Roca and Dieu Donne vineyards: Thanks guys for making sure that the club could attend all 30 games of the season by transporting us safely and on time.

Clubs new developments for next season We have signed an agreement with the Forwardzone

Football Academy to give our local players an opportunity to possibly become professional players one day. Forward zone are partners with Absa Premiership side Supersport United FC, Vasco Da Gama FC (NFD) and Stellenbosch University (Maties). Bursaries are available for players who obtain 55% or more academically (Grades 11&12). Qualifying players get a chance to go to soccer trials, at Stellenbosch University, Wits University and Pretoria University.

Already the team has one player who passed the trials

and is currently in talks with big clubs. Congratulations to 18-year-old Asanda Sidanga! However we want to improve on this achievement in the near future and get more players into the programme.

We have changed the team colours from green and white back to the original French colours as the team represents the Franschhoek Valley. The new colours were revealed on 14 June 2015. The new Kappa kit is generously sponsored by Black Elephant Vintners and Roca Restaurant at Dieu Donne Vineyards.

We have expelled all the committee members that failed to run the club properly after Joseph Sidanga left the club. The team is now run by Mr Aron Ndzondza and Mr Azola Tafeni as new club owners – under supervision of Black Elephant Vintners and Forwardzone to prevent the past mistakes being repeated.

Teams & trainingAnyone who wants to play in the team is welcome,

but must have a passion for the game, education and development. In addition to the First Team the club has Under 13, 15, 17 and 21 teams.

Training times are as follows : Monday: under 13s 15h30 - 16h30; Tuesday & Wednesday: under 15s 15h45 - 17h15 and under 17s 17h30 - 18h30; Thursday: under 13 &15 15h30 - 16h30. The first team trains Monday to Thursday 18h30 - 20h00.

Azola [email protected]

Franschhoek United FC first team

Groot Drak honours David RennieAt the Groot Drakenstein Games

Club AGM, held on Sunday 21 June 2015, the re-elected Chairman, Brian Davis, recalled a very successful year. A full season of cricket included the following highlights: the Annual Six-a-Side Tournament in February (won by Fish Hoek CC), a wonderful Golden Oldies Festival, the under 12 School’s Tournament and the ever achieving Ladies’ team.

However, the AGM was more about honouring a number of club stalwarts. Lewis Silberbauer (a wood technologist, cricketer, photographer and much more including being a past Vice-President of the Club) was presented with an Honorary Life Membership. The newly-elected President is Richard von Hoesslin – owner of La Fontaine Guest House and GvH Landscapes, a Trustee of the Club, a past Chairman and cricketer.

The day’s focus though was on David Rennie, the outgoing President. Dave, as he is affectionately known, was honoured by being made only the third Patron in the club’s 120 year history; the previous two being Jack Manning and John Faure.

David matriculated at St Andrew’s College in

Grahamstown and after military service (where he made a name as a boxer) attended Stellenbosch University, acquiring a BSc Agric Cum Laude – something almost unheard of in agriculture. He took over the family farm outside Stellenbosch, sold it and bought land on the Wemmershoek Road near Paarl. Here he became known as “Mr Tomato” supplying amongst others Woolworths nationally. Dave is married to Felicity of Vignerons de Franschhoek fame, has three sons, two of whom are helping to run the business, Rennie Farms.

David is known worldwide in the friendly cricketing fraternity as a very successful opening bowler, with the ability to bowl a ball on Saturday, getting it to arrive on Sunday and taking many wickets. Cricket was his passion and during his seven year reign as Chairman many positive cricket-orientated improvements were implemented. Possibly the most notable being the development of a reservoir and irrigation reticulation for the cricket out-field.

David is a worthy recipient of the honour of ‘Patron of the Groot Drakenstein Games Club’.

Richard von Hoeslinn

Bastille was hard work, but fun for Hospice staff and volunteers

Kaptein Marais laat ‘n leemteDit was ‘n hartseer dag toe Franschhoek verneem het

dat Kaptein Marais, plaaslike stasiebevelvoerder van die SAPD, op 25 Junie oorlede is. ‘n Gedenkdiens is op 30 Junie in die Franschhoek stadsaal vir hom gehou.

Kaptein Marais was ‘n toegewyde polisieman en het by almal respek afgedwing en aansien geniet. Hy het by verskeie SAPD stasies diens gedoen, waaronder Robertson, Paarl en Cloetesville, en het in Franschhoek waargeneem terwyl Kapt Miti met verlof was. Die gemeenskapspolisiëringsforum het hom tydens hierdie diensperiodes goed leer ken en groot waardering vir sy benadering tot die werk gehad. Toe Kapt Miti verplaas is, is Kapt Marais as bevelvoerder van Franschhoek SAPD aangestel. Hy was slegs enkele maande in die amp voor hy ernstig siek geword het en in die hospitaal opgeneem is.

Na twee maande in die hospitaal is Kapt Marais oorlede; hy was 48 jaar oud en was 29 jaar in diens by die SAPD. Hy laat sy ouers en ‘n dogter agter.

Wyle Kaptein Abraham Petrus Marais


Dear ReadersI like a good yarn. Not the boucle or ruffle kind,

but the legal thriller or mystery kind. There’s just something magical about how a good story can transport you to another time and place entirely – without the need for long drives, plane tickets and hotel reservations.

Of course not all stories should make it into print, or pixels for that matter, though. (I do readily confess to a print preference!)

One of the stories that I believe should preferably remain out of print (at least in its usual guise) is the so-called Good Story that Number One loves to talk about. Don’t get me wrong I’m not advocating censorship of any kind – unlike Number One – I’m just expressing an opinion. Most of what makes up the Good Story is actually true – it’s just that the story is so lopsidedly one-sided that it is bound to infuriate any informed person.

In a recent newsletter Dr Adrian Saville, Chief Strategist at Citadel Wealth Management, pointed out some of the positives and negatives of the South African story over the last 20-odd years. “Seven of South Africa’s eight key industries saw the biggest drop in turnover since 2010 in the first quarter of 2015. Already this year 44 000 white collar jobs have been lost. Unemployment is at a 12-year high of 26.4%. Consumer price inflation is expected to breach the 6% upper limit by the end of the year.”

“In the first quarter of 2015 the economy grew by an annualised rate of just 1.3%, which is slower than population growth and well below the annualised

rate of 3.1% which was achieved over the past two decades. …there are new pressures on the economy, price inflation and the rand. Against this backdrop it is not surprising that consumer confidence has plunged to its lowest level in almost 15 years and that business confidence has fallen to a worrying 16-year low.”

Now for the part that Number One would like! “Income per person has grown from about R27 500 in 1993 to the highest-ever level of R41 500 per person by the end of 2014. …life expectancy has risen from 52 years in 2005 to 61 currently … (and) … at least three million South Africans have joined the ranks of the middle class.” Saville also points out that since 1994 South Africa has seen the longest uninterrupted period of economic growth.

Saville’s yarn is a balanced one, unlike the one that Number One likes to spread, and is the type of yarn informed people of all political persuasions can appreciate.

It is to be expected that politicians would want to emphasise the good news over the bad news, even to the point (like Number One) where it borders on propaganda. What is far less expected is when politicians make virtually no effort to trumpet their achievements. Yet that seems to be exactly what is happening in our local government!

Let me try to clarify that last statement. I was recently present at an event that I’m ethically precluded from writing about. Suffice it to say that quite a few local government types were also in attendance and that the topic of local government success stories came up. I was simultaneously quite impressed by what I heard and gobsmacked that I had never heard any of it before.

Let’s hope that in the interest of a good, balanced yarn most of what I was privy to will soon make it into the public domain.

Until next month!

Fleur de Lis het Bastilledag gevier met tee op 14 Julie 2015. Dankie aan sameroeper Carol Dendy Young en haar mense vir die heerlike eetgoed op hierdie geskiedkundige dag. Die inwoners se borde was tot oorlopens toe vol en 'n soetetjie het die koue verdryf. Byna nodeloos om te sê is dat almal het dit vreeslik geniet. Van die jongste Lana (wat kom help het met voorbereiding) tot tannie Kinnie Human wat op 23 Julie 2015 90 jaar oud word. Fleur de Lis sê baie dankie vir die heerlike bederf.

Bastille: another viewDear EditorElsewhere in this paper you will read all about 2015’s

Bastille Festival which, by all accounts, went off well. It might have brought into Franschhoek as much as R10 million new money; if so, a handsome mid-winter bonanza. But all is not well. A snap poll here and there in the village revealed an abyssal knowledge of what the festival is about. Why is this important?

By the way, Bastille Day is France’s National Day, and, surprisingly, Bastille Day is commemorated in cities in the UK, USA, India, Czech Republic, Hungary, New Zealand, Belgium and, of course, Franschhoek.

In FACEBOOK a prickly question surfaced recently: “What relevance does a Bastille Festival have in Franschhoek, a town known for its Huguenot heritage?”

The short answer is “None.” The Huguenot religious refugees who in 1688 fled France and settled in our valley have no connection whatsoever with the murderous street mob of angry French peasants that 98 years later attacked and invaded the infamous Bastille fortress-prison in Paris on 14 July, leaving about 100 dead, including the prison governor and the mayor, who were brutally and callously slain on the street, their decapitated and mutilated bodies paraded in gory triumph through Paris.

Franschhoek, a Victorian village nogal, not French at all, nevertheless prides itself on its French heritage but, if truth be told, its Frenchness goes only as far as the original Huguenot farm names and, of course, the surviving Huguenot settler surnames: Malherbe, De Villiers, Le Roux, Roux, Du Toit, to mention a few. Naturally, the Huguenot Monument and Museum, even though they focus on Huguenot and not French heritage, contribute to Franschhoek’s French flavour. However, of indigenous French culture and French connections there is none.

Horrific and despicable the Bastille event unfolded in a France that at the time was in an escalating spiral of political and social turmoil. Landless, illiterate and relentlessly taxed French peasants, the vast majority of the population at the time, oppressed, voiceless and the lowest social class in France, rose in revolt against the all-powerful establishment: thereby precipitating the French Revolution, initially with the promise of rapid

socio-economic improvement, but rapidly descending into the horrendous Terror, when thousands of French citizens were guillotined in bloody public spectacles, including the king and queen, many victims being entirely innocent. In an orgy of mindless killing French blood indelibly stained French hands, surely the darkest time in French history.

When sanity prevailed many years later, France emerged liberated and democratic. The disgusting Bastille massacre, its horrors forgotten and forgiven, its actions sanitised, its aims glorified and sanctified, was raised with patriotic fervour as France’s national day of remembrance, commemorating freedom and liberation.

How does this link with Franschhoek?Well, having a weekend-long festival in Franschhoek

in the dead of winter is a wonderfully smart business plan to liven up the low tourist season, and to replenish the empty coffers! The wannabe Frenchness of Franschhoek was just the ticket to latch onto the fortuitous Bastille date, and, voila! we have a winter winner! Spin doctor magic at its very best.

But please, let’s not fool anybody: Franschhoek’s Bastille Festival was, and remains, all smoke and mirrors, a scam, really. It’s entirely disconnected from reality. Unlike Franschhoek’s other festivals the Bastille Festival lacks credentials. The hyped-up Frenchy hoopla (boules and all), tricolor banners and berets that pop up like magic in the streets (and disappear as quickly afterwards) simply have no permanent standing in the village, sorry to say. It’s all painted-on, really.

Tokyo Sexwale, businessman, politician and gentleman farmer in the Franschhoek valley, a few years ago put his finger directly on the Bastillian spot when he questioned the credentials of the festival. Why not, he asked, rather highlight the South African struggle for a democratic and free society?

So: what to do? A deep, deep re-think may be on the cards. Certainly it’s smart thinking to stay with the mid-winter slot. Pick a date free of political or other baggage. What about the weekend closest to 31 July (payday for locals!)? Rename and refocus the festival. Have fun but focus on a celebration of the universal principles of democracy, freedom, human rights and duties. Go for a generic festival name – after all, its raison d’etre is simply an excuse for taking lots of money off happy visitors in the dead of the Franschhoek’s winter season.

Louis Napoleon

Franschhoek goes to Johannesburg

Everybody knows that Franschhoek is a bucket-list place to visit – preferably more than once – but sometimes it’s just not possible. To address this dilemma Franschhoek goes to Johannesburg this August to stage the inaugural Franschhoek Food & Wine Festival at Montecasino.

For the weekend of 28 to 30 August residents and visitors in and around Gauteng will be able to tickle their taste buds with fare from four of South Africa’s Culinary Capital’s finest restaurants, as well as 15 of the valley’s top wine farms. A number of Franschhoek chocolatiers, pâtissiers and cheese producers will provide further French flavour to this must-do gastronomic experience.

The following Franschhoek establishments will make the trip: Boschendal Restaurant & Deli, Bread & Wine Restaurant, Foliage Restaurant, Fromage de France, Grande Provence Estate – The Restaurant,

Huguenot Fine Chocolates, Paulina’s Restaurant at Rickety Bridge and Pierneef à La Motte. Providing the requisite liquid accompaniment will be the following wineries: Anthonij Rupert Wyne, Black Elephant Vintners, Boekenhoutskloof Winery, Boschendal, Chamonix Wines, Glenwood, Grande Provence, Haute Cabrière, La Bri, La Motte, Lynx Wines, Morena (Franschhoek Pass Winery), Môreson, Rickety Bridge and Stony Brook.

To complete the perfect wine and culinary experience the Johannesburg Symphonic Orchestra will keep visitors entertained with their velvety notes.

Tickets are priced from R150 per person and can be purchased directly from www.itickets.co.za.

For more details visit www.franschhoekfood andwinefestival.co.za or facebook/franschhoek foodandwinefestival and @FHKFoodWineFest.

[email protected]

Editor’s LetterSiegfried Schäfer

Fleur de Lis NewsMarelize de Villiers

FWV NewsJenny Prinsloo

Deadlines - September 2015 Issue: Ad Bookings: 15 August 2015 Artwork: 17 August 2015 Editorial: 16 August 2015

FREMCO Trust bursary ceremony

There were a lot of relieved young people (and their parents) in the room at the Lord’s Acre Mission on 23 June 2015. The occasion was the bursary ceremony of the Franschhoek Empowerment and Conservation Trust (FREMCO). Most of the young bursary recipients would have been unable to undertake post-matric studies if it were not for the FREMCO bursaries they received.

The evening’s events were emceed by the FREMCO Trust’s bursary committee co-ordinator, Ms Ruth Morgan, and musical entertainment was provided by local musician Mr L Riffel. The guest speaker was Dr Jeremy Davids, an alumnus of Wemmershoek Primary and Groendal Secondary Schools. Dr Davids spoke about his life’s journey and offered sound advice on achieving success to those of similarly humble backgrounds.

Dr Davids summarised his advice to young people in five points: • Work hard. Nothing worthwhile comes easy.

• Find a role model in your community.• Believe in yourself – even when others don’t.• Get involved in something in your community.

Only when you’re involved will you learn about opportunities.

• Don’t aim to be better than others. Rather dare to be different as seeing life differently helps in spotting opportunities.

Before the 2016 bursaries were awarded one of the 2015 recipients, Maurisha Louw, told the audience what the bursary has meant to her and her family. Louw also thanked the Trust for the work they do.

The highlight of the evening came when the chairman of the FREMCO Trust, Rev Norval Williams, handed over bursaries to 25 deserving youths from the valley. Williams pointed out that the scheme had grown from 9 bursaries in 2011 and expressed the hope that in future even more youths can be assisted.

Local services will be on display at the inaugural Franschhoek small business expo

Join us for the inaugural Franschhoek Small Business Expo, which takes place in the Franschhoek Town Hall on Wednesday, 19 August. A range of locally-based service providers and business owners will be displaying their services at this event. The expo is open to all members of the public and business owners, or managers who would like more information about local Franschhoek services on offer. The aim of the expo is to connect

local businesses with each other and in particular to give exposure to smaller Franschhoek-based service providers. The expo is supported by the Greater Stellenbosch Municipality and the Cape Chamber of Commerce.

For a list of exhibitors please visit www.franschhoek.org.za. For more information please contact Franschhoek Wine Valley at 021 876 2861 or email [email protected].

Montecasino in Fourways, Johannesburg

The proud FREMCO bursary recipients show off their certificates.


Renting in a complex? Read the rules!

“...parties are free to contract as they please. The law permits perfect freedom of contract. Parties are left to make their own agreements, and whatever the agreements are, the law will enforce them provided they contain nothing illegal or immoral or against public policy.” (extract from judgment in Van Rooyen v Hillandale Homeowners Association 2014 )

Be warned, whether you buy into a residential complex or rent a house in one, the High Court has again upheld the right of Home Owners Associations (HOAs) to enforce their rules and regulations.

Owner defaults – tenant suffers: In this particular case a homeowner/landlord failed to pay fines imposed by the HOA for breach of its aesthetic rules. The HOA then restricted the tenant’s

right to buy the electricity and water vouchers he needed to top up his pre-paid meters. The tenant approached the High Court for assistance, citing amongst other things his constitutional and statutory rights to basic services.

Critically however, both the owner and tenant had agreed to be bound by the HOA’s rules, which included the provision that “no electricity shall be provided or sold to any occupier or owner of any erf in respect of which levy payments are outstanding for a period of 60 days or longer, until such time as all outstanding levy payments are paid in full”. The tenant, held the Court, had freely agreed to be bound by the rules, and accordingly the HOA had acted within its rights.

When you buy or rent in a complex, read and understand all the rules and regulations – you are bound by what you agree to.

A note for HOAs: Homeowners should always be obliged to become and remain HOA members, bound by your rules and regulations. Ensure that owners cannot give occupation to anyone else without the occupier likewise agreeing to be bound.

(This article first appeared in LawDotNews and is reproduced with permission from the copyright holder DotNews and from Falck Attorneys.)

Thinking Differently to make a difference

Most, maybe even all of us, have been trained to think in a linear way. In other words if one thing happens it will cause something to follow that event and so on. This is Newtonian thinking: For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.

This thinking approach permeates everything we do and, of course, the way we think.

Eastern philosophy approaches life differently. In Eastern martial arts, for example, the approach is to utilise incoming energy to advantage rather than merely attempting to repel the incoming attack with something of equal force.

Perhaps we can learn from this approach and apply the lessons to the way we lead and manage people. Should we do so we may feel that we do not tire as easily and as quickly; we may even generate additional energy; we will probably nurture a more creative way of thinking and of dealing with issues; we will likely build a more cohesive team equipped with a more collaborative approach to life and work.

The starting point of this approach to thinking and working is to rearrange your own thinking and outlook on life to be less rigid, more fluid and more encompassing of different ideas and views. We need to learn to welcome incoing energy and activtity.

Leaders, in particular, need to embrace this new mode of thinking as it will enable them to encourage and nurture creativity, inspire their followers and find new ways of doing old things.

In the past we used to think that it was others whose thinking needed fixing because my thinking was okay and correct and therefore theirs had to be wrong. In this new mode of thinking we need to be self-confident enough feel okay about the way we think but to recognise simultaneously that there are other ways of thinking. The focus should be on sharing views and ideas – not bullying others to accept one’s own views as the only correct one.

In the past as a leader very often we believed that it

was our way or no way. This is deeply outmoded. Now we need to acknowledge that the world moves too fast for it to be remotely possible for any one person to know everything about anything. Now we need to actively search for those we can learn from and to search with an open mind, fully acknowledging that we cannot be the all-knowing oracle on everything. We need to engage with others to ensure that our learning operates at a fast forward-looking pace.

In the past leaders often adopted the view that they knew more than anyone else and therefore their view should be respected above all others. Now we know that one person’s view is just that – a view; not the sole view. We know that there are many views on almost every subject and that the clever leaders now know that harnessing these views is arguably one of their most important tasks as it provides an enhanced and enriched outcome that will indubitably be better

than the one which would have been produced with only the one point of view. The focus now becomes how I share my view in a manner that helps to harness and encourage the views of others. This is the essence of creating organisational wisdom. This wisdom is the one thing that competitors cannot replicate, buy or transplant. It is the unique property of the company and needs to be nurtured, fostered encouraged and energised.

In past I was the boss. Now I recognise that my primary task is to seek the greatness in others and to help and support them to be great beyond even their wildest dreaming.

In the past (and maybe still very much today) some leaders felt that their people were not good enough. Now great leaders know that they do have great people and their primary task is to ensure that the greatness of their people is unlocked, enabled, empowered and capable of delivery at unimagined levels of excellence. So the job of the leader and his focus should now be: “I know you are great, how can I help you to realise your collective greatness?!”

This is the essence of teamwork where the collaborative synergistic multiplication of the parts is far better and more capable than could ever have been imagined and certainly better than each of the individuals being brilliant but each working in their own little capsules.

Unlocking the collective greatness off them team is the true task of the world-class leader!

[email protected]

Tax season 2015 for individuals1 July 2015 was the start of the 2015 Tax Season

for Individuals. During Tax Season, you need to submit an ITR12 (which is your Income Tax Return) so SARS can calculate your tax on your income and the tax-deductible expenses for the assessment year (1 March 2014 – 28 February 2015), which may, in some cases, result in a refund.

The Tax Season runs from July to November every year. For provisional taxpayers who submit via eFiling, it runs until January of the next year.

The important dates are:• 30 September 2015 – Manual/postal submissions• 27 November 2015 – At a SARS branch (non-

provisional)• 27 November 2015 – eFiling (non-provisional)• 29 January 2016 – Provisional taxpayers via eFilingBe 'tax smart' and use our tips for this tax season:Tax Tip #1 – Don't file a tax return if you don't

need to• You don't need to file if your total salary earned during

1 March 2014 – 28 February 2015 for the 2015 tax year is not more than R350 000 (before tax), provided:

• You only have one employer (but remember if you have two employers or income sources e.g. late spouse / partner pension income, exam markings income, moonlighting income etc. you do need to file even if the total is still under R350 000) or

• You have no car allowance or other income (e.g. interest or rent) or

• You are not claiming tax related deductions (e.g. medical expenses, retirement etc) or

• You received interest from a source in South Africa not exceeding R23 800 if you are below the age of 65 years; or R34 500 if you aged 65 years or older or

• Dividends were paid to you and you were a non-resident during the 2015 year of assessment.

• Top tip: Trusts are required to submit an annual Income Tax Return (IT12TR), as well.

Tax Tip #2 – Looking for your tax number?Your income tax reference number is a unique

10-digit number issued by SARS to a taxpayer on registration. If you are registered, you can find your tax number on your:• Notice of registration from SARS (only available at a

SARS Branch and not via the SARS Contact Centre)• Employee Tax Certificate (IRP5/IT3(a))

• Income Tax Workpage on eFiling, if you're a registered eFiler.

Tax Tip #3 – Make accurate claims• To avoid penalties, make sure you have the correct

documentation and proof for every claim you make.

• Only use info and figures that reflect on your supporting documents

• Use ONLY the amounts reflected on your contribution certificates from your retirement annuity fund, income protection scheme, medical aid etc.

• Make sure you keep an accurate logbook and do not fabricate kilometres travelled

• Don't inflate the value of your vehicle.Tax Tip #4 – Don't lie on your tax return

• Overstating the number of dependants or expenses for medical claims is a criminal offence.

• Only claim for the actual number of dependants registered on your medical aid

• Don't overstate your out-of-pocket medical expenses because SARS will ask for your receipts

• Medication that has not been prescribed may not be claimed for.

Tax Tip #5 – Don't hide it. SARS will find it!• SARS is closing in on undeclared income and

overstated expenses.• Declare all income you received during the year of

assessment like rent, interest and income from your part-time job

• If a deduction does not exist - do not claim for it!Tax Tip #6 – Be prepared

• Have the applicable documents on hand to complete your tax return, such as:

• IRP5 or IT3(a) certificates from your employer or pension fund

• Financial statements (e.g. business income)• Medical aid certificates and receipts• Retirement annuity fund contribution certificates• Tax certificates for investment income (IT3(b))• Completed confirmation of diagnosis of disability

form (ITR-DD)• Information relating to capital gain transactions• Travel logbookTax Tip #8 – Don't fall for scams

• Don't be fooled by emails asking for personal info.• SARS will never request your banking details or

personal details in any communication that you receive by post, email, phone or SMS

• SARS will also not send you any hyperlinks to other websites - even those of banks

• There are no links to any bank on the SARS website.To make sure you are filling in your income tax

return correctly and if you want to save yourself hours standing in the queue at SARS go along to your friendly Tax practitioner who can help.

Let the Lawyer Handle ItGraeme Falck

Business LeadershipTony Frost

Unit 4 / 79 Artisan Village, Cabrière Street, Franschhoek, 7690

Tel: +27 (0)21 876 2592 Fax: +27 (0)21 876 2591

Email: [email protected] Also at 342 Val De Vie, Paarl

www.susancharlesworth.co.za

Susan CharlesworthATTORNEY • NOTARY • CONVEYANCER

Areas of practice:Estate and succession planning | Commercial Law

Administration of estates, trusts & curatorships

Engineering & Construction Law

Antenuptial contracts | Conveyancing

TAXINDIVIDUAL &CORPOR ATE

Email: [email protected] Phone: 021 876 2676 • Cell: 082 804 0764Shop 3, La Rue des Roses, 2 Main Road, Franschhoek

Accounting and B ookkeeping • T ax • P ayroll • Company Formation and Services • BEE Certification and Verification • Insurance & Investments • DTI Incentives • Foreign Exchange

Financial MattersCelia McGuinness


So this is what winter looks like in the Cape. How short is my memory of the horizontal rains, tree ripping gusts, near zero temperatures and chilling arctic breezes that are so characteristic of our beautiful valley. This whole swallow concept starts to look all the more appealing. Actually not. I am a winter person as much as I am a spring person (and a summer person and an autumn person). And spring is right around the corner.

August is usually the month where things on the gardening front start to get behind schedule. As the first signs of spring appear so does the to-do list on the fridge or phone. Projects are lagging, fields are waterlogged, vehicles get stuck and there is some sluggishness in my legs; even on the clear days. This sluggishness must be contagious, because I also see it in the legs (and hands) of my colleagues. Getting things done requires copious amounts of coffee and broth. And this is what makes the heart of winter so awesome – good healthy wholesome food, warm drinks and good fellowship. So what if the work gets a little behind!

Some jobs unfortunately cannot wait until September. The major one is winter pruning of deciduous fruit, vineyards and rose bushes. Delaying this will have a serious effect on fruit and flower quality and quantity. I did chat about pruning last month, so won’t go into it here again, but if you do get stuck give one of the many good gardening companies a call – I’m sure they can squeeze in a few extra rose bushes or fruit trees to prune. August is the month to plant lilies if you want them in flower by December. It has been colder than usual this year which makes it a great time to transplant larger trees and shrubs. Even perennials and bulbs like watsonia and gladiolus can

still be transplanted; just be careful not to break off the fresh shoots. Visiting a nursery on rainy days is a great idea. The staff will have time for you and you can get a chance to test their knowledge and ask some advice on gardening issues. Then there is the annual pilgrimage up the West Coast and into Namaqualand to see the flower spectacle. This is a must on any nature lover’s calendar, just make sure you pick some clear weather for this – most of the flowers follow the sun and won’t even open on cloudy days.

Even though we’ve had less winter rain than usual (up until now anyway) I have discovered some new drainage issues in my vegetable garden. I will surely make a note of these areas and put in some agricultural drains before next winter. Nothing much one can do about this now other than to make some shallow surface ditches to divert rain water. I have been experimenting with germination under tiny plastic structures – almost like mini greenhouses – during winter and will definitely try to force some early tomato seedlings. Maybe even try some green beans and cucumbers. I have plenty of cabbage and cauliflower seedlings that will be transplanted this month. The cover crop is really slow because of the cold weather, so I’m going to wait until September to dig it in. In the mean time I will try and get some early crops going in seedling trays and pots. You can sow leaf crops as well as the year round root crops like radish, carrot and beetroot, but germination and initial growth will be slow. Remember the old adage to sow dry and plant wet.

The pumpkins are starting to rot – so that is what’s on the menu again. August is pumpkin month in my kitchen. Pumpkin soup, pumpkin cake, pumpkin fritters and my favourite: plain old steamed pumpkin with loads of butter. I love how the Creator provided us with storage vegetables that can keep all winter – it’s almost like getting in some of that February sunshine. Another vegetable that I have plenty of, but never cooked before is Jerusalem artichokes – so that will also be on the menu soon.

Taking StockAccording to the language of flowers, stocks symbolise

bonds of affection and promptness with a meaning that reads “You’ll always be beautiful to me”. The common name for the most popular variety for bedding is the ten-week-old stock which, as per its name, flowers approximately 10 weeks after planting and could plausibly have some tie to the ‘promptness’ reference.

Not being the easiest of annuals to grow, it is advisable to buy seedlings that are already established and ready to rock in your rockeries and be rolled out into your beds. An important tip to remember if you’re already a stock lover and buy them every year, is not to plant them in the same bed as you did previously. The soil needs to be left to rest and recover from what is taken out the previous year and can then be used again.

Stocks love sunning themselves in full sun but can handle semi-shade too. Tolerating harsh frosts is one

of their plusses with the other major draw card being their scented blooms that are a winner as cut flowers and used indoors during winter and spring. Stocks are not huge on maintenance but regular watering and feeding will make your display come alive with colourful and vibrant flower displays.

Whether your rockery needs some colour, your flower bed needs a front or back border or just a sunny spot that could do with some brightening up, stocks will do the trick. Available in colours from purple and rose to cream and white, pop into your local garden centre, grab a few trays and stock up those beds.

www.lifeisagarden.co.za

Total Storage

50.3%

This Time Last Year

61.6 - 100.6%

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Rainfall Figures

mm/year mm/month Dam Levels

Measured at La Cotte/Nerina Street for periods indicated

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

824

709

916

884

1153

1217

978

740

830

1079

1471

1033

20

11

6

11

58

166

20

31

37

48

106

272

2015

69

5

76

50

120

260

135

162

64

13

72

7

69

74

150

200

320

580

715

877

941

954

1026

1033

2014AccumulativeMonthAccumulativeMonth

As at 20 July 2015

Steenbras Upper

Steenbras Lower

Wemmershoek

Voëlvlei

Theewaterskloof

Berg River Dam

68.4%

59.3%

41.5%

59.6%

69.1%

57.9%

Gardening in AugustNatie Ferreira

Plant of the MonthFrankie Brookes

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Long Form WinnerThe winner of the long form category was Joanne Gibson. Joanne’s entry was called An Excellent Cordial and

is a chapter from a book on Klein Constantia that is to be published later this year..

An excellent cordialIt was the southern hemisphere’s most famous wine.

So why have experts still not reached consensus on whether Constantia was fortified or not?

“From these Elysian fields used to come one of the very greatest wines in the world – the legendary Constantia,” wrote British wine authority Hugh Johnson in 1979 about the vineyards originally established by Cape governor Simon van der Stel in 1685. “Constantia was bought by European courts in the early 19th century in preference to Yquem, Tokay, Madeira…”

It is well-documented that Napoleon Bonaparte drank Constantia while in exile on the island of St Helena; that Louis Philippe I of France sent emissaries to fetch it; that it was Jane Austen’s remedy for colicky gout and disappointed hearts in Sense & Sensibility; that Charles Dickens wrote of “the support embodied in a glass of Constantia and a home-made biscuit” in his unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

And has any wine ever been sexier than in 1858, when French poet Charles Baudelaire wrote in Sed non satiata about lust so unslakeable that he desired the “elixir” of his lover’s lips even more than Constantia or opium?

In fact, sweet Constantia wine was famous long before the 19th century. It had a “better reputation” in Holland as early as 1698, and it was described as “world famous” in Germany in 1741; included among “the choicest wines procurable” by that infamous Italian scholar, adventurer and seducer of women, Giacomo Girolamo Casanova, in 1760; given pride of place in Prussian king Frederick the Great’s cellar in 1771; sent as a gift to American founding father George Washington in 1778; preferred over claret by ill-fated French king Louis XVI in 1782; admired by English dramatist Richard Brinsley Sheridan in 1783; taken to Australia with Captain Philip’s First Fleet in 1787; listed on the menu at Restaurant Véry in Paris in 1790 (at several times the price of the Sauternes); and sacrilegiously preferred over Germany’s prized Schloss Johannisberg Riesling in Klopstock’s 1795 ode, Der

Kapwein und der Johannisberger. Suffice it to say that for every mention of Napoleon

drinking Constantia (whether laced with arsenic or not!) there is an equally fascinating nugget of history that remains untold. Almost incredibly, for example, Constantia was the favourite wine of Indonesia’s foremost national hero, Prince Diponegoro, who led the great Java War of resistance against the Dutch between 1825 and 1830. A devout Muslim, Diponegoro maintained that it was not an offence against the Qu’ran to drink sweet wine for medicinal purposes, as he’d observed Europeans doing whenever they were intoxicated with Madeira or red wine…

That Constantia was lusciously sweet is undisputed. That there were different types of Constantia is also undisputed (Red, White, Pontac, Frontignac – the latter a research topic in itself). But experts have still not reached consensus on whether the wine was fortified or a natural sweet (certainly it was not a noble late harvest, as Botrytis cinerea was only detected in the Cape for the first time in 1910).

The earliest description of “good” Cape wine does possibly hint at fortification, with English buccaneer William Dampier having found it to be “sweet, very pleasant and strong” in 1691. In 1708, however, German astronomer and surveyor Peter Kolb was invited to a reception at Constantia, recording: “The governor offered me from his own cellar a five or six year old wine which I could – to be frank – not recognise for what it was. On the tongue it was titillating or slightly reminiscent of a Rhine wine. When you drank it you could recognise a clear taste of sec.”

Rhine wine? Presumably Riesling with its high natural acidity. Sec? Today this term indicates low residual sugar but in Van der Stel’s time “sack” was a term for sweet wine from the Canaries, usually fortified. But we probably can’t trust the notes of Kolb, whose contemporaries regarded him as an “idler and quack”. After meeting him

in 1706, for example, the English traveller John Maxwell drily observed, “Astronomy and Natural Philosophy will not, I believe, be much improv’d by this mission.”

A more recent but far more credible taster was UK Master of Wine and Christie’s auctioneer Michael Broadbent, who seems to have thought that Constantia was fortified after tasting a bottle dated circa 1750 in 1987. He described it as “distinctly spicy, gingery, rich, tangy…very high acidity, almost burning finish”.

Hugh Johnson, too, compared a glass of 1830 Constantia to the (fortified) Spanish dessert wine, Malaga, when he drank it in 1970: “The wine was in an English pint bottle of the time, sealed with wax over the cork. It was in beautiful condition: extremely soft, pale amber in colour, with odours of balsam and, I thought, a trace of orange. It was sweet, mouth-filling and exceptionally harmonious, with a flavour that seemed to combine a tang of citrus and a smoky richness. The only wine that I have tasted that it resembled was a Malaga of about the same period from the Duke of Wellington’s estate in Molino del Rey, which shared these smoky-orange aromas and soft richness. Neither had any trace of the very recognisable Muscat flavour – which is not to say they never had.”

In 1920, English scholar, writer and wine critic George Saintsbury wrote his Notes on a Cellar-Book, implying alcoholic heat in his tasting note for a Constantia 1862, having previously tasted a wine from the 1850s: “I think – and its great age in bottle would in any case make this likely – that my recovered Constantia was a little paler in colour and more delicate in body than her ancestress of the fifties. But the flavour was ‘true’, and I had neither mistaken it earlier, not forgotten it later… The curious combination of honey- and grape-flavour in Constantia had remained in my memory, and if the fire did not now blaze or scorch, it glowed and warmed right well.”

Saintsbury’s description of the wine as “delicate”, however, suggests that he may have been writing figuratively about the “fire” of Constantia. Certainly there is no suggestion that a pre-1773 wine tasted and described in the American journal Putnam’s Monthly in 1855 was fortified: “Then, according to annual custom, were produced certain bottles of that old Constantia wine, which some connection of our family had imported in the year 73. And a famous old vintage it is – rather sweet and syrupy by reason of age, but still of a flavour and fragrance that recall the best beams of the sunny days that ripened the parent grape.”

One visitor to the Cape during those “sunny days” was Swedish botanist Carl Peter Thunberg, who in 1772 described the “highly delicious wine, known by the name of Constantia wine or Vin de Cap” not only as “sweet, agreeable and luscious” but also as “delicate”. His compatriot Anders Sparrman agreed: “The genuine Constantia wine is undeniably a very racy and delicate dessert wine.”

Harald Copenhagen, a member of the International Wine & Food Society, was convinced that “Constantia was never a fortified wine” after tasting a bottle of 1791 before a Sotheby’s auction of 18 half-bottles in 1979: “The wine was from the Duke of Northumberland’s cellars at Alnwick Castle,” he recorded in 2005. “The constant low temperature in the Northumbrian Castle’s cellars must have been responsible for its slow and even development and maturity.”

Although Copenhagen said the recipe for Constantia had been lost in time, he was absolutely certain that it had been a natural sweet: “The grapes would be left on the vine to grow over ripe and swell and then bake and burn in the Cape summer sun. In this way the sugar was concentrated and the full sweet flavour achieved.”

His tasting note: “The wine was clear and bright and its colour was a bronze shading to a deeper bronze at the end. As I raised the glass to my nose I was almost taken aback by the rich fruity aroma of raisins – it had the nose of the young wine in many ways, and yet the fullness of a mature vintage. The taste was quite remarkable – full and fruity, with a hint of Tokay essence, and the fullness of old Madeira – and yet quite unlike anything I had ever tasted. The wine was perfectly balanced and beautiful on the palate.”

One of those bottles of 1791 Constantia from the Duke of Northumberland’s cellar eventually made its way to Klein Constantia, where it was opened in 2001 on the occasion of owner Duggie Jooste’s 75th birthday. Slowly savoured and enjoyed, it was also analysed – and found to have an alcohol by volume of only 12.2% as well as 145g per litre of residual sugar and 1.45 g/l total acidity.

This seems in keeping with the way in which David Collins described the wine in 1787, while en route to Australia to help establish New South Wales as a penal colony: “Constantia, so much famed, has a very fine, rich, and pleasant flavour, and is an excellent cordial.”

In 1796, Captain Robert Percival of His Majesty’s Royal Irish Regiment at the Cape made no mention of fortification, attributing the “exquisite flavour” of Constantia to “the great care taken in the rearing, dressing, and encouragement of the vines, in preserving the grapes wholly clean from sand, and free from the ravages of the insects which usually attack them when full ripe”. In addition to good hygiene and vine health, he said there was one other reason for the “goodness” of Constantia: “Not suffering the leaves, stalks, or unripe fruit to be mixed in the press as is done by the other Dutch farmers.”

The painstaking attention to detail in producing Constantia is a recurring theme, not least in the Memorials sent to the Dutch East India Company on behalf of the owners themselves. In Hendrik Cloete’s memorial of 1787, for example, he described the complicated and lengthy process involved in merely preparing the casks (several pages here paraphrased): wash and sulphur three times

at weekly intervals; fill with water for a week; steam out with boiling water, wash with cold water, dry and sulphur; fill for a month with “doppen” beer mixed with a leaguer of pure Constantia; wash, dry and sulphur again; refill for three weeks with “pure and unadulterated Constantia wine for which annually two leaguers – yea! even more – are necessary”; wash, dry for two days and sulphur; and, prior to use, refill with water to test for “gnawing through by worms, which are so very fond of that wine”.

And that’s nothing compared to the meticulous journal kept by Lambertus Johannes Colijn, third-generation owner of De Hoop op Constantia (the original Klein Constantia where his grandfather, Johannes Colijn, first negotiated annual shipments of Constantia wine in 1726). He described everything from soil preparation (“one basket of manure is used for four vines”) and pest control (“placing rolled-up vine leaves in the vines to catch weevils”) to barrel treatment (“those with a musty smell must be kept full of clean water for eight days”) and fining (“each cask with a basin of sheep- or goat’s blood”).

Unfortunately only a few pages of the journal have survived, mostly describing vineyard preparation in agonising detail, but at harvest what it boiled down to was this: “In order to make good Constantia wine, one should allow the grapes to ripen thoroughly before cutting. They should be half-way towards becoming raisins, and during the cutting all rotten and unripe berries have to be spotted, picked out and disposed of.”

And then, most significantly, the must underwent fermentation until it stopped naturally: “Great care must be taken to listen daily, and if fermenting continues [the wine] has to be placed in a cask, which was treated the day before with a piece of sulphur six inches long and four fingers broad, but no longer than this, as otherwise the wine is bleached too much. And after it has been lying still for eight days, it is poured over into clean casks which are treated the day before, on the first of May. And then from the first of August, clean casks again…”

Colijn specifically referred to making two leaguers of must from the ripest red Muscadel grapes, to which were added the skins of the unusually red-fleshed Pontac grapes. “With these two leggers one colours the said wine if insufficiently coloured. Three to four buckets are added per legger as required for the desired colour,” he wrote. “This is performed on the first of November.”

The naturally red Pontac juice (skins removed) was used specially to make Pontac wine, “transferred daily until fermentation has ceased”. Similarly, the Steen (Chenin Blanc) was “allowed to ferment for seven days in the cask, and shaken daily, until fermentation has ceased”.

Meanwhile, the “true Constantia grape” could not be harvested before the last day of March: “The berries must be completely ripe and shrunken, and largely raisins.” After crushing, the liquid was drawn off. “This is allowed to work for eight to ten or twelve days, which can be observed at the bung hole. When it begins to subside one takes seven or eight buckets from the contents of a cask and burns a whole ream of sulphur and allows it to shake until it is still. If it begins to ferment again the next day, it is shaken until no smell of sulphur remains in the cask. One then fills it up with new wine and after allowing it to rest for 10 days it is treated with sulphur on the following day.”

Although Colijn’s descriptions of the blending processes are gone, sadly, the important point is that there is no hint whatsoever of his Constantia wines having ever been fortified; of brandy having been added at any stage of the winemaking process.

In fact, the only mention of brandy being utilised in Constantia wine production was for vineyard pest control! In 1825, James Busby, father of Australian and New Zealand wine, marvelled at the care “lavished” by the Constantia proprietors upon their “valuable produce”, including the suspension of “a bunch of vine leaves, dipt in brandy, below each bunch of grapes”.

In the mid-19th century, through years of gradual decline for the Constantia farms (for reasons including the abolition of slavery in 1834 and a steady decrease in market demand for sweet wines, rather than the arrival of oft-blamed phylloxera, which was only detected in Constantia on 26 November 1898) all evidence suggests that the wine was unfortified. A bottle of 1850 Constantia that Burgundian vigneron Paul Bouchard brought along to open at Klein Constantia in 2001, for example, had a 10.5% alcohol by volume and a sugar reading of 267g/l.

The low alcohol level of Constantia around that time was attested to by the crew of the American confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama, which seized 66 ships over a distance of 67,000 nautical miles before finally being sunk in the English Channel near Cherbourg, France, on 19 June 1864. In September 1863, after capturing a barque named The Sea Bride just off Green Point – under the gaze of many excited Capetonians – the Alabama lay at anchor in Simon’s Town, where Commander Raphael Semmes was sent a cask of the wine “celebrated the world over for its exquisite flavour, being a ladies’ wine, sweet, and but slightly intoxicating”.

Semmes later recorded: “The cask of wine, after making the voyage to India, was offered as a libation to the god of war. It went down with the Alabama off Cherbourg.”

In 1889, four years after Groot Constantia had become a government wine farm, state viticulturist Carl von Babo was replaced by a Mr C Mayer from the German Viticultural School at Geisenheim. He officially announced the phasing out of the famous sweet wines of Constantia, clearly stating that they had not been fortified: “The Sweet Constantia was prepared from red and white Muscadel and Frontignac without addition of alcohol.”

The first Professor of Viticulture at Stellenbosch University, Abraham Izak Perold (of Pinotage fame) was similarly convinced that Constantia had been unfortified.

Continued on page 17...

FLF SA Wine Writers’ Award: Short Form Winner

The winners of the FLF SA Wine Writers Award were announced at the Franschhoek Literary Festival in May this year. Entries were submitted to the judges without names so the judges did not know which article was written by whom. The Franschhoek Tatler obtained permission to publish the winning entries. Angela Lloyd was chosen as the short form winner of the FLF SA Wine Writers’ Award 2015. Here is her winning entry from her blog Out of the Press.

Empty memoriesIt’s not something I’ve ever thought to write about,

imagining few others would find keeping empty wine bottles as compulsive a habit as I do. Then I read PR and fellow wine lover, Nicolette Waterford’s tweet: ‘Trying to declutter. Why oh why can I not throw away certain empty wine bottles. Is there a term for this type of insanity?’ ‘Don’t worry – you’re not alone in this. #memories.’ I responded. And memories is what we both decided inspires such insanity; our reasoning was shortly given credibility by none other than a Master of Wine, John Downes, who joined our tweetersation, insisting ‘you HAVE to keep the memories.’ So I no longer need hide my shady habit. In fact, here’s a photo to illustrate just how compulsive it is – it spreads further around the cellar too. And it’s about to be joined by another bottle with happy and sad memories.

(You’ll have to visit Angela’s blog to see the photo! – Ed.)It was around 1997, when I was writing for the

excellent Sunday Life magazine, that the editor passed on an email from a gentleman in Australia, who had several queries about South African wine after his recent visit, including why did South Africa have so much chenin. Little did I know that my response would lead to an active and robust ongoing correspondence. It turned out Patrick was South African but had emigrated to Australia in 1961. His interests were far and wide, including sport – we had much friendly banter about our respective cricket teams – but wine was one very close to his heart. Our correspondence grew both in length and regularity; I learned a lot about Australian wine from him and I think he did likewise about South African wine from me.

The opportunity to meet in person rather than over the ether arrived in 1999, when Mark and I visited and travelled through Australia; Patrick and his wife, Elizabeth invited us to stay with them during our stay in Melbourne. They treated us royally with visits to wineries as far afield as Heathcote and Mornington Peninsula, wines as varied as Grange (from the 1970s) to Chambers fabulous Rutherglen Muscats. We met twice more, once in Melbourne again, another when they stayed with us in Cape Town.

That was to be the last time we met, though our interest and enjoyment in each other’s wines

continued; with little possibility of buying them, we started the slow but thankfully successful system of posting a selection to each other via seamail. Whilst I sent Patrick wines which I hoped would convince him of our progress with the classic varieties (lots of chenin!) and innovative wines such as white blends, he educated me with some of the many ‘alternative varieties’ which have become such a success in Australia. As a resident of Victoria state, he did favour local producers (although in one notable package, Margaret River, Barossa, Adelaide Hills and Langhorne Creek were represented), but there’s such a wealth of talent and wide range of interesting varieties and wines in that state, that opening the latest parcel was always filled with anticipation.

The eight wines making up that multi-regional parcel included a lagrein, a variety from the north-eastern Italian region of the Alto Adige, but this was from the more temperate Murray Darling area in Victoria’s north west. It disappointed Patrick and he determined to send me one he’d tasted and enjoyed from the cooler Macedon Ranges. His February 2013 letter informed me he’d eventually found a bottle of Cobaw Ridge Lagrein 2008, which he was posting together with a Chateau Tahbilk Marsanne 2003 from 1927 vines. Sadly, it was the last letter he managed to write; cancer and other painful complications led to his death that October.

I wanted to share those last two wines with friends; two opportunities, a year apart, presented themselves. Once a year in January, our monthly tasting group holds a bring your own international wine and a plate of food event. The tasting’s blind, as always.

The Tahbilk went down very well last year; yesterday evening it was the turn of Cobaw Ridge Lagrein. Without exception, including Aussie and ex-Melbourne sommelier, David Clarke, all were somewhere in a cool climate region of the northern hemisphere. All were fooled too by the still vivid youthful purple hue, three years the average guess at age.

Though none of us are that familiar with lagrein, the wine grabbed everyone’s interest in its freshness, clarity and texture, certainly individual.

I’ve drunk the last drop - shared with Mark - this evening; it lingers, as will the empty bottle in our cellar.


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SCHUCKS PAY BACK THE MONEY 28 August 2015

What is the CHIC Development Foundation and how is it funded?

The CHIC Development Foundation is a registered Non-Profit Organization established to assist youngsters from a disadvantaged background in the Franschhoek area through sport, specifically cycling. The main aim is to give these youngsters an opportunity they otherwise may not have had to participate in this sport but moreover to develop their life skills and thereby increase their opportunities and chances of success in life.The NPO is currently privately funded. Going forward, it is envisaged to obtain sponsorships from the corporate sector and individuals and/or grants from funding charities.

So apart from cycling you are addressing sociological issues; what are these goals?

We would like to address real issues that present themselves in disadvantaged communities. These include the temptation to take drugs, use alcohol, join gangs and become involved in crime. With girls there is the added risk of early pregnancy. The goal is to provide youngsters with an alternative activity to participate in; something that requires their commitment, focus and dedication, thereby increasing the chance that they will resist negative temptations.

How are kids selected for the programme?Firstly the local high schools are approached, working

via the principal and teachers, to identify youngsters who show an interest in cycling. A short interview is conducted at the school with the learners, followed by time trials on a bicycle. Based on their interview, time trial result and attitude, candidates are then shortlisted.

What does the 3 month probation entail and what is the programme that follows?

Candidates who are selected are required to show their commitment to training, to prove that they are reliable and that they are prepared to make the necessary sacrifices to be on the programme. During the probation period they improve their skills on a bicycle, as well as adhere to and keep a record of their training. A full background report is also compiled on each candidate by a qualified social worker. After successful completion of the probation period, the members follow a structured training programme that also includes spinning and gym work with one of CHIC’s partners, Franschhoek Health Club. Since it has proven to be a major problem area, assistance is also rendered with school work. There are currently 8 team members and a further 3 members on probation.

To whom do the bicycles and cycling gear belong and who takes responsibility for maintenance?

All bicycles, accessories and clothing remain the property of the CHIC Foundation. Maintenance is carried out on a regular basis by Franschhoek Cycles, another CHIC partner. It may be interesting to note that the CHIC team members are in the most fortunate position to use Pinarello bikes, co-sponsored by ASG, also a CHIC partner.

What connection does CHIC have with Stellenbosch University?

The first four enrolled boys on the programme underwent tests last year at the Physiology Department of Stellenbosch University. They performed what is called a “max test” where their power, VO2max (lung capacity) and heart rate are measured/determined. Professor Kathy Myburgh, Head of the Dept, is very supportive of the CHIC cause and it is hoped that similar testing can be done in future on the other team members.

How often do the cyclists on the programme compete in events?

The members are taken to events only after successful completion of the probation period. The number of events competed in varies according to the time of year, with more events in summer than winter. Over the course of a year, they will on average go to two events per month. For the past two years, they have also taken part in the annual cycling youth festival. This event took place in Bloemfontein in 2014 and in Oudtshoorn in 2015.

Do girls apply to join the Chic programme?Yes, in December 2014 our first girl, Nadia Klaasen,

started on the program. Last term we did interviews and trials for girls only and currently we have three new girls who started their probation period at the end of June. It is one of the goals of the Foundation to get more girls participating in cycling.

Is there a waiting list of kids in the Valley who want to sign up and is there a way in which you could accommodate them all?

The answer to both these question is yes, indeed! Over the last year, CHIC has made its presence felt in Franschhoek, youngsters request to be considered on a regular basis. Trials are held once a term only, so their names are kept on a waiting list. Whilst we would like to accommodate more youngsters, the selection criteria are quite strict to ensure that the correct profile is chosen. However, I will be looking into the possibility of incorporating a weekly ride with interested youngsters to give them the opportunity to be involved in some way in the interim. This could be seen as a development aspect of the NPO, but will require outside sponsorship of bicycles and equipment, as well as volunteers to assist with the extra outrides.

You are a successful competition cyclist, do you train with your charges and do you still ride competitively?

I have competed for over 20 years in cycling events, including the Cape Epic, Argus cycle tour and numerous road races, as well as countless MTB events (I was the SA cross country champion in 1997, 1998 & 2000, and have represented my country on five occasions at the World Championships). I have trained with the CHIC candidates and team members since the outset, as this forms the backbone of the programme, and this has contributed to the fact that I am still fit and competitive!

What successes have you seen in the programme? Is there a possible next Nolan Hofmann?

The programme is not focused on pushing the children to win. Rather that they learn about commitment, discipline and team spirit whilst having fun. To see the bright colours – and big smiles – every day on the Franschhoek roads is thus already a significant achievement. It has been wonderful to watch the transformation of personalities; shy children becoming assertive. The development in their bodies; defined calf muscles are appearing and some baby fat has been lost. To witness their joy and sense of accomplishment after completing a race has been very rewarding. And then there are those who have achieved a podium place and reaped the reward for the hard hours of training.

If a team member should show exceptional talent, they will be assisted to become part of one of the cycling academies in South Africa. Looking at the progress over the past 18 months, I can predict that there certainly are some Nolan Hoffmans in the making. Or Anriette Schoemans for that matter!

with Geddan Ruddock of the CHIC Development Foundation

...continued from page 16In 1936, he carried out experiments to try and resuscitate

the famous old Constantia wine, reportedly achieving his best results from overripe grapes that had been exposed to the sun for between four and eight days.

In 1952, Afrikaans poet and gourmand C Louis Leipoldt’s 300 Years of Cape Wine was published posthumously. He described tasting an old Constantia that had been “a magnificent, pre-oidium, liqueur wine, unique in its low alcoholic strength for such a full-bodied wine, exceedingly aromatic with a rich, sparkling colour and with a delicious flavour”.

In 1974, too, noted Professor of South African History Diko van Zyl concluded that Constantia had been a natural sweet wine in his lengthy, well-researched thesis on the history of Cape wine. “Constantia wine varieties consisted of red and white Muskadel, red Pontac, white Frontignac and Steen,” he said, “and they were all natural sweet wines, which means they were not fortified.”

Finally, in the 1980s, when the Jooste family purchased Klein Constantia and decided to create Vin de Constance, they were advised by Professor Chris Orffer, the former Head of Stellenbosch University’s Viticulture Department, who had spent four decades investigating all aspects (historical, viticultural and oenological) of the once world-famous Constantia wines.

He, too, was certain that the original Constantia had been a natural sweet wine made from White and Red

Muscadel, Muscat de Frontignan, Frontignac and Pontac, the crop reduced by almost 50% with the remaining grapes left to ripen on the vines until late March, when they became shrivelled and intensely sweet. “This is how it was done centuries ago, allowing the grapes to reach very high sugar contents in a natural way without resorting to sun drying or drying indoors,” he insisted.

Orffer did, however, speculate that casks of Constantia may have been fortified prior to shipping to protect the wine from spoiling during lengthy sea voyages – a view perhaps supported by the Austrian monk, Paulinus of St Bartholomeo, who visited Constantia in July 1789 after spending 14 years as a missionary in India. No stranger to the “noble” wine, boasting that he had “often before” tasted it in Malabar at the table of Governor Van Angelbeck, the “barefooted Carmelite” advised: “Those who wish to be acquainted with its real virtue and properties, must drink it at the Cape, where it is perfectly pure and unadulterated.”

Working closely with viticulturist Ernst le Roux, Prof Orffer oversaw the selection and propagation of a special clone of Muscat de Frontignan, possibly descended from cuttings originally imported by Jan van Riebeeck in 1656 (given that no further imports were ever recorded). The maiden Vin de Constance 1986 was released in 1990 with an alcohol by volume of 13.7% and residual sugar of 95g/l.

And the rest, as they say, is history. History that is still in the making.

What Will People Say?By Rehana Rossouw, Publ: Jacana, 332 pages

The Cape Flats lie just 45 minutes’ drive away from Franschhoek. But the actual distance between the wining and dining capital of South Africa and the murder and rape capital of the country cannot be calculated. The suburbs and townships that make up “The Flats”, with names like Manenberg, Heideveld, Lavender Hill and Hanover Park are a world away. Recently the Cape newspapers revealed some of the unimaginable details of gang violence in these areas when they reported the high-profile court case involving gang-boss George “Geweld” Thomas, who was given several life sentences for multiple murders.

Now the first work of fiction by acclaimed, seasoned journalist Rehana Rossouw takes us into the very heart of Hanover Park. It shows us the realities of everyday life that a family has to endure. But this is not just a crime report; it is an extremely well written, empathetic story that engages your sympathy as you follow the lives of Neville and Magda Fourie and their three children. The decisions that they are forced to take in order to survive in that harsh environment are authentic and inevitably heartbreaking. It is the great strength of the novel that the salty Kaapse taal can make you laugh out loud, while the terrible things that happen to the struggling family bring tears to your eyes.

The story is set in the struggle year of 1986. The coloured population is threatened from the outside by the security police and from the inside by gangsters. Neville works in Cape Town for a law firm as a courier, Magda is a garment worker in a clothing factory. Both work long hours and try to do the best for the children. Magda, a faithful member of her church, takes great pains to maintain their fairly privileged position in Hanover Park and guards the family’s reputation jealously. Hence the title of the book “What Will People Say?”

Of the children, Nicky is the clever and dutiful one, hoping to do well enough to win a bursary and study law. Suzette is the pretty one, who uses her beauty to escape from the hardships of a dead-end education and an inevitable life in the garment factories. And Anthony is the young son who is drawn into gang life against his will and without his parents’ knowledge.

This close-knit family has to face three equally strong forces, and each member is affected in a different way. The first is the political situation of the eighties. The population was forcibly removed from Cape Town thirty years before and has had to make a new life in the sandy wastes of the Flats. Now the Liberation Struggle waged by groups like the UDF claims new members from the schools, and Nicky finds herself joining the conflict at the expense of her career.

The second is crime and the dominance of gangs that recruit young men and involve them in unmentionable initiation rites. “The gangsters were among the most successful entrepreneurs in the townships, offering

hope-starved young people a chance to engage in business. All of it illegal. They dispensed generosity as readily as they doled out justice for the smallest slights against them. I kept the real names of the gangs that were active in Hanover Park in the 1980s and are still rooted there today. The leader of the Americans, Jackie Lonte, is the only real-life person in my book,” says Rossouw.

Young Anthony gets mercilessly exploited by Ougat, the leader of the local gang. The good willing but ineffective neighbourhood watch that his father Neville joins

cannot protect him. Finally, there is the force of poverty and its

deadening grip on people’s lives and aspirations. Suzette’s determination and ingenuity that allows her to escape offers some hope and solace to the family.

Rossouw engages the reader completely as the tragedy unfolds. It might sound as if the book is unbearably sad, and it certainly offers a grim insight into lives that are being led not far from here. But the resilience and innate morality of the family and the people surrounding them makes one feel strangely hopeful and positive in spite of everything.

And then there is the sheer quality of the novel. It is so gripping, so truthful and so non-judgmental that it offers the same kind of pleasure one gets from watching an excellent documentary. It is, in fact, a lot like the US TV series “The Wire” in its evocation of gangsterdom and civic rights.

Book ReviewCharlotte van Zyl


Pearl Valley puts its weight behind river stewardship

The riparian-zone rehabilitation programme at the Pearl Valley Golf & Country Estate is the first formal rehabilitation site of its kind in the Upper Berg River area.

The Berg River, which rises in the Drakenstein Mountains of the Western Cape, was once home to a healthy population of hippos. By the early 1800s, thanks to human destruction of their habitat, only a few remained, and the last one was shot in 1869. The river’s native fish populations have been similarly affected by unsustainable human use of the water, pollution, the introduction of alien fish, and invasive – and thirsty – alien plant species such as black wattle and eucalypts, which damage the river banks.

While it’s unlikely we’ll ever again see wild hippo roaming the banks of the Berg River, a great deal of rehabilitation work is being done on the whole of the Pearl Valley Berg River frontage of the riparian zone (the strip between the land and the water) to better manage this precious natural resource. Thanks to a partnership between Pearl Valley Golf & Country Estate and the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning of the Western Cape more than 12 000 indigenous shrubs and trees, including yellowwoods, wild peaches, wild olives and wild almonds, have been planted along a 1 200-metre strip of the river. The Working for Water programme has cleared the last remaining alien vegetation at the site, and this summer, wet-zone plants will be established to complete the project.

It’s an undertaking that’s receiving international attention, and earlier this year a group of delegates from the Centre for Leadership in Global Sustainability at US research university Virginia Tech visited the area to see how South Africans are successfully dealing with the problem of managing water resources by

restoring ecological functionality and biodiversity. The project was also one of the World Design Capital projects for 2014.

With World Rivers Day taking place this year on Saturday, 26 September, the time has never been better to highlight the importance of looking after our precious natural resources. But Pearl Valley is keenly aware of this need year round. “Pearl Valley has indigenous vegetation coverage of 80% in the residential and communal gardens,’ says Gawie Marx, General Manager for the Estate. ‘The water-wise landscaped vegetation includes many species of endangered flora, succulents and grasses.”

www.pearlvalley.co.za | 021 867 8000

Front FLTR: Dana Grobler (Director: BlueScience (Pty) Ltd) & Millie Stevens (Rehabilitation programme team manager). Back FLTR:

Rudolph Röscher (LandCare Manager at The Western Cape Department of Agriculture), Waldo Groenewald (Pearl Valley Golf & Country Estate Grounds Manager) and Josh Nease (Manager at the

Catawba Sustainability Center at Virginia Tech).

PROPOSED FRANSCHHOEK CIVIC AMENITY CENTRE, STELLENBOSCH MUNICIPALITY, WESTERN CAPE

The public is hereby notified that the Stellenbosch Local Municipality proposes to establish a Civic Amenity Centre (CAC) within the Franschhoek area. The proposed CAC is a facility for the Franschhoek community to take their bulky, uncollected waste to be recovered or re-used in a responsible manner. The types of materials that can be taken to such a facility include recyclable waste, builders’ rubble, uncollected bulky waste and garden waste. The proposed facility will be controlled and managed by the Stellenbosch Municipality and will ultimately divert waste from the Stellenbosch landfill, which is nearing capacity. The public is requested to note that this facility is not a waste disposal site and will not accept any hazardous waste or household putrescible waste. A site selection process undertaken by the Stellenbosch Municipality, in conjunction with the technical team, has led to the identification of four (4) possible sites within the Franschhoek area. The public is therefore invited to actively participate in the planning and development of this facility. It is important to note that additional sites may be identified during the public participation process. However, all identified sites will need to be subjected to the same site selection criteria.

INVITATION TO A SITE VISIT AND PUBLIC MEETING The Franschhoek Community (public members and residents) is invited and encouraged to attend a site visit and public meeting which will be held as follows:

Site Visit (optional) Saturday, 15 August 2015 Departing from Groendal Community Centre, Franschhoek 08h00 – 11h30Public Meeting Saturday, 15 August 2015 Groendal Community Hall (Franschhoek) 11h30 – 12h30

The site visit will be undertaken to the Wynberg Amenity Centre in order to show members of the public what the proposed Franschhoek development could entail. Should you be interested to attend the site visit and public meeting, please respond to this notice by submitting your name and contact information to Ms Bongi Shinga (details below). This will ensure that you are registered on the project database and will receive project correspondence including communication for the planned site visit. Please direct enquiries and/or comments to Bongi Shinga at AECOM: Tel: 012 421 3767. Post: PO Box 3173, Pretoria, 0001. E-mail: [email protected] Date of advertisement: 01 August 2015


4 AugustLa Motte Estate Sustainable WalkVenue: La Motte tasting room. Time: 09h00 – 10h00. Cost: R50 p.p. Booking: 021 876 8820 or [email protected]

12 AugustHistoric Walk La Motte estateVenue: La Motte Museum. Time: 10h00 – 11h00. Cost: R50 p.p.Booking: 021 876 8850 or [email protected]

8 AugustBoschendal Roving DinnerVenue: Boschendal estate. Time: From 18h30. Cost: R450 p.p. Bookings: [email protected] or 021 870 4274

19 AugustFranschhoek Small Business ExpoVenue: Franschhoek Town HallTime: 10h00 – 15h00. Cost: Free entry. Enquiries: [email protected] or 021 876 2861

28 AugustRed Blends - Wine and Dine collaborationVenue: The Restaurant at Grande Provence. Time: 19h00. Cost: R525 p.p. Bookings: 021 876 8600 or [email protected]

Mondays & ThursdaysIyengar-Style Yoga Classes Venue: Sukha free spirit centreTime: 18h00 to 19h00 (Friday morning 08h00 to 09h00)Ladies class (pre/post natal, menopausal, recuperative) Enquiries: 073 388 1404 (Danielle)

Tuesdays Alcoholics Anonymous Time 19h00. Venue: NG Church Consistory. Contact 021 867 0983 or 073 125 0188 (Jeffrey)

Backgammon Club MeetsAll welcome. Own board not required. Venue: Taki’s Place. Time: 19h00. Info: Graeme Oliver - graeme @ poachedrhino.org or 072 815 8209

Saturdays Franschhoek Village MarketBreads, olives, ginger beer, pastries, plants, seedlings, breakfasts, coffee, crafts and more. Venue: Dutch Reformed Church Grounds. Time: 09h00 – 14h00

Church Services• NG Kerk Franschhoek

Sondagdienste 09h30. Geen aanddiens meer nie. Ds Peet Bester. 021 876 2431.

• Franschhoek Methodist Church Sunday service 09h00 – all welcome. Rev Nuno Vergueiro 021 872 3580 or 082 662 4509. Contact person: 021 876 2510 or 083 287 5756

• Uniting Reformed Church Sunday service: 09h30. Minister: Dr Shaun Burrows, 021 876 2632. All visitors most welcome.

• Shofar Christian Church 08h30 English service. 10h00 Joint tea & coffee. 10h30 Afrikaans service. & 18h00 Evening service (last Sunday of every month)

• Roman Catholic Church Mass every 2nd Saturday of the month at the Methodist Church, Bagatelle Rd, Fhk. 073 488 6816

• Trinity Church Anglican Communion Service Sundays 10h00. Weekday Communion with Prayers Wednesdays 10h00. All services at L’Ermitage Chapel. Fr Gavin Mitchell (083 799 0726) or Fr Michael Pedder (082 460 7833).

• ST George’s Anglican Church Groot Drakenstein. Sunday Services: Holy Communion and Sunday School 10h00. Rector Fr Joe Humbles – 021 874 1120

• New Apostolic Church Le Roux Weg, Franschhoek.Sundays 09h00, Wednesdays 19h30. Rector: Charles Leibrandt

Sport• FHK Cycling Club Outrides

Regular road ride on Saturdays to Stellenbosch and back followed by coffee. (MTBs also welcome). Venue: Meet at BP garage. Time: 07h00. Contact: Paul Barkley 083 302 9096 Franschhoek Tennis Club

• Social tennis is played at the Franschhoek Tennis Club on Fridays from 08h30 and on Sundays and Public Holidays from 09h00. During June, July and August starting times are 30 mins later. For more information contact 021 876 4184.

Franschhoek Chefs in “Cook-offs”At the Santon Convention Centre on 7 July,

Franschhoek Executive Chefs Peter Templehoff of Grande Provence and Matthew Gordon of Haute Cabrière went head to head with each other and Rudi Liebenberg of the Saxon Hotel in Sandton in the finals of the Sunday Times Chef of the Year Cook-off.

The three chefs were each presented with a mystery basket with eland, guinea fowl and waterblommetjies to test their abilities to think “out of the box”. In a close contest, Peter Templehoff collected the winner-takes-all cheque for R30 000 and title of Sunday Times Chef of the Year. “What a fantastic honour”, he said, “to have competed against Matthew and Rudi who are such talented chefs, even getting to the finals is huge for me. It’s also a great feeling to be involved in and win a competition like this, after less than a year back from London. I really think the Sunday Times Chef of the Year Competition will become the benchmark for all others, a lot of thanks goes to them and their organisation.”

Gwynne Conlyn, Chairman of the Sunday Times Food

Show Council, designer of the competitions and judge said, “Although the final points of the three finalists were close, it was clear that the dishes produced by Peter were what awards are made of. The judges felt that in the elements we most often look for – technical skill, visual appeal, texture combinations and taste – were not only the work of a highly skilled thoughtful chef, but were also almost faultless.”

A couple of weeks later, Brent Mossop of Le Franschhoek Hotel won second place in the Junior Chef of the Year category and R4 000 at the Unilever Foodsolutions Chef of the Year competition at which chosen chefs were invited to compete in proving their skill, creativity and culinary talent in Senior, Junior and Ethnic categories in an exciting mystery basket cook-off.

The five finalists in each category, which also included Arnold Simelane of Le Franschhoek Hotel in the Senior category, were selected from semi-final mystery basket cook-offs held in Gauteng, the Western Cape and KZN.

In the final they were each given a mystery basket of compulsory ingredients, which they had to use to create a three-course menu. A community table of various other standard and fresh ingredients was also supplied. Contestants had half an hour to create their menus after being given their ingredients, and then only three hours to cook their dishes before presenting to the South African Chefs Association accredited judges.

Aries, 21 March – 19 April: Aries represents the future possibilities of creative energy; the world to be, rather than the world as it is. This creates a certain amount of contradiction: full of vitality, always eager to explore and explain new theories. With the Sun in Leo it can easily lead to unfeasible actions.

Taurus, 20 April – 20 May: There is a symbiotic relationship between Taurian individuals and their environment: they want to belong to a permanent scene, like an oak tree to its landscape. This earthy fixed sign represents the nature of the individual rather than his activity. Be highly aware of your consciousness and sensitivity this month.

Gemini, 21 May – 20 June: Mercury is operating by polarising spirit and matter, which in conclusion makes the twins a trinity. This suggests the birth of intellectual perception between objectivity and subjectivity. Once a year Mercury crosses the path of Jupiter, the biggest planet, and guarantees some overdoing and over expansion. Sleep before you act.

Cancer, 21 June – 22 July: The Moon sign provides pliability, emotion and the quality of sympathetic appreciation. Its action is decisive and its hold invincible. Inwardly it becomes a little shaky about itself in August and uncertain about its power and potential, which makes it an easy target for birds of prey – all in the name of its protective, nurturing qualities.

Leo, 23 July – 22 August: Fire is the divine symbol of penance, creativity and purification, but is also an element of nature which cannot adapt itself to anything else. This makes Leos self-centred, aspiring and ambitious. The light in chaotic matter establishes the independence and individualization, which are the wings of the soul. Virgo, 23 August – 22 September: Venus is moving into this earthy sign and wants to convert those discontentments into a divine aspiration of discipleship, the Mother Mary theory. For Virgos it is indeed very difficult to comprehend, representing the maiden or non- married females. It holds within

itself the power which enables everything to grow. Libra, 23 September – 22 October: This

asterism is enigmatic, with a seeming quietude at the surface, but inwardly there is dissatisfaction. This sign represents the critical balance between matter and spirit. The materiality is not enjoyed because of their inner quest for spiritual life. The Sun is debilitated here; a strong Sun in Leo creates issues for Libra in the month of August.

Scorpio, 23 October – 21 November: This constellation is the biggest in the night sky and signifies energies which, if properly managed, could lead to a tremendous understanding of psychic power. The introverted or secretive nature is the threshold of various levels of existence. The fixed water element is very sensitive and emphasizes its imponderable depth.

Sagittarius, 22 November – 21 December: This sign symbolizes the transformation of human behaviours into more noble qualities and takes to spiritual wandering. A spiritual quest is not always a peaceful progress. That mutable fire reveals the struggling soul on the journey towards the universal soul. This cosmic law is poorly understood by most religions.

Capricorn, 22 December – 19 January: When Capricorn begins to operate, past karma is activated. Past accumulated forces are worked out so that the burden and experience can create fresh inspirations for its highly potent and deep acting philosophies. Saturn the natural ruler of this sign is still in Scorpio and is looking for that emotional threshold.

Aquarius, 20 January – 18 February: The essential characteristic of Aquarius is to help and guide others towards their fulfilment. Water flowing from a pitcher appropriately suggests this progress. With the Sun in its oppositional sign Leo, the impulse and the consequences become greatly heightened. The airy fixed sign has to provide those divine human qualities.

Pisces, 19 February - 20 March: The last sign of the zodiac reveals the constant progress where the impulse under which duality ceases and only life in its complete fullness remains. It is a preservation principle which leads to a new age, a new life. Reasons and logic are not very successful here; spirituality needs to be exercised with happiness and peace.

For consultation please write to [email protected] or call 073 312 1265

ACCOUNTANTSTax Shop 021 876 2676 ATTORNEYSSusan Charlesworth 021 876 2592/072 402 9469 Snipelisky & Killian 083 250 0943/021 876 2084BURGLAR ALARMS Pepler Alarms 021 876 3308 CLUBS & ASSOCIATIONS Boland Bridge Club 021 876 3031 Franschhoek Tennis Club 082 557 0278 Franschhoek Trust & RPA 021 876 3460 Grt. Drak Games Club 021 874 1906 Lions 021 876 3775 Stellenbosch Masonic Lodge (Chris) 072 211 9991 Franschhoek Rotary Club 082 773 9217 Franschhoek Probus Club 021 876 3179 COMPUTER SERVICES Franschhoek IT Services 082 356 0226 Solid IT Solutions 084 015 8808ELECTRICAL Franschhoek Electric 082 823 7119/021 876 3640 Rensburg Electrical 021 876 2120/083 309 2923 EXCAVATIONS Andrew Schmidt 021 876 4431/082 972 5755 Burger Excavations 072 3408518HEALTH & BEAUTY Franschhoek Pharmacy 021 876 2261 Salon Excelsior 021 876 2218 Franschhoek Health Club 021 876 3310HOUSE & GARDEN Clock Repairs 028 840 1716 Lighting & Accessories 021 876 3640 Paarl Pool Services 021 872 0747/083 658 4944 Ria Pools (Franschhoek) 021 876 2612/072 347 5355INTERNET ACCESS Franschhoek Photolab 021 876 3921PostNet 021 876 3025OPTOMETRIST Marelise Rester 021 872 3530PHOTOGRAPHIC Franschhoek Photolab 021 876 4741PHYSIOTHERAPY Claire Horn 021 876 4234/082 582 1029 PLUMBERS Franschhoek Plumbing 021 876 3759 PUBLIC SERVICES Hospice 021 876 3085

Library 021 808 8406 Huguenot Memorial Museum 021 876 2532 Post Office 021 876 2342 Welfare (ACVV) 021 876 2670 SPCA 021 876 4808 SCHOOLSBridge House School 021 874 8100 Franschhoek High School 021 876 2079 Groendal Primary School 021 876 2448 Groendal Secondary School 021 876 2211 Wes-Eind Primary School 021 876 2360 Dalubuhle Primary School 021 876 3957 STORAGE Franschhoek Storage 021 876 2174TOURIST INFORMATION & SERVICES Info Office 021 876 3603 Winelands Experience 021 876 4042 TRANSPORT GOODS Gerald Fourie 021 876 2940/082 821 5234VETERINARY Huguenot Animal Clinic 021 876 4278 Surgery (pm only) 021 876 2504 Emergency 082 577 9900EMERGENCY NUMBERS Stellenbosch Fire Dept. (Buildings on fire) 021 808 8888 Cape Winelands Distr.Muni. (Bush & veld fires) 021 887 4446 021 886 9244Police 10111/021 876 8061 Eskom 086 003 7566 Neighbourhood Watch 083 493 7778Omnipage Farm Watch 021 852 3318 Plaaswag 021 876 2346 DENTISTS Dr Schalk du Plessis 021 876 3070 Dr Rob Hammer 021 876 2634 DOCTORS Dr Tracey Garner 021 876 4622 Dr Shelley Hellig 021 871 1063 Dr Alexander Heywood 021 876 2474 Dr Hannes Van der Merwe 021 876 2304 EMERGENCY MEDICAL RESPONSE Medicare EMR 074 363 7794/021 876 4316MUNICIPALITY (Ward 1) Councillor Frazenburg (DA) 021 808 8490 (Ward 2) Councillor Ntsunguri (ANC) 021 808 8754 (Ward 3) Councillor August (DA) 021 808 8186 (Ward 4) Councillor Johnson (DA) 021 808 8019Municipality (Office Hours) 021 808 8700 Municipality (afternoon only) 021 808 8890 Municipality 24hr Service 021 808 8700

A While AgoAugust 2007

Jyotish Vedic AstrologyRobert Rittel

August Calendar

Useful Numbers


BOOK KEEPING SERVICES: For small businesses. Income and expenses, cash book, petty cash on Pastel up to trial balance. Call Robyn Kadis 072 999 8581.

EMPLOYMENT WANTED: Mature responsible female (recently relocated to Franschhoek) looking for employment. Background: 5-star hotel & décor retail. Cell 082 368 1115.

GARDENS: Pruning, tree removal, paving, landscape services and gardens. Call Myles Agar 083 279 7960 Email: [email protected]

Relax! Let RIAPOOLS bring the sparkle back to your pool. Call: 072 347 5355

CAREERS: Interested in becoming a hairdresser? Please contact [email protected] for more information.

VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED: We need people to sit for students to practice haircuts, blow drying and colouring. Please contact Dino Zay at CUT on 021 876 4845

ROOM WANTED FOR RENT: My housekeeper needs room to rent in or close to the village. Reference available. Contact Cathleen 078 850 2517 or [email protected]

HUISHOUDSTER GESOEK vir bejaarde op plasie naby Franschhoek. Moet goeie ondervinding hê, betroubaar wees en goed kan kook. Kontak 021 876 3186 saans.

TONER CARTRIDGES: Laser toner cartridges remanufactured to industry standards – perfect quality for half the price. For a quote and sample please call Barbara on 084 400 4544 or email your cartridge details to [email protected]

EMPLOYMENT WANTED: Mature responsible female (recently relocated to Franschhoek) looking for employment. Background: 5-star hotel & décor retail. Cell 082 368 1115.

LOOKING FOR THAT SPECIAL BOOK and can’t find it? Call John at the Armchair Explorer, we will source it for you. Contact John Hicks 021 876 4129

TO LET: 2 bedroom cottage, furnished or unfurnished. Walking distance to village. R7 000 per month from July. Phone: 083 289 0931

BOOK BINDING AND BOOK REPAIRS. Contact John 021 876 4129 or john@thearmchair explorer.co.za

RIAPOOLS is this area’s premier pool maintenance company. For advice please call: 072 347 5355

EXCESS BOOKS? Shelves creaking, moving house or just thinning out your collection? Contact John Hicks 021 876 4129

PLASMA SCREEN ADVERTISING at BuildIt Franschhoek. High traffic area. From R250 per month. Contact Johan Viljoen on 084 205 7157.

LOST PARROT: Our precious African Grey Parrot ‘Chilli’ has flown away. Grey with red tail. If you have her or see her – please call Carol 072 477 0610. Reward offered.

KITTENS AND DOGS looking for homes. Call Annette 021 876 3155

MAILBOXES: Postnet Franschhoek. R495 per year. Limited number still available. No “junk mail”. Phone: 021 876 3025 / Email: [email protected]

PET-SITTER/HOUSE-SITTER/CARE-TAKER: I am a responsible, mature woman who adores animals. I can also supervise domestic staff, pool and garden maintenance, car care, etc. You can trust me with your precious pets and belongings. Contact Sue at 083 270 9555

TOOL & EQUIPMENT HIREBrush Cutters, Lawn Mowers,

Chain Saws, Concrete Mixers, Drills, Compressors, Pumps, Jackhammers

SERVICING & REPAIR Light Industrial Equipment

RUBBLE & REFUSE REMOVAL

DELIVERIES

LIGHT DOMESTIC MOVES

PORTABLE LOOS

CLEANING of businesses and other premises

FRANSCHHOEK’S

FOR BUILDING • GARDENING • RENOVATINGSITUATED BEHIND BP GARAGE • WE SPECIALISE IN:

always at your service

072 378 1916 or 021 876 4123Email: [email protected]

Smalls

PO Box 92, Franschhoek, 7690Tel 021 876 3460

Email [email protected] Siegfried SchäferLayout Gail AbrahamsPrinting Signet Printers

Subscriptions 12 Issues - R200/Overseas R400

Copyright: All rights reserved, reproduction in whole or part prohibited. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the editor. Publication

of editorial or advertising matter does not imply endorsement or warranty in respect of goods or

services therin described.

Smalls R30. Text Only, max 30 words. Leave, with payment, at Franschhoek Pharmacy before

15th of preceding month

From R120 per [email protected]

or 021 876 3460


“We make house calls”

[email protected]

083 252 1054

FREE QUOTES ALL WORK GUARANTEED

.Waterproofing

.Torch On

.Roof Clean & Coat

.Gutters & facias

.Roofing

.Painting

.Carports & pergolas

.Minor Renovations


ROBERTSON WINE VALLEY R 14 500 000

Fine & Country Robertson | 9 Voortrekker Street, Roots Lifestyle Building, Robertson, 6705 Tel: 023 626 3498

120 HECTARES IN ROBERTSON - THE HOUSEHOLD NAME FOR SOUTH AFRICAN WINES

This 120 ha pristine farm with 43,6ha water for sale just 10km outside Robertson boasts 44,9ha developed vineyards and 3,07ha developed peach trees. The vines vary in age, having been planted from 1994 to 2013. There is still 9ha potential to develop additional vines or peaches. The canal supplying water is the Le Chasseur Goree Irrigation canal.

There are two residential dwellings on the farm with 360 degree views and vistas of mountains and vineyards.

The four workers’ houses have water, toilets and prepaid electricity. There is one five bedroom house of 99sqm, two three bedroom houses; 59sqm and 48sqm, two four bedroom houses; 62sqm and 51sqm and three two bedroom houses; 47sqm, 59sqm and 119sqm. The shed is 183sqm and the workshop with lean-to calculate at 58sqm and 32sqm. A second shed covers 102sqm.

WEB: 126238

Riaan Kruger +27 (0)82 343 4317

[email protected]

How to minimise the impact of losing your home

For most people, owning a home is seen as a major achievement; it may represent years of hard work and sacrifice. There is no doubt that property ownership forms part of a solid investment portfolio and it is for all these reasons that losing a home can be devastating, not only financially, but emotionally too.

Unfortunately many home owners end up in a situation where they can no longer keep up their mortgage payments due to their financial position. It is advisable that prior to purchasing a home, one conducts research and constructs a budget that caters for unforeseen expenses that may place the repayment ability at risk.

Many property owners who cannot meet their bond repayments make the common mistake of not contacting their banks and sometimes choose to ignore telephone calls, letters and emails. Steven Barker, Head of Home Loans at Standard Bank, says, “If you know that you are not able to make the payments, you should immediately contact your bank.

“It is in the bank’s interest to assist you to find a solution that is acceptable to both parties. No bank wants to repossess a home. If it is at all possible they will try to accommodate a financially stressed homeowner, as long as there is a viable solution and obligations are met. Many consumers tend to believe that if their house is repossessed, their financial worries will be over. However, there are some major risks associated with this course of action.”

When your home is repossessed, the bank is forced to cancel the home loan agreement and institute legal action against you. Once a judgement is obtained through the courts, the property is attached by the sheriff and sold at an auction as a ‘sale in execution’.

Standard Bank does not seek to make profits out of a sale in execution,” says Mr Barker. They credit the ex-owner if there is a surplus from the sale, after

deducting costs. If the proceeds of the sale are not sufficient to cover the outstanding loan balance, then the client still has an obligation to repay that outstanding amount to the bank.”

Tips to prevent repossession:• Examine your budget carefully and cut debt levelsSometimes giving your budget a makeover can free

up enough cash to keep your payments on track. This process will require you to make changes to your lifestyle; limit eating out, cell phone use and suspend subscriptions. Remind yourself that the cutbacks are short-term and that keeping your home is of utmost importance.• Sell the property before you fall into arrearsWaiting in the hope that your luck will turn could make

matters worse. If you don’t want to sell your home, you may need to sell something else. Look around your house and see what assets you can sell to boost your funds.• Ask the bank to extend your mortgage

payback period to 30 yearsThis will give you more cash in hand, but you will

pay more interest. You could always change the mortgage repayment period back to 20 years once your situation has improved.• Speak to your accountant or financial advisorThey may be able to give you financial advice on

how to use investments to tide you over. While not ideal, cashing in an investment may be a viable solution. Financial advisors have experience with individuals in financial stress and may be able to suggest some feasible solutions.

“Remember, the bank will do everything in their ability to assist you to keep your home,” says Mr Barker. “The key to an amicable solution is regular and open communication.”

www.standardbank.co.za

Country living at Val de Vie estateLiving a country lifestyle, looking out over some

well-tended small-scale crops and perhaps even some livestock in an authentic, rural environment is possible and not far away. This lifestyle is what is on offer, with the launch of a new phase of 13 Gentleman’s Estates and four River Reserves at the Val de Vie Estate.

Potential investors will be glad to know that the estate was recently named home of the Safest House in Africa at the International Property Awards. It is already renowned for its fine wines, world-class polo grounds, health club, squash and tennis courts, heated indoor pool and restaurant.

The new Gentleman’s Estates will offer farm-type lifestyle – even to potentially live off the land, from one’s own vineyards, olive groves, organic vegetables and the like, or keeping livestock – while the River Reserves will allow select game species in conjunction with Cape Nature. More than 50 percent (150ha) of the Val de Vie extension will be farmland or green conservation areas. Two existing commercial farms are already operating within the boundaries of the estate.

The new phases will be on the southern border, adjacent to the Berg River; a sought after location. Typically, buyers of the Gentleman’s Estates will build up to 1 500sqm houses including stables, stores and staff quarters. The architectural design of the homes will conform to the estate guidelines, in French Provençale and Cape Vernacular style.

Commercial farming can be practised within the rules of the estate; such as growing grapes for selling to a wine cellar or own wine making, or growing nuts or citrus for commercial sale. Glass hothouses for growing vegetables are also possible and some of the owners could perhaps supply the estate’s restaurant with organic vegetables. Livestock such as horses and sheep may be kept as long as they are limited to 10 animals. An important agricultural consideration is that each Gentleman’s Estate will have an allocation of Val de Vie’s Berg River and groundwater rights, so all irrigation water provided for in the bulk water rights is covered in the normal monthly levy.

Priced from R7.5 million to R9.95 million, the gentleman’s estates will range from 1.2 to 3.53 hectares, while the River Reserves – classed as eco-estates and portraying nature at its best, will vary from 2.56 to 5.83 hectares, where antelope such as grysbok and steenbok will roam amid rehabilitated fynbos. The River Reserves are priced at R12.5 million.

Included in the selling price is the design of a complete landscape site development plan by Uys & White Architects, as well as a pre-design concept meeting with the design team led by renowned architect Stefan Antoni of Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects.

Pam Golding Properties: Doug Gurr on 072 610 7208 or [email protected], Ronel Pienaar on 082 556 2433 or [email protected]. www.valdevie.co.za




FranschhoekSales & Residential Letting 021 876 [email protected]


Fine & Country Franschhoek, Centre du Franschhoek, 23 Huguenot Str, Franchhoek, 7690

A country-style garden leads you into the open plan living/dining area with a gorgeous feature country kitchen and a separate scullery/laundry. The separate offi ce/studio is both private but also integrated into the heart of the home. Accommodation downstairs features the main bedroom with a full en-suite bathroom. Two children’s bedrooms share a family bathroom. A large upstairs area offers its own lounge with a bedroom and an en-suite bathroom. There is a single garage, recently renovated studio apartment above it with an en-suite bedroom, kitchenette and separate access. A truly lovely home with village character and proximity to the high street.

4 Bedrooms | Open-plan | Garden & Pool | Garage with studio apartment | Erf size: 569m² | Web ref: 83550

Tom Clode +27 (0)79 955 3114 | Terry-Lee George +27 (0)82 650 9194

Impeccably designed home with breath-taking views. An expansive living room with high ceilings and exposed wooden beams leads directly onto a deep, covered veranda overlooking the vineyards, garden and pool. A second living area features a large French-style kitch-en family lounge/dining area with doors leading out to the veranda. Upstairs are 4 very large en-suite bedrooms. The main bedroom has a dressing room and large spa style bathroom and private upstairs terrace creating an idyllic sanctuary with panoramic views. Also includes: offi ce, wine cellar, guest toilet, double garage.

Security estate with private clubhouse, gym, pool and tennis court | Erf size: 959m² | WEB REF: 130268


Set on quiet plot with private patio, pool & manageable garden. Main downstairs bedroom with en-suite bathroom has doors out to the back garden. 2 bedrooms with en-suites are upstairs with a TV lounge/rompus room with gorgeous views out of large curved fea-ture window. The living area offers a large lounge with fi replace and french doors out to a covered entertainment patio/pool area. The kitchen has a country living theme with a large eat-in centre table for family dining. Includes separate scullery/laundry and single garage.

3 Bedrooms en-suite | Quiet Location | Garage & Pool | Erf Size: 599m² | WEB REF:133109


R3 950 000

R11 950 000

FRANSCHHOEK

FRANSCHHOEK

FRANSCHHOEK

CHARMING COTTAGE IN THE HEART OF FRANSCHHOEK

EXCLUSIVE DOUBLE STOREY 4 BEDROOM FAMILY HOME ON DOMAINE DES ANGES WINE & OLIVE ESTATE

IDEAL LOCK-UP-AND-GO OR SMALL FAMILY HOME.

This beautiful thatch home, on a prestigious lifestyle estate in Franschhoek, is positioned with elevated views over the vineyards and Franschhoek Valley. The property consists of two large bedrooms en-suite downstairs and a further double bedroom upstairs. An inspiring double volume living and dining room opens out onto a large, deep verandah and feature pool. A well designed chef ’s kitchen is open plan to the living areas and has access to the scullery and double garage. Also includes guest loo, large garden and room to extend.

Secure Estate | 3 Bedrooms en-suite | Top Finishes and Exquisite Views | Erf Size: 1200m² | WEB: 124355


Family home set within a large, leafy garden in a quiet Franschhoek street. The main home has 3 bedrooms with one bathroom, large living areas are ideal for family living and entertaining and include a large lounge, separate TV room or offi ce and a large open-plan kitchen with dining area. Separate scullery & laundry area. The large back garden with a self-contained 1 bedroom cottage, carport offers separate access, large workshop and storeroom, 2 garages, outside covered entertainment area and ample opportunity to expand.

3 Bedrooms Main House | One Bedroom Cottage | Large Plot | Erf Size: 1071m² | WEB REF: 130486


This spacious 3 bedroom home is well-suited to family living with large double volume living room leading out to a large north facing stoep, large lawned area and 10m heated pool. Also includes contemporary open plan kitchen/dining room separate study/tv room large open plan games room/offi ce, double garage, purpose built wine cellar, guest toilet, separate scullery/laundry. Fully air-conditioned throughout. Solar powered geysers and solar powered heated pool.

3 Bedrooms en-suite | Open Plan Living | Erf Size 1200m² | Web Ref: 130926


R 9 950 000

R 3 500 000

R 9 950 000 R4 950 000

FRANSCHHOEK

FRANSCHHOEK

FRANSCHHOEK

PRESTIGIOUS LIFESTYLE ESTATE

SPRAWLING 3 BEDROOM FAMILY HOME WITH SEPARATE INCOME-GENERATING COTTAGE

THIS HOME HAS IT ALL! SECURE LIVING, EXCEPTIONAL VIEWS, WELL THOUGHT-OUT DESIGN & GREAT FINISHES

Documents

Franschhoek Tatler - August 2015