The Winelands Month January 2011

the monthPRINTED ON

RECYCLED PAPER

THE January 2011

“By-line” to be changed to “” Not happy with the address details and it doesn’t include the new shop – any ideas? We can’t make it too busy so perhaps it should just sat “Franschhoek” and “Camps Bay” with the website and telephone number somewhere along the bottom?

FRANSCHHOEK CAMPS BAY

WWW.EBONYDESIGN.CO.ZA 021 876 4477

f u r n i t u r e i n t e r i o r s f i n e a r t

Journey Royale

Winner: Best Newspaper - Sanlam/MDDA Local Media Awards 2010

Your MoNthlY wiNelaNds MagaziNe iN Newspaper forMat

Breaking the ice withLewis Pugh

Guys!Win Her Heart

Fab Valentine’s Competition

Page 14

HappyNew Year !

The Salmon Story

www.THEmonTH.co.za January 2011

THE monTH

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from the editorfrom THE EdiTorJanuary 2011

congratulations to the winner of the Towerbosch/Knorhoek lunch and wine competition: Annelize Odendaal of rondebosch (and Pre-toria), who picked up a copy of The month while at a coffee shop in fran-schhoek. She plans to take her hubby,

willie, along and make the day his special treat.

The six winners who each receive a signed copy of ‘orchids’, by mike Tibbs, are: James Jones, Sarah Vaughan, Melody Williams, Clyde Rutters, Jean Biggs and Mariki Terblanche. Enjoy the read!

We start 2011 with a magazine jam-packed full of articles that feature: wine, food, festi-vals, destinations, personalities, finance, the environment, motoring, social events and a Valentine’s Day competition that is sure to raise a pulse or two - and may, perhaps, even lead to the ringing of a certain kind of bell.

of course, it’s easy to produce a top publica-tion when the winelands offers us so many great stories, is populated or visited by so many interesting characters, and includes so many beautiful places. if there’s any new year’s resolution i’ll try to keep this year, it will be to make a concerted effort to see more of this beautiful part of the world than i did last year.

Lewis Pugh has certainly seen more of the world than most, and we chatted to him at the launch of his book, achieving the impossible, at canal walk recently. we’ve included the interview (on page 22) as part of our strong environmental focus and because it gives me license to say something about The month’s expansion into canal walk. The canal walk month is quite different from its older wine-lands sibling in that it has a strong retail focus and obviously promotes experiences more rel-evant to the centre. what is the same, however, is The month’s somewhat irreverent approach to things and our desire to share what we feel makes for an enjoyable experience. with a presence in the winelands and now also an exposure to the literally millions of visitors to canal walk, The month finds itself in the enviable position of exposing its advertisers to an ever increasing, economically empowered, audience. when next you’re in canal walk, ask for The month.

i digress… Lindsay Patton impresses us at her recent exhibition at Vrede en Lust and bares her soul as she chats to our obviously enam-oured art correspondent on page 3. our col-lection of images from the franschhoek cham-pagne and cap classique festival make page 5 as pretty as a picture and our Hottie of The month (page 8), who is also from franschhoek, is dressed in black and white as if to remind us of the theme of the event.

Guy webber, of Stellenzicht in Stellenbosch,

talks low-sulphur wine (page 9) and from the other end of the winelands we get well-known sommelier Josephine Gutentoft of Bosman’s to give us her take on his efforts. as we’re in Paarl, we stop by at Proviant to review the food of rob Hahn (who supplied the christmas recipe of The month) on the next page and get down with their live act on the day, the wineberries, who we feature on the back page. There’s more wine news, from Kanu (page 21), Quoin rock (page 12) and the natural medicine maga-zine (page 11) as well as visits to the recently reopened SalmonBar (page 6) where we learn about the royale Highlands Trout, Kardoesie (page 12), Solms-delta (page 27) and Peru (page 20). Jim waite tries finance, again, on page 26 and fortunately dave rundle is on the same page with his own article to rescue things. Enjoy the regular car of The month feature (page 23), an extensive what’s on (page 4) and our equine feature, on page 24, which has the distinct smell of money…

finally, there’s our promised Valentine’s day competition, courtesy of canal walk, Santé, Backsberg, Vrede en Lust and winelands Experience. it’s open to all, but guys in par-ticular need to take a look at page 19 and get SmSing.

Happy new year!

Dear reaDer...

Winners!Door to Door

Camps Bay

Constantia

Bishopscourt

Durbanville

Stellenbosch

Paarl

Pick uP Points: Wine Farms,

restaurants & other

Paarl & Franschhoek

Stellenbosch

Cape Town Shopping

Centres & Hotels

Winelands Events

total

2656

3395

454

2227

3308

806

3800

2804

300

500

20250

Where to Get your copyEditor: Brett Garner

083 260 0453 [email protected]

Publisher: David Foster

The Clear Thinking Group


Photography: Lightworks Photography


Graphic Design & Layout

by Craig McNaught, Gravity Media

[email protected]

Distribution: Primedia

CONTRIBUTORS

Michele Lupini [email protected]

Dave Rundle [email protected]

Gary Joliffe [email protected]

Jim Waite [email protected]

Lize Briedenhann [email protected]

www.THEmonTH.co.za 3

THE monTH January 2011

January 2011

The historic cellar at Vrede en Lust

There is an undeniable creative energy that seems to permeate and eminate from the Winelands. The inspiring views from the heights of Uva Mira, the sense of history of the centuries-old manor house at Neder-burg or the captivating mountains of Fran-schhoek, all exude a sense of place and pride that inspires artists and artisans alike.

Lindsay Patton, the celebrated local artist whose stints in france, mexico and the united States have contributed to her international following

and given her art an appreciable complexity, is someone who understands this creative energy. Born in Harare, Lindsay demonstrated her tal-ent from an early age and spent 15 years as a successful decorator before “rediscovering the joys of painting.” She has restarted her decorat-ing business, with an emphasis on consulting and project managing the needs of clients and their architects. as a decorator, her approach is simple - it’s about common sense, hard work and experience. She demonstrates a prefence for simple contemporary lines in decorating

and combines these with her eclectic touch, influenced by lighting and proportion, and a keen eye for detail, with the objective of awakening all the senses. To her, every house has the potential to become a beautiful home.

The month caught up with Lindsay at cotage fromage, on the Vrede en Lust wine Estate, where she recently displayed a number of her works in an exhibition called collection and reflection. as the title suggests, the paint-ings gave visitors to the es-tate’s historic cellar a glimpse of her growth as an artist, and the massive brooding forests, the somewhat enigmatic nudes, the muted colours of the painted flowers and the

occasional face - whose eyes speak of a disturb-ing acquiescence, certainly paint a picture of a complex, yet intimately self-aware, beauty.

Lindsay was at ease as she explained that the inspiration for her work comes from the rich experience of her life and the wonderful col-lection of subjects offered to her by the wine-lands. She laughed as she told me of the calls she’d get in her early days as a painter, armed with her camera and often precariously bal-anced atop the bonnet of her car or propped up high against a lamp post, trying to get a pic-ture of a scene that would capture her mood or sense at the time. “what are you doing? you’re going to give yourself a bad reputation…” she recalls them saying in horror. The result of all that effort is more than 30,000 photographs which serve as inspiration, aides to memory and frozen moments giving rise to the thawing

of thoughts that lead to her popular and strik-ing creations.

we were surprised to see that the exhibition at Vrede en Lust was a one-off. The beautiful two-centuries-old cellar, with its exposed beams and thatch, bare brickwork in places, warm lighting and sense of place is perfectly suited to Lindsay’s work. To our delight, though, Lind-say informed us that six of her contemporary paintings are on display at Gallery88 in Paarl and some of her pieces are also on show at oKHa interiors in cape Town.

in a subtle turn of the wheel, Lindsay trans-forms and returns the energy she draws from the winelands each time she puts her brush to the canvas. in so doing she adds a human di-mension to the sources of inspiration we have been blessed with in this area.

A Visual PattonArt Correspondent

Lindsay’s work shows an eye for detail

what ’s on


wHaT’S onJanuary 2011

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whaT’S onJanuary2011 by

The BeST ThiS monTh – SeLeCTed By 021 mag-azine – your whaT’S on guide For CaPe Town and The wineLandS. www.021CaPe.Com

exhibitions

until 30 JanWine Made artLaunched in 2006 to encourage artists to use wine as a theme in their work. tokara, on the r310 near Stellenbosch, Weekdays 9am–5pm, weekends 10am–3pm. 021 808 5900, www.tokara.com

Mother natureart and Psychology in conversation: exhibition on Maternal Sensitivity, until 14 Feb, explores the relationship between the child and its primary car-egiver, from an artistic and psychological perspec-tive. Marlene dumas created a piece specifically for the exhibition. other artists include George Pemba, Jodi Bieber, Claudette Schreuders and dorothy Kay, tue–Fri, 9am–4.30pm, Sat, 9am–4-pm, SaSoL art Museum Stellenbosch university, 52 ryneveld Street, Stellenbosch, 021 808 3691, http://admin.sun.ac.za/usmuseum/

Johann LouW: neW PaintinGS, until 28 Feb (openinG 9 Dec), SMaC art Gallery,1st floor de Wet centre, Stellenbosch, 021 887 3607

PierneeF Station PaneLS, onGoinG Mon–Fri, 9.30am–1pm, 2pm–4pm, Sat 10am–1pm, rupert Museum, Stellentia avenue, Stellenbosch, 021 888 3344, www.rupertmuseum.org

South aFriCan art, onGoinG tue-sun 9am-5pm, La Motte Museum, r45 Main road, Fran-schhoek, 021 876 3119

2 Jan, from 9am, naturaL GoodS MarKet, Cen-tral Park, Park Lane, Century City, 021 531 2173

7 Jan, 12–3pm, hiLLBiLLy trio, Braai and Sa rock Group hillbilly trio, old Mac daddy Luxury trailer Park, 112 Valley road, elgin, 021 844 0777

7 Jan, 8pm, WiCuS Van der MerWe, die Boer, Chenoweth Street, durbanville, 021 979 1911

8 Jan, 6am, totaLSPortS ChaLLenGe Gordon’s Bay Beach Front; finish Kleinmond, 021 511 7130

8 Jan, 7pm, nataniëL - CaBaret, Paul Cluver Forest amphitheatre, de rust estate, n2 Grabouw, 021 844 0605

8 Jan, 7.30pm, aBBy JaMeS – ConCert. Goudini Spa, rawsonville, 023 349 8100

8 Jan, 8pm, LodeWiJK de Widt. Lodewijk is one of europe’s leading magicians and was voted world champion of magic in Sweden in 2006, and has been the national dutch champion for the last two years. the Playhouse, Lourensford road, Som-erset West, 083 915 8000

9 Jan, 5pm, JaMeS SteWart, Kyknet Backsberg Picnic Concert Series, Backsberg estate, Simondi-um road, Klapmuts, 021 875 5141

13 Jan–6 Mar, thu-Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm, SuPer trouPerS, the aLL-tiMe aBBa/Bee GeeS CeL-eBration, Shop F09, 1st Floor, Willowbridge Life Style Centre, 39 Carl Cronje drive, tygervalley 021 914 8898

13–17 Jan, 10am, CriCKet: nashua Mobile Cape Cobras vs Bizhub highveld Lions Boland Park, Paarl, 021 657 2043

16 Jan, 5pm, aKinG (Laudo), Kyknet Backsberg Picnic Concert Series, Backsberg estate, Simondi-um road, Klapmuts, 021 875 5141

19 Jan, 6pm, FuLL-Moon hiKe on the Vineyard trail (10km) dirtopia trail Centre delvera Farm (r44 between Klapmuts and Stellenbosch), 021 884 4752

23 Jan, 5pm, aLBert FroSt, Kyknet Backsberg Picnic Concert Series, Backsberg estate, Simondi-um road, Klapmuts, 021 875 5141

29 Jan, 7pm, arno CarStenS, Paul Cluver For-est amphitheatre, de rust estate, n2 Grabouw, 021 844 0605

29 Jan, 8pm, niChoLaS LoW & ray dyLan, d’aria Winery, racecourse road, durbanville, 071 415 6985

30 Jan, 5pm, roBin auLd, Kyknet Backsberg Pic-nic Concert Series, Backsberg estate, Simondium road, Klapmuts, 021 875 5141

21 Jan FuLL-Moon PiCniC, sunset 7.58pm, moonrise 8.59pm. taalmonument, Paarl Moun-tain, 021 872 3441, www.taalmonument.co.za

30 Jan, from 9am SLaLey FarM MarKet, Slayley estate, cnr r44 & Kromme rhee, Koelenhof, Stel-lenbosch, 021 865 2123

5 Feb, FedheaLth internationaL heaLth Con-FerenCe, renowned natural health practition-ers discuss the power of a good diet in the fight against obesity, disease and sicknesses such as

c a n c e r , diabetes and heart disease. Spier estate, Stellen-bosch, www.fedhealth.co.za

soMe recurrinG events

every saturDay, FroM 9aM, the SteLLen-BoSCh FreSh GoodS MarKet, oude Libertas, oude Libertas road (off the r310), Stellenbosch, 072 416 4890

every MonDay 7pM SaLSa danCinG, Slaley estate, cnr r44 & Kromme rhee, Koelenhof, Stel-lenbosch, 021 865 2123

every Fri/sat/sun 12pM BoereBraai tradi-tional South african Braai, Middelvlei Wine estate, Flamingo Street, Stellenbosch, 021 883 2565



January 2011

Bubbly Festival Photos

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

BOOK NOW FOR

CHRISTMAS LUNCH

& NEW YEAR’S EVE



6

[email protected] | 021 876 8900 | www.lefranschhoek.co.za

A Provençal-style French Picnic.

Select your baguette or rosemary flatbread straight from the wood fired oven. Then, your choice of pâtés, cold cuts, organic cheeses, condiments such as piquant humus and order olives straight from the barrel. Relax and spend a slow day with friends in one of the many

conservatories or under an ancient oak.

Welcome to Le Franschhoek – country style!

R125 per person

every weekend from

25 September 2010

To the great relief of its devoted fans, the Sal-monBar on the main road of Franschhoek has re-opened; bigger and even better than before. Its bright new interior tells the story of trout, its leading product, which has trav-elled from the hatchery in the mountains of

Franschhoek, to the Lesotho Highlands and back again.

as Justin Bonello, in his 5th season of the series, ‘cooked’, discovered, the royale Highlands Trout is the most successful fish line sold in

woolworths’ deli section. and it is not only the taste of this premium quality trout that is remarkable; the importance of sustainable and environmentally sensitive food production cannot be overstated. as Greg Stubbs, co-owner of the royale Highlands Trout operation and the SalmonBar says, ”our vi-sion is to utilize modern aquacul-ture in order to preserve the ocean’s diminishing resources. By practic-ing international best-practice and responsible farm management, we can reach the world’s future de-mands of fresh seafood”.

The journey begins at the trout hatchery on Three Streams farm in the mountains of franschhoek. The eggs hatch in the clear moun-tain streams in conditions that are perfect for the production of disease-free fry. once they reach a weight of 10 grams, they are load-ed into oxygenated tanks of clean water and trucked to the Katze dam, in the Lesotho Highlands.

The thousands of small, silvery fry then spend two to three weeks in the nursery pens under the watch-

ful eyes of mike Kruger, the Katze fish farm’s general manager. at 30 grams they are big and strong enough to move into the large floating pens in the middle of the free flowing waters of Katze. The trout are fed a special diet to keep them fit and lean and to ensure they equal the taste and recognised health benefits of wild trout.

a corner-stone of royale Highlands Trout’s ethos is to directly contribute to the commu-nity that share the waters of Katse dam. Ha Lejone Village chief, mamphole molapo be-lieves the farm has added enormous value to their community, not only because they are shareholders in the business. “Going forward, we hope that the Katse fish farm will be able to expand and employ more people,” he says.

The company is preparing to develop an off-site hatchery and a processing plant in mase-ru which will require a further 120 full-time employees and will continue to develop local skills. They intend to establish a tradition of aquaculture that will present further signifi-

cant benefits for the mountain kingdom.

The harvested trout return to franschhoek, where they are cured using a secret recipe that perfectly balances sea salt and sugar. They are smoked using french oak shavings from wine barrels crafted in the cape winelands.

after a devastating fire last year, the Three Streams Smokehouse was rebuilt to new and exacting standards and despite the setback, continued investment in both the technology and staff, has seen the company prosper. “we are particularly proud to be playing an impor-

Journey of the Royale Highlands Trout Local Correspondent

after a three-month renovation, the salmonBar has opened its doors with a restaurant, bakery and deli with a focus on sustainably sourced and simply cooked fish. open from 8am, they brew arguably the best coffee in town, along with freshly baked pastries and perfectly prepared farm eggs served with salmon, trout or bacon. the old favourites compete against delicious ricotta hot cakes with Franschhoek honey, butter and fresh berries.

the deli offers artisan breads from knead bakery as well as trout, salmon and cured meat prod-ucts with freshly made sauces to accompany them. Mouthwatering little cakes, tarts, quiches and cookies; to eat in or take away, are also available and always beautifully displayed. at noon, breakfast rolls into lunch with delicious, modern and light meals on offer. the clear favourites are the Japanese tapas – salmon and prawn Potstickers, prawn, coriander and mint spring rolls and Pressed salmon sushi. the linefish is also very popular. caught by artisanal fisherman off Gordon’s Bay or kalk Bay it is served with homemade salmonBar fries and herb mayo.

all wines and sparkling wines are available by the glass and tasting can be enjoyed in the court-yard with tapas. Food is served all day, 7 days a week and the kitchen closes at 9pm. the sal-monBar also caters for dinners and functions, in and around Franschhoek.

greg Stubbs

TRADE ENQUIRIES021 876 2485

[email protected]

RETAIL SHOPSalmonBar at The Yard

021 876 [email protected]

FRANSCHHOEK VALLEY



January 2011

tant part in the local com-munity; over 500 meals are served weekly at two soup kitchens due to our activi-ties, and we have a pivotal role in the valley, creating many work opportunities” says Greg.

Back in the office, Judy Sendzul explains that roy-ale Highlands Trout is just one of the brands they have developed, under the ban-ner of omega works, the aquaculture marketing and brand-building partnership between Greg and Judy. “we create comprehensive marketing plans for aqua-culture products and sus-tainable seafood producers. our understanding of the species and our knowledge of marketing in retail and foodservice enables us to develop products with both integrity and commercial appeal,” she says.

www.salmonbar.comwww.omegafishworks.co.zawww.royalehighlandstrout.comwww.three-streams.co.zawww.fishforafrica.co.za

Husband and wife team, Sohail and Sabah Khan (pictured below), fourth and third generation rug dealers re-spectively, established their first Persian Rugs gallery in 2003. They began their trade in London, setting up successful rug businesses there before relocating to South Africa. It was here that their brainchild, Rugs of Persia was created.

rugs of Persia, nestled in the heart of fran-schhoek in the recently completed centre on the village main road, successfully in-troduces a fusion of contemporary and traditional rugs, exclusive one-off Kelims and soumacks. within the amazing new gallery (which couldn’t be more different from the Kahn’s previous one, opposite the franschhoek Town Hall), clients are now able to relax with a cup of coffee, iranian tea or even a glass of champagne while viewing the sumptuous merchandise. The lovely new store certainly serves to enhance the beauty of the rugs and makes for a very pleasant shopping experience, particularly when, like The month, you choose to en-joy the bubbly instead of tea or coffee.

The staff at rugs of Persia seem extremely knowledgeable and provide a level of pro-fessional service that is sure to get them noticed. Their personal, affable service adds to the ambience and creates a sense of relationship that makes the process of buying a Persian rug there, more like start-ing a friendship than simply looking for

something to cover the floor. Something else that is sure to drive business to rugs of Persia is Sabah’s assurance that they will offer the very best pricing (as the rugs are acquired directly from the source) and that no middle agents are involved.

rugs of Persia will hold their official launch in January with an ethnic celebration, in-cluding belly-dancers and amazing opening specials. clients will receive a free rug with every purchase including free airfreight of their purchases. The first 50 rugs of Per-sia clients will be entered into a draw and stand a chance to win a 2-night stay at a luxury boutique hotel in franschhoek (see their ad above for details and please note that terms and conditions apply).

Simply floored!

open daily 8am to 9pm | 27(0)21 876 4591 | [email protected] | www.salmonbar.comSuppliers of fresh and smoked salmon and trout from THREE STREAMS SMOKEHOUSE, Franschhoek

RESTAURANT · BAR · DELI · BAKERY

RESTAURANT · BAR · DELI · BAKERY

head chef mlondolozi with Judy Sendzul



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Our first Hottie of The Month for 2011 is Franschhoek lass, Rowe-na Jafta, who works at the Pretty Useful Tools store on the village main road (between the chemist and the Info Centre). While we get many Hottie nominations each month, Rowena takes the cake in terms of the sheer vol-ume of SMS messages we’ve received to date – she’s obvi-ously a popular choice. One of our SMSes summed it up rather interestingly, ‘Rowe-na, Pretty Hot, from Useful Tools’, and then gave us de-tailed directions on where to find her.

The drama graduate and one-time model has an infectious laugh and a bubbly personality and can often be seen socialising in franschhoek, enjoying dinner at the local eateries or an early morning coffee on the main road.

Seems Pretty use-ful Tools has a pretty, useful, saleslady to keep things ticking over. dig?

Hottie of The MonthRowena Jafta from Pretty Useful Tools

You Said...The other hottie of The month contenders for January were:Jeanne, manouche; Tanya-marie, asara wine estate; wynand grobler, rickety Bridge; John Fuller, mulderbosch; Cobus germishuys, Kanu wines; zenta van zyl, Somerbosch wines; Fran-cois Joubert, asara wine estate; Carla vd merwe, grande Provence heritage wine estate; inge Stanbrigde, Vriesenhof; Chanelle du Plessis (december 2010’s hottie), umami

Be sure to nominate your January Hottie via SMS, on 34995.

Q: What’s the most useful tool?a: a spade – i love to work in the garden; it’s re-ally fun.

Q: available or not?a: Well i’m not married (pauses for effect)… but there is somebody special.

Q: Which famous personality would you like to meet?a: Bill Clinton. he’s awesome and more than that he was a really good president.

Q: rich or famous?a: Famous! i would have loved to be an interna-tionally renowned model, but it was unfortunately not to be. Perhaps i’ll be famous now that i’ve been in the Month.

Q: What is your new year’s resolution?a: to travel. in fact i’m already planning to go in June or July. i want to see London and new york.

Q: Where’s your favourite place to eat in the Wine-lands? a: Café des arts, without a doubt. the people (Chris and Louise) are nice, it’s warm in there, it’s plain and simple and i love Mediterranean-style food.

Q: What’s your favourite drink?a: Graham Beck Cap Classique, can there be any other answer?

Q: if you could choose to relive your life as an ani-mal, what would you choose to be?a: hmm… a tiger. a female tiger (roars, purrs and scratches at the air). i’m dangerous as it is, so i guess a female tiger is a definite.

Q: When it comes to holidays, do you choose the mountains or the beach?a: definitely the mountains. i love hiking and the outdoors and the cool, clear, mountain air in the evening.

Q: What’s your most important advice for a wom-an?a: Be yourself; wake up in the morning, take a nice bath, smile as you look at yourself and say “you’re pretty!” and take the time to do nice things for yourself and others.

have a hottie oFthe Month contenDer?SmS the word month, the name of the hottie and

where we’re likely to find him/her to 34995

Tel: (021) 874 1611 | Corner of R45 and Klapmuts Simondium Rd, PaarlVisit our website to join our wine club: www.vnl.co.za

Come and visit our new Terrace area with breathtaking views! Open Monday to Sunday from 10h00 to 17h00.Become a wine club member and receive up to 20% DISCOUNT.



January 2011

When The Month was invited to the release of the Stellenzicht’s Cellarmaster’s Release Chardonnays and Petit Verdots recently, it wasn’t the chance to chat to cellar master, Guy Webber, or the opportunity to have an early go at Guy’s “No Added Sulphites” wines that got the office jumping; it was the chance to visit the Old Biscuit Mill without all the crowds that had us pulling straws and laying bets as to who’d crack the nod. Af-ter two re-draws the editor was declared the winner (by the editor); here’s his account of the tasting and a subsequent exclusive inter-view with Guy on site at Stellenzicht.

it’s not that i don’t rate Guy’s abilities or Stel-lenzicht’s wines. on the contrary, Stellenzicht’s Hill and dale range is a favourite and Guy’s Semillon reserve 2008 has pride of place in my cellar. it’s just that when another “low sulphur” wine hits the market you have to wonder. feeling a little skeptical i sat through Guy’s introduction at The Test Kitchen at The old Biscuit mill, thinking about lunch and the traffic i’d like to avoid, going back to the office. That was until Guy’s unpretentious honesty in response to a question became ap-parent. asked about the motivation to make a wine with no added sulphites, he simply re-plied, “it just happened.” Turns out the Petit Verdot he had in barrels at the time would have received their mandatory dose of preserv-ing sulphites but instead became the subject of a bit of experimentation.

it’s an approach that Guy is known for. when i suggested to him that his chemical knowl-edge must be pretty good to be able run the very real risk of failure with his valuable stock, he laughed out loud. “i’m no chemist, and making wine isn’t rocket Science!” yes, there are ways of doing things that pretty much guarantees results, or at least removes nearly all the risk, but Guy knows that trying differ-ent things, working instinctively and having a little fun make sfor interesting days, happy winemakers and ultimately better wines.

The Petit Verdot was left on the skins for al-most a year to allow the tannins to develop and soften as the wine aged. again, Guy reveals that this wasn’t planned and each time he went to check on the development of the wine he’d do so with every expectation that things had gone wrong. after being drawn off the skins the wine was left in barrel for another year and the result is a Petit Vedot that surprises as much as it impresses. while the tannins seem velvety, the wine has a marked acidity and on the nose it’s fruity and intense.

The chardonnay is also rather surprising and so unusual that it led me to ask Guy about how on earth he plans to sell it. one taster at the launch asked about the barrels in which it was aged – which is funny when you consider that the wine is unwooded. The dominant yeasty nose is no doubt to blame and makes for a wine that, to me, tastes like champagne smells. it’s not that it, or the Petit Verdot, is not a good wine; in fact i agree with Guy that both offer consumers something very different and rather exciting. But i had to ask him again to explain how on earth he plans to sell these strange gems.

Guy has this one well-sussed. The very limited quantities of each mean that seeing either in Tops or Pick n Pay Liquors is out of the ques-tion. Expect to find them, rather, at specialty wine stores and suppliers, restaurants that know their wines or have decent sommeliers and the farm itself. Guy illustrates the importance of at least some knowledge of the wine when he explains that as the wines are not cold-stabi-lised, it is possible that tartrate crystalisation may occur over time in the chardonnay and a sediment may form in the red. at r115 for the Petit Verdot and r89 for the chardonnay, no one need explain that it’s a really good buy.

we’ve never pretended to be wine connoisseurs here at the month, though our waistlines and battered livers would be pleased for the title, so we approached the respected sommelier, Jose-phine guttentoft of bosman’s at the grande ro-che in paarl to share her expert opion with us.

Guy Webber: Seller-Master?The Editor

Josephine says:on the nose, the chardon-nay shows hints of lime, some white fruit (like european gooseberries) and green grass. the acid-ity is noticeable and suggests that the grapes were harvested young.

on the palate the acidity is marked - perhaps this wine may keep a little longer than other “low sulphur” wines, and again the ‘green’ character is evident. it’s unusual to have a stellenbosch wine with only 12% alcohol and pineapple, litchi and green pepper/pa-prika flavours all show themselves.

lime and orange peel with some white pepper domi-nates the finish.

pair with: prawn ceviche with lime, chilli, coriander, etc.

the petit verdot shows its youth with a purple/bluish colour while on the nose the 15% alcohol is obvious; it’s very important to serve this wine at the right tem-perature – i’d say about 17 degrees celsius. the wine changes a bit in the glass and i preferred it cool as it had an initially earthy smell with lots of red cherries, some green fig and fresh eucalyptus/mint.

on the palate there’s quite a bit going on with sweet fruit, some acidity and typical petit verdot tannins. there’s a lot of chocolate covered cherries in the after-taste and hints of dark chocolate. the tannins linger with the finish.

pair with: braai meat and olive oil-drizzled roast veg-etables and garlic.



10

Last month we featured Rob Hahn’s deboned rolled Turkey as our Festive Season Recipe of The Month and, given the positive com-ments from our readers, we couldn’t resist the temptation to visit him in Paarl to take a closer look at his restaurant, Proviant.

Proviant is an interesting mix of traditional afrikaans decor (think ox wagon traditional), homely touches (think uncontrived photos, signed rugby jerseys and, i kid you not, some Long Johns on the line), good ol’ South afri-can comfort food (think west coast seafood, malay curries and stroop pampoen) and afford-able prices. rob and his staff are friendly and attentive without getting in the way and in the couple of hours i spent there, i saw single din-ers, romantic couples, kids and families accom-modated indoors and out; and as it was a Sat-urday, with a band in attendance to boot. with a choice of seating on the main road-facing ve-randah and terrace; in the cool interior or the fabulous courtyard against the Paarl mountain and the vineyards of the mason wine Estate, diners are spoilt for choice and there’s even a small shop-cum-deli with fresh baked goodies

and unu-

sual hand made items on sale.

Proviant is fast-becoming a favourite of regu-lars and the venue lends itself to large groups and wedding parties. it’s no wonder, as rob is the preferred service provider for weddings at Val de Vie and gained many years experience spanning his 20-year career.

on rob’s recommendation, i start-ed with a sample of eats that

included coconut-battered prawns, Bobotie Spring

rolls and two delicious patés. Each of the items

was freshly prepared and left me want-ing more - which is indicative of the great taste not portion size. The two main courses ordered were the South african Plate and a Bil-tong and Blue cheese Salad. The menu at Pro-viant is meant to

be uncomplicated and rob has suc-

ceeded in offering an authentic reflec-

tion of traditional afri-kaans cooking. The items

on my platter were testi-mony to this: The puff pas-

try-topped venison (warthog) pot pie, served in a ramekin, with

stewed fruit, mushrooms and a bit of a bite was a revelation. The bobotie was

perfectly presented (again in a ramekin) with a

slice of banana and a dollop of chut-ney baked into the light egg topping. The last of the meat dishes was a rich oxtail stew that had me literally licking the plate. To addto the mix there was a serving of syr-up-laced pumpkin (stroop pampoen), perfectly cooked cauliflower with a white sauce and grated cheese top-ping and sambals for the bobotie. it’s the kind of dish that every visitor to Sa, the winelands or Paarl, needs to enjoy, and at r105, they may as well enjoy it twice! The Biltong and Blue cheese salad was a good choice for a sweltering sum-mer’s day, with brandied prunes and a decent dress-ing adding flavours to complement the stars of the plate.

we allowed rob to surprise us with dessert and he presented a plate with three South african standards: a nutty brandy tart, a super-light Ti-ramisu and cheesecake with berry coulis. i had predicted milk tart (which is on the menu) or malva pudding; so seeing familiar, but unex-

pected, items on the plate made a good and altogether indulgent end to a very enjoyable meal.

all-in-all, Proviant offers a great venue, with good service and great food and with Paarl a stone’s throw from cape Town along the n1, it’s just a matter of time before we feature news about their expansion plans.

Restaurant ReviewStaff Reporter

proviant, paarl

3 Reservoir Street, Franschhoek • Tel: 021 876 3083 • [email protected]

home builders

architectural interiors

The small shop-cum-deli with baked goodies and unusual items



January 2011

madeleine Jordaan of avondale; Johan delport ofwaverley hills and Francois van zyl of Laibach winery

When the publishing editor of the Natural Medicine magazine, Daleen Totten, of Fran-schhoek, invited The Month to attend the magazine’s award ceremony for their take on the Top 10 Organic Red Wines available in South Africa, there was no hesitation to say yes. Daleen’s publication celebrates its 10th Birthday in 2011 and to see it flourish, de-spite the economic pressure many print pub-lications face, makes for some inspiration in our own offices here in the Winelands.

on the day, we were treated to some fabulous canapés courtesy of the award winning chef at Grande Provence, darren

roberts, under the oaks in the grounds of the Heritage wine Estate, and round upon round of Graham Beck bubbly.

as good as the snacks and bubbly were, it was the organic red wines that were the stars on the day and, after what seemed like ages (well, just enough time to enjoy a couple more

glasses of bubbly and twist dar-ren’s arm for another plate of eats), the j u d g e s e m e r g e d from their delibera-tions to

an-nounce the

winners and rob arm-strong, pictured above, ensured that all

was above-board. we’ll leave the details to the January edition of the natural medicine magazine and simply say that the top three, in no particular order, were Laibach’s The La-dybird red 2007, the waverley Hills organic cabernet Sauvignon/merlot blend 2007 and avondale’s cammisa Syrah 2005 (Seen below). along with news of the winners, the magazine features an interesting accompanying article about organic wines and their benefits and is well-worth the read.

Like good wine, it seems, the natural medi-cine magazine is getting better and better.

Happy Birthday!Natural Medicine turns 10



12

Every time i visit my brother at his home, there’s something new that either he or my sister-in-law have put together for their kids. if it’s not a giant sand pit, it’s a go kart, a play-house or some amazing game set; all casually construct-ed by their creative and very crafty hands. with a huge smile – this after an eight-hour work day – they tell me about their plans to go hik-ing with the kids up Stellenbosch mountain on Saturday, and how on Sunday they’ll be build-ing a fence around their flourishing vegetable garden - each child with his own mini tool set, ready to help. oh, and this past christmas they made all their christmas presents themselves, obviously to-

gether with the kids, and they suggested that we do the same in future. Seriously, where do they get the energy? we’d all love to pretend we’re the type of parent (or enthusiastic aunt) who always has something new up his or her sleeve to keep the little ones entertained; for some it comes naturally, and for everyone else there’s Kardoesie.

Thank goodness for Kardoesie. when i heard there was a place i could go to with the kids and actually relax and have a proper con-versation with my friends over a glass of wine, i thought it was too good to be true. i had to give it the on-ceover. The mo-ment i stopped under the trees in front of the adorable lit-tle old cottage with its lavender and rose garden, limed walls and thatched roof, i had a nostalgic sense that i was visiting ‘Granny’s kitchen’. Even before you open the old green wooden door, the smell of cookies and fresh bread hits you and the first thing you see are cupcakes, tarts and cakes! “i’m in heaven,” i thought. and so did the kids, once we had moved through the little “house” and onto the veranda at the back. off

they went, without even turning around once to see where we’d decided to sit.

Kardoesie is the latest addition to the well-known de Volkskombuis group, owned and run by the Kriel family. The manager described Kardoesie as a “Kids-based restaurant” and boy, is it kids-based! The entire plot is fenced in, and together with the electric gate at the entrance and attentive staff, no child can slip out without someone noticing (and, as impor-tantly, no unwanted characters can get in). The back yard has a pretty pink doll’s house, with

dress-up clothes inside. There are swings, a jungle gym, a sand-pit and a slide. There is the most beautiful old tree right in the middle of the play area, with its big branches protectively covering most of the yard – and it’s a big yard too!

Every wednesday kids are invited to bake cookies or decorate cupcakes together, and on fridays they have fun with paints and glue and all kinds of crafts. Then there are the birthday parties. i don’t know when last you were at a kid’s birthday party, but it’s a messy business. fizzers end up stuck in the dog’s hair, the cats go missing, you’ll find crayon marks on the veranda table, there’s spilt cool drink all over the floor and

sticky little hand prints on every glass surface from the kitchen to the car port! Save yourself the time, and in some cases even the money, and let the girls at Kardoesie handle it.

who knows, you may even have some fun yourself!

Restaurant ReviewLize Briedenhann KarDoesie, stellenbosch

QUOIN ROCKCAPE AGULHAS

CAP CLASSIQUESECOND RELEASE

with the the new year fes-tivities still upon us and every-body looking for a good bub-bly, the best one i have tasted recently is from the Southern cape-based vineyards of the Quoin rock winery. The cel-lar and most of their vineyards are in the Knorhoek valley on the slopes of the Simonsberg. They also own vineyards in the cool Southern cape area close to cape agulhas. in ad-dition to making really good wines, Quoin rock actively

pursues ethical and sustainable progress on their farms.

made from cool climate Pinot noir and chardonnay grapes from their Southern cape prop-erty and transported to Stel-lenbosch for production, this is a wine that delivers on eve-rything. fresh mineral, apple and berry flavours with cara-mel notes greet you at the first smell. on the palate the mousse and fresh flavours invite you to drink more. The wine ends with a crisp minerality that lingers.

r125 a bottle is certainly not a lot for a really well made and in-dividual cap classique.

About the Author...Johan delport (pictured as one of the winners on the previous page) was born in despatch in the Eastern cape and grew up in the town of worcester, in the heart of the Boland winelands. He matriculated from the drostdy Techni-cal High School in worcester in 1988 and finished his studies in oenology and Viticulture in 1994, at the Elsenburg college of agriculture in Stellenbosch.

He started his career in 1995 at KwV and in 1996 was appointed the win-emaker at Botha cellars in the Breede Kloof Valley. in 2000 he moved to cit-rusdal cellars on the west coast, where he assumed the position of Production manager until 2005. He is currently employed as cellar manager and wine-maker by waverley Hills organic wines and olives in Tulbagh.

Johan has travelled to many of the world’s wine regions including Ger-many, france, italy, Spain, Portugal and california. CHIC PEA

Emporium

Funky fashionNocturnal Affair

Melissa and DougAlex

Chic RevolutionBelle and Boo

dress.pamper.play

Shop 1, Centre du Village, Franschhoek Tel: 021 876 4600

waverley hills organic wines and olives, in Tulbagh

Wine of The MonthJohan Delport, Waverley Hills Organic Wines

www.THEmonTH.co.za 13January 2011

Property & Lifestyle Section

THE

monTH

TO RENT | IDEAL FAMILY HOME

This ultra modern Louis Phillips Design is ideal for the family with 4 en-suite bedrooms, two entertainment areas, state of the art kitchen and swimming pool. With views from every room it brings the beauty of the Boland indoors.

FOR SALE | PRIME SPOT

This modern single storey home is in a prime position on the estate and offers uninterrupted mountain and golf course views. It has 4 bedrooms en-suite, a study and 2 living areas with a stunning kitchen.

For sales and lease enquiries | T +27 21 867 8000 | F +27 21 867 8096 | E [email protected] | W pearlvalleygolfestates.com

R12.5 million

FOR SALE | LOVELY WATER VIEWS

This brilliantly designed 4 bedroom home displays attention to detail, offering lovely views over the water, as well as an entertainment deck both upstairs and downstairs. It is finished off to a high standard and has a good flow.

R5.95 million

R32k per month

~ 2011 ~ 2011 ~ 2011 ~ 2011 ~ 2011 ~ 2011 ~ 2011 ~ 2011 ~ 2011 ~ 2011 ~ 2011 ~

2010 Compleat Golfer ‘5 Star Golf Experience’2009 Golf Digest ‘Best Golf Estate’ 2009, 2008, 2007 Host of the SA Open 2009 Golf Digest ‘2nd best conditioned course’

AWARD WINNING

Pearl Valley would like to wishyou a prosperous New Year ~ 2011


ProPErTy & LifESTyLEJanuary 2011

14


January 2011

January 2011

ProPErTy & LifESTyLE

FINEST VIEWS IN FRANSCHHOEK Vacant land

WEB 215 089MARIANNE 082 921 3248 [O] 021 876 4592

FRANSCHHOEK LAND R3 500 000

Own a piece of world class land in one of the best positions in Franschhoek. This generous 1039m² plot is perfectly situated in a quiet area of town with sunny mountain views overlooking the vineyards.

COSY OPTION ON SECURE ESTATE Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 2 Garage 1

FRANSCHHOEK R2 650 000

Enjoy the luxury of a vacation home in a secure village estate with a stunning glass enclosed verandah overlooking the vineyards. Lovely lifestyle facilities incl tennis, pool and secure walk ways.

VICTORIAN GEM Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 2 Garage 1

WEB 219 136NELIA RETIEF 082 899 2248 [O] 023 230 1414

TULBAGH R1 750 000

This beautiful Victorian house is an original Tulbagh gem, which has been tastefully renovated into a lovely family home with great entertainment areas and a pool - placed on a large plot of 1597m²

ULTRA SLEEK & STYLISH NEW HOME Bedrooms 5 Bathrooms 5 Garage 3

DOT FRASER 083 261 0652 [email protected]

PEARL VALLEY GOLF ESTATES R17 900 000

Elements of the Med and chic styling abound in this designer home, with various expansive open plan entertaining areas including a very stylish bar, stunning lighting, quality finishes & views onto the 18th green.

The Vines at Val de Vie offers you a selection of Twenty homes priced from R1.995m incl VAT

Exc i t i ng new launch o f a f fo rdab le homes a t Va l de Vie i n the F ranschhoek -Paar l Va l l ey : This picture depicts the Lifestyle that The Vines will offer you on the iconic Estate of Val de Vie. Offering you a lock-up-and-go / retirement option with various facilities on offer including: Secure country lifestyle, 25m heated indoor pool, gym, tennis & squash courts, stabling, fly fishing and so much more...Choose the home and pricing package that suits you and pay a securing deposit, then sit back and relax whilst we build the home for you!Please visit our Seeff on-site sales office in the Lifestyle centre at Val de Vie for further info or contact us on 021 863 6101 or [email protected]

fine selection of 3 & 4 bedroom homeslovely affordable home or

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WEB 188 274MARIANNE 082 921 3248 [O] 021 876 4592


ProPErTy & LifESTyLEJanuary 2011

16


January 2011

January 2011

ProPErTy & LifESTyLE



18



January 2011

hey Guys, hoW Will you spoil her on valentine’s Day?

Here’s a suggestion...

Start with great prizes from Canal walk stores to be awarded on the morning of Saturday 12th February before boarding your private helicopter bound for Santé. enjoy a magical flip over the winelands as your mates go green with envy and her admiring family (and jealous friends) wave

you goodbye.

Land in the grounds of magical Santé in the heart of the winelands, a short distance

from Paarl, Fran-schhoek and Stel-

lenbosch, as Santé staff whisk your bags to your suite and you to your waiting tour guide from winelands experience. From here a short drive will see you settled at the revamped restaurant at the Backsberg wine estate for lunch. here you’ll enjoy Backsberg Spar-

kling Brut mCC and your choice of any one of Backsberg’s fabulous lunch options, in-cluding their delicious Sum-mer Vineyard Platter or Ka-roo Lamb on the Spit. after lunch your guide will drive you to Vrede en Lust for an exclusive wine tasting, cellar tour and visit to the historic manor house at the hands of one of the estate’s famous ‘Ladies in red’. depending on time, your dedicated guide will then escort you to an estate of your choice before delivering you back to Santé.

it’ll be late afternoon by the time

you step out of your air-conditioned transporter so you’ll be pleased to head to the Santé Spa for a romantic couples’ massage and some time out before your private, candle-light dinner. more wine and Backsberg bub-bly will compliment chefs Beenyamin and monique’s marvellous crea-tions and a special Valentine’s desert which is sure to set the scene for the rest of the evening. That, of course, is up to you and as this is a family magazine, we’ll say no more.

awake at your leisure before enjoying a Champagne Breakfast and a short helicop-ter flight back to Canal walk. her friends and family will be there, to welcome you back, while yours will still be pinching them selves wondering how on earth you were made winner and not them. Shop, enjoy the experience and sign a couple of autographs before heading home . don’t forget the next day is Valentine’s day;

imagine the special gifts that await you now…

read -ers of The winelands month and The Canal walk month stand a chance to win a dream Valentine’s experi-ence, courtesy of Santé wellness Spa and hotel and everyone’s favourite shopping destination, Canal walk. The experience will be made all the more special with transfers courtesy of winelands experience, food and wine from the Backsberg wine estate and a tour and tasting of the Verde en Lust wine estate.

To stand a chance of winning this fabulous prize, answer this simple question:

What is the frenchWord for “heaLth”?

Exclusive wine tasting & tour sponsored by Vrede en Lust

Lunch & bubbly at Backsberg

WIN WIN WIN!

Accommodation & helicopter flight courtesy of Santé

SMS...your answer to

34995(start your sMs with

the word Month) Multiple entries welcome.

Terms & Conditions on page 27

We provide a full florist service with fresh flowers daily - openfrom 9 till 4 - an unforgettable visual experience!

ORCHIDS • OTHER EXOTIC PLANTS • FRESH FLOWERSEVENTS & CORPORATE ARRANGEMENTS

[email protected]

TEL: 021 876 3399

WE ARE VERY EASY TO FIND



20

Not Too Far From Here...Anne Armstrong from Haut Espoir

PeruThis month’s Not

Too Far From Here is, literally, about as far from here as one can go before com-ing back. Written

by Anne Armstrong, the much-loved owner of Haut Espoir Wine Estate in Franschhoek, this abridged article chronicles Anne’s travels in, and experience of, a country that she describes in one word as Mystical. We hope you enjoy her account of the Inca Trail, and getting there, as much as we did.

our trip began in Lima, the city of Kings, and capital of Peru, from whence we travelled down along the western Seaboard through the South coastal desert to Paracas. This small sandy harbour town is the departure point for boat trips to the Ballestas islands, which in turn is home to sea lions, Humboldt penguins, pelicans, boobies, countless gulls and a thriv-

ing guano industry. close-by is the Huachina oasis, where the brave choose to be harnessed into giant sand buggies as they bounce over the dunes or sand board the perilous slopes. after-wards everyone enjoys Pisco Sours to wash the sand from their throats.

next stop was arequipa, the ‘white city’, carved from white volcanic sillar stone, and Peru’s second largest city. it has been described as a “haven of tranquillity and age-old tradi-tions, spicy cuisine, and heart-wrenching mu-sic.” The arequipan food is indeed amazing – notable are the stuffed rocoto chilli peppers

and smashed guinea pig (picture a flattened guinea pig, covered in bread crumbs; head, feet et al) which is then washed down with chichi, a fermented maize beer. not quite what you’d find here in the winelands.

from here our adventure continued to the colca canyon, with spectacular views of the

andes and with small glaciers dripping onto the winding road. alpacas and llamas are abundant on these high plains and the volcanic pools are visited by many migratory bird spe-cies, including flamingos, Black-faced andean gulls and ajoga and Huallata ducks. The colca canyon is one of the world’s deepest canyons and is a region of smokey volcanoes, spouting geysers and bubbling hot springs. Seeing the immense andean condors soaring gracefully on thermals above the magnificent gorge was an unforgettable experience.

The trip from the canyon to cusco via Puno

made for an interesting, albeit altogether for-gettable, experience. we had the misfortune of being the victims of public boycotts and blockades, which delayed our departure from Puno to cusco; with no buses, flights or trains available. a six-hour, late-night drive through remote villages and farm roads got us safely to cusco; with bribes to young teenage boys to

remove stone barricades from the road a re-minder that not everyone regards tourism as the country’s top income earner.

cusco is a cultural mixture of splendid temples and elaborate Baroque churches; colonial man-ors built on perfectly preserved incan stone foundations and colourful markets and squares. we visited Pisac and the amazing maras salt pools, which now number over 8000 and cover the hillside from top to bottom. our last night before starting the inca Trail was spent in ol-lantaytambo, a lovely well-preserved village with cobbled streets and gurgling water chan-nels. after a great pizza dinner, we packed our backpacks and duffle bags and hoped that we had everything we needed for the next four days on the trail. finally - on to the camino inka.

our first day started at Kilometre 82 (or 88 de-pending on your guide book!), where we met our support team of chef, assistant chef, waiter and porters ahead of the 42km trek through and over the andean mountains, valleys, rivers, passes and forests, on the way to our destina-tion, machu Picchu.

The first day is an easy walk along the urubam-ba river, with a light climb to our first resting place – the campsite at wayllabamba. after setting up the campsite – two 2-man tents, ful-ly furnished with inflatable mattresses (we used our own sleeping bags), a dining tent to ac-commodate a table and five chairs, the kitchen tent and the glorious toilet tent - the support team played two very energetic games of foot-ball. This is apparently a tradition on the first night of camping, even at 3000m! dinner was provided by the local villagers and consisted of fresh river trout and apple pie!

day two saw us trek up the cusichaca valley to Hullayabamba, then through stunted cloud forests and stands of wild dagga to Llullucha-pampa. at 3680m this grassed area offers beau-tiful views of the Llulluchapampa ruins and the perfect end to a short but strenuous day’s walk. The third day is considered the hardest of the inca Trail and its reputation is well de-served. we headed for the highest part of the trail – warmiwanusca or ‘dead woman’s Pass’ (seriously!) at 4200m. The final stretch of the day took us along the royal inca pathway to the Sayacmarca ruins, through tunnels in the mountainside, to the Phuyapatamarca ruins (3650m). Phuyupatamarca means ‘place above the clouds’ in the Quechuan language, and we slept in the clouds that night, waking to the most beautiful sunrise that lit up the glaciers and snow on the surrounding mountains.

The final day’s hiking involved a knee-destroy-ing total descent of 900m, mercifully broken by a lunch stop at winay wayna and a visit to the impressive ruins of the same name. watch-

bistro style restaurant · scrumptious breakfasts · deli · freshly baked artisan breads

COTAGE FROMAGE – OPEN DAILY FROM 08H00 TO 17H00 T. 021 874 3991VREDE EN LUST WINE ESTATE, CORNER R45 AND KLAPMUTS SIMONDIUM ROAD, PAARL

COMPLIMENTARY FILTER COFFEE WITH BREAKFAST MONDAY TO FRIDAY!

Our Christmas hampers are now available – a feast of edible treats including a Christmas cake for two, a 375ml bottle of Vrede en Lust wine and a chance to win an overnight’s stay on the farm! *

* TER

MS

& C

ON

DIT

ION

S A

PPLY

bistro style restaurant · scrumptious breakfasts · deli · freshly baked artisan breads

COTAGE FROMAGE – OPEN DAILY FROM 08H00 TO 17H00 T. 021 874 3991VREDE EN LUST WINE ESTATE, CORNER R45 AND KLAPMUTS SIMONDIUM ROAD, PAARL

COMPLIMENTARY FILTER COFFEE WITH BREAKFAST MONDAY TO FRIDAY!

Our Christmas hampers are now available – a feast of edible treats including a Christmas cake for two, a 375ml bottle of Vrede en Lust wine and a chance to win an overnight’s stay on the farm! *

* TER

MS

& C

ON

DIT

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S A

PPLY

Spectacular views of the snow-capped andes - ‘an unforgettable experience’

Quite



January 2011

According to their website, Kanu Wines, a short distance from Stellenbosch along the M12/Polkadraai Road, produces wine that “offers exceptional quality and unu-sual, innovative packaging” and which has

“achieved phenomenal acclaim and numer-ous awards.” Chat to anyone in the ‘know’ and they’ll tell you there’s another very at-tractive reason to visit Kanu: the price.

yes, the venue is attractive and yes, the staff are attractive (just have a look at how often Kanu features in the Hottie of The month nomina-tions) and yes, the quality, packaging and repu-tation of the wines is attractive – but knowing that there’s always a red available for less than r20 or a white for less than r15, can’t be beat. The month met with Kanu’s sales and market-ing assistant, naomi to chat about the business sense of selling good wine at ridiculously low prices and walked away with new respect, fresh insights, a case of super-quaffers and change to spare.

naomi didn’t reveal all of Kanu’s secrets – de-spite my repeated attempts to determine the source of some of their exceptional unlabelled wines which routinely sell for less than twenty bucks. She did explain that at times, through no fault of the wine, certain wine doesn’t sell. it may be that the market it was created for was saturated at the time, perhaps additional stock was produced and not needed or it may just be that the particular blend is unusual or unknown and not absorbed by consumers. it’s here that Kanu’s exceptional ability to sell wine really impresses. walk in to their tasting room on any given day and any one of a number of very knowledgeable, genuinely friendly and al-ways chatty staff will have you seated and wined in no time (stay indoors if it’s chilly or head outside and enjoy the lovely views if it’s not too windy). what sets them apart is that they’re as comfortable selling their labelled, more expen-sive, stock as they are the rest. There’s an op-portunity to compare and discuss the merits of the particular wines, there’s good advice about pairing and chilling and then there’s the chance to simply chat. and, boy, can these guys chat! it’s this last point that many front of house staff involved in the tourism industry miss. Being made to feel welcome and important enough to have some time spent on, or to have some-one complement a shirt or bag, or simply lis-ten, leaves a lasting impression and means the

wine and the brand become linked to a pleas-ing experience. Kanu isn’t just a name to me anymore, it’s an entertaining morning with a friendly bunch and, as a result, it’ll routinely make its way to my dinner table or those of my friends.

naomi admitted that connecting with custom-ers and potential customers is part of a concert-ed effort at Kanu and it’s paying off. She was also happy to suggest that part of selling Kanu wines means selling the region’s wines too. The tasting room is a source of fair and informative first-hand comment about the neighbouring farms and areas and the offering of many of the estates in the winelands. anyone heading out of cape Town to discover the winelands would do well to start at Kanu – and set a day or two aside if you intend to plan your trip according to their advice – they’ll have you visiting the known and the un-known, far and near, good and very good.

To close, i asked naomi to recommend a red to take back and without hesita-tion the unlabelled Petit Verdot/merlot currently on sale got the nod. “But have a taste first,” she cau-tioned as she led me over to cobus Germishuys in the tasting room, “it’s an interesting blend.” with a smile cobus poured me far more than a taste and beckoned me to sit. “Let’s see, what can i tell you about this unusual wine? it’s up-front Petit Vedot and as a result i recommend it with a little ice and enjoyed as a summer wine. nice shirt, by the way.”

Honest, intelligent and friendly, that’s my take on Kanu.

Winery ReviewStaff Reporter

Kanu’s sales and marketing assistant, naomi

Kanu, Stellenbosch

ing the swallows dive in and out of the inca stonework made me aware of the peace and endurability of the incan legacy. with great anticipation, we climbed the final steep steps, known as the ‘Gringo Killers’, to inti Punku, the Gateway of the Sun, for our first glimpse of the magnificent machu Picchu far below us.

The very busy and cramped town of aquas calientes was our base for the night, but we returned to machu Picchu, the next morning for some shopping at the extensive artisan mar-ket at aquas calientes and a couple of well de-served drinks at the local restaurants. a short train trip on Peru rail took us back to oll-

taytambo and our minivan. Late that night we arrived back in cusco for a well deserved sleep.

with the trail done, our stay in Peru may as well have just begun – there is so much to this amazing country that i’d need a day in The month rather than a page to recount it all. we’ve already begun to plan the next trip to South america, when we’ll tackle the cordillera Huayhuash Trail and see the South american waterfalls – care to come along? CAPE TOWN John Jacob Interiors Building, 231 - 233 Bree Street, Cape Town Tel: 021 422 0106

FRANSCHHOEK SHOWROOM 15 Daniel Hugo Street, Franschhoek Tel: 021 876 2155

OPENING TIMES Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm Saturday 10am - 1pm • E-mail: [email protected]

ART & INTERIORSLa Grange



22

Lewis Pugh: swims to achieve the impossible

Lewis Pugh spent the first ten years of his life in England, the next 17 in South Af-rica, and since then has lived from time to time in both countries, including some time spent in Norway. He is a maritime lawyer by training and a pursuer of dreams by incli-nation. There wasn’t an ocean or a sea that he didn’t want to swim, nor a mountain he didn’t want to climb, and it was no surprise to him when he quit his well-paid lawyer’s job in the City of London for a life more in-teresting. He spent five years in the British SAS, devoted his free time to preparing for

(and swimming in) the world’s most hostile places and developed an understanding of the beauty, the preciousness and fragility of life and its many eco-systems. In 2010 he was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum for his “potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world through inspiring leadership.” Driv-en by nothing more than deep belief, he has achieved things most would regard as impos-sible. He swims to highlight the challenge of containing global warming so we asked him whether ‘Achieving the Impossible’ (the title of his new book) was not only his motiva-tion, but apt in this regard.

leWis puGh: well, the world stands at a cru-

cial juncture. Just because we have lived the way we have for so long, have consumed the way we have for so long, populated the earth the way we have for so long, doesn’t mean we can carry on doing so and survive - and the warning signs are everywhere to be seen. we need a radical tactical shift in our relationship with the environment that will ensure that our children and grandchildren will live in a safe, secure and, most importantly, a sustain-able world. Very few things are impossible to achieve if we put our minds to it.

the Month: But do we have the capability to make this ‘tactical shift’?

lp: The capability has to begin young and, unfortunately, we never get taught at school what the components are. we get taught Eng-lish, afrikaans, maths, Biology, History etc, but what about vision, leadership, teamwork, courage, mindset, tenacity and determination? all of those things are eminently teachable and with them most things are possible. unless we are capable to make the right decisions right now, our children will live in a world that’s nei-ther safe nor sustainable.

tM: and now you swim to highlight this chal-lenge. what drove you and shaped your un-derstanding?

lp: a number of different factors. my father was in the South Pacific for six years whilst the British carried out their atomic tests. He was a naval Surgeon and his responsibility was to go and pick up all the dead animals afterwards and examine them for their levels of radiation. it left a mark on him. when we moved to South africa, every school holiday he would take me to a national Park. it’s hard not to love the en-vironment when you’ve done this. Then i went to the arctic and, over seven summers, saw

sea ice melting and galaciers retreating, which made me aware of climate change. and then in London (working as a lawyer) a friend said to me once, ‘if you don’t follow your own dreams in life you’re going to be following somebody else’s’. and that combination sort of sealed it for me. imagine getting to the end of your life and realising that!

tM: So you joined the SaS?

lp: Ja, and that training helped me put expedi-tions together. it was very hard, brutally hard. (Lewis is, to date, the only member of the SaS to have completed the selection course three times). But from a very young age i had always dreamt of exploring and my father read to me of the great explorers. So i think this is what i was cut out to do! Having said that, as a law-yer i learned to think sequentially and argue rationally and i wouldn’t be able to fight with world leaders about the need to protect the en-

vironment unless i’d learnt that.

tM: and these extreme physical challenges - it’s been suggested that you are able to achieve these because you are in some way physically different. is that the case?

lp: certainly not. i will just never, ever, give up. There is nothing more powerful than a made-up mind yet most people give up at the 11th hour. not only have they just wasted eleven hours, there is often no realisation of how close they are to achieving what they set out to achieve. if you give up the first time it feels really bad, the second time not so bad, the third time it’s becoming okay. Quitting can easily become a habit. Perseverance is abso-lutely critical to everything in life. So i’m not different – i just don’t give up so easily. tM: are you thinking of scaling back your ad-ventures?

lp: The other day i was arguing with david cameron. we were having a solid debate and then, that evening, i was racing some young-sters in the pool. although it was a wonderful feeling to be tested against these young ‘thrust-ers’ and argue against the big minds, i realised that an ability to argue comes with experience and ability to swim tapers off with age. So i guess i’m at the ‘crossing point’ at my age; ar-guing may become easier and swimming hard-er! Having said that, i swim to carry a message and so i will swim until the last day of my life - but i hope it won’t be because of a swim that it is the last day of my life.

tM: So what’s next, Lewis?

lp: well, there are two possible swims, both endurance, both swimming across entire eco-systems - one very dangerous and one moder-ately dangerous. i want to do the very danger-ous one whilst my team wants me to do the moderately dangerous one. i guess i’ll have to peg back at some stage – undoubtedly the in-tensity of the swimming will fade but the in-tensity of the message needs to grow.

tM: and to wrap, what is that message?

lp: it’s really a plea to every person and every nation to do everything possible to protect the environment. we live in a global environment so what happens in one part of the world will impact every other part. and when it comes to cutting carbon emissions, we must stop ar-guing about whether china, the uSa or the Eu should act first. Given the urgency of the situation every country needs to put in place every solution at its disposal. There is no time for delay. tM: Thanks Lewis and good luck. for more in-formation visit WWW.leWispuGh.coM

The Crossing PointWe chat to legendary swimmer, Lewis Pugh



January 2011

Can Peugeot’s upstart RCZ sports coupé re-ally dethrone the mighty Audi TT?

it isn’t often that we start a shootout story without a hunch as to which car will win. This month we consider two chic and affordable sports coupés, but the real story here is that the audi TT finally has a proper rival in the form of Peugeot’s upstart rcz and it seems we’re set for a fight to the finish.

we all know the TT’s sleek, sharp and aggres-sive look. But is it too clinical and precise? Some argue that TT is minimalism at its best; but park the gorgeous new rcz next to it and your perceptions may change. ‘did Peugeot re-ally do that?’ and while it’s good in pictures, the rcz just drops jaws on the main road.

The rcz is clearly a Peugeot but look past the a-pillars and it’s all change from there - muscu-lar haunches, that curvaceous ‘double-bubble’ roof and an adventurous style may split opin-ion, but the rcz certainly is a standout design from every viewpoint.

The TT’s style flows from just about any an-gle, but it suddenly seems understated along-side the rcz – the frenchie stands out from the crowd and it isn’t dime-a-dozen either. So the upstart lands a telling opening blow to the German’s jaw.

moving inside the TT, it’s just like inside any other audi – classy, overflowing with luxury

and built to the highest German engineering and quality standards. it’s easy and comfort-able behind the wheel and you feel ready to pounce.

The rcz is far more french inside. clearly. Vive la france! it drowns you in leather, seems very well put together and looks good too. There’s little to choose between them though – both are well appointed, beautifully built and comfortable. But even a dwarf would sit un-comfortably in the back of either car.

The audi is probably more ergonomic though, which gives it a split-decision second-round win.

and so to the decider – how do these things run? okay, neither is going to speed you to the moon and back, but how big is the smile on your dial when you push that pedal to the metal?

once again the audi is sharp yet smooth to drive. But it’ll lose you at times, while the Peu-geot keeps you fully involved pretty well all the time. i mean, when was the last time you turned a Peugeot’s radio off to listen to the en-gine at work?

you do need to wring those horses out of rcz though – do so and it’s surprisingly quick; yet it’s still easy to drive in everyday traffic.

Both cars handle brilliantly – the french car just edging the German thanks to a surprising level of Peugeot chassis dynamics allowing the rcz to score the biggest surprise of this test.

ultimately, this Peugeot just pips the audi in overall dynamics – the rcz is more exciting than the TT, both to look at and to drive. But then some may say that the Peugeot lacks the sway of a true big name brand, which pulls back the pendulum and still makes this a really difficult one to call.

But hang on a minute – what about price and specification? Bring that into the equation and suddenly it’s game, set and match as the scales tip toward the Peugeot to allow the underdog rcz to dethrone the affordable coupé king, the TT.

Sacre bleu!

See how the RCZ fared in Cars in Action’s 2011 performance car of the year feature in the Febru-ary issue on sale in Pick n Pay or BP in Fran-schhoek

Photo finishauDi tt 2.0 tFsi vs PeuGeot rcZ 147

Words: Michele Lupini, Image: David Taylor

stat sheet auDi tt 2.0 Fsi peuGeot rcZ 147

engine 1984CC dohC 16V TurBo 4 1598CC dohC 16V TurBo 4

Power, Torque 155Kw, 350nm 147Kw, 275nm

gearBox Fwd 6-SPeed manuaL Fwd 6-SPeed manuaL

TeSTed 0-100Km/h 5.9 SeC 0ndS 7.4 SeCondS

TeSTed ¼-miLe 14.6 SeCondS @ 159Km/h 14.9 SeCondS @ 155Km/h

maximum SPeed 245Km/h 240Km/h

FueL/emiSSionS 6.6l/100Km, 154g/Km 6.9l/100Km

warranTy/SerViCe 2 yearS/5 yearS 3 yearS/5 yearS

PriCe r423,750 r373,000

our raTing 8 9



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Adrenalin rushing through your veins, your heart beating in double time, a feeling of eu-phoria akin to the one you had when your first child was born – yet you haven’t moved an inch! How can this be?

your horse has just passed the winning post in first place! This is my drug of choice, and each time a horse i own outright, have shares in or bred, runs, this euphoria keeps me coming back – win or lose.

in december, The month carried an advert about the Premier Sale of thoroughbred race horse yearlings to take place at the cape Town international conference centre on 27th and 28th of January 2011. This month it features again and the relevance of the ad in a wine-lands publication is extremely appropriate.

The reason is that two of the country’s top stud farms, the drakenstein Stud, of Gaynor and Johan rupert, and the nutfield Stud, of John and Beth Brandtner, are to be found in the heart of the winelands, in the little village of franschhoek. These two fledgling stud farms are already making their mark with winners on the track, and it would seem that the flood gates are about to open. drakenstein will be of-fering 18 well-bred yearlings, representing top sires Trippi, western winter, Jet master and a host of top international sires, whilst nutfield will offer a smaller draft of three quality year-lings by top sires Var, western winter and al-bert Hall. Both the drakenstein and nutfield Studs would welcome your visit to their farms to experience the workings of a stud and just enjoy the beautiful settings and atmosphere.

i t may just make business sense to

visit them too. There are a number of ways of owning a race horse, including sole ownership, partnership with a few owners or as a syndicate of as many as 20 members. The syndicate route is a nice way to begin the pleasure of being an owner, and many who understand the reference to my ‘drug of choice’ and who own a number of horses outright, started out as members of syndicates or partnerships.

The sale-topper at the cape Premier yearling Sale will be in the region of r3m. However, not every racehorse needs to cost a lot of mon-ey. consider the case of the pin-up poster-boys of previous cape Sales. Pocket Power cost r160,000, was Horse of the year three times, won 20 races (including three J&B mets) and has earned r9.9m to date. Jay Peg, recent win-ner of the dubai duty free, cost r140,000 and became the champion 3-year-old in South af-rica before being sent to race overseas. He also won The Singapore airlines cup (Grade 1), and has earned over r40m. Expect a median selling price of around r300,000, but horses will sell from as little as r50,000. Just imagine the potential return on a relatively small invest-ment that becomes positively negligible when you consider that you could share the cost with your syndicate…

in fact, why not create a The month or even a winelands syndicate and get caught up in the fun at the sale and purchase a yearling or two? Believe me, it will be a life changing experience and the beginning of the most pleasurable of passions.

don’t forget the many social events that take place in the run-up to the Premier Sale such as the cape Breeders race day on 15th of January,

where, for a modest fee, you can enjoy a sump-tuous meal, the atmosphere and hype of all the racing and perhaps win a little money. Early on the morning of the 19th of January the gallops for the J&B met take place, where you will be able to witness all the runners for the event be-ing put through their paces in final prep for the big race. why not enjoy “Breakfast with The Stars” that morning and ub shoulders with the trainers, jockeys and owners involved with this famous race? if, by the time the Premier Sale arrives, you don’t want to own a horse, i’ll be rather surprised.

contact Stud manager, ross fuller, of draken-stein Stud on 021 8749015 or 082 8262127, Jackie Jolliffe, of nutfield Stud, on 021 8763502 or 072 7699521 or me, Gary, on 082 3454115 for any information you may need regarding the wonderful world of horseracing and breeding, and any information regarding the sale - and don’t forget my syndicate idea, it may just be the start of a lucrative relation-ship.

pictured left:Jay peg, bred in hermanus and a r140,000 buy at the cape sales, stands supreme in the winner’s circle in dubai with his lucky owners after winning the us$5 million dubai duty free s. (gr.1) defeating in-ternational champions from five continents. he has now returned to south africa for stallions duties at the klawervlei stud in bonnievale.

Winning: The Drug of Choice!Gary Joliffe



January 2011

Invites You To Attend The Inaugural

Cape PremierYearling Sale

Invest in a Lifestyle

January 27 - 28 • 2011

To be held at theCape Town International Convention Centre

Bloodstock South AfricaTelephone: +27 (0) 11 323 5700 • Facsimile: +27 (0) 11 323 5788

Eamonn Cullen Mobile: +27 (0) 72 614 3901Caroline Simpson Mobile: +27 (0) 82 552 6525

E-mail: [email protected] • Web: www.tba.co.za & www.capepremiersale.co.za

Welcome to Cape Town, the world’s most beautiful city, where

you can enjoy an unparalleled lifestyle of fun, functions

and parties, awash with glamorous people, fine thoroughbreds and

Championship racing, during the height of the Cape Summer season in

January 2011. Enjoy our richest races - the J&B Met G1, the Investec

Cape Derby G1, the L’Ormarins Queens Plate G1 and the TBA Paddock

Stakes G1, and two days of sales of the finest horseflesh in our corner

of the Southern Hemisphere. South Africa has proven itself as a low

cost, high grade nursery for internationally successful G1 performers

in the USA, Great Britain, France, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Australia, New

Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. You’ll be surprised at

the value, warmed by the reception and intrigued by what promises to

be a unique and special sale - the newest of the racing world.



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There are many new products released into the market dai-ly, but many of these are just ‘more of the same’. A newly released product that I think is quite different, and worth a mention, is The Global Life product issued by Glacier In-ternational (a new division of the listed company Sanlam Ltd.) which aims to provide high net worth individuals a direct international solution to their investments off-shore.

i met with cobus Kruger and martin Brand of Glacier inter-national to chat about the product and it was very clear from our discussion that the Glacier team want to go back to basics by focusing very heavily on the investment part of the prod-uct. “we are very keen to show investors that we can make money for them offshore by providing superior investment

options and choices on the platform” said cobus.

in the past, poor investment performance offshore has led to many investors losing pa-tience and bringing money back to South africa. if you were thinking along these lines, i would strongly recommend that you reconsider now. i briefly discussed with martin the benefits of investing into the prod-uct, and these are summarized below:

a South african taxpayer can make substantial savings since the only tax payable is upon withdrawal and is charged at a rate of 7.5% on the foreign currency gain - not the rand gain. investors can make switches (or directly buy shares and bonds within the product) tax free and since it can be difficult to calculate income capital gains tax on offshore investments, Glacier will take care of this administration on your behalf.

There is a large investment choice available so whatever the investor’s risk profile, this product has a solution for all. nor-mally, interest and dividends on foreign investments are tax-able here in Sa but with the Global Life product, the more so-phisticated investor (with over $500 000 to invest) can open a custodian or stock broking account with one of the major Swiss banks, buy listed investments (through the product) and pay no tax on the dividends and interest that flows.

another benefit is that clients can buy protection or insur-ance on certain funds on the platform so if an investor wants to avoid the volatility associated with the fund, he can. (The bottom line is that in 2008, when the market was terrible, an equity fund would have lost about 40-50% of its value.

using these strategies the investor would only have only lost between 5 and 10%).

further benefits include Liquidity (the investor can get ac-cess to his money at any stage) and that beneficiaries can be added to the contract to help with estate planning to avoid executor fees and exposure to probate in the event of death. (Probate can be a very lengthy, and expensive exercise – we, at rmS, have had experience of a foreign asset being exposed to probate; in the end it delayed the finalization of the estate by about two years and it cost the beneficiaries about 10% of the value of the offshore investment in lawyer’s fees!)

in conclusion, it is a very interesting product if you are con-sidering investing offshore. as was clear from the meeting, the Glacier guys are passionate about the product and are very interested in providing solutions that clients can use to grow their money offshore.

dave rundle (083 658 8055)rundle management Services

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

On Side Off ShoreDave Rundle on Finance

Some might consider our strict policy of discretion a hindrance. After all, advertising would be so much easier if we

could mention just a few of our many wealthy and in�uential clients. But then Citadel has never done anything the

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OM

cI 1

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OUR CLIENT LIST READS LIKE THE WHO’S WHO.

BUT WE PREFER NOT TO SAY WHO.

I must say that they’re a funny bunch here at The Month. Ever since I started my extended ‘trial period’ as a reporter with them, I’ve not covered the same topic twice. I keep getting shunted from department to department and, although I thought I’d written a really good piece on olive oil in November edition of The Month, and shared my opinion on the best coffee in The Canal Walk Month, they’ve moved me yet again; out of ‘Culinary’ and into ‘Finance’.

So, in my new role as financial reporter, i showed initiative and went to see my old friend ferran Griede who, i could tell by his response, was pleased to see me. “waite, i’m busy” he said. So i waited. when he was finally off his ‘important overseas business call’ (which ended, somewhat oddly, with ‘Goodbye mummy’) i charged in with my first financial reporter- type question. “The rand is strong” i said, “and, as a result it seems, interest rates are coming down. why is this? ”

Ferran GrieDe: currencies operate like any other good; their price is determined by supply and demand. Since you need rands to buy South african goods, demand for the currency is largely related to demand for our goods and services from overseas. However, the rate of interest you receive from hold-ing rands is also a determinant – especially for ‘hot’ money; money looking for short-term return. Because the rand carries a high interest rate relative to other currencies, there is extra demand for it – which drives it stronger. in the real economy, however, a stronger rand makes our exports less com-petitive, so the reserve Bank (whose job it is to ‘protect the internal and external value of the currency’) adjusts rates downwards to prevent this.

the Month: So that’s great for borrowers but my aging mother complains that the in-terest she receives on her savings is too low.

rates, electricity and petrol all seem to be going up, so she feels poorer.

FG: Savers will always suffer as interest rates fall and especially when the price of basic goods and services rise. rates and electricity ought to be a once- (or thrice-) off increase though.

tM: Everyone seems to be talking about ‘growth’ in the economy. what is this?

FG: The beauty of the free market is that it allows us to be productive. increased pro-ductivity (or doing things more efficiently) equates to producing the same goods and services with less manpower or more goods and services with the same manpower. if the same number of people can produce more, that makes them wealthier and we call this (on the larger scale) ‘growth of the econo-my’. How that extra wealth is spread about is the job of government who uses taxes and spending to spread things around.

tM: and the stock market, i’m told, has ‘re-covered’. what does this mean?

FG: The stock market is simply an aggregate of company values and those values are deter-mined by an expectation of earnings (profit) going forward. So when the economic situ-ation conspires to enable companies to do that, their values rise and with it, the stock market. To a lot of companies that depend on borrowing, lower interest rates, for ex-ample, is a major factor. Hence, rates com-ing down, as you mentioned in your earlier question, helps companies produce earnings and enhances their value. So if your mum has any shares as well as savings, this could provide a counter.

tM: Thanks ferran, got any hot tips for me?

FG: Ja. close the door firmly behind you on your way out.

Taking StockRoving Reporter, Jim Waite



January 2011

SMS Terms & Conditions... SMSs charged at r2/SMS. Free SMSs do not apply. errors billed. Sender must have the bill payer’s permission. You may be contacted in future by SMS unless you opt-out.

The gods of wine and music seemed to join in the fun by laying on a suitably balmy evening at the end of a cloudy and misty day in Franschhoek, for the many who turned up to enjoy the first of the latest series of Solms-Delta Saturday Summer Concerts.

as the sun began to set, the tiny figure of leg-endary oom Hannes coetzee (above), ‘dis-covered’ by david Kramer a few years ago in Karoo obscurity, appeared on stage carrying his famous red, spoon-slide guitar.

no-one can accuse oom Hannes of being born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but put a tin teaspoon between his gums and he’ll

show you he has gifts beyond silver and gold. as he coaxes the melodies from his guitar, he runs the spoon up and down the strings - his “optel en knyp” style producing an ef-fect vaguely reminiscent of a Hawaiian gui-tar. There is plenty of energy and life in his small frame and he had the concert audience on their feet; dancing and applauding his naughty lyrics.

There’s a change in the menu from the pre-vious cape curries and bredies. chef Shaun Schoeman now sports a magic braai-fork, which he waves over sizzling marinated lamb chops, spicy chicken pieces and braai snoek. This summer it’s all about South africa’s great braai tradition. “not just sommer tjops and wors, but nicely spiced in the real Boland way,” he says. “But i have kept the curried offal, for the connoisseurs.”

after the break the delta Soetstemme choir took to the stage, joined by the Langbroek Brass Band, in what is fast becoming an irre-sistible musical combination. Their repertoire of Kaapse liedjies swept the dancers along, right through to the end of the evening. Good cape food, wine and music and the in-fectious energy of the Solms-delt team make these concerts a ‘must do’ this summer.

don’t miss this concert series – on until febru-ary the 5th 2011 – see the solms-delta website for the latest programme and more informa-tion, www.solms-delta.co.za

Summer ConcertsThe Month Correspondent

Jogged by Lewis Pugh’s assertion that we need to make a ‘radical tactical shift in our relation-ship with the environment’ to ensure that our children and grandchildren will live in a ‘safe, secure and, most importantly, a sustainable world’ got me thinking. is it our relationship with the environment that has broken down and needs fixing? or is it our relationship with our wallets?

Living in a safe and secure future requires us to halt global warming, plain and simple. But climate change is the result of burning energy rich carbon (coal and oil) and pumping tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere and we burn fossil fuel to satisfy demand. Global warming is simply the symptom of ‘consumerism’ that we have developed in the western world - that drives western world economies.

The part of the world that led the industrial revolution, and invented the free market, gets wealthier through growing its economy. and an expanding global economic system displaces the environment within a finite biosphere.

That’s just the way it is.

So how do we go about making that ‘radical tactical shift’ that Lewis espouses? obviously,

as happened to him, exposure to the environ-ment can have a lasting impact. Getting our kids more exposed to the natural beauty of the environment is bound to have an effect on them. But although Lewis can draw attention to global warming in a way few others can, changing the way we think about the environ-ment in isolation is pointless unless we change the way we think about material things and money. or rather not the way wE think, but in what messages we send to our children.

we work ourselves to the bone to provide our kids with the things they don’t need – more gadgets, comfortable homes, bigger cars, etc, - to keep them busy whilst we go out and try to earn more money. not so we can spend it but so we can leave it to them when we’re gone. in western economies the object of work is to have money as if it were an end in itself, and not a means to an end. The ‘end’ should surely be happiness, satisfaction or quality of life. How is this equipping our kids to make the right decisions; to make the ‘radical tactical shift’ they need to make? as parents we lament our children’s want of material goods – attempting to remove the spec from their eyes with the log firmly in ours.

The problem isn’t a lack of love for the environ-

ment; the problem is a love for money. Just to have more money has become the aim of our age. Having more money means having more things and until we learn (or teach our children) to have only what we need, we’ll con-tinue to burn fossil fuel. So, not only are we destroying their environment, giving them no tools to deal with it, we’re making it worse for them by making things easier for them. Lewis describes this as ‘the Everest of all challenges’- and he’s right.

what happened to quality of life and work-ing to earn enough to have that? To work more than that, to earn more than that, is to show our children that money and material goods are everything and that that will make them happy. we, our-selves, work hard at the expense of spending time with our kids. yet time is more valuable than money. you can get more money, but you cannot get more time.

it’s time we started to deal with the cause not the symptoms. un-less we take a serious look at the way we live the battle to contain climate change is surely lost.

For The Love of MoneyPublisher’s Parting Shot



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1 1. Doug, Ilsje, Leo and James seen here at La Petite Dauphine for a function marking the start of the new Wednesday dinners at Franschhoek’s Cafe BonBon.

2. Nic Duppe photographed with Margi Biggs, Chair of StreetSmart SA and Wines of South Africa Communication Manager Andre Morgenthal, at a function at the Big Easy, Stellenbosch, where the organisation donated R100,000 to the Home from Home organisation.

3. The Wineberries in action at Proviant, in Paarl, where they covered all the hits and more for an appreciative Saturday lunch-time crowd.

4. Liesl Hartje, Shaun Johannes, Enrico Thys and Kevin Gibson performed at La Petite Ferme in Franschhoek during December.

5. Members of the Tourvest Group enjoy the beautiful L’Ermitage, in Franschhoek, in celebration of the group’s new relationship with the hotel.

dave rundle has arranged for daLe steyn and

Jacques KaLLis to give a two hour net session in Cape Town to the school

team of the highest bidder.

Visit www.themonth.co.za to place your bid!

The auction will run from the 10th to the 31st January 2011

Grande Provence, in Franschhoek, is well-known for the marvellous gastro-nomic creations of Chef Darren Rob-erts, the amazing wines of Jaco Marais and the impressive displays of art that recently saw them crowned winners in the Art and Culture category in the 2011 Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism Awards.

But not all their efforts in the world of art are that obvious. Works of a number of Winelands-based children, who are part of the Pebbles Project, caught the eye of Carina Bekker, Curator of the The Gallery at Grande Provence and, as a re-sult, are now on display there. The Her-itage Wine Estate also recently hosted a number of the happy children for an outdoor landscape painting workshop and fun in the sun. This smile says it all.

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The Winelands Month January 2011