The Month January 2012

THE MONTHLY WINE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE DISTRIBUTED FREE WITHIN THE WESTERN CAPE

the monthJanuary 2012

PRINTED ONRECYCLED PAPER

the discerning reader’s guide to the good life

January 2012 from the editorFROM THE EDITOR

2 / The Month January 2012

Editor: Brett Garner

083 260 0453 [email protected]

Publisher: David Foster

The Clear Thinking Group


Graphic Design & Layout: Nicole de Vries


Photography: The Month

Distribution: Shoppers Friend

The White Wine [email protected]

Jeanri-Tine van [email protected]

WINE Johan Delport [email protected]

Lorraine [email protected]

Paula de [email protected]

Pauline [email protected]

Jo [email protected]

WINE TOURISMJill [email protected]

FASHIONAnnamé [email protected]

FINANCEDave [email protected]

HISTORYMarguerite [email protected]

ARTJulia [email protected]

DOOR TO DOORCamps BayConstantiaBishopscourtDurbanvilleStellenboschPaarl PiCk uP POiNTS: Wine Farms,Restaurants & OtherPaarl & FranschhoekStellenboschCape Town ShoppingCentres & Hotels/Events

TOTAL

26563395

4542293 31271075

40002700

800

20500

www.themonth.co.zaAlso join us on Facebook orfollow us on Twitter at The_MonthThe views expressed in this magazine do not nec-

essarily reflect the opinions of The Month or its af-filiates. Having said that, we generate practically all of the material printed in each edition ourselves; please don’t reproduce any part of it without the

Editor or Publisher’s permission (we’re generally quite generous – so just ask).

The Month subscribes to the South African Press Code and if you feel we’re not living up to that,

please call the Press Ombudsman on 011 484 3612. We regard our sources as reliable and verify as much of what we print as we can, but inaccura-cies can occur and readers using information in The Month do so at their own risk.

FROM THE EDITOR ...IN THIS EDITION ...

OUR RATES (PER AD, PER MONTH, QUOTED IN RANDS, EXCLUDING VAT, INCLUDING AGENCY COMMISSION)

PAGE3 MONTHS6 MONTHS9 MONTHS12 MONTHS

SIXTEENTH938875813750

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Why The MonTh?Back in 2008 we saw that Winelands-based businesses (generally wine farms, restaurants and hotels) sourced most of their customers from residents of, and visitors to, the greater Cape Town area as well as the Winelands. Seeking to attract discerning buyers from within those areas, marketing options were limited to community newspapers with local distributions who saw advertising principally as a funding mechanism and magazines which were perceived as expensive, syrupy and full of advertorial. We understood that for marketing to be effective it needed to be housed within valuable, informative read-ing matter that, to maximise exposure, would stay in the hand for longer.

So we created an accessible, humorous and colourful presentation style that would ap-peal to the discerning, intelligent reader who takes time to consider where he spends his money. The result is The Month - a unique, wine-focused ‘magazine in newspaper for-mat’ published in the Winelands that is avail-able for FREE each month, right across the Western Cape. It is a sought-after, trusted source of information for discerning readers and offers the advertiser an ideal platform to speak directly to potential customers al-ready showing an interest in wine and life-style in this area.

ITS CONTENT IS READABLE AND ENGAGING...Essentially a ‘What’s on?’ guide to ‘the good life’ in the Cape, The Month carries reviews, informa-tion and articles about wine and Winelands des-tinations, delivers food and restaurant reviews, articles on lifestyle, art, wellness, travel, green issues, the economy, personalities and the out-doors and compiles them in an accessible and humorous writing style to ensure readability and maximum attention. The content is largely based in the Winelands areas of Paarl, Franschhoek, Stel-lenbosch and Somerset West and, from time to time, covers stories from other wine-producing regions.

... AND IT APPEALS TO RIGHT MARKETThe ‘discerning buyer’ does not respond to con-sumer-driven sales pitches or read advertorial, but rather takes an active interest in lifestyle related topics, property, the economy and, although not necessary wealthy, seeks advice about every-thing so as to make informed choices. In addition to having a well-developed taste in food, the dis-cerning buyer likely takes an active interest in wine so, with this its mainstay, The Month becomes the kind of free publication (with limited, high-quality advertising) that discerning buyers read.

THE DISTRIBUTION IS TARGETED...Our current 20,000 copy distribution provides maximum exposure to discerning readers within

the Winelands of Stellenbosch, Paarl, Fran-schhoek and Somerset West, and to tourists and visitors from Durbanville, Cape Town, the Atlan-tic Seaboard, Southern Suburbs and Constantia, largely through door-to-door drops, wine outlets and estates, shops, golf courses, restaurants and hotels.

... AND THERE ARE OTHER BENEFITS TOO!The basic advertising package is with advertisers to whom we offer exposure from three to twelve months. Assistance with the design and make-up of the print advert, monthly changes to the advert (if required), prime position placement in the publication, preferable payment terms, free inserts on the ‘What’s On’ page, social media broadcasts on Twitter and Facebook and, most importantly, free, personally-written editorial ex-posure is all included in the price (per advert) below.

All information, artwork regulations, terms and conditions, distribution and deadlines are carried on our website at www.themonth.co.za. Adver-tising for less than three months duration is book-able online. All standard advertising packages are subject to a signed contract downloadable from the website. To have a representative from The Month contact you, please call either Da-vid Foster on 084 8273986 or Brett Garner on 083 2600453 and we will arrange a visit.

the team

Janu

ary ..

.contributors

where to get your copy

visit us online

THE FINE PRINT

Happy New Year!

Depending on your inclination (and how much of the wisdom available courtesy of Wikipedia, you bother to believe), this is THE year… either it’ll end in some form of wailing and gnashing of teeth come December the 21st, or the universe is spinning us toward a positive spiritual trans-formation. I’m a little more circumspect with my view, far from either extreme and, despite my bank manager starting early this year on his own economic end-times prediction, sim-ply look forward to all that the year has in store, Month by Month.

In taking stock of the potential of the year ahead, I was struck by how the Volvo Ocean Race (fea-tured on our front page with a pic courtesy of Dan Armstrong) mimics life and puts into per-spective the idea that the days marking the end of the year, or the start of the next, are any differ-ent in significance when compared to any other - every day counts. I wondered how the Volvo Ocean Race competitors manage to face day after gruelling day and came across something by Dr Charles Swindoll on the importance of a positive attitude. The theologian uses a Bible verse that loosely paraphrased says the pursuit of personal happiness is most effective when tackled with humility and the desire to serve. He points out that when “attitudes are right,

there's no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great”. It is my hope that this will be your best year ever.

We’ve started 2012, here at The Month, with more of what you’ve come to expect of us – the best good news, shared honestly, by means of wine and food-related news and reviews, ac-counts of our travels in and around the Wine-lands, fashion tips, history and, for good meas-ure, some information and opinion pieces about finances, the markets, climate change and things to do.

Of course, The Month wouldn’t be worth the ef-fort if it wasn’t for your feedback and the huge amounts of fun we have getting the material together for each edition. If you have a story to share, a useful comment to make or a picture to show, simply send us a mail or make the call (our details are freely available on this page) but please do remember that we’re a family-friend-ly, good news publication – so you may want to hold on to one or two of those pics…

Until next month, enjoy the read!

A Taste of Durbanville

Laborie Harvest and Candlelight

We visit De Malle Meule

Diary of a Wine Maker Part 1

Pig Out in Style

The new Rickety Bridge tasting room

Wine Reviews

The Wine Ou can't COP

A decade of Iona Sauvignon Blancs

SAWi Savvy

Wine of The Month: Auction Crossing Syrah/Viognier 2009

We hike Chapman's Peak

Surrey Holmes at Franschhoek Square

Property

What's On

Coffee Stop: Hudson's

Art: Thinking a-raound at Tokara

Bontebok National Park

Fashionably Yours: Accesories

The Markets: Defending the Rand

Golf: Pretty useful chip-shot

Finance: The Paradox of Thrift

Investment: Dave Rundle on the

Cricket and the Eurozone Crisis

We linger at Longridge

History: A brandy new look at Paarl

Scene and Heard

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the monthTHE MONTH January 2012

The Month / 3January 2012

Regular visitors to Durbanville may have noticed the appearance of a particular menu item at restaurants

along the region’s wine route. Simply re-ferred to as the ‘Regional Dish’, the serv-ing of lamb sosaties, risotto-style pumpkin and ‘stampkoring’ (pearled wheat), cumin sauce and a pumpkin pickle point to Dur-banville's agricultural abundance, while the aromatic components of cinnamon, cumin, mustard and mild curry celebrate the Cape of Good Hope’s connection to the Spice Route.

“The idea for a signature dish first started in 2010 when Thys Louw, of Diemersdal, returned from a trip to France, all inspired by cuisine du terroir. He encouraged fellow winemakers and chefs to explore a dish that

would capture the Durbanville spirit,” ex-plained Michelle van Staden, the marketing manager of the Durbanville Wine Valley As-sociation, at the launch of the Regional Dish recently.

She went on to suggest that as Cape cuisine is a melting pot of so many influences, the search for a dish to define the Durbanville ‘kontrei’ was as daunting as it was enrich-ing. “We are excited that local residents and travellers to our valley can now taste our ter-roir both on the plate and in the glass. With our close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and Table Bay, fish dishes made from snoek were considered, although we finally found our culinary clues on land – [and as this is] traditionally a sheep farming area, [it] made sosaties a natural choice.”

The sosatie recipe is courtesy of local, Elrita Blanckenberg, of the farm Kaaimanskloof, and the use of pumpkin points back to Dur-banville’s origin as a farmers’ market town known as Pampoenkraal, a border outpost owned by the Dutch East India Company where fresh meat and other farm produce were bartered with the locals. The name was changed from Pampoenkraal to D’Urban in 1836 and then renamed Durbanville in 1886, to prevent confusion with the city, Durban.

The pumpkin in the regional dish is pre-pared in three ways; mashed with a hint of cinnamon to add creaminess to the risotto-style ‘stampkoring’; diced and ov-en-roasted for texture and flavour, and as a condiment - pickled with turmeric and mustard seeds.

If you are looking for something to do, head out to Durbanville and give it sticks!

Jeanri-Tine van Zyl tastes Durbanville in a dish

High ‘Sosati’

The regional dish is available as a main course

(R120) or starter (R65), and a vegetarian op-

tion is also offered at any of the following res-

taurants:

• Eat@ Altydgedacht • Bon Amis Cafe & Deli at Bloemendal • Poplars Restaurant, D’Aria • Durbanville Hills Eatery, Durban-ville Hills • Hillcrest Restaurant, Hillcrest Wine Estate • The Manor House Restaurant, Meerendal • Cassia Restaurant, Nitida Wine Estate • Tables at Nitidia, Nitida Wine Estate

fresh, latin-inspired cookingwith vineyard views

021.874.3844 www.cosecharestaurant.com

4 / The Month

the monthTHE MONTHJanuary 2012

January 2012

The Editor finds singing for his supper is a high note

A Harvest of Candlelight at Laborie

When the Publisher and I re-viewed the restaurant at La-borie previously, we were very

impressed. And then it closed. We wondered at the time if we’d missed

the writing on the wall, but in truth the recession had surprised many and as running a restaurant is a costly business, its closing all made sense in hindsight; and we both became a little more circumspect as a result.

With this in mind I was interest-ed to learn that celebrated Fran-schhoek chef, Matthew Gordon (of The French Connection), had

opened the restaurant at Laborie once more, which now bears the

name Harvest. As I was at Laborie for their Carols by Candlelight ser-

vice in December, I decided to pop in with my family in tow to see what exactly

Matthew has chosen to share of his Harvest. The questions I arrived with were essentially: Is this offering going to be worth driving to

Paarl for? and, Does it make business sense for Matthew to have another restaurant?

The restaurant is superbly located with an el-evated view over a handful of vines, a stretch of Paarl and the impressive Drakenstein Mountains. What used to be the old parking lot in front of the outdoor seating area is now a sprawling lawn and in the hour or two that we spent there hosted a touchies tourna-ment of sorts and served as a safe play area for the toddlers less inclined to the super-duper log-and-branch jungle gym and slide, a little further off. Inside Harvest the décor is clean and chic with a subtle use of elements that honour Laborie’s history and the rich heritage of the area. It’s smart but not preten-tious – typical Matthew Gordon.

The menu is also ‘typical’ Matthew, but more in the sense of it than in the specifics. Other than his fail-safe mussel dish, everything else looked new to me. I settled on a rack of Ka-roo lamb (R125) to follow my delicious grilled chevin and fine bean salad starter (R52) and my partner followed her Calamari and chou-

rico salad (R56) with a half-portion of those West Coast mussels (R62). The generous portion of lamb was perfectly cooked, fla-vourful and comforting; the mussel portion was equally generous and just as expected – perfect. Dessert was unnecessary, given our satiated state, but had I had room, the warm fresh summer berries (R44) would have cracked the nod.

There’s a decent kids’ menu, but nothing on it is crumbed… so chicken nuggets are out in favour of a pretty good chicken wrap (R30) and the beef banger hotdogs and bo-lognaise (amongst others) looked pretty ap-petising.

The offering is rather good and a perfect complement to the idyllic setting. Would I drive to Paarl for it? Yes. Will Matthew make any money? He will from me! And if those in the hotel-industry ‘know’ are correct, and this is the year of recovery, I dare say he’s onto a good enough thing at Harvest to see more than just a handful of regulars; so I sin-cerely hope so.

When Laborie Wine Estate intro-duced their now very popular Lazy Days Market about a year ago, I wondered why they chose to go with the ‘lazy days’ label; after all it doesn’t say ‘organic’ or ‘fresh’ or ‘craft’ - all of which seem to be en vogue these days. After spending the night at the farm to fully enjoy their ‘Carols by Candlelight’ pro-gramme in December, I think I un-derstand why.

Laborie is about people, not prod-uct. Say “lazy days” to me and I think feet up, laughing kids some-where in the background, a decent book and glass of wine and abso-lutely no idea of where my phone is. That’s exactly what I experienced at the Carols by Candlelight ser-vice, although once the 700-plus

strong crowd rolled in, the book was quickly stowed and the wine and laughter flowed more strongly.

The Carols by Candlelight service was a slightly more jazzed-up affair than I had anticipated, given that the headline entertainers, and our carol singers for the evening, were the popular Cape Dutch Connec-tion, with Derk Blaise pulling things together in his signature broad Dutch accent, which is fitting given Laborie’s history. Whilst not neces-sarily the easiest style to sing car-ols along to, Jazz is all I need to go feet-up and hit ‘lazy days’!

The faces to the right will tell you that kids were active on the night – even taking centre-stage for a num-ber of the carols – and much of the

value of the evening hinges on the delight of seeing families congregate togeth-er to take stock of the more meaning-ful things in life. Cell phones were no-ticeably stowed in nearly every group I chatted to.

As proceedings drew to a close and I retired to one of the comfortable, and beautifully located, guest suites at Laborie, not even the absence of carols or candlelight could damp-en the mood and many stragglers chose to mooch about to soak up as much of the ‘lazy’ as they could.

I scratched around in my bag and made a note on my phone not to miss Laborie’s Carols by Candle-light 2012.

The Month / 5


January 2012

It is the moment the chef places the exquisitely prepared food on the plate. An accumulation of culinary artistry making Pierneef à La Motte a world-class restaurant.

+27 (0)21 876 8000 www.la-motte.com

Moment of excellence.

MONNEAUX RESTAURANT • FRANSCHHOEK COUNTRY HOUSE & VILLAS Tel: +27 (0)21 876 3386 • email: [email protected]

For more information visit our website at www.fch.co.za

Book now for

Christmas LunCh

& new Year’s eve

Jill Peper visits De Malle Meul in the Swartland

Crazy Times

Madelein Roets and Carine le Roux have a ‘run-of-the-mill’ occupa-tion, but it’s certainly not mun-

dane. Together with their business partners, Adele du Plessis and Pieter Venter, they have turned a 90-year-old mill in the Swartland into a successful function venue, restaurant and art gallery.

The mill, built in the 1920s in the little village of Philadelphia near Cape Town, operated as such until 1976, grinding flour from wheat grown in the area. After closing down, it stood unused for many years until it was purchased by one of Philadelphia’s most famous sons,

the celebrated international artist Pieter van der Westhuizen. He and his wife, Zebeth, set about having it lovingly restored and gave the metal-clad building a wood-crafted interior. Die Meul was then hired out for many years as a function venue, but after van der Westhui-zen’s death in 2008, this unusual piece of real estate made its way back onto the property market.

At that time Madelein and Carine had taken up residence in the tranquil village of Philadel-phia, having sold their successful restaurant, De Malle Madonna, in Paarl. They realised that the old mill would be the perfect setting for

an art gallery paying tribute to Pieter’s work. It would also, of course, be a great restaurant and function venue...

Die Meul became De Malle Meul, a play on words from their previous business and ‘malle-meule’ (a merry-go-round), an apt description of the whirl of activity that the old mill enjoys today.

Using the services of chef Wilinda Hanekom, who is known for her traditional South African dishes, it has become a popular spot for wed-dings, shows, functions and Sunday lunches. The venue seats up to 100 people, whilst the little chapel in the loft of the building is perfect for smaller groups.

De Malle Meul is also open for wine tast-ing, featuring the wines of Capaia Wines and Havanna Hills (both Wine of Origin Philadel-phia) and two of Durbanville’s boutique winer-ies, Phisantekraal and De Vallei. For those into pairing, tastings are made even more pleasur-able when enjoyed with a ‘Platteland Platter’.

Two other activities that take place at De Malle Meul on a regular basis are monthly music programmes featuring well-known lo-cal artists, and various cookery courses run by Johané Nielson, the Food Editor of Tuis/Home Magazine.

For good measure De Malle Meul has several self-catering guest cottages available for hire to those who need a break from the daily grind, or who simply want to be treated to a bit of the restorative peace and quiet courtesy of the charming village of Philadelphia.

DE MALLE MEuL OFFERS READERS OF ThE MONTh ThREE DAyS’ ACCOMMODATiON FOR ThE PRiCE OF TWO, FOR A MiD-WEEk STAy iN A COTTAGE iN PhiLADELPhiA, ON PRESENTATiON OF ThiS ARTiCLE.

PhONE 021 972 1097 FOR DETAiLS AND BOOkiNGS.

Visit www.capecountrycalls.co.za to find out about other places of interest to visit in Philadelphia and the sur-rounding countryside.



Lorraine Geldenhuys makes wine making make sense - Part 1

A New Appreciation of Wine

LIVE

MUSIC AT

WEEKENDS

Light lunch options Tapas served all day

Newly re-opened restaurant

Open 7 days a week 12h00 till late021 867 0963

R301 Wemmershoek Roadwww.freedomhill-live.co.za

www.freedomhillrestaurant.co.za

Indulge in our dailyspecials

What memories will you make today? VISIT THE FRANSCHHOEK MOTOR MUSEUM

Monday - Friday 10h00 to 17h00 (last admission 16h00)Saturday - Sunday 10h00 to 16h00 (last admission 15h00)

Open most public holidays - phone for confirmation.Entry fee: R60/adult; R50/pensioner; R30/child (3-12 yrs)

The Franschhoek Motor Museum is located on the R45, Groot Drakenstein, look for the L’Ormarins Estate.

No motorcycles or buses larger than 22-seaters allowed.Tel: 021 8749065 E-mail: [email protected] www.fmm.co.za

GPS: 33°52’18,79”S 18°59’54,64”E

PIG OUT IN STYLEAfter their successful ad in The Month last month, we decided to pop in to Maison, the wine estate that encour-ages “Shiraz Lovers” to “Stop Here”, just outside Franschhoek and soon found ourselves as happy as a pig in mud – although Porcini the resident pig, would use a somewhat more col-ourful term, going by Maison’s radio ad.

Two things struck me immediately – the first is that clever advertising works and

the second is that it’s easier to sell qual-ity than it is to sell junk (I was tempted to go Porcini here, but couldn’t).

The Maison offering – the wines, the set-ting, the venue, the décor, the people – is quality stuff; and it’s made availa-ble to visitors to the estate without fuss or fanfare. Walking through the doors, we felt immediately at home, service was brisk and friendly and what was meant to be a quick look-see became an extended tasting (despite only hav-

ing two wines to sample on the day), a leisurely dip into their tapas menu, a search for the pig and a healthy trans-action that saw us leave with a case of wine.

There’s a warning in all of this, perhaps; some may not bother to travel much further down the R45 than Maison (and what with La Motte, Moreson and Leop-ard’s Leap close by who needs to?) and Porcini may soon need to employ a body guard. What a charmed life…

If, like many, you’re now done with un-packing your holiday kit – with fond recollections of seeing the Old Year out

under an umbrella by the seaside and the New Year in with a decapitated bottle of Champers – thoughts will soon turn to the office or that iPad packed with New Year’s resolutions. It’s inevitable that you’d want to kick off the year with a bang and no doubt your first step is to begin paging through your presently blank diary. Here’s a quick personal overview of the first pag-es of a typical wine maker’s diary…

January is the month of enthusiasm and ex-citement! It’s also the most stressful month of the year for wine makers. This is the start of a new beginning and for the next four months we’ll plan frantically to help ease the coming chaos we cannot escape. Our creative initiatives now will make all the difference to the promise of the prod-uct we’ll have to work with later.

The first crucial decision we face is to de-cide when to harvest the grapes. There is a small window-period in which the grapes will give us the ability to craft a wine with characteristic aromas true to

the cultivar, and we fear that we’ll miss the opportunity to do just that. We can-not miraculously create fruity and floral aromas in wine if they’re not present in the vineyard; exceptional wine is made from quality fruit.

By the end of January we’ll work an 18-hour-day (or longer) with overflowing fermentation tanks, as we press the skins for red wine until 3am and no doubt some will unintentionally make rosé by pump-ing the Shiraz into the Chardonnay tank… We’ll continue to harvest, destem, crush, ferment, rack, press, blend, stabilise, filter and finally bottle. Our diary pages will be full of scribbles up to this point; now we’ll cross our fingers and wait.

Few consumers really understand the physically and emotionally demanding effort that goes into that newly bought Bordeaux blend that they’ll brag about on their 40th birthday. Readers of The Month, though, have something special in com-mon: we enjoy a lifestyle sophistically in-tertwined with good food and, especially, fine wine. Wouldn’t it add interesting val-ue to our experience of wine if we all knew

a little more about the production of that blend?

I believe so and this leads me to my own New Year’s resolution. I want to share the beauty and hardships of winemak-ing through these pages and ensure that every time we consume, celebrate or phi-

losophise about the effort that fills the bottle, we do so with a true appreciation of the romance that goes into its produc-tion. Here’s to 2012 - Cheers!

*See February issue for short courses presented in 2012 for those who would like to sharpen their knowledge on wine and the tasting thereof.

The Editor visits Maison

The Month / 7


January 2012

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ART AT TOKARA PRESENTED BY

www.juliameintjes.co.za

Conrad BotesMarco CianfanelliJacques DhontSydney KumaloBrett MurrayJohn MurrayPhillip RikhotsoLyndi Sales

Claudette SchreudersPeter ShongweEgon TaniaCaroline van der MerweEdoardo VillaMichael ZondiEdward Zwane

The Publisher takes a look at Rickety Bridge’s new tasting room

Surrounded byVines

The newly-opened Rickety Bridge ‘Tasting Room in the Vines’ adds a contemporary take to the rustic

charm of the old Rickety Bridge tasting room with a number of stylish new fea-tures.

Elevated platforms extend into the vine-yards to allow guests to enjoy dramatic views of the Franschhoek Mountains and to taste Rickety Bridge wines surrounded en-tirely by vines.

The designers, Carl Coetzee and Associ-ates, opted for a materials palette related to viniculture, and discreetly applied it in a monochromatic style. Now behind a three-sided full-height, glazed façade, guests can enjoy the same stunning mountain and vineyard views as on the terraces, but in a more controlled environment. Insulated roofing and ceiling fans create air movement on hot days and on cooler

days guests can recline on leather couches around the wood-burning fireplace and soak up the warmth.

To enhance the visitor’s cellar adventure, the design allows a clear view of the mod-ern working and traditional maturation cellars through full-height, glazed panels. The tasting counter completes its meta-morphosis from an Argentinian horse feeding trough to a contemporary glass and steel-framed wine tasting and sales counter.

Guests can also enjoy a laid-back game of boules just a few steps from the floating ter-race, and even the young ones are catered for with a jungle gym and lawn area. Feel free to call on Loughton, pictured right, to guide you through your tasting.

For more info go to www.rickety-bridge.com or see their ad on page 13



The Editor reviews the wines of Rudera

Days of Wine and Roses

3 4 5 6

Available at Dutch East

42 Huguenot Street, Franschhoek

021 876 3547 • [email protected]

www.dutcheast.co.za

Following my “discovery” of Rudera Wines in Paarl last month, I was so im-pressed with the humble approach of

Johan ‘Twana’ van Vuuren and his team and the general quality of their wines, that I felt it only my duty to review as many of them as I could get my hands on.

Johan was kind enough to deliver all but one of the wines in the present Rudera collection – the missing one being the 2010 Noble Late Harvest Chenin Blanc, which is popular enough to have been sold out for some time now. He was clear that the delivery came without expectation, save that I share my thoughts openly. Here’s my brief and honest review, conducted in my garden beside the rose bushes, over the course of a number of days:

1. Robusto Chenin Blanc 2009, R107* This Platter’s 2012 four-and-a-half star wine is barrel fermented and made without any added commercial yeast – the result is a wine with a wonderfully rich mouth feel and distinct toasty profile but which carries enough acid to ensure that the latter characteristic doesn’t overpower it. There are lots of citrus flavours on the palate, guava flesh on the nose and a wonderful linger-ing finish that highlights the wine’s complexity.

An interesting note is that the wine was nei-ther filtered nor cold-stabilised – so sediment

is bound to build up in the wine over time. That any Chenin-lover could keep a bottle of Robus-to closed for long enough for that to happen, however, is unlikely!

2. De Tradisie Chenin Blanc 2009, R107*This Rudera Chenin Blanc is yet another of their consistent top-performers and I was surprised at how different it is from the Robusto, with more floral and tropical notes evident both on the nose and the palate, despite being barrel fermented. Think summer fruit, oranges and cinnamon balanced by a crisp finish and you’ll have my one sentence summary.

A blend of two lots of hand-picked Chenin Blanc grapes from Stellenbosch and Elgin re-spectively, the wine is made “in a traditional way” (hence the name) and involves no de-stemming and, like the Robusto, has no added commercial yeasts, filtering or cold-stabilisa-tion. How they manage to produce a wine like this at a little more than a hundred bucks astounds me.

3. Platinum Chenin Blanc 2009, R150This is a ‘serious’ Chenin Blanc for the ‘seri-ous’ Chenin Blanc drinker… but not so much so that it wouldn’t impress just about anyone. Only four barrels were made, using grapes from Elgin harvested in April 2009.

Made in the same way as the other Chenins, this particular wine will probably show it’s true colours in a couple of years or so and benefited from being decanted (a tip I fortunately picked up online before trying the wine). The wine feels almost creamy, but retains typical Chenin Blanc citrus/lime notes and has a distinct chalky after-taste – it’s here that its ‘serious’ character comes to the fore and that, along with its distinct dry character, means that it’s best kept for a special occasion.

4. Syrah 2009, R142*With a particular weakness for Shiraz, The Rudera Syrah 2009 easily rates as my favourite of the lot and is now one of my all-time favourite red wines. While it drinks well now, I’d keep it locked up for a few years to allow some of its more subtle traits to develop. It tends to be more savoury than sweet, but the red cherries and plums are evi-dent and the smoky-peppery components add to the tannins to create a long finish that should accommodate the richest of foods – though why anyone would want to detract from the texture of, and flavours in, this wine is beyond me.

5.Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, R168*This complex red was aged in barrel for ten months and manages to display dark fruit that tends to cassis matched to a smoky/cigar-box complexity that really is something else, and suggests far more time in wood. I can’t help but feel that in any other country the R168 price tag would be regarded as an error as this superb wine could easily com-mand far more.

6. Platinum Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, R300This Veritas Double Gold winner and Platter’s four-and-a-half star wine is big and ballsy – but in the style of Seve Ballesteros rather than Donald Trump. This classic Cab Sauv is all dark fruit, brooding notes of cedar and cigars and typical pencil shavings to finish. This is a wine with tremendous investment potential and should age nicely, well in to the mid-2020s.

*Price relevant when bought via rudera.co.za as part of a six bottle case

RuDERA’S TASTINg ROOM

The Month / 9


January 2012

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Paula de Villiers of Winefolk says “Every-thing’s looking Rosé” for 2012!

Well Balanced

W ith the Festive Season and the associated excess all but done, many of us (and our

bank balances) will be in need of some-thing to aid us in our recovery plans be-fore we head back to work. I’ve chosen a number of rosés to kick-start the year as they’re affordable and, more impor-tantly, rather refreshing.

1. Overgaauw Shepherd’s Cottage Rosé, R29If you’re back from a well-deserved break, have to admit that you ate too much or had a few too many drinks, or just want to enjoy a braai on a hot summer’s day – this rosé is a must. This delicately pink Pinotage rosé is perfect with typical South African braai-meat and a selec-tion of salads, seafood or a pasta. Best served chilled, it’s light and refreshing with strawberry fruit aromas and strong red berry flavours on the palate, typical of Pinotage.

The Shepherd’s Cottage range of wines, including this rosé, celebrates the warmth, commitment and love shared in the humble Shephard’s Cottage - origi-nally built in the late 1700s at Overgaauw to house a local shepherd – lovely senti-ments to carry into the New Year.

2. De Meye Shiraz Rosé 2011, R47 A leisurely Sunday lunch at ‘The Table’ Restaurant, at De Meye, introduced me to this fabulous wine. Made ever-so-lazy, sitting under the trees enjoying country cooking at its best, this crisp and dry, yet deliciously fruity, wine perfectly com-pleted the picture. Winemaker Marcus Milner refers to seductive aromas of rasp-berries, watermelon, strawberry and tof-fee apples with hints of white pepper – and he’s spot-on. On the palate the fruit flavour is quite powerful and may be a bit fruity for some, but is delicious for me!

3. Painted Wolf ‘Rosalind’ Pino-tage Rosé, R57Jeremy Borg, of Painted Wolf Wines, set out to the make the finest, most elegant dry rosé possible. He started with hand-picked Pinotage grapes, sourced from Simondium, taken to the cellar in small baskets, and ended with this – ‘Rosalind’; a fruity wine with cherry, strawberry and peach aromas, crisp flavours and a fresh lingering finish. No wonder Jeremy is proud of this member of the Painted Wolf ‘pack’ of wines.

4. EGA Rooibos,R48EGA is AGE in reverse. It’s a blend of grapes, pomegranate and Rooibos tea; is alcohol- and caffeine-free and packed full of antioxidants. You can enjoy it as a non-alcoholic energy-booster or spruce it up as an ‘EGAtini’.

EGA EnErGy BoostEr FrEsh: Mix 1 part EGA Rooibos, 1 part orange juice and ½ part mango juice with a handful of crushed ice and garnished back into a holiday mood with a slice of fresh pineapple and some mint leaves.

EGAtini: Add 4 parts EGA Rooibos, 1½ parts vodka and ½ part freshly squeezed lime juice in a cocktail shaker with some ice. Rim a martini glass with sugar and pour in the chilled mix. Then garnish with a few pomegranate seeds at the bottom of the glass and a twist of lime on the rim. Now relax and enjoy!

321 4



Bijoux Square is proud to announce their newest additionto the Franschhoek culinary excellence -

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A shared passion for all things sweet, makes Bijoux Chocolates an experience for the senses.

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Roca restaurant is serving up delicious & exciting tastes of the Mediterranean. Our emphasis is on the fresh and highest quality local ingredients with respectful, simple treatment of food.

The most beautiful views of the Franschhoek valley makes the restaurant an ideal venue for all

FUNCTIONS, EVENTS and WEDDINGS.we look forward to welcoming you

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Jo Wessels of the Vineyard Connection shares a little bubbly and some Black Forest cake, with a couple in between

Happy New year?Four Sure!

Still in a holiday mood, we kick off 2012 in celebratory fashion with a really special bubbly

from Ambeloui, the tiny Hout Bay producer whose hand-crafted Cap Classiques need never play second fiddle to the French benchmark. The doors to Ambeloui only open once a year for sales, in November, but The Vineyard Connection has managed to secure a limited allocation of these unique bubblies to save you spending hours in a queue.

1. The Ambeloui Lisa (R178) is a blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir and the current re-lease spent three years on the lees be-fore it was disgorged, adding notable complexity and character to the wine. This is the perfect wine with which to start the year and any of the many summer evenings that await.

On the topic of a hot South Afri-can January… it’s fittingly patriotic then to enjoy a Chenin Blanc – our most planted white. This particular variety continues to show great promise locally and will surely be-come the signature South African wine!

Teddy Hall, one of our Chenin masters, has made the aptly-named 2. Summer Moments Chenin Blanc (R43) which showcases fresh fruity flavours and delicious characteristics of wild honey. Its moderate acidity makes it a refreshing easy sipper, but it’s still versatile enough to go perfect-ly with food.

3. Thelema’s Sutherland Pinot Noir (R100) is an-other white worth a closer look,

especially as this elegant wine has a beautiful translucent colour. It has a refreshing acidity, partly due to its origin from Elgin fruit, and won’t overwhelm your palate – served slightly chilled, it pairs particularly well with lighter meats such as chicken and fish.

If your meal is more substantial and tends to a roast or ends in dessert, wine maker Louis Nel may have just what you need. His blend of Merlot-Shiraz surprised him with distinct flavours that reminded him of a Black Forest cake – hence the name, 4. Black Forest (R64). The abundance of cherries, chocolate and mint truly echo the elements of this German delicacy and is a great alternative for those worried about the carbs in the real thing as part of a New Year’s resolution!

321 4

The Month / 11


January 2012

The White Wine Ou says there’s no excuse to COP out

Who Moved My Wines?

So the much vaunted COP-17, which was supposed to chart the course for the world to turn back from the

brink of climate-change disaster, has come and gone. Thanks to the “outstanding leadership” of the conference president Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, our very own minister of international relations and co-operation, the 17th Conference of the Parties managed to delay for at least an-other ten years, the implementation of an agreement which is legally binding on all nations, for getting greenhouse gas emis-sions under control, and keep the mean global temperature increase under two degrees Centigrade.

Before anybody starts down the road of climate-change denialism, let's just under-stand that the science is quite clear that hu-man activity is impacting the climate. It is as

certain as is gravity, something that we all kind of accept as reality.

Question is, how will it affect us, and more importantly, how will it affect the wine in-dustry? Well that depends on where you are, and what you do.

Chateau Cheval Blanc and Château d'Yquem president Pierre Lurton reckons the two degrees will give him less chance of frost damage each year, and although his ripening and hanging times will be slightly shorter, it’s a good trade-off.

His counterparts in Champagne may dif-fer, because already credible competi-tion has emerged further north across the Channel in the UK, where superb Metho-dé Champagnoise wines are now being made.

Down here in South Africa, we don't have much further south to go, so we have to go up. One of our biggest producers is plant-ing vines at an altitude of 1000 metres near Ceres, and two Hemel en Aarde Valley pro-ducers have established vineyards at over 700 metres at Kaaimansgat in the Over-berg. It seems that as temperatures rise, so too will the altitude below which grapes can be successfully grown.

But it's not as if we didn't know this was bound to happen. In her seminal book ‘Scorched: South Africa's Changing Climate’ (Wits University Press,© 2006) climate activ-ist Leonie Joubert writes about the impact of rising temperatures on a number of rare frog species that live in our natural upland forests. As temperatures rise, these forests will have nowhere to go but up, and so will the frogs, or they will die.

Inevitably, unless we commit to doing something concrete about greenhouse gas emissions very soon, these forests and their frog populations will run out of "up" and they will all end up dead, and by extension, extinct.

Vitis vinifera by contrast is unlikely to be-come extinct, but the places where they can successfully grow in our winelands will shrink and eventually disappear, because we don't have terribly much "up" (or south) where our vineyards can go to.

So if for no other reason than the sobering prospect of our winelands eventually dying and the supply of our favourite tipple dry-ing up, isn't it time we all eschewed our gas guzzlers, curtailed our energy consump-tion, and generally reduced our personal carbon footprint?

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Pauline Nash tastes eleven vintages of Iona Sauvignon Blanc

A Decade of DelightThe wine and fashion

industries have a lot in common, with

wine makers and market-ers often turning to new trends or the latest gim-mick to attract the atten-tion of buyers tired of the run-of-the-mill. But, while Haute Couture, like Coffee Pinotage,

is bound to make a statement, it’s the classics that stand the test of time and deserve the most attention.

I was reminded of the true value of those ‘classics’ at a recent Iona Sauvi-gnon Blanc tasting that covered ten vintages, from 2001 to 2010 – and then included the 2011 for good measure at the lunch that followed. Situated

450m above sea level in the Elgin Valley, Iona is considered South Africa’s coolest vineyard and their 2005 vintage is regarded by Mat-thew Jukes as one of the Top Sauvignons in the world. Tasting the ten wines blind, in two flights of five, highlighted the ageing poten-tial of Sauvignon Blanc and was a revelation of the diversity and depth of the variety.

Every vintage was excellent – and choosing a favourite proved to be as difficult as identi-fying the vintages (I managed to get two of the ten correct; but only with a little luck and much contemplation). Eventually I decided on the 2007 and 2006 iterations, thanks to their outstanding structure and lively flavour profiles, despite five or more years in the bot-tle. As Andrew Gunn, Iona’s celebrated own-er commented: “This wine won’t disappoint you. If left to bottle-age you will be rewarded by a beautiful melding of rich flavours, with good acidity keeping it surprisingly youthful in character. If drunk immediately you will be refreshed by its balance and subtlety of fla-vour. It is a finely tuned wine, of which you will not tire.”

The wines were remarkably different and the styles surprisingly varied, but the vein of quality that ran through the flight remained

obvious. Some of the difference could be ascribed to the individual characteristics of the grapes year-on-year and some to the wine maker’s inclination to a particular expression based on those characteristics. From the almost racy Sancerre style, with full minerality, mouth-puckering acid-ity and lashings of green grassy flavours to the more tropical style, with notes of mango, ripe guavas and zesty grapefruit, mineola and orange, each brought nods of approval and considered deliberation.

With a new wine maker, Werner Mul-ler (ex-Chamonix), at the helm from May this year, it will be interesting to see what the 2012 vintage brings to the fore. With predecessors such as Luddite’s Neils Verburg, you’d think Werner would be feeling the heat, but the humble wine maker is every bit Hedi Selimane as he describes himself as “just a wine maker” and points to the vines as the real stars of the show. Here’s to star-studded New Year at Iona.

The Month / 13


January 2012

4267 Franschoek ad Oct repro.indd 1 2011/10/18 9:40 AM

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Continue your cellar adventure by watching all the activity of the modern working and traditional barrel maturation cellars

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Johan Delport, Cellar Manager at Waverly Hills, choosesAuction Crossing Syrah/Viognier 2009 as our Wine Of The Month

TABLE OF FRUIT

This Syrah-dominated blend is from the table grape “Mecca” of South Africa, the Hex River Valley in De Doorns. The grapes are sourced from different areas around the Western Cape and the wine is made in the historical cellar on the Vendutie Kraal farm - Vendutie is Dutch for auction, hence the name of this wine.

In the 1800s ox wagon trans-porters, on their way up North and back, would do their trading and auction-ing at Vendutie, and in those days they’d also trade in wine. The wine grapes have long since disappeared from the farm, but the winemak-ing has been revived.

The Auction Crossing Syrah/Viognier is a perfectly bal-anced wine with loads of red and black fruit and berry flavours up front and layers of pepper, spice and oak to follow. The 8% Viognier in the wine gives it a floral complexity that invites one to look for more and more

aromas. The palate is rich and smooth and lingers in the mouth with an explosion of purple sweets and vanilla.

It sells at R107 per bottle and is just the thing to start off the New Year.

W ith over 800 wine brands read-ily available to South African buyers, comprising in excess

of 5000 wines, the wine wall is ever-increasing and the task of choosing a decent wine is, euphemistically, diffi-cult. From Aaldering to Zorgvliet; from Vreedendal to Plettenburg Bay or from thirty bucks to three thousand - where do you start?

An obvious and popular consideration is any one of the many awards or ratings systems used locally; where trust in what others have to say is often useful. But given that there are so many wine awards these days, and many winners through-out the year, in whom do you put your trust?

Enter SAWi (pronounced ‘savvy’), The South African Wine Index. SAWI draws information from 36 local and foreign wine competitions, weighting each com-petition score and then crunching the numbers using complicated algorithms, to calculate a rating out of 100 for each

participating wine. It’s a brilliant idea and something first discussed in The Month as far back as May 2010!

What’s more, SAWI ratings identify con-sistently highly-rated wines without be-ing vintage specific, so the results are an accurate measure of a producer’s ability to craft a quality wine – which makes it even more useful than your typical com-petition.

This year, 14 South African wines achieved a perfect 100 point rating, with 24 com-ing in at 96 or above. To celebrate this re-markable achievement (remember, there are 5000 wines out there) SAWI has cre-ated the Ambassadors Club which show-cases the top 24 wines entered this year.

The wines are available in four beauti-ful presentation boxes of six wines each, with detailed tasting notes and a poster about the specific wines. All four cases are priced equally at R1600 per case, which includes delivery throughout South Af-rica.

12 OF THE TOP WINES SCORING 100 POINTS, AND FEATuRED IN THE CLuB ARE:• Bouchard Finlayson - Galpin Peak Pinot Noir

• De Krans - Cape Tawny Port

• Eagle’s Nest – Shiraz

• Hamilton Russell Vineyards - Chardonnay

• Hamilton Russell Vineyards - Pinot Noir

• Kanonkop - Paul Sauer

• Kanonkop – Pinotage

• Klein Constantia - Vin de Constance

• Mulderbosch - Chardonnay Barrel Fermented

• Rijks Private Cellar Pinotage

• Saronsberg – Shiraz

• Saronsberg - Full Circle

For more information on SAWI or the Ambassadors Club selections don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected]



A ssuming you went completely overboard in the food and drink department over Christmas, the

Editor thought it a good idea to fea-ture a couple of hikes for you to do this summer to loosen your conscience and tighten your belt a notch or two. And although I’ve heard it described as ‘a great hike for the energetically in-clined’, Chapman’s Peak is the perfect starter; not too easy, not too hard, with the reward of spectacular views from the summit on a clear day of Hout Bay, Noordhoek Beach, Kommetjie, and the back side of Table Mountain.

If the last time you were on ‘Chappies’ it was with 25,000 sweaty cyclists, be pre-pared for a change as you make your way south from Cape Town and thread your way through Hout Bay - there’s now a toll gate. So just pay the toll guy his R31 – yes, R31, don’t ask – and, as you drive on towards Noordhoek you’ll see how all the money is spent preventing tourists getting squashed by falling rocks and keeping negative stories out of the in-ternational press.

As the Drive winds its way south, skirt-ing the rocky coastline, the road eventu-ally turns inland and you’ll see a parking area on your left and a sign showing the start of the hike which is about 50 metres prior to that. Check that you’ve packed water, food and a camera – the latter is a must as last time I was here, hundreds of dolphins could be seen frolicking in the waves just below.

The peak is officially a tad shy of 600 metres and, since you start not too far above the sea, you’re going to hike the best part of that - and it’s pretty much straight up via the well-maintained path which, although quite steep, is easy to navigate. You’ll find you camera par-ticularly useful on the walk, as by using

expressions such as “Look at how the road twists and turns down there!” you can keep stopping, to focus and take a breather.

With sheer drops to the Drive and sea be-low and towering mountains all around, the views are spectacular all the way up. And, as the path levels out near the top, moves around the minor peak, and eventually ends at the flat, rocky summit of Chapman’s Peak itself, your well-de-served snacks will taste great! Depend-ing on the number of ‘expressions’, it’ll take you about an hour and a half up and half that back down and is a notable tick off the New Year’s resolution list. Enjoy!

The Publisher tackles Chapman’s Peak, on foot

Boots ‘n All

Winery: Open daily for tastings Mon-Fri 08h30-17h00 Sat & Sun 09h00-16h00Tel: +27 21 855-3450 Fax: +27 21 855-4600 Email: [email protected]

Restaurant: Open daily for breakfast and lunch. Dinner on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.Tel: +27 21 855-4296 Email: [email protected] Avontuur Estate AvontuurEstate

Home of fine wines and fast horses.

www.avontuurestate.co.za | [email protected] Estate is next to the R44 between Stellenbosch and Somerset West.

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K

PROPERTY & LIFESTYLE January 2012


The Editor pays a visit to Franschhoek’s ‘Design Hub’

We All Stand Together

S itting with a group of Franschhoek chefs recently, for a wine-fuelled tea-break outside the Café des Arts

restaurant, our conversation turned (as it inevitably does in small towns) to the ‘good old days’; and how different things are today. To a man they all missed the sense of camaraderie that seemed to in-

fluence all the old village goings-on and decried the modern trend of competi-tion that sees local establishments pitted against each other, rather than working symbiotically. “We should be clever and use that competition to drive us togeth-er,” one suggested. The result was more wine and a very broad outline of some-thing akin to a Franschhoek Chef’s Cook-off Series to feature later this year – if The Month can get its act together… But this article has nothing to do with that, and everything to do with symbiotic relation-ships.

At the opening of the new Surrey Holmes show room in the Franschhoek Square-some months back, a short distance from our boozy meeting place, I asked Leanne Viviers (the organised assistant to owners Neil and Michelle Hewitt) why the already well-supported business had needed to move from literally across the street. Given that their new venue is rather swish and substantially bigger than the previous one, my immediate thoughts were that they’d embarked on a bit of poorly-timed money wasting. Leanne’s answer was simple. “Look around you,” she encouraged me, “this cen-tre has ‘design hub’ written all over it. Why wouldn’t we want to be here?”

And she’s right, the Square is home to the well-known Avoova and Ebony stores, as well as other stockists of various décor items, a restaurant, an art gallery and an estate agency; as a concept, it has all the makings of a little design destination within a desti-nation. According to Leanne there’s a defi-nite desire on the part of Surrey Holmes to interact with the neighbouring shops to en-sure that the centre develops an identity as a design-hub and early interaction has been fruitful and positive. Franschhoek Square has the ability, then, to use perceived com-

petition as the basis around which to build a consistent and more meaningful offering that is able to draw a larger client base and (hopefully) make for a better bottom line.

It’s early days yet, but I’m going to hold thumbs for them. While some of the locals will suggest that the ‘good old days’ expe-rienced at this specific site in Franschhoek in particular, will forever remain a memo-ry, there’s no reason not to join the likes of Leanne and set about designing some new ones.

PROPERTY & LIFESTYLEJanuary 2012


PROPERTY & LIFESTYLE


January 2012



2012 by8 JAN / 5.30PM / WURSTZIPFEL Fleur Du Cap Summer Concert Series, Helder-berg Nature Reserve, Verster Road, Somerset West, 021 851 4060

14 JAN / 4PM / MANOUCHE play Hartenberg Estate, Bottelary Road, Stel-lenbosch, 021 865 2541

14 JAN / 7PM / NATANIEL UNPLUGGED PAUL CLUVER AMPHITHEATRE, N2 Kromco turn-off, Farm 102, Paul Cluver Wines, Grabouw, 021 8440605, www.cluver.com

15 JAN / 5PM / BLUESBOULEVARD Elec-tric Blues, Berties Mooring, Gordon’s Bay

21 JAN / 8.15PM / BEN SCHOEMAN AND THE CAPE PHILHARMONIC ORCHES-TRA Proteus Variations (Hans Huyssen), Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major, S125 and Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, S124 (Liszt), Pines of Rome (Respighi). Conductor: Yasuo Shinozaki. Soloist: Ben Schoeman (piano). Hans Huys-sen, born in Pretoria in 1964, studied in Stellenbosch, at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and in Munich, before return-ing to South Africa in 2005. He created the Proteus Variations in 2008. Liszt composed his 20-minute long Piano Concerto No.1 over a 26-year period (it premiered in Weimar in 1855). The Con-certo No.2, which typically also lasts 20 minutes, is often considered less virtu-osic than the first but far more original. Ottorino Respighi composed Pines of Rome in 1924 as a symphonic poem on

four different pine tree groves in Rome. Oude Libertas Amphitheatre, Stellen-bosch, www.cpo.org.za

22 JAN / 5PM / ROBIN AULD Backsberg Concert Series, BACKSBERG WINE ESTATE (Concert Series), R45 near Klapmuts, 021 875 5141, www. backsberg.co.za

22 JAN / 5.30PM / SHIRAZ play HELDERBERG NATURE RESERVE (Fleur Du Cap Summer Concert Series), Verster Road, Somerset West, 021 851 4060

22 JAN / 8.15PM / TURN WITH THE SUN & IAN OSRIN BAND OUDE LIBERTAS AM-PHITHEATRE Cnr Libertas and Adam Tas roads, Stellenbosch, 021 809 7380, www.oudelibertas.co.za

27 JAN / 7PM / IDOLS TOP 3 CONCERT RHEBOKSKLOOF WINE ESTATE (Concert Series) Windmeul Agter Paarl, 021 869 8386, www.rhebokskloof.co.za

27 JAN / 8.15PM / LANDSKAP / LAND-SCAPE Choir and art. OUDE LIBERTAS AM-PHITHEATRE Cnr Libertas and Adam Tas roads, Stellenbosch, 021 809 7380, www.oudelibertas.co.za

28 JAN / 4PM / JAZZ & TAPAS With The Cape Dutch Connection at Harten-berg Estate, Bottelary Road, Stellenbos-ch, 021 865 2541

28 JAN / 8.15PM / LANDSKAP/LAND-SCAPE OUDE LIBERTAS AMPHITHEATRE Cnr Libertas and Adam Tas roads, Stellen-bosch, 021 809 7380, www.oudelibertas.co.za

29 JAN / 3PM / TUIN DWERGIES BACKSBERG WINE ESTATE (Concert Series), R45 near Klapmuts, 021 875 5141, www. backsberg.co.za

29 JAN / 6.30PM / VRIENDE-FRIENDS OUDE LIBERTAS AMPHITHEATRE Cnr Liber-tas and Adam Tas roads, Stellenbosch, 021 809 7380, www.oudelibertas.co.za

WHAT’S ONJANuAry

www.021magazine.co.za

2-11MAr

UPCoMinG:

14JAN

14 JAN (AND EVEry SAT uNTIL 10 MArCH) / 3PM / SATURDAY SUMMER CONCERT Solms-Delta, Delta Road, off the R45, Groot Drakenstein, Franschhoek Valley, 021 874 3937, www.solms-delta.co.za

2 - 11 MAr / STELLENBOSCH WORD-AND-WINE CELEBRATION Literary art meets wine legends when the Stellenbosch American Express® Wine Routes teams up with the 2012 Stellenbosch University Woordfees (Festival of the Word) for a Word-and-Wine Celebration at participating wine estates on its Greater Simonsberg sub-route from the 2nd to the 11th of March.

CROSSWORD PG 26

crosswordsolution

From Neil Ellis Wines and San-dra Prinsloo to Muratie and Ker-neels Breytenbach…this year South Africa’s oldest and fore-most wine route adds a fresh new chapter to this popular arts festival by sharing the country’s best authors and icons in the company of esteemednd-Wine

programme includes exclusive, intimate encounters such as a lunch at Morgenhof Estate with award-winning writer Annelie Botes and an inspirational wine- and-dine date with business mo-gul Jannie Mouton at Uitkyk to talk about his recently published autobiography. Delheim cel-lar gems will share the spotlight with the inimitable Riaan Cruy-wagen while the famous author-brothers, Johan and Christiaan Bakkes, will treat enthusiasts to a ‘snoekbraai and adventure story-telling’ at Kanonkop.

This week-long celebration of the art of literature and winemak-ing culminates with a buzzing Simonsberg Wine Route Market Day at Delvera Estate on Sun-day, 11 March 2012. Young and old…bookworms or not…can delight in a fun-filled family day blended with the finest wines from the area, country food, craft stalls and harvest activities such as barrel stomping and trac-tor rides. Live performances by the vibrant Stellenbosch band, Manouche, celebrated for their foot-stomping, hip-swinging jazz vibes, will add rhythmic soul to this Winelands soiree.

The Vine Hopper will provide a shuttle service to and from Stel-lenbosch on the day.

The Simonsberg Wine Route Mar-ket Day starts at 10am and entry is FREE. Tickets for the individual ‘Word-and-Wine’ events hosted at the various estates are available at Computicket. Seating is limited at most of these bespoke events, so be sure to book early!

The Month / 19


January 2012

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K

IN THE OLD BARREL CELLAR LABORIE WINE FARM | MAIN ROAD PAARL

T. 021 807 3390 | www.laboriewines.co.za | 33 45’ 57.64” S 18 57’ 31.84” En Find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/laboriewines

Fabulous French Festivities21 January 2012

LIVEMUSIC

SATURDAYS 09:00 TILL 14:00

Celebrate the start of 2012 and join us for our first marketof the year as we celebrate all things French. Don your brightFrench beret, sip freshly brewed coffee and enjoy a croissantas Eric the accordion player keeps you entertained. Bringalong your friends for a fun game of boules, enjoy Laborie’sBlanc de Blanc bubbly or relax under the oak trees whilewatching our French acrobat.

Car enthusiasts will be kept enthralled by the Citröen cardisplay, with some dating back to 1933.

uNTIL 28 MAr / MON-FrI 9.30AM-1PM & 2PM-4PM, SAT 10AM-1PM / WIL-LEM STRYDOM SCULPTURES AND OTHER ARTWORK.Strydom, who lives in Nieuwoudtville, “has a deep empathy for the life forms that inhabit the arid landscapes of the South African hinterland – that can sur-vive in the desiccating heat of the lean times and yet flourish, in some cases quite spectacularly, when the seasons turn over and rains return to the thirst-lands. This rich imagery includes not only the animals and plant forms but also the people of this austere environ-ment.” (Tim Maggs) Rupert Museum,

Stellentia Avenue, Stellenbosch, 021 888 3344, www.rupertmuseum.org

TuE–SuN 9AM–5PM / LA MOTTE MUSEUM Apart from its recently acquired collection of Pierneff paintings, and contemporary art, La Motte exhibits tapestries and ce-ramics by French artist Jean Lurçat (1892–1966), who spear-headed the movement to reinstate tapestry as an art form in France. La Motte, R45, Franschhoek, 021 876 3119, www.la-motte.com

Oude Libertas Theatre Stellenbosch 021 809 [email protected]

21st Ben Schoeman & Cape Philharmonic Orchestra MUSIC

22nd Turn with the Sun with Jika Nelanga MUSIC

27th & 28th Landskap/Lanscape MUSIC

onGoinG:

ROB COWLING and all at the QUANTUM SPA at the Radis-son Blu Hotel, Waterfront. The spa has made it through to the final three of the World Spa Awards for Africa in the Hotel Spa category. The win-ners will be announced at a gala function at the Hilton Hotel Interna-tional, Park Lane, London on the 4th of March.

...CONGRATULATIONS TO...

STOP PRESS

Die Bordinghuis @ the Breytenbach Sentrum, Wellington 021 864 2574www.breytenbachsentrum.co.za/

bordinghuis

28th Koos Kombuis MUSIC

THEATrE PrOgrAMME

Arts:

uNTIL 13 JAN / MON-FrI 8AM-4PM, SAT 10AM-1PM / CECIL SKOTNES – EPIC OF EVERLASTING The collec-tion is built around the 1977 piece Skotnes created especially for KWV titled “The Origin of Wine”, which is based on one of humankind’s old-est stories “The Epic of Gilgamesh”. The wood carved triptych celebrates not only the complex heritage of the wine-making industry in the Cape, but evokes an appreciation for wine which stems from the ancient quest for immortality. The Cecil Skotnes art exhibition is on view in Laborie’s Manor House, Restaurant, and His-torical Cellar. Laborie Wine Farm, Taillefer Street, Main Road, Paarl, 021 807 3390, www. laboriewines.co.za

13JAN



Margie Cunnama enjoys coffee at Hudson’s

Curiouserand Curiouser

O ne of the more pleasurable ac-tivities to enjoy in the glorious Cape Winelands countryside, is

a leisurely afternoon ‘tea time’ drive. If you’re looking for an alternative to that popular, loudly South African ‘so-cial café’, where the friendly welcome precedes martinis and tapas, rather than coffee and cake, head out towards Vredenheim Wine Estate on the R310 in Stellenbosch, and their lovely restau-rant, Husdson’s.

The attractive brick-paved driveway that leads to Hudson’s is lined with pens housing an amazing collection of ani-mals such as European Reindeer, Eland and Gemsbok, and it’s not unusual to find Zebra and Ostriches grazing hap-pily alongside cows and horses. Don’t be alarmed at the somewhat distracting sign in the foyer that directs visitors to the “Lions” - there is indeed a lion park on the property. “Curiouser and curious-er”, to quote Alice; Wonderland readily comes to mind.

On the day of our visit we were warmly welcomed by Bridgette, more hostess

than waitress, and made our way to the garden. Bridgette had no trouble per-suading us to try the chocolate brown-ie and the banoffie pie - both delicious offerings are baked in the restaurant kitchen and shout ‘EAT ME’ even before they reach the table. Accompanied by an excellent cappuccino using good strong coffee from local roasters Peacock, in a nice big cup, topped with an impressive swirl of foam and a sprinkling of choco-late powder, we were soon convinced that we were in Wonderland indeed.

The indulgence gave us a great excuse to end our visit with a leisurely turn around the gardens and our pleasure continued as we strolled (or rolled) across sweeping lawns and admired the well-kept flower beds, packed with glorious specimens. The garden seems to stretch all the way to the foot of the Helderberg Moun-tain and is a popular spot for picnicking families and adventurous kids. Hudson’s proved to be a serendipitous journey down a rabbit hole for us… and we can’t wait to return!

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The Month / 21


January 2012

Julia Meintjes extolls the virtues of 3D thinking

Thinking a-round: Mapping Sculpture

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The first sculpture one sees on vis-iting the current exhibition at the Tokara Winery is Marco Cianfanel-

li's 'Mind's vine', which stands at the winery entrance. The intricate stainless steel group of vines that supports webs of words about sensory experience and wine-making history was commissioned by Tokara and installed last year.

Cianfanelli’s laser-cut sculptures and Egon Tania’s carved wooden figure, which also forms part of the exhibition, don't seem conventionally compatible counterparts; nor are pieces by Lyndi Sales and Claudette Schreuders next to those by Sydney Kumalo and Phillip Rik-hotso.

It is precisely these combinations - from the tongue-in-cheek wall pieces of Brett Murray or the provocative Conrad Botes ‘Shoe Cabinet’, to the fragility of life de-picted in Lyndi Sales’s installation or the narrative and mythological characters of Phillip Rikhotso or Edoardo Villa’s ab-stracted bronze panel, that provide the exhibition with an aesthetic which pays tribute to our continent as an incubator of major three-dimensional thinkers. The expression of that thinking isn’t only de-picted in those dimensions, however, and

visitors are sure to appreciate the spirit of exhibition embodied in two drawings by John Murray, ‘Sunbeam’ and ‘Upapa Af-rica’.

‘Thinking a-round’ is the latest exhibi-tion at Tokara Winery and runs until the 29th of February. It brings together six provocative, renowned contemporary South African sculptors under one roof for the first time - Conrad Botes, Marco Cianfanelli, Jacques Dhont, Brett Murray, Claudette Schreuders and Egon Tania – and combines their sculpture with work by nine other African and South African artists who ‘think in the round’.

‘Thinking a-round’ complements the sculptures on display at Tokara’s Delica-tessan, also on until the end of February and Julia Meintjes Fine Art Curator Ian Maree suggests that “For anyone inter-ested in South African art, it is worth vis-iting both the Winery and the Delicates-san this season to see a compelling range of sculpture by artists of our continent.”

For further information please con-tact Julia Meintjes Fine Art on 011 788 0820 or 083 675 1825 or at [email protected] or visit www.julia-meintjes.co.za



T he smallest of South Africa's Na-tional Parks, the Bontebok was initially proclaimed in 1931 to

protect the last 30 Bontebok left in the wild and sits just outside Swellendam on the banks of the Breede River, about 240km from Cape Town.

As well as spectacular views of the Langeberg Mountains to the North and refreshing swimming in the Breede River, the park offers much for lovers of nature, from a diversity of indigenous animal life to over 200 bird species. For active sorts there are hiking and mountain bike trails and, as part of the Cape Floral Kingdom, there is something in bloom all year round to visually enjoy. Conserving the species has been a great success, sub-stantially adding to world numbers, but today the 2,800 hectare park keeps just 160 Bontebok - some tame enough to be unbothered by the presence of snap-happy visitors (see picture).

Somewhere in the marketing I read that the Bontebok offers passers-by and lo-cal residents ‘a great braai location or a place to bring the kids’ and, I’m afraid to say, that’s how it feels. Although un-doubtedly beautiful and peaceful, it’s what I might call a ‘family’ park and often, whether it’s hearing the call of ‘small adult’ life or seeing the neigh-bouring farms across the river, serious

nature-lovers will be reminded just how small it really is; and it’s far from being in the middle of nowhere.

The accommodation is main-ly camping with electricity or, on the banks of the river, without. The newly-built rest camp is called ‘Lang Elsie’s Kraal’ and is named after the 'Hessekwa' khoi-khoi chieftainess who lived there with her clan in the 18th cen-tury. It comprises ten chalets that sleep up to four people with two single beds and a double sleeper couch, with private sun-decks to the south and west sides of the units and an outside braai area. Lang Elsie would have approved, I’m sure.

Keeping an eye out for slow-moving tor-toises, game viewing is done from your own vehicle and follows a circular route from the camp. In addition to the eight en-dangered Cape Mountain Zebra (that we missed), you’re likely see Red Hartebeest, Grey Rhebok, Steenbok and Grysbok out there in the veld or even the largely noc-turnal Caracal, Bat-Eared or Cape Fox and Aardwolf. On the river, look out for the Cape Clawless Otter and large birds like the Blue Crane, Spur-wing Goose and Secretary bird, the graceful Double Collared Sunbird and, for the more seri-ous birders, the Fiscal Flycatcher, Acacia

Pied Barbet and Red-faced Mousebird are evident. We had the pleasure of a pair of Pearl-breasted Swallows nesting just next to the braai in our chalet.

Three nature-hiking trails, starting and ending in the rest camp area, take in much of the river frontage and birdlife viewpoints, and angling and kayaking are encouraged - but you’ll need your own equipment. Yet, for fear of sound-ing like Simon Cowell, although the park ticks all the boxes it somehow doesn’t deliver the X-Factor. Having said that, it is undoubtedly scenically beautiful, the river especially, and peaceful out of the camp. No matter for this spoilt nature-lover - an end-of-day swim beckons! For more information email Bon-tebok National Park or call 028 5142735

Bontebok National Park, Swellendam

The Month / 23


January 2012

It’s a New Year and time for some new accessories, and there’s no reason to resort to

anything plain when there are so many gorgeous choices out there!

If you’re young at heart, don your-self in the colours of the rainbow and celebrate the last bit of the holi-days like a child. Brightly coloured belts, funky sunglasses, fun pumps and a quirky handbag should do the trick! Just keep it simple; stick to two colours that complement each other and suit your complexion. If you insist on wearing a colour that clashes with your complexion, wear it as a belt or a wallet – whatever is the further from your face!

For the old soul there is always ‘vin-tage’. Whether it is authentic or vin-tage-inspired, if you do it right, this look will never let you down. The trick is to choose pieces that can be combined with modern fashion to give it a nostalgic touch. You don’t want to look like something a time-capsule spat out; you want to look like you have a good knowledge of different eras and a good eye for timeless pieces. When buying au-thentic vintage pieces, only buy that which is still in good shape. If

it’s discoloured, moth-eaten or has a peculiar smell to it, don’t buy it!

If you don’t feel comfortable walking around with other people’s belong-ings, the shops are just overflowing with vintage-inspired pieces – from the trilby hats of the 30s to the plat-form wedges of the 70s – there are so many to choose from!

What about snake skin, animal print, bold copper colour clutch bags or the like? It’s in, but to keep this look classy, stick to one animal-print at a time and pair it with more classic outfits. Even if it is the most gor-geous Dolce & Gabbana leopard print heel, paired with the wrong outfit it’ll quickly take you from Zoe Saldana to Joan Collins. Take some inspiration from the high-end de-signers, and if you are still unsure, play it safe and show off your animal print by making it the accent piece of your outfit.

Another great look that falls into this group is metallics. Play around with coppers and burnished gold to keep it more vintage and classy. The same rule that applies for animal-print also applies for metallics: keep it simple.

Now that you have an idea what’s out there, pick a look to suit your mood and have some fun!

PhotoGrAPhEr: Ashley-Marie MylesstyList: Annamé Lotz

Fashionably Yours

Annamé Lotz takes a look at this season’sfashionable accessories

Hunter Aubrey Navy Pump, R1199.95 Paul’s Boutique Quilted handbag, R999.95 / Bead & Knot necklace in Denim and Magenta, R399.95 each Yves Blue scarf, R399.95 / Pippa Black sunglasses, R549.95 / Orange belt, R329.95 / Orange wallet, R599.95. all WitcHery

Errol Arendz Stephania Orange wedge, R1299.95 / French Connec-tion Bitter Chocolate belt, R499.95Beaded Vanilla bangles, R399.95 Diamond Trilby hat, R349.95 / Nat-ural weave clutch, R449.95 / Jules strappy heel, R1499.95.all WitcHery

Marion and Lindie Animal Print clutch, R1499.95 / GAP Cop-per clutch, R899.95 Errol Arendz Ohara Sling-back heel, R899.95 / Witchery Christina Snake handbag, R599.95

DESCRiPTiONS (FROM TOP CLOCkWiSE)



Like politics, the way that finan-cial prices are reported can cause great alarm. And because they frame perceptions in the mind of the reader, the stock holder and the overseas travel-ler, journalists carry a huge, if not realised, responsibility. With the recent (long called-for, by

the way) weaken-ing of the Rand, speculators (and to a lesser ex-tent, politicians) bore the brunt of the blame in the media. As they would say in the corporate world, what is called for here is a ‘stand-still’ – just to put things in per-spective.

Although the uS is not our major trading partner,

the value of the Rand against the Dollar is a price that is important to us, evoking a great deal of emotion about our view of the state of the coun-try within which we live. The ex-change rate is our ‘external pur-chasing power’ and, in the sense that it’s depreciation lessens that power, our ‘external rate of infla-tion’. What matters is the long-

term level of the currency - not short-term fluctuations in price.

Perceptions that speculators are somehow to blame for market woes, driving financial markets in the ‘wrong’ direction, are plainly wrong and I’ll tell you why. Specu-lators interact with the market in the pursuit of profit and, because they operate over the short-term (usually to eliminate the uncer-tainty of overnight risk), they can-not, by definition, have any effect on the long-term direction of the market. Shifts in fundamental in-puts or policies that are reflected by position changes in long-term positions are what moves the mar-ket! Speculators are simply mar-ket participants (not policy mak-ers), who merely operate within a system they can neither influ-ence nor fashion. And why should they care? Their job is to antici-pate what is likely to happen - not frame what should happen.

Real perspective comes from comparing where the Rand is to-

day versus where it has been in the past. The last major move in the currency was back in late 2001 when the Dollar, at its peak, bought just shy of 14 Rands. Over the next three years it steadily lost value until the end of 2004 when it bought little more than 5½ Rands and, by the end of 2008, the market had traded back up to almost R12. Since then, it has moved back down to R8 (where it is today) in the meantime mak-ing an intermediate low of about R6½. On this basis, you could say that it is relatively strong beneath R9½ and relatively weak above that and, although simplistic, the longer the cross trades beneath R9½ the more comfortable it is there.

So if a move from R7½ to R8½ is reported as the currency ‘plum-meting’, or worse, that specula-tors are somehow destroying our external purchasing power, you should be able to do what the financial journalists can’t, and keep it in perspective!

Feiran Greede argues that, in defence of the market, a dose of perspective always helps

RAND “PLUMMETS” PuLEASE!

A couple of months back we looked at how technology has changed everything about golf

and how newer, technologically-ad-vanced clubs can lower your score by enabling straighter, further hitting and that with more consistency. Yet the business end of the golf hole is the one with the flag on it, not the tee, so it is to there that we now go in search of the one shot that’s going to save our high handicapper souls from the golf-ing graveyard. We spoke to PGA profes-sional and Pearl Valley-based SwingFit coach, Pierre van Vuuren, and asked him to explain the old adage – ‘you drive for show and putt for dough’.

“It’s quite simple really,” says Pierre, “if you take 90 shots to get round the course, 60 of these will have been played on or around the greens. Yet practice nearly always focuses on the Driver and Long-iron shots, banging balls up the range.” The solution to lower scoring is to get up and down from 30 to 40 metres out and the high-handicapper option of playing a wedge is usually the wrong one.

“Most high handicappers will take a pitching wedge with a wide stance, give it a full swing, lose control (or collapse) and fluff the shot,” he says. “As an alter-native chipping shot, we recommend a ‘half 7-iron bump-and-run’ where you position the ball back in the stance, in line with the back foot, forcing you to make a clean contact. Then take half a swing and, because the clubface is more closed, the ball should come out low, in a ‘punch’, nice and straight and run up to the hole.”

It should be seen as a chip shot – taking the club slowly back and accelerating through the ball with good tempo – and obviously, when there is an open path to the green. However, if players just spent half their time on the range practicing it they’d see their score come down ap-preciably. “It’s not the prettiest but it’s definitely the safer option,” he says, add-ing that the shot offers little room for the aim errors that you’d have with a wedge. “Remember,” says Pierre, “the scorecard does not ask how the ball got in the hole - it just asks for a number!”

For more info call Pierre on 081 4744695 or email him on [email protected]

The most important part of the game of golf is from 40 meters out

Not Pretty, perhaps, but Effective

The Month / 25


January 2012

The Publisher suggests we allow the ‘Paradox of Thrift’ to do its job

Spending Your Way Out of Trouble

W e’ve written plenty about the rating agen-cies in The Month, (most

recently ‘Between a Rock and a Hard Place’ in the August edition) and one rating agency, Moody’s, recently lowered its outlook of South Africa from ‘stable’ to ‘neg-ative’. A rating agency, you will re-call, rates a country’s credit wor-thiness (its ability to pay back a loan) and the lower our rating, the higher the interest rate our debt has to carry to be attractive to investors. When pressed on what could change the rating, Moody’s said that besides “sustainably stronger growth, restrained debt accumulation and the mainte-nance of sound economic policies” that “higher domestic savings” would support a future rating up-grade.

Higher savings? What the world is struggling to deal with right now is a huge drop in demand and, with governments having borrowed to the hilt and unable to make up that demand, the whole push is to-wards higher private spending. So is Moody’s just throwing the Econom-ics 101 book at us, or do they have a point?

Well, perhaps. Having read the book carefully before throwing it, they’d have learned about the ‘Paradox of Thrift’ – the theory that to increase savings you need to spend more. Exercising ‘thrift’ (saving more and spending less) means lower compa-ny revenues with less jobs or lower salaries the result, and both im-pact demand negatively, of course. Conversely, therefore, we should be spending more since by doing

so we’ll raise demand, income and, with it, savings – hence the paradox.

Besides a short blip in the late 80s, most people under 50 have never experienced a real recession in their adult lives, so the reaction to a drop in their personal wealth (from losses in house values or stock portfolios, perhaps) needs to be managed prop-erly. The natural response to a low-ering of personal security is to cut back – yet too much paying down of debt saps the very engine (consumer spending) that will increase income and with it our credit rating.

So we tread a fine line between per-sonal responsibility and the greater economic good. At worst, you can ‘go mal’ this January Sale time and feel good that you’re doing it for the country!

TO SPEND

What a good feeling it was to sit at Newlands and watch a cricket Test match between Australia and South Africa in November. It was an amaz-ing event, which South Africa even-tually won in just over two-and-a-half days.

From start to finish, this enthralling competition between two great cricketing sides was truly outstand-ing. At one stage the Australians were well on top, having bowled out South Africa for 97. But then came

the big fight back by South Africa, bowling Australia out for 47! The tar-get in the end was easily chased down, with Smith and Amla both getting centuries. In all my days of playing and watching cricket, I have never witnessed anything like it.

It reminded me a little bit of man-aging clients’ investments during 2011. Markets and investments went up and down like a yo-yo whilst the authorities tried to sort out the mess in Europe. It was very much like the November Test match with the result that due to the very weak outlook for the global economy, continued very low interest rates and deteriorating fundamentals for local financial mar-kets, investors should prepare them-selves for the likelihood of a lower return environment.

So what’s going to happen in 2012? Will the Eurozone end up ‘47 all-

out’ like the Australians and lose the game? Or will they manage to get through this mess and force a draw? I think a win is out the question at the moment. Most economists and fund managers believe we are play-ing in a Test match and not a One-day game - it is going to take a long time to sort this out. With this in mind, where is the smart money going?

I attended many presentations in the final quarter of 2011 and the com-mon theme was that offshore equi-ties will be the place to be in 2012. They all say that many of the large companies are actually in good shape, sitting with a lot of cash on their balance sheets and I tend to agree with them. However, I think it should be part of a diversified port-folio and investors must be prepared to experience a few ups and downs along the way, viewing any invest-ment in shares as ‘long-term’ and

not panicking and selling if the mar-ket goes down.

Anyhow, good luck to everyone this year. I hope you all have a very suc-cessful 2012 and that the decisions you make turn out well.

Dave Rundle contemplates the Eurozone Crisis during the November Test at Newlands

47 ALL-OUT?

This article is solely intended to provide you with objective information about financial products and services and is not intended to constitute a recommendation, guidance or proposal with regard to the suitability of any product in re-spect of any financial need you may have.

Dave Rundle 083 658 8055Rundle Management Services



ThE MONTh - QuiCK CRoSSwoRD #12DOWN

ACROSS

DON’T CHEAT!solution pg 18

SMS: SMSs charged at R1.50/SMS. Free SMSs do not apply. Errors billed. Sender must have the bill payer’s permission. You may be contacted in the future by SMS unless you opt-out.

COMPETITION: All competitions close on the 24th of the current month (unless otherwise stated); winners will be contacted by phone or email, must be over 18 (unless otherwise stated), must be prepared to allow their names to appear in print in The Month, and may be required to pay delivery costs; the Ed’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into - unless the Ed is having a really great day.

1 Done to butter on toast (6)

2 Practical (6)

3 Close by (4)

4 To the rear (6)

5 Instructors (8)

6 Record player (10)

7 Formally revoke (8)

8 Stammers (8)

14 Successful completion of high school (10)

16 Caption (8)

17 Sums paid (8)

18 Fighting against (8)

22 In current fashion (6)

23 One or the other (6)

24 Without warning (6)

27 Promissory notes (4)

9 Have (7)

10 Show (7)

11 Impose (7)

12 Devise (7)

13 Determination (9)

15 Pasture (5)

16 Female singing range (7)

19 Slave traders (7)

20 Swampy lake (5)

21 Brochures (9)25 Inflammation of the ileum (7)

26 Wandered (7)

28 Disappointment (7)

29 Compress (7)

Jeanri-Tine van Zyl enjoys the new menu at Longridge, with the blessing of Archbishop Tutu

Bless You

W ith vistas stretching to Table Mountain in the distance, and surrounded with lush

vineyards, Longridge Wine Estate on the slopes of the Helderberg Mountain on the outskirts of Stellenbosch is, tru-ly, postcard perfect.

In fact, it is this picturesque perfection which attracted the Dutch Van der Laan family to South Africa in 2006. “My par-ents visited here for their 25th wedding anniversary,” owner Jo-Anne van der Laan explains, “and they fell in love.” So seductive were the vineyards, sun and sweeping valleys the family decided to claim a piece of this heaven to call their own.

Today Longridge has been revamped to mirror the beauty of its surrounds, with a classy tasting room and a beautiful res-taurant – The Restaurant @ Longridge – allowing visitors to have an equally beautiful experience.

Guests at a recent launch of its upgrad-ed tasting room and restaurant included the Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu who attended in his role as ambassa-dor for the Medical Knowledge Insti-tute (MKI), an international non-profit health organisation which has the sup-port of Longridge Wines. Archbishop Tutu opened proceedings with a prayer and blessing, before we were invited to savour the restaurant’s new summer menu.

A wrap-around porch, crisp white table settings and airy interiors set an inviting

tone at The Restaurant @ Longridge, but it is the fresh vegetable and herb garden which truly completes the scene. Here you can enjoy the freshest seasonal pro-duce as whiffs of celery and basil call you from across the well-tended garden - its produce harvested in front of your eyes.

Culinary consultant Marilou Marais cre-ated the in-season menu with newly appointed chef Bruce von Pressentin re-sponsible for its execution.

Signature dishes this summer include poached duck egg served on white and green asparagus (delicious when paired with Longridge Chenin Blanc 2010), as well as a flavoursome mushroom lasa-gne with thyme butter, truffle oil and parmesan shavings. Other substantial dishes include fillet with home-grown terragon béarnaise sauce and roasted leg of springbok served on paprika miel-iepap, while fresh line fish, salmon and trout offerings ensure that the menu caters for all tastes and most dietary re-quirements.

Before the main course was served I asked Archbishop Tutu whether visitors can expect to see him at the winery’s tasting room. “My wife will be tasting wine, she is very discerning,” he joked, “I have graduated to Red Grapetiser!”

The Restaurant @ Longridge is open for lunch and dinner on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and for lunch only on Sundays. For more information, visit www.lon-gridgewines.co.za

The Month / 27


January 2012

H istory, they say, has a way of re-peating itself. In the mid-1800s, wine farmers - just as they do

today - fretted about poor wine prices, pending financial doom and the glut of wine on the international market. The problem started with the Napoleonic Wars (1800-1815) and the enormously lucrative export market it created for local growers. Wine farmers in the Cape became comfortably wealthy, and hap-pily mortgaged their farms to plant new vineyards.

They, however, left one very important factor out of the equation: in those days Cape wines did not compare favourably with those produced on the Continent. So once peace had been restored in Eu-rope, the English wine consumers hap-pily returned to drinking French wines and, faced with the enormous surplus of wine, the Cape farmers started to pro-duce brandy - a higher value product that would be sold in the interior.

A number of brandy distilleries were es-tablished in Paarl during the 1830s and 1840s including Die Paarlsche Stokery (c1830), the Paarlsche Spiritus Maatschap-py (1841), Illes, Jones & Company (1831) and the Paarl Wine & Brandy Company (1856). By 1860 Illes, Jones & Company near Paarl Station and the Paarl Wine & Brandy Company in Paarl Main Street (op-posite Zomerlust) were the largest distill-eries in the town.

Two of Laborie and Picardie’s owners - Pieter Roux and Jacob de Villiers - can both be linked to this period in the Cape’s fledgling brandy industry.

Pieter Roux bought the two farms in 1814 and had during the boom period bought

and rented enough land to increase his vine plantings from 160,000 to 1,000,000 vines by 1817. This expansion period was short-lived, and by 1825 he had reduced his farming operation to 160,000 vines! Roux, however, continued to produce a significant quantity of wine and brandy, and it is likely that his small commercial distillery was the forerunner of the Paarls-che Stokery that was established on the property a decade later.

After his death in 1825, his widow subdi-vided the estate and sold the portion that included the distillery to Jacob de Villiers. De Villiers maintained the distillery and when he died in 1842 the trustees of his insolvent estate ran advertisements in the De Zuid-Afrikaan in which they sold several items that would have been part of his commercial operation - including a “covered traveling wagon, 30 leaguers of wine, 60 pipes and a complete Distillery Apparatus”.

Mr Illes, the future owner of Illes, Jones & Company, also owned shares in the busi-ness and it is possible that Jan Rudolph Louw of the neighbouring farm De Zoete Inval and Adriaan Hermanus Louw also

had shares in the business. In 1842 the Louws placed several advertisements in De Zuid-Afrikaan to sell distillery equip-ment. These advertisements ran concur-rently with the De Villiers advertisements. Their auction list included several leagu-ers of wine, brandy and vinegar, oxen, wagons, pressing tubs, buckets, funnels, fermenting tubs, and a brandy still.

De Paarlsche Stokery was sold the fol-lowing year to De Paarlsche Spiritus Maatschappij which in 1902 still owned a

large tract of land on the southern border of the farm Picardie.

The distillery and winery in question was situated just south of the Harvest at La-borie restaurant on the farm Picardie. When the building was demolished in the 1970s, large vats were discovered under the building’s wooden floors.

The article was based on research done by DC Heritage Consultants, Paarl.

Nectar of the godsMargeurite Lombard goes in search of Laborie’s brandy heritage

Once peace had been re-stored in Europe, the Eng-lish wine consumers hap-pily returned to drinking French wines and, faced with the enormous surplus of wine, the Cape farmers started to produce brandy

THE INTERIOR OF A WINE CELLAR C1899, PHOTOgRAPH FROM THE DRAkENSTEIN HEEMkRINg’S gRIBBLE COLLECTION



- AT THE FRANSCHHOEK MCC FESTIVAL -

scene andheard

Documents

The Month January 2012