Cheers - March/April 2014 (Vol.11)

complimentary

Orange River W

ine Cellars | Wine festivals | Beer on Tap | Bourbon

| ww

w.topsatspar.co.za

complimentaryMar|Apr 2014 | 11

brought to you by T t www.topsatspar.co.za

Mar|Apr 2014 | 11

SOUTH AFRICA’S WINE FESTIVALS

Stomping, snipping singing&

Taste America, drink Bourbon

Wine from the thirsty red soils of the Kalahari:Orange River Wine Cellars

A matter of scale,Sustainable seafood’s robot register

Having a frothy Beer on Tap

win!• a copy of Nina Timm’s Easy Cooking • an exclusive Durbanville Hills red wine selection

Observer status,The TOPS at SPAR

Fundis in action

Not for Sale to Persons Under the Age of 18.

Who says a beer can’t be flavoured?

New fl avoured beer.

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Not for Sale to Persons Under the Age of 18.

Who says a beer can’t be flavoured?

New fl avoured beer.

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38

contents

Mar|Apr 2014 Vol 11 www.topsatspar.co.za 1

4 EDITOR’S LETTERGetting to know you, TOPS style

6 NEWSTOPS at SPAR’s store of the year,

a record-breaking YouTube ad for Bell’s, Barrels & beards, new ARA

and CWG heads and more

14 TINUS TALKSHarvest 2014 Update

16 LIQUID ARTERY IN AN ARID LAND

Orange River Cellars’ wines

22 STATE OF GRAÇA

Going strong 3 decades on

28 PULLING PINTSBeers on tap

32 STARS & STRIPESRed, white and true

blue American Whiskey

62

STATE OF

PULLING PINTS

STARS & STRIPESRed, white and true



Mar|Apr 2014 Vol 11

PULLING PINTS

STARS & STRIPES

22

Getting to know you, TOPS style

16The blondie


22 STATE OF GRAÇA

Going strong 3 decades on

28 PULLING PINTSBeers on tap

32 STARS & STRIPESRed, white and true


Best Choice - Anchovy

Best Choice -

3266

42

Publisher | Shayne [email protected]

Editor | Fiona Mc Donaldfi [email protected]

Art Director | Megan [email protected]

Advertising | Shayne [email protected]

Riaan Kriel | [email protected]

PR & Promotions | Julia [email protected]

Photography | Julia Andrade and Thinkstock.com

Contributors | Tinus van Niekerk , Anél Potgieter, Emile Joubert, Gerrit Rautenbach, Cliff ord Roberts,

David Bristow, Samarie Smith & Dean Jones.

Head Offi ce | Cape TownTel: 021 685 0285

Suite WB03 Tannery Park23 Belmont Road, Rondebosch, 7700

Postal Address: PO Box 259, Rondebosch, 7701

Printing | Paarl Media Cape

Published by | Integrated Media for TOPS at SPAR

contents cont...

TOPS at SPAR | Jess Tivers, Group Promotions & Advertising Manager - Liquor

COMPETITION TERMS & CONDITIONSCompetition submissions should reach us no later

than 11 April 2014. The Prize/s is as indicated,

no alternatives or cash will be provided. Six months’

supply equates to one case of product per month.

The decision of Integrated Media will be fi nal and no

correspondence will be entered into. Under no

circumstances shall Integrated Media, TOPS at SPAR,

SPAR or its appointed representatives and the prize

donors be liable to anyone who enters these Prize

Draws for an indirect or consequential loss howsoever

arising which may be suff ered in relation to the Prize

Draws. By entering these competitions you make

yourself subject to receiving promotional information.

Entrants are deemed to have accepted these terms

and conditions. Prize Draw Rules: The prize draw is

only open to consumers who must be over 18 years

of age and resident in South Africa. Employees of

Integrated Media and TOPS at SPAR, SPAR and their

respective advertising, media and PR agencies, as well

as the family members, consultants, directors,

associates and trading partners of such organisations

and persons are ineligible for the draw.

SPAR Good Living items are available at your nearest TOPS at SPAR and SPAR outlets.

www.topsatspar.co.za and www.spar.co.za

Yuppiechef.com & Mantality.co.za

stockists: win

a copy of Easy Cooking

pg52

64

36 WATER OF LIFEH2O’s role in whisky

40 FESTIVITIES GALOREWine festivals from the Breede

to the Jukskei rivers

42 EXPERT OPINIONWatching the Fundis sip & spit

46 THE WHEELS GO ROUND

Promoting prosperity one bike at a time

48 THINGAMAJIGS Gadgets, goodies and must-have doo-dads

50 ENTERTAINMENTThe latest books, CDs and DVDs

52 BOOK GIVEAWAYNina Timm’s Easy Cooking

57 TOPS NOSHStep-by-step Paella

62 DINNER DIVALight bites

64 WOODEN IT BE NICE?The key to the perfect braai fi re

66 GREEN, ORANGE & REDSustainable seafood initiative

70 NEXT ISSUEWhat to expect from Issue 12

71 GROCERY LISTA handy planning guide

72 LOOPDOPUmdloti’s happy daze!

482 www.topsatspar.co.za Mar|Apr 2014 Vol 11

win 35 WIN - FIVE PRIZES OF

Durbanville Hills’ bespoke red wines up for grabs

Publisher | Shayne [email protected]

Editor | Fiona Mc Donaldfi [email protected]

Art Director | Megan [email protected]

Advertising | Shayne [email protected]

Riaan Kriel | [email protected]

PR & Promotions | Julia [email protected]

Photography | Julia Andrade and Thinkstock.com

Contributors | Tinus van Niekerk , Anél Potgieter, Emile Joubert, Gerrit Rautenbach, Cliff ord Roberts,

David Bristow, Samarie Smith & Dean Jones.

Head Offi ce | Cape TownTel: 021 685 0285

Suite WB03 Tannery Park23 Belmont Road, Rondebosch, 7700

Postal Address: PO Box 259, Rondebosch, 7701

Printing | Paarl Media Cape

Published by | Integrated Media for TOPS at SPAR

contents cont...

TOPS at SPAR | Jess Tivers, Group Promotions & Advertising Manager - Liquor

COMPETITION TERMS & CONDITIONSCompetition submissions should reach us no later

than 11 April 2014. The Prize/s is as indicated,

no alternatives or cash will be provided. Six months’

supply equates to one case of product per month.

The decision of Integrated Media will be fi nal and no

correspondence will be entered into. Under no

circumstances shall Integrated Media, TOPS at SPAR,

SPAR or its appointed representatives and the prize

donors be liable to anyone who enters these Prize

Draws for an indirect or consequential loss howsoever

arising which may be suff ered in relation to the Prize

Draws. By entering these competitions you make

yourself subject to receiving promotional information.

Entrants are deemed to have accepted these terms

and conditions. Prize Draw Rules: The prize draw is

only open to consumers who must be over 18 years

of age and resident in South Africa. Employees of

Integrated Media and TOPS at SPAR, SPAR and their

respective advertising, media and PR agencies, as well

as the family members, consultants, directors,

associates and trading partners of such organisations

and persons are ineligible for the draw.

SPAR Good Living items are available at your nearest TOPS at SPAR and SPAR outlets.

www.topsatspar.co.za and www.spar.co.za

Yuppiechef.com & Mantality.co.za

stockists: win

a copy of Easy Cooking

pg52

64

36 WATER OF LIFEH2O’s role in whisky

40 FESTIVITIES GALOREWine festivals from the Breede

to the Jukskei rivers

42 EXPERT OPINIONWatching the Fundis sip & spit

46 THE WHEELS GO ROUND

Promoting prosperity one bike at a time

48 THINGAMAJIGS Gadgets, goodies and must-have doo-dads

50 ENTERTAINMENTThe latest books, CDs and DVDs

52 BOOK GIVEAWAYNina Timm’s Easy Cooking

57 TOPS NOSHStep-by-step Paella

62 DINNER DIVALight bites

64 WOODEN IT BE NICE?The key to the perfect braai fi re

66 GREEN, ORANGE & REDSustainable seafood initiative

70 NEXT ISSUEWhat to expect from Issue 12

71 GROCERY LISTA handy planning guide

72 LOOPDOPUmdloti’s happy daze!


win 35 WIN - FIVE PRIZES OF

Durbanville Hills’ bespoke red wines up for grabs

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ABV non-cream product offers a new, exciting taste experienceve fl avour with nuances of marula and hints of spice. It will be

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fiona

NelspruitIn the latest TOPS at SPAR fl yer which was stuff ed in my letterbox a week or two ago, there was a drinktionary slogan at the top of one of the pages that had me chuckling: Vino-memo ‒ making a mental note to buy a divine wine again.

Editorial

Fiona McDonald

Fiona McDonald is a trained journalist who has spent the last 20 years writing about

wine ‒ and more recently, about whisky too.

them. Keeping you happy, supplying you with great products at the best price possible in a convenient location is their motivation. No-one embodies this more tangibly than Nick de Clerq, the 20-something manager of TOPS at SPAR e Grove store in Nelspruit.

TOPS at SPAR e Grove was judged the best TOPS at SPAR in the country – and when you speak to de Clerq it’s obvious why: he eats, breathes and sleeps customer satisfaction. He reads about a product in Cheers’ news pages and he’s onto the folks at TOPS at SPAR head o� ce wanting to know when they can supply it! Sta� training is number one for him and he’s willing to do everything to provide his employees with as many skills as possible – so that the customer’s experience is the best it can possibly be. His goal for 2014 is to attend a wine course to learn more about wine, taking a few members of sta� with him – again, so that they can be more knowledgeable in recommending wines to their regulars.

Well done to the team at TOPS at SPAR e Grove for a richly deserved honour.Cheers to that! Fiona

don’t do that often enough – and frequently � nd myself metaphorically scratching my head while standing in front of a shelf full of wine

bottles, hoping and praying that some distant remembrance will come to me. (It never does, of course!)

www.topsatspar.co.za Mar|Apr 2014 Vol 114

at � yer is sitting on top of a pile of papers on my desk as I write this, and I have to say that it’s a very handy little pamphlet, packed with special deals and price shakers on everything from beer, pre-mixed vodka and cranberry cocktails to wine, whisky, gin and vodka.

Its eight pages of useful information – and probably the most bene� cial

thing about it are the two pages devoted to the Fundi selection of wines. I spent time with the panel of expert tasters, watching them sip and spit their way through just shy of 100 wines. And I have to say that watching a wine tasting panel is never going to rank up there with tickets to a World Cup cricket, rugby or soccer � nal… But it was interesting because of the rigour of the process which you can read about in this issue (Page 52). is group of individuals are keenly aware of the responsibility resting on their shoulders and the TOPS at SPAR customer is in their mind with every mouthful of wine tasted.

TOPS at SPAR impress me because you, the consumer, are what drive


DrinktionaryVino-memo ‒ making a mental note

to buy a divine wine again


News

news news news newsnews news

Burger’s the Guild’s man

Award-winning winemaker of Paul Cluver Estate Wines, Andries Burger, has been

appointed the new Chairman of the Cape Winemakers Guild, taking over the reins

from Jeff Grier of Villiera Wines.“I see my role as chairman as an

extension of the goal of the Cape Winemakers Guild, to guide the Guild in its

quest to further knowledge and expertise in ensuring that South African wines are rated

amongst the best in the world. It is also important that we continue to strive for

improvement in our industry and that we, through projects such as the Guild’s

Protégé Programme, nurture and create leaders for the future,” said Burger,

winemaker at Paul Cluver since 1997. Supporting him on the Guild’s

Management Committee are new vice chairman Miles Mossop of Tokara, whilst

David Finlayson of Edgebaston serves another year as treasurer. Louis Nel of Louis Wines is the Guild’s offi cial Cellarmaster for 2014 with David Nieuwoudt of Cederberg Private Cellar responsible for the Guild’s

technical workshops and marketing.The Cape Winemakers Guild comprises 45 of South Africa’s most respected

winemakers with the single minded vision to elevate the standing of the South African

wine industry through their on-going commitment to transformation and the production of world-class, quality wines.

Burger’s the

andr

ies

THINK PINK

For many folks, Valentine’s Day is just a marketing gimmick. Who likes being

pressurised into paying over the odds for roses, chocolates or making reservations at restaurants just because it’s February 14?

One thing which seduces and woos, regardless of what day it is, is Pongrácz

Rosé, with two beautiful gift pack options to choose from ‒ one is ‘With Love’ while

the other is ‘Fireworks’.Pongrácz is a delicate, blush pink in

colour which suits any occasion ‒ from sunset picnics while listening to music at

Kirstenbosch or the Durban Botanical Gardens to an intimate dinner for two.It’s a Méthode Cap Classique, made in the

traditional French Champagne methods, so off ers up delicate yeasty notes along with

ample lip-smacking fl avour.

Fusion, not confusionSouth African producers frequently show

the rest of the brandy-distilling world a clean pair of heels at international spirit

competitions.


competitions.

Locals are genuinely spoiled for choice and the good news is that the popular

Brandy Fusion event is once again going ahead in Cape Town and Johannesburg

and in May and June respectively.Showcasing the best brandies around ‒

50 of them! ‒ along with the top distillers in the country, the event is part education and part entertainment. Masterclasses are held

every hour and include things like chocolate and brandy pairings or food and

brandy matching.The venue for the Cape Town event is the

International Convention Centre from 22 to 23 May while the Sandton Convention

Centre hosts Brandy Fusion in Johannesburg on 5 and 6 June.

Tickets are R195 per person and include 15 beverage coupons, two coff ee coupons and a 400ml crystal brandy balloon glass. Tickets are available from Computicket.

Pre-bookings for the Master classes are via Facebook

www.facebook.com/fi nebrandyfusion. Book soon to avoid disappointment.

news news

THINK

news


News

news news news newsnews news

Burger’s the Guild’s man

Award-winning winemaker of Paul Cluver Estate Wines, Andries Burger, has been

appointed the new Chairman of the Cape Winemakers Guild, taking over the reins

from Jeff Grier of Villiera Wines.“I see my role as chairman as an

extension of the goal of the Cape Winemakers Guild, to guide the Guild in its

quest to further knowledge and expertise in ensuring that South African wines are rated

amongst the best in the world. It is also important that we continue to strive for

improvement in our industry and that we, through projects such as the Guild’s

Protégé Programme, nurture and create leaders for the future,” said Burger,

winemaker at Paul Cluver since 1997. Supporting him on the Guild’s

Management Committee are new vice chairman Miles Mossop of Tokara, whilst

David Finlayson of Edgebaston serves another year as treasurer. Louis Nel of Louis Wines is the Guild’s offi cial Cellarmaster for 2014 with David Nieuwoudt of Cederberg Private Cellar responsible for the Guild’s

technical workshops and marketing.The Cape Winemakers Guild comprises 45 of South Africa’s most respected

winemakers with the single minded vision to elevate the standing of the South African

wine industry through their on-going commitment to transformation and the production of world-class, quality wines.

Burger’s the

andr

ies

THINK PINK

For many folks, Valentine’s Day is just a marketing gimmick. Who likes being

pressurised into paying over the odds for roses, chocolates or making reservations at restaurants just because it’s February 14?

One thing which seduces and woos, regardless of what day it is, is Pongrácz

Rosé, with two beautiful gift pack options to choose from ‒ one is ‘With Love’ while

the other is ‘Fireworks’.Pongrácz is a delicate, blush pink in

colour which suits any occasion ‒ from sunset picnics while listening to music at

Kirstenbosch or the Durban Botanical Gardens to an intimate dinner for two.It’s a Méthode Cap Classique, made in the

traditional French Champagne methods, so off ers up delicate yeasty notes along with

ample lip-smacking fl avour.

Fusion, not confusionSouth African producers frequently show


competitions.


competitions.

Locals are genuinely spoiled for choice and the good news is that the popular

Brandy Fusion event is once again going ahead in Cape Town and Johannesburg

and in May and June respectively.Showcasing the best brandies around ‒

50 of them! ‒ along with the top distillers in the country, the event is part education and part entertainment. Masterclasses are held

every hour and include things like chocolate and brandy pairings or food and

brandy matching.The venue for the Cape Town event is the

International Convention Centre from 22 to 23 May while the Sandton Convention

Centre hosts Brandy Fusion in Johannesburg on 5 and 6 June.

Tickets are R195 per person and include 15 beverage coupons, two coff ee coupons and a 400ml crystal brandy balloon glass. Tickets are available from Computicket.

Pre-bookings for the Master classes are via Facebook

www.facebook.com/fi nebrandyfusion. Book soon to avoid disappointment.

news news

THINK

news


what’s happening

news news news newsNew Sheri� in townWe’ve all seen the tag lines and footnotes on adverts for alcoholic beverages: ‘not for sale to

persons under the age of 18’.

Yes, it’s required by law but it was initially adopted by alcohol advertisers as a sign

of responsibility.

ARA, or the Association for the Responsible use of Alcohol, is the organisation whose

mission it is to reduce alcohol-related harm by means of combating misuse and abuse of

alcohol as well as the promotion of responsible use of such beverages.

The new chief executive of ARA is Osborn Mahanjana, former director of corporate aff airs

at a top pharmaceutical company. “I’m looking forward to the challenges,” Mahanjana said.

“I’ve joined at a time when the alcohol industry is being met with a number of new legislative policies and frameworks which will remain a

top priority for us in 2014. In addition, we will continue our work to reduce alcohol-related harm through combating the misuse and

abuse of alcohol beverages and promoting their responsible use.”

ARA chairman Jeff rey Milliken welcomed Mahanjana, saying he brought a wealth of experience with him, particularly regarding

regulatory matters. “In addition, Osborn’s background is not from the alcohol industry meaning he brings a fresh perspective to the issues

we deal with.”

ARA members includes major alcohol manufacturers such as SAB, wine companies such as Distell, KWV, Douglas

Green Bellingham, Pernod-Ricard, E Snell & Co and Brandhouse ‒ along with TOPS at SPAR and other liquor retailers.

news

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTENInternational memorial services were held

in both New York and Scotland to mark the

passing of Charles Gordon, the man who

gave the world Glenfi ddich Scotch whisky.

Gordon, the Life President of William

Grant & Sons, died in New York just a

few days

before Christmas,

surrounded by

his family after a

brief illness.

He was renowned as

the man behind the

phenomenal growth of

what was initially a small,

family-run company in

the Scottish Highlands

into one of the world’s

leading producers of Scotch whisky.

Charlie Gordon as he was known to all he

met, was a charming man with a larger

than life personality which, coupled with

long-term vision and perceptiveness, took

William Grant & Sons to be the world

renowned company it is today.

His passion and innovative nature led him

to launch Glenfi ddich internationally which

marked the beginning of the single malt

category as we know it today, he pushed the

global development of William Grant & Sons’

brands, whilst spearheading the acquisition

of an American import house, the fi rst of its

kind in the industry, moving control of

distribution and sale into company hands.

The company’s chief executive, Stella

David, said, “Charlie brought an incredible

energy to his life’s work. When one looks at

the way he always maintained the integrity

of our Scotch whiskies whilst at the same

time innovating new brands such as

Hendricks Gin and Reyka Vodka, it is easy

to see why he was so highly regarded

throughout the world.

“The commemorative services in

New York and Glasgow were a celebration

of long and fruitful life and of a man

who contributed so much to the global

spirits industry.”

osbo

rnARA whisky advert 210x275 18/11/11 12:34 Page 1

Composite

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K

Glenfi ddich distillery at night.

char

lie

News

news news news newsStick your neck outMichael Bucholz is one of those winemakers

who doesn’t conform to the norm. He’s a

laidback, casual but nonetheless astute

character. He’s urging fans of Obikwa

Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc to stick

their necks out while enjoying the range of

pocket pleasing wines.

“Be adventurous,” he says. “With

refreshing pear and peach notes and an

undertone of woody spices, this fruity

Chardonnay is a fl exible wine that can jazz

up even the simplest meals.” He personally

enjoys his wines with a good, old-fashioned

toasted sandwich!.

“Be a little bit more adventurous in

the kitchen during 2014. Why not try the

Obikwa Chardonnay with a Gouda,

ham and apple toastie? Make it in a

snackwich toaster or try it out at your next

bring & braai.”

And with days getting shorter and cooler,

he advocates prolonging summer by

drinking tangy Obikwa Sauvignon Blanc.

“It’ll add a touch of summer to any meal ‒

like pizza.”

“Making a caprese pizza is easy and a

really quick fi x when unexpected guests

come knocking. Using a store bought pizza

base, just add roasted tomatoes, soft

mozzarella cheese and bake for about 10

minutes. To jazz it up, add dollops of basil

pesto and fresh basil leaves,” he says.

For more information visit

www.obikwa.com, join the OBiKWA tribe

on Facebook or follow them on

Twitter @ObikwaWines.

WHISKY LIVE

NEWSWhisky lovers all over South Africa are

being well served by organisers of the

Whisky Live festival.

They have added Nelspruit to the list of

venues and are continuing to innovate,

adding a host of smaller, more intimate

whisky events throughout the country.

These Whisky Live showrooms are going

to be held at Durban’s Sun Coast Casino

on April 25 and 26, Emnotweni Casino in

Nelspruit on May 16 and 17, and at the

Cape Sun in Cape Town on 19 and 20 June.

As the mailer states: “The idea behind

the FNB Whisky Live Showrooms is to

create a platform for master distillers and

local whisky legends to engage with

discerning whisky lovers.”

The idea is to have premium whiskies,

bespoke mini-tastings, and an intimate

environment just like the fi rst ever festival

which was held in a small marquee at the

V & A Waterfront a decade ago.

Watch the press for details.


News

news news news newsStick your neck outMichael Bucholz is one of those winemakers

who doesn’t conform to the norm. He’s a

laidback, casual but nonetheless astute

character. He’s urging fans of Obikwa

Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc to stick

their necks out while enjoying the range of

pocket pleasing wines.

“Be adventurous,” he says. “With

refreshing pear and peach notes and an

undertone of woody spices, this fruity

Chardonnay is a fl exible wine that can jazz

up even the simplest meals.” He personally

enjoys his wines with a good, old-fashioned

toasted sandwich!.

“Be a little bit more adventurous in

the kitchen during 2014. Why not try the

Obikwa Chardonnay with a Gouda,

ham and apple toastie? Make it in a

snackwich toaster or try it out at your next

bring & braai.”

And with days getting shorter and cooler,

he advocates prolonging summer by

drinking tangy Obikwa Sauvignon Blanc.

“It’ll add a touch of summer to any meal ‒

like pizza.”

“Making a caprese pizza is easy and a

really quick fi x when unexpected guests

come knocking. Using a store bought pizza

base, just add roasted tomatoes, soft

mozzarella cheese and bake for about 10

minutes. To jazz it up, add dollops of basil

pesto and fresh basil leaves,” he says.

For more information visit

www.obikwa.com, join the OBiKWA tribe

on Facebook or follow them on

Twitter @ObikwaWines.

WHISKY LIVE

NEWSWhisky lovers all over South Africa are

being well served by organisers of the

Whisky Live festival.

They have added Nelspruit to the list of

venues and are continuing to innovate,

adding a host of smaller, more intimate

whisky events throughout the country.

These Whisky Live showrooms are going

to be held at Durban’s Sun Coast Casino

on April 25 and 26, Emnotweni Casino in

Nelspruit on May 16 and 17, and at the

Cape Sun in Cape Town on 19 and 20 June.

As the mailer states: “The idea behind

the FNB Whisky Live Showrooms is to

create a platform for master distillers and

local whisky legends to engage with

discerning whisky lovers.”

The idea is to have premium whiskies,

bespoke mini-tastings, and an intimate

environment just like the fi rst ever festival

which was held in a small marquee at the

V & A Waterfront a decade ago.

Watch the press for details.

8 www.topsatspar.co.za Mar|Apr 2014 Vol 11 Mar|Apr 2014 Vol 11 www.topsatspar.co.za 9

news news news news

DREAMS BECOME REALITYA Klerksdorp woman, Hilda Voges was notifi ed recently that she was the fi rst Windhoek beer fan to win half a million rand in the Windhoek “The Right Stuff Challenge”

“I never knew it that a single phone call could change one’s life,” says Hilda who purchased her winning bottle from the

“I never knew it that a single phone call could change one’s life,”

DREAMS

hild

aad

elaide

adelaide

wikus

juan

-pierre

Overland Bottle Store in Klerksdorp. Hilda, who has a keen interest in gardening, will be given access to a mentor as part of her prize. The mentor will help her to create the garden of her dreams.

The national competition, open to all Windhoek fans living in South Africa, invited consumers to purchase a Windhoek beer and SMS the 12 digit batch code on pack to 32329 or enter online at www.purebeersociety.com. Their names then went into a draw to stand a chance to be one of two winners kick-start their passion with R500 000 cash.

Alan Roberts, Windhoek Marketing Manager said: “We’re delighted that we’ve managed to help Hilda pursue her gardening interest. We hope that this campaign will inspire others to follow their passion.”

Previous winners have done just that. In early 2013 Windhoek changed the lives of Adelaide Hlongwane, an unemployed woman from Pretoria who used her prize to start a transport company after buying a Toyota Venture.

Hlongwane used her cash to make her ambition to start her own business a reality. Along with her husband, who was unemployed at the time, she started a taxi business. She also bought her parents a house and set aside money for her children’s education.

Fellow Pretoria resident Wikus Visser used his winnings to donate to a mission, build a house for his domestic worker as well as indulge his photography hobby by buying some top-of-range equipment ‒ and then publishing a coff ee-table book!

The third winner Juan-Pierre Smit of Cape Town decided to invest in his future, having always dreamt of becoming a lawyer, his winnings allowed him to enrol for a law degree.

news newsCOGNAC ROYALTY

Cognac remains a massively aspirational product for South African lovers of all

brandy. If you belong to the social group recognised as “swaggers”, this is one to

try and lay your hands on: The Rémy Martin 1738 Accord Royal.

It’s hailed in the press release as “a majestic experience”, coming as it does

from the 300-year-old house of Fine Champagne Cognac, with its ties to

French royalty, Rémy Martin. It’s described as “the perfect example of Fine

Champagne Cognac.” The Cognac house wants to grow its

share of the luxury market in South Africa, particularly in terms of VSOP and XO, so the

blend includes 65% Grande Champagne and 35% Petite Champagne grapes and

nearly 240 diff erent eaux-de-vie aged in oak barrels from four to 20 years.

The name is signifi cant, derived from the year ‒ 1738 ‒ when King Louis XV of

France gave Rémy Martin special permission to plant new vines on his land,

despite a nationwide ban to that eff ect. His leniency in this regard was attributed to

the provenance and quality of the cognac. Appropriately, the 750ml glass bottle

also diff ers from the norm and is more bulbous with a longer neck. A distinctive

lozenge-shaped medallion with the historic number of 1738 is stamped on the

shoulder, while the iconic image of the Centaur throwing a javelin appears in gold ink directly below the embossed mark. A

parchment-style rectangular label enhances the fi nish of the copper neck foil and a real cork closure adds to the premium image.

Swaggers can expect to hand over a good few buff alo-

adorned Randelas for the privilege of being able to

brag about this Cognac!


News

news news news newsTugging heart strings

Giving the lie to the old adage that ‘bad news sells’ is the latest Bell’s whisky television advert ‒ The Reader ‒ which became the most

viewed South African liquor ad in less than two weeks!Notching up a whopping 900 000 YouTube views, the ad overtook the previous “title holder”, the

Amstel ‘Chef’ advert which had clocked up 265 000 views in seven months. As a further

compliment the Bell’s clip was picked up by popular international sites such as Buzz Feed,

Fast Company, and Adsoftheworld.

Bell’s Whisky’s new television ad, initially fl ighted over the fi rst

weekend in February, undoubtedly got people talking. It’s a

real tug at the heart strings vignette while being

uniquely South African because illiteracy among

the older population remains a very real probem in

this country.

THE ELDERLY MAN’S MISSION AND GOAL? TO READ HIS SON’S BOOK!“This touching story of perseverance stays true to the

values and spirit that the Bell’s brand has become known

for,” says Thandeka Ngqumeya, Bell’s Whisky brand

manager. “The slogan “Give that man a Bell’s!” is a phrase

that has become synonymous with acknowledging

exceptional achievement, especially when people go to great

lengths to do something for someone else.”

Executive creative director at King James, the ad agency tasked

with conceptualising the ad, Devin Kennedy said they strove to create a

storyline that “would engage and inspire South Africans across the board”.

“We don’t normally talk about the good stuff and the great things people do to make life better for themselves and their families,

which is why campaigns such as these are such a focus for us. They are opportunities for us to salute all the unsung heroes for their

exceptional character,” said Gavin Krenski, marketing and innovations director at Brandhouse, distributors of Bell’s Whisky.

“We wanted to tell a story that hadn’t been told before. One that is uplifting and that celebrates the spirit of a true Man of

Character. And while we were absolutely thrilled with the end result, we’re blown away by how an ad, which was aimed at a South

African audience, has captured the imagination of the world,” Kennedy said.

A bc D e f g h

I j k l M

n o p Q rst u v w X y Z

If you haven’t seen it, follow this link to view it:

The Reader: http://youtu.be/VteDp3IK-60

And if you’d like more ‘behind-the-scenes’ footage:

http://youtu.be/wkE-cbwhhNA

Tugging heart stringsGiving the lie to the old adage that ‘bad news sells’ is the latest

Bell’s whisky television advert ‒ The Reader ‒ which became the most viewed South African liquor ad in less than two weeks!

Notching up a whopping 900 000 YouTube views, the ad overtook the previous “title holder”, the









this country.

















A bc D e f ghghgI

hI

h

j Ij Ikjkjl kl kM lM l

n

M

n

M

o fo f p Q rQ rQIf you haven’t seen it,

follow this link to view it: The Reader:

http://youtu.be/VteDp3IK-60













News

news news news newsTugging heart strings

Giving the lie to the old adage that ‘bad news sells’ is the latest Bell’s whisky television advert ‒ The Reader ‒ which became the most

viewed South African liquor ad in less than two weeks!Notching up a whopping 900 000 YouTube views, the ad overtook the previous “title holder”, the









this country.

















A bc D e f g h

I j k l M


If you haven’t seen it, follow this link to view it:

The Reader: http://youtu.be/VteDp3IK-60


http://youtu.be/wkE-cbwhhNA

Tugging heart stringsGiving the lie to the old adage that ‘bad news sells’ is the latest

Bell’s whisky television advert ‒ The Reader ‒ which became the most viewed South African liquor ad in less than two weeks!

Notching up a whopping 900 000 YouTube views, the ad overtook the previous “title holder”, the









this country.

















A bc D e f ghghgI

hI

h

j Ij Ikjkjl kl kM lM l

n

M

n

M

o fo f p Q rQ rQIf you haven’t seen it,

follow this link to view it: The Reader:

http://youtu.be/VteDp3IK-60













what’s happening

news news news newsHAIRY OR SCARY?One of the more oddball traditional in the

South African winelands takes place in Bot

River every harvest: all the winemakers

hang up their razors for the duration of the

harvest – only to have a beard competition

on Saturday, April 5.

The Bot River Barrels & Beards is an

utterly unique and fun-filled celebration

of winemaking.

Themed ‘The Good Old Way’, the 2014

event features barrel tastings of the latest

cool-climate, quality wines from this unspoilt

Winelands pocket and a raging beard parade

and ‘formal’ judging of the boldest beard in

Bot River. Guests will also indulge in a

terroir-to-table three-course dinner of

unique tastes and produce from the area,

accompanied by foot stomping

entertainment by a lively marimba band and

the ever-green boereorkes, Die Stoepsitters.

“By virtue of where Bot River is located,

between Hemel en Aarde and Elgin, we

always need to be a little different to get

attention and so the Barrels & Beards was

born. One can’t be too ‘fancy pants’ about

wine,” said chairman of the Bot River wine

route, Penny Verburg. “It’s there to be

enjoyed and what better way to celebrate

the end of harvest and all the hard work

that’s gone into it?”

The venue is The Old Shed at Anysbos

Farm on the Swartrivier Road, off the N2

and starts at 5pm. A shuttle service

(departing from the Botrivier Hotel) will be

available on the evening in support of

responsible drinking.

Seating is limited to 200 guests and

tickets go fast! They’re R270 a head and

include complimentary barrel tastings of

the 2014 wines, a souvenir wine glass,

dinner, music entertainment and real

country hospitality.

For more information or to book contact

Nicolene Heyns at nicolene@botriverwines.

co.za or call 082 852 6547.

A bc D e f g h

I j k l M



News

news news news news

eneral Montgomery gained fame

and international renown for his

strategic vision during the Battle

of Al Alamein, one of the most important of

the desert campaign during World War II.

He once said his defi nition of leadership

was: “The capacity and the will to rally men

and women to a common purpose and

character which inspires confi dence.”

Recently South Africa mourned the

passing of one such inspirational leader and

man of character: Nelson Mandela. Both

common people and world leaders alike

sang his praises loudly. One thing which

shone through strongly was his humility and

his desire to uplift people. He provided

inspirational leadership and led by example.

On a somewhat more modest scale, the

manager of TOPS at SPAR The Grove in

Nelspruit, Nick de Clerq is inspiring and

uplifting his team. Not only has this shop been

judged the single best TOPS at SPAR in the

country, but it has won Best of Nelspruit

awards for customer service for the past three

years in a row. And it’s achieved these honours

because De Clerq believes in motivating his

17-strong team of employees, sending them

off on a variety of training courses.

“The better the staff are, the better the

customer is served,” De Clerq maintains.

The most fundamental training course for

staff is that of customer care while cashiers

and merchandisers then proceed to learn

more about up-selling to customers. Still on

the drawing board, but it’s something he’s

vowed to action within a year or two, is to

improve the wine knowledge of his team.

“I want them to learn more about wine so

that they can relate to our customers and

service their needs better.”

The astonishing thing about this is that

Nick de Clerq doesn’t have the benefi t of

years and years of experience behind him.

He’s young ‒ just 23 years old ‒ but he’s as

enthusiastic and energised as a Duracell

bunny! He’s as proud as punch of the

recognition which TOPS at SPAR granted

the store ‒ but he was quite confi dent they

were going to win.

“I knew that if we actioned everything we

needed to and put in place the promotions

I’d highlighted, we were in with a good

chance,” he said. He’d paid attention to the

guidelines provided by SPAR’s Group

Liquor Executive Mark Robinson (Pictured

with Nick above right).

“I’d encourage all at TOPS at SPAR and the

SPAR Group to visit this store if they ever

fi nd themselves in Nelspruit!” Robinson said.

He remarked that Nick de Clerq might be

one of the youngest managers in the SPAR

In the fi rst issue of Cheers magazine published two years ago, we noted that TOPS at SPAR had gone

from nowhere to the biggest liquor retail chain in the country in the space of 10 years. It has done so

because of the people behind TOPS at SPAR as well as the service their stores provide.

MotivationSTORE OF THE YEAR 2013

Congratulations to all at TOPS at SPAR The Grove in Nelspruit.

news news

staff is that of customer care while cashiers

and merchandisers then proceed to learn

more about up-selling to customers. Still on

In the fi rst issue of Cheers magazine published two years ago, we noted that TOPS at SPAR had gone

from nowhere to the biggest liquor retail chain in the country in the space of 10 years. It has done so

Group but he’s certainly one of the most

dynamic and profi cient!

“He sets incredibly high standards for

himself and for his staff ‒ and it’s

commendable. His passion and enthusiasm

has rubbed off on everyone who works

with him and he really inspires his team

while also empowering them.

“Nick runs a TOPS at SPAR store that all of

us in the SPAR Group are very proud of.

Winning the Store of the Year is a well

deserved honour for all the eff ort he’s put in.”

Tinus talksti

nus

Tinus van Niekerk is TOPS at SPAR’s wine consultant and has been instrumental in

refi ning the grocery chain’s wine off ering. But wine is not the only thing that

fascinates this Northern Cape-bred nature lover. He’s as au fait with bush lore, animal

behaviour and geology as he is about wine.

enerally speaking there was

some grape rot in some of the

producing regions, particularly

amongst white grapes, for

example Chenin Blanc, but this was less of a

factor in the unirrigated dry land vineyards.

Some downy mildew was also noted in

places. Uneven berry size became evident

with the later ripening wine grapes, and

interestingly enough larger berries

developed, despite the smaller harvest. In

this regard an increase in Chenin Blanc

bunch weights of between 18% to 28%

between 2013 and 2014, for respectively

dry land vineyards and vines under

irrigation, was measured in certain

producing regions. The one good thing was

that there was notably less wind damage

than in previous years.

In the Northern Cape, Henning Burger,

Manager of Viticultural Services at Orange

River Cellars, reported a 20% smaller wine

Pick of the bunchWith the South African grape harvest kicking into high gear in February all indications at the time of going to press are that 2014 is going to be a good vintage but smaller than the bumper 2013 one. The reason for this was a nice cold winter in

the Western Cape, coupled with a higher than average rainfall that resulted in good soil water content and with an initial even bud burst, a very cold and wet September and lower temperatures in October. Budding was somewhat uneven and in the end was up to 10 days later than usual.

grape harvest for 2014. As with most

places in the Boland, picking started two

weeks later than normal also because of

colder, windy conditions during the

fl owering period. But Burger remained

upbeat about the fruit quality, prouncing

himself happy with the pH readings that

stemmed from the cool temperatures

experienced between berry-set and

ripening. One good thing for farmers in

this region which was hit by late frost in

September 2013 was that the wine grape

varietals were not yet physiologically far

developed, with most damage limited to

the table and raisin grape farmers.

Overall 2014 seems to be a vintage

requiring careful fruit selection and one

where viticulturists needed to be alert and

dedicated with regard to their vineyard

management practices. 2014 will prove to

be a year testing the mettle of both

viticulturist and winemaker.

TASTING ABROADI’ve participated in a number of tastings

in France, Holland and Belgium during the

past six months at which a scrupulous

selection of diff erent types and styles of

South African wines, across all price levels,

were assessed. The events were attended

by French vignerons (in France),

négociants, supermarket and

independent traders, journalists and

sommeliers, and were conducted sighted

and unsighted depending on the purpose

of the occasion. A few times corresponding

wine styles from Bordeaux, the Côtes du

Rhône, Chile, Australia and the United

States were also presented.

I’ve done similar benchmark tastings for

a number of years but these last occasions

turned out to be special. It is becoming

abundantly clear that the quality

improvement of South African wine is

increasingly acknowledged internationally

and our wines are making a statement

wherever wine is seriously served. These

conclusions do not only apply to the actual

sensory appreciation and enjoyment of the

wines but especially also recognizing

and admitting that the improvement

and innovation in viticultural practices

and oenology methods are now

translating into more acceptable wines

than ever before.

More specifi cally the stronger realisation

that good wine originates from the

vineyard, the importance of diligent pH

management, better wooded white wine,

smarter use of lees contact programmes,


Tinus talks

tinu

s

Tinus van Niekerk is TOPS at SPAR’s wine consultant and has been instrumental in

refi ning the grocery chain’s wine off ering. But wine is not the only thing that

fascinates this Northern Cape-bred nature lover. He’s as au fait with bush lore, animal

behaviour and geology as he is about wine.

enerally speaking there was

some grape rot in some of the

producing regions, particularly

amongst white grapes, for

example Chenin Blanc, but this was less of a

factor in the unirrigated dry land vineyards.

Some downy mildew was also noted in

places. Uneven berry size became evident

with the later ripening wine grapes, and

interestingly enough larger berries

developed, despite the smaller harvest. In

this regard an increase in Chenin Blanc

bunch weights of between 18% to 28%

between 2013 and 2014, for respectively

dry land vineyards and vines under

irrigation, was measured in certain

producing regions. The one good thing was

that there was notably less wind damage

than in previous years.

In the Northern Cape, Henning Burger,

Manager of Viticultural Services at Orange

River Cellars, reported a 20% smaller wine

Pick of the bunchWith the South African grape harvest kicking into high gear in February all indications at the time of going to press are that 2014 is going to be a good vintage but smaller than the bumper 2013 one. The reason for this was a nice cold winter in

the Western Cape, coupled with a higher than average rainfall that resulted in good soil water content and with an initial even bud burst, a very cold and wet September and lower temperatures in October. Budding was somewhat uneven and in the end was up to 10 days later than usual.

grape harvest for 2014. As with most

places in the Boland, picking started two

weeks later than normal also because of

colder, windy conditions during the

fl owering period. But Burger remained

upbeat about the fruit quality, prouncing

himself happy with the pH readings that

stemmed from the cool temperatures

experienced between berry-set and

ripening. One good thing for farmers in

this region which was hit by late frost in

September 2013 was that the wine grape

varietals were not yet physiologically far

developed, with most damage limited to

the table and raisin grape farmers.

Overall 2014 seems to be a vintage

requiring careful fruit selection and one

where viticulturists needed to be alert and

dedicated with regard to their vineyard

management practices. 2014 will prove to

be a year testing the mettle of both

viticulturist and winemaker.

TASTING ABROADI’ve participated in a number of tastings

in France, Holland and Belgium during the

past six months at which a scrupulous

selection of diff erent types and styles of

South African wines, across all price levels,

were assessed. The events were attended

by French vignerons (in France),

négociants, supermarket and

independent traders, journalists and

sommeliers, and were conducted sighted

and unsighted depending on the purpose

of the occasion. A few times corresponding

wine styles from Bordeaux, the Côtes du

Rhône, Chile, Australia and the United

States were also presented.

I’ve done similar benchmark tastings for

a number of years but these last occasions

turned out to be special. It is becoming

abundantly clear that the quality

improvement of South African wine is

increasingly acknowledged internationally

and our wines are making a statement

wherever wine is seriously served. These

conclusions do not only apply to the actual

sensory appreciation and enjoyment of the

wines but especially also recognizing

and admitting that the improvement

and innovation in viticultural practices

and oenology methods are now

translating into more acceptable wines

than ever before.

More specifi cally the stronger realisation

that good wine originates from the

vineyard, the importance of diligent pH

management, better wooded white wine,

smarter use of lees contact programmes,


Tinus van Niekerk

imaginative blends, softer tannin

textures, the emphasis on style and not

power, the appropriate bottle ageing of

the superior red and white wines before

commercial release, and the better

balancing of alcohol into the wine’s

fl avour personality, as well as capturing

natural sweet fruit in wine styles,

regularly came under discussion.

Without exception the regime of

preparing and serving wine correctly,

regardless of the moment, came under

scrutiny, the most interesting of which

was the following:

Full-bodied white wine showing good

structure and prominent mouthfeel

should be served cool, not chilled. In fact,

the question was asked why South

Africans like to present all white wines so

highly chilled.

The same applies to elegantly wooded

white wine.

Full-fl avoured red and white wine

must be served at the same temperature

which invariably should be around 17̊C.

It is becoming abundantly clear that the quality improvement of South African wine is increasingly acknowledged internationally


Winery

It stretches 350km from end to end with evocative winery names like Grootdrink, Kakamas and Keimoes. Samarie Smith takes a closer look at the winery located in amongst the arid surrounds of the Kalahari.

The fourth element


Winery

It stretches 350km from end to end with evocative winery names like Grootdrink, Kakamas and Keimoes. Samarie Smith takes a closer look at the winery located in amongst the arid surrounds of the Kalahari.

The fourth element


Orange River Wine Cellars


Winery

arth, wind and fire are the three elements known to all – but the fourth is the one which adds life to the dry,

dusty and arid Northern Cape and makes the vines hang heavy with sweet ripe grapes: the meandering watery artery of the Orange River.

A thriving wine industry is somewhat unexpected in these surrounds. After all, wisdom would have it that vines need cool climes – not semi-dessert where the mercury in the thermometer frequently nudges 40-degrees in mid-summer!

The Orange River, also known as the Great Gariep with its source in Lesotho, ran through this region for centuries on its way to the Atlantic ocean on the west coast. Although renowned for its extreme climate, the land offered little hospitality.

It was in 1883 that a missionary called

Schroder embarked on a project to build the Upington canal to channel much-needed water from the Great Gariep to battling farmers. That sowed the seed of future success.

Fast forward 80 years. Orange River Wine Cellars was born on the 23rd of December 1965 with the aim of producing table grapes. Within a year the Orange River Scheme Irrigation Canal was commissioned allowing farmers to irrigate their vines on a natural gravity-feed basis. This cost-effective solution made agriculture more viable and a decision was made to expand the farming portfolio to include wine grapes to unlock additional value. In 1968 the first wine grapes were harvested, bringing along with it the discovery of an untapped agricultural gem – wine.

Before long four new wine cellars were

built and aptly named Groblershoop, Grootdrink, Kakamas and Keimoes, as represented by the four surrounding regions. This conglomeration makes up the pillars of the Orange River Wine Cellars (ORC), the largest winery in sub-Saharan Africa.

NOWADAYSORC has literally crushed the fallacy that wine cultivars are only suited to cooler climates by growing their average annual crush of 5 182 tons in 1968, to a healthy 150 000 tons a year to date. With some 17 000 hectares under vine and approximately 900 grape farmers playing their part, this is no small endeavour.

A SENSE OF ORIGINThe Northern Cape province, with Upington as its epicentre, is a warm and


Winery

arth, wind and fire are the three elements known to all – but the fourth is the one which adds life to the dry,

dusty and arid Northern Cape and makes the vines hang heavy with sweet ripe grapes: the meandering watery artery of the Orange River.

A thriving wine industry is somewhat unexpected in these surrounds. After all, wisdom would have it that vines need cool climes – not semi-dessert where the mercury in the thermometer frequently nudges 40-degrees in mid-summer!

The Orange River, also known as the Great Gariep with its source in Lesotho, ran through this region for centuries on its way to the Atlantic ocean on the west coast. Although renowned for its extreme climate, the land offered little hospitality.

It was in 1883 that a missionary called

Schroder embarked on a project to build the Upington canal to channel much-needed water from the Great Gariep to battling farmers. That sowed the seed of future success.

Fast forward 80 years. Orange River Wine Cellars was born on the 23rd of December 1965 with the aim of producing table grapes. Within a year the Orange River Scheme Irrigation Canal was commissioned allowing farmers to irrigate their vines on a natural gravity-feed basis. This cost-effective solution made agriculture more viable and a decision was made to expand the farming portfolio to include wine grapes to unlock additional value. In 1968 the first wine grapes were harvested, bringing along with it the discovery of an untapped agricultural gem – wine.

Before long four new wine cellars were

built and aptly named Groblershoop, Grootdrink, Kakamas and Keimoes, as represented by the four surrounding regions. This conglomeration makes up the pillars of the Orange River Wine Cellars (ORC), the largest winery in sub-Saharan Africa.

NOWADAYSORC has literally crushed the fallacy that wine cultivars are only suited to cooler climates by growing their average annual crush of 5 182 tons in 1968, to a healthy 150 000 tons a year to date. With some 17 000 hectares under vine and approximately 900 grape farmers playing their part, this is no small endeavour.

A SENSE OF ORIGINThe Northern Cape province, with Upington as its epicentre, is a warm and

Mar|Apr 2014 Vol 11 www.topsatspar.co.za


19

welcoming place that’s easy to love. One cannot help but be overwhelmed by the hospitality and down-to-earth charm of its people. A welcoming glass of wine served up with a hot-o� -the-braai, fat-dripping skilpadjie (minced liver wrapped in caul fat), followed by Kalahari biltong-sushi is not unusual. And it’s not unknown for a leg of springbok and a basket full of homemade treasures from local farm stalls to be handed over for the return journey. � is is the home of real people who take pleasure in sharing good food, good wine and good company.

Despite their wine successes, visiting a local winery would’ve been the last thing on a “to-do” list when visiting Upington and surrounds 10 years ago. � at list would have been headed by the Kalahari desert, with oryx and quiver trees poised

majestically along its horizon; a river that snakes through this thirsty land, past rock formations and soft red sand dunes which grace the cover photograph of many a co� ee table book. And don’t forget the awesomely powerful Augrabies waterfalls o� ering a 122m drop over a meandering 26km course.

� e vinous landscape stretches over 350km between Groblershoop and Blouputs and one can travel quite some distance before the next oasis of green seeps into sight. And through it all runs the rivery artery which cloaks its banks in green, ideal for sundowners on a river cruise.

INSIDE ORCQuality wine can only be made from quality grapes. � e area’s clean, dry air nurtures healthy and disease free vines planted in a variety of soils, appropriate

to grape varieties. Various microclimates along the river banks with its islands and eddies also contribute to the unique characteristics of the ORC wines.

“Colombard and Chenin Blanc are the signature grapes and represent the bulk of our vineyards”, said KoosVisser, the marketing manager of ORC. “Both perform well in the alluvial river soils and under the sunny climate. We get yields of between 35 to 40 tons per hectare from which we make good

koos

Marketing manager Koos Visser

spreads the message of Orange River

Wine Cellars’ wines as far afi eld as China and the United States.

Ostriches thrive in the hot, dry country while almost every day delivers a breathtaking sunset over the Orange River. There’s a fresh vista everywhere you look.


Winery

wine.” Those are the sort of yields which would have farmers in Stellenbosch and Paarl gagging on their Chardonnay!

As with any business, strategy is important. “Our business strategy harnesses a philosophy that values both the industry as well as the people involved”, said Visser. “ORC is a co-operative cellar responsible for 900 farmers who supply us grapes. Our responsibility does not stop at their produce but extends to our employees and their families. Our main objective is to unlock value for them and make their farming business sustainable.”

Visser further explained that wine exports were presently small as they didn’t undercut prices to the detriment of their producers. “Every bottle of wine must be sold at profit.”

Investment in their viticultural practices has also contributed immensely of late. “We have six viticulturists working with our farmers – and their

impact has been dramatic in improving the fruit quality. We also have a young and dynamic winemaking team who’re committed to showing the wine world what can be done.”

“Maintaining prices in a competitive market remains one of our greatest challenges where wine is still literally given away. On the other hand, it is quite a challenge to see a young vine through its first winter when night and daytime

temperatures can fluctuate by 25 degrees! Along with frost, floods and predators forms just another day at the ORC office, but this is nothing serious,” Visser joked.

JEWELS OF THE DESERT – THE FACTSIn the past 12 months many awards have come ORC’s way. The Orange River Cellars White Muscadel 2012 came out tops against the best muscadel wines from Spain, France and Portugal and was chosen as one of the top 10 Muscadel wines in the world, winning a gold medal at the annual Muscats du Monde competition in France.

Back on home soil, the same wine was won gold at the annual SA muscadel Awards with the red Muscadel prevailing as the overall winner.

“Our standard is good enough for the public and apparently also good enough for the international judges. It’s a great honour. Our climate assures opulent flavours and great quality,” said Visser.

We have a young and

dynamic winemaking team who’re

committed to showing what can be done.


Winery

wine.” Those are the sort of yields which would have farmers in Stellenbosch and Paarl gagging on their Chardonnay!

As with any business, strategy is important. “Our business strategy harnesses a philosophy that values both the industry as well as the people involved”, said Visser. “ORC is a co-operative cellar responsible for 900 farmers who supply us grapes. Our responsibility does not stop at their produce but extends to our employees and their families. Our main objective is to unlock value for them and make their farming business sustainable.”

Visser further explained that wine exports were presently small as they didn’t undercut prices to the detriment of their producers. “Every bottle of wine must be sold at profit.”

Investment in their viticultural practices has also contributed immensely of late. “We have six viticulturists working with our farmers – and their

impact has been dramatic in improving the fruit quality. We also have a young and dynamic winemaking team who’re committed to showing the wine world what can be done.”

“Maintaining prices in a competitive market remains one of our greatest challenges where wine is still literally given away. On the other hand, it is quite a challenge to see a young vine through its first winter when night and daytime

temperatures can fluctuate by 25 degrees! Along with frost, floods and predators forms just another day at the ORC office, but this is nothing serious,” Visser joked.

JEWELS OF THE DESERT – THE FACTSIn the past 12 months many awards have come ORC’s way. The Orange River Cellars White Muscadel 2012 came out tops against the best muscadel wines from Spain, France and Portugal and was chosen as one of the top 10 Muscadel wines in the world, winning a gold medal at the annual Muscats du Monde competition in France.

Back on home soil, the same wine was won gold at the annual SA muscadel Awards with the red Muscadel prevailing as the overall winner.

“Our standard is good enough for the public and apparently also good enough for the international judges. It’s a great honour. Our climate assures opulent flavours and great quality,” said Visser.

We have a young and

dynamic winemaking team who’re

committed to showing what can be done.



21

“The juicy sweetness of the white Muscadel is like sunshine in your mouth!”

After walking away with the top honours and being crowned the Best Value Cellar in 2013, the 2014 edition of the Best Value guide 2014 is also packed with ORC wines. The Colombard 2013 received a merit award, the red muscadel 2012 and white jerepigo NV both achieved four stars. The white muscadel 2012, Sweet Hanepoot NV, red jerepigo NV, Cape Ruby 2012, Natural Rosé 2013, Nouveau natural sweet 2013, Brut Sparkling 2013 and sparkling rosé were also included.

Traditionally planted as base wine for brandies, Colombar has certainly found a home here, producing clean, light-bodied, off-dry wines for everyday drinking. Its freshness and citrusy aroma pairing well

with cheese boards at fun get togethers.The Chenin Blanc also remains a

favourite; more intense with a lovely bouquet of summer fruits such as gooseberry and granadilla, they partner braaied fish perfectly.

Primarily noted for its success with aromatic, dry whites, in the past few years red varieties like Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Ruby Cabernet and Pinotage are also gaining traction. The Ruby Cabernet is ideal with venison, rich in coffee-mocha aromas with bright red fruit while the Pinotage is more berry and plum driven and pairs well with pasta.

The past decade has seen a significant shift from quantity to quality with

particular emphasis being given to each category, from dry to semi-sweet, sparkling, dessert and fortified wines. The beauty is not just in the wines but in ORC’s philosophy of never pretending to be anything more than just a group of cellars consistently producing the best wine possible at the best price. It is thus no surprise that ORC was recognized as the Best Value Winery in South Africa in 2013 and can now proudly hold its head high as one of the best Muscadel producers in the world.

For further enquiries or planning a visit, contact 054 337 8800 or visit their mobi site open your cellphone http://www.orangeriverwines.mobi

The past decade has seen a significant shift from quantity to quality.

Opposite: Table grape trellises are set high off the ground in order to keep precious bunches as cool as possible. This page clockwise from above: Intended for uncomplicated enjoyment, Orange River Cellars’ wines have even won a label award competition; Ducks wander the vineyard, feeding on potentially damaging snails; spiky leaved succulents stand in stark contrast agains the red Kalahari soil backdrop.

WineWine

Singing,dancing & sharing

WineWine



Graça

23

‘What do you call someone who arrives at a braai without a bottle of wine? Persona non- Graça!’ It’s a corny joke but still raises a chuckle from those with fond memories of the wine associated with seafood, fun, friends and good times. Fiona McDonald reviews the growth of one of South Africa’s perennial favourites, Graça, over the past 30 years.

ime sure � ies when you’re having fun,” said former brand manager Brian Glass, the man who had the genuine pleasure of introducing Graça to

legions of South African wine drinking fans. Now retired and – like a lead character in a romance novel – sporting distinguished graying temples, Glass shared his memories of launching Graça in 1983.

“It’s a very simple story: We had absolutely no budget for marketing so we made sure that all our reps basically drank Graça on to the market!” said Glass, only half-joking. One of the anecdotes he recalled about the squat-bottled, Portuguese Vinho Verde-styled wine is that he and colleagues roamed the docks in Cape Town, scrounging discarded � shing nets, marker buoys and other detritus, along with bag loads of white sand shovelled o� local beaches. “We then distributed these to the various liquor outlets in order for them to set up marketing displays, complete with plastic lobsters.”

� e concept was to have the laughing, singing, sharing, dancing wine associated with seafood – and it went down a treat. So much so that when the time came for the “promotional material” to be returned to Stellenbosch Farmers’ Winery (SFW – the creators of Graça) the store owners refused, making the Graça displays almost permanent because their customers loved the informal vibe!

� e point Glass was keen on making was that Graça was a wine with personality and a vibrant sense of fun, from day one. “It’s something that is almost lacking in a lot of wines nowadays,” he said. And he’s quite right too. Almost everyone has a Graça story to tell – even if it’s just remembering one of their quirky adverts, such as setting the lobsters free!

With production colleagues Colin Frith, Duimpie Bayly and Wouter Pienaar on the winemaking side,


corny joke but still raises a chuckle from those with fond memories of the wine associated with seafood,

Fiona McDonald reviews the growth of one of South Africa’s perennial favourites, Graça, over the past 30 years.

ime sure � ies when you’re having fun,” said former brand manager Brian Glass,

docks in Cape Town, scrounging discarded � shing nets, marker buoys and other detritus, along with bag loads of white sand shovelled o� local beaches. “We then distributed these to the various liquor outlets in order for them to set up

� e concept was to have the laughing, singing, sharing, dancing wine associated with seafood – and it went down a treat. So much so that when the time came for the “promotional material” to be returned to Stellenbosch Farmers’ Winery (SFW – the creators of Graça) the store owners refused, making the Graça displays almost permanent because their customers loved

� e point Glass was keen on making was that Graça was a wine with personality and a vibrant sense of fun, from day one. “It’s something that is almost lacking in a lot of wines nowadays,” he said. And he’s quite right too. Almost everyone has a Graça story to tell – even if it’s just remembering one of their quirky adverts, such as setting the lobsters free!


WineWine

Glass and the marketing team worked hand-in-hand on creating a wine that was unlike anything else available locally at the time.

“My function was to � nd something that people would drink – that didn’t � t into the biggest category at the time,” said Frith. And that category was Premier Grand Cru. Nowadays that’s acknowledged as a nefarious construct of a white blend. But Graça’s purpose was also to push the boundaries of introducing the wine drinking public to “other grapes” without even knowing it, as well as to solve a production problem that SFW had.

“In those days no-one was using much Semillon but there was lots planted. Sauvignon Blanc was another one.” It seems almost ludicrous to think that varietal labelling of wines as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay or Semillon Blanc wasn’t a feature of the wine world in the 80’s!

“� e plan was to make a wine that everyone could drink – those who preferred dry wine, those who preferred sweeter wine, and even those who preferred red wine. � e residual sugar level was around 7g per litre while the acidity which the Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc contributed, added freshness and succulence. And it worked incredibly well. It just grew and grew every year.”

One of the reasons for its popularity was that it was never pigeonholed. “We allowed consumers to decide whether it


“The plan was to make a wine thateveryone could drink ‒ those who

preferred dry wine, those who preferred sweeter wine, and even

those who preferred red wine.”was a dry wine, a fruity wine or even an o� -dry wine. All we wanted was for them to enjoy it.”

And enjoy it they did. Graça quickly became a household favourite – after all, it was the wine for sardinos or langostinos, to enjoy with friendinos… � at was the original marketing and advertising slogan before it became the laughing, singing, dancing and sharing wine, Glass revealed. � e fallout of that slogan was that he became known in the trade as “Brian Glassino, your friendino from Stellenboschino”!

Virtually every other bottle of wine on the market at that stage had a long neck and a conscious decision was taken to make the bottle unique, again unlike

anything else around. Following on from the acidic nod to the Vinho Verde stylistics, it was also decided to include some Portuguese on the label – so Graça used to be branded Casa do Ouro (meaning from the House of Gold) and Vinho do Mesa – or wine of the house.

While marketing sta� were delighted to leverage South Africa’s strong association with Portugal, both in its founding origins from Vasco da Gama and Bartholomew Dias to the in� ux of


Wine

Portuguese expats from neighbouring Mozambique after the 1975 revolution, the Portuguese trade authorities took a dim view of it.

� ere was a huge court case involving Graça with many experts called upon to testify. Portugal wanted SFW to cease and desist but the Stellenbosch winery was able show that that the bottle – over which much of the legal wrangling took place – was theirs to use. “We were able to prove that the bottle shape used was that already in use for Monis Sherry – and was something we’d already been making and bottling for decades.” But the Portuguese wording was quietly dropped from the label in a spirit of appeasement.

Glass recalled that Southern Sun was one of the biggest buyers of Graça – which created its own problems for the hotel chain.”People knew what the wine cost in their local supermarket or liquor store so took a rather dim view of being charged R3 per bottle in the hotel… � ey felt they were being ripped o� !”

Not that it a� ected sales. Graça became a sensation, selling one million litres annually – and then two million litres and peaking at three million litres.

“Something all Graça friendinos have in common is a love for laughter, fun and good times spent with friends – and that’s really what Graça� cation is all about,” says Jackie Olivier, Global Marketing Manager Premium Wines for Distell said at the 30th anniversary launch last year.

A range of festive birthday sleeved bottles of Graça were released into stores in November, accompanied by the Graça� cation social media campaign on Facebook and Twitter. � e familiar

Memories and milestonesGraça was launched in 1983 by

Stellenbosch Farmers’ Winery (SFW).A trendsetter from the start, Graça

was the fi rst South African white wine to be made in the Portuguese

Vinho Verde style. It went on to become one of SFW’s biggest

success stories in the ‘80s.Graça broke the million litre barrier

in August 1988 and went on to pass 1.5 million litres in March 1989.

It reached the two million litre mark in 1990.

(Source: A Magic Blend. SFW 1925 - 2000, Romi van der Merwe)

Wine

Portuguese expats from neighbouring Mozambique after the 1975 revolution, the Portuguese trade authorities took a

� ere was a huge court case involving Graça with many experts called upon to testify. Portugal wanted SFW to cease and desist but the Stellenbosch winery was able

There are precious few wines on the local market

which encapsulate or embody a similar

sheer joie de vivre!

dumpy bottle was shrink-wrapped in either yellow, blue or green sleeves with typically quirky artwork, cartoons and gra� ti covering it. Each one tells the story of special times South Africans have shared with Graça - like the unforgettable 1995 Rugby World Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, to home-grown moments like the Lambertsbaai Kree� ees.

Since you can’t keep a good thing down, Graça spawned other wines - like the strawberry pink, softly sweet Rosé, and a bambino 375ml edition, which when launched was sold complete with a birth certi� cate! And all the trucks transporting the cases of wine sported massive “Baby on Board” branding!

� at quirky irreverence and sense of fun, along with an oh-so-drinkable wine, is what made Graça the success that it’s been. � ere are precious few wines on the local market which encapsulate or embody a similar sheer joie de vivre! Long may the Graça� cation continue.


Beer


Beer


draught

29

t’s a ritual known to almost all bar � ies. One which is so common that we don’t even think about it or consider precisely what goes

into pulling the perfect pint. It all begins with the glass – always clean. In most good pubs it’ll be freshly rinsed right before the beer is served. Placed under the spigot at just the right angle, the beautiful amber liquid runs smoothly into the glass, foaming slightly to form a beautiful head. And with a deft tilt, the pint is � nished o� and placed before the thirsty patron, beautiful white froth topping it o� . Cheers!

Draught (or, if you’re American, draft) is naturally associated with beer from a tap – which is correct because for centuries beer or ale was served directly from a barrel, cask or keg. Its origin is from the old English word ‘dragen’ which meant ‘to carry’. Over time this morphed into drag and draw and then draught – and the natural association was with serving or drawing a beer.

Pulling a pintThere’s more to ordering a pint of draught at a bar than meets the eye. Shayne Dowling takes a personal look at what goes into this rite of thirsty passage.


Beer

consequently longer shelf life. The shelf life

includes colloidal stability (the diff erence

between a beer remaining clear or going

cloudy) and microbiological stability (where

the quality deteriorates over time and

begins to develop off fl avours due to

contamination).

The fl avour stability of the beer will wane

over time: it loses its freshness and

drinkability. Fresh beer is always best! To

retain fl avour stability of draught beers, one

needs experienced and well-qualifi ed

brewers, backed up with the right

technology and equipment.

Most research I can fi nd seems to

point to draught beer being

almost exclusively unpasteurised?

Some brewers claim that draught

tastes better than bottle beer. This

is because there is less, or no pasteurisation

that causes heat damage to the brew. The

subsequent infl uence of pasteurisation is

that the beer appears to taste less fresh.The

benefi t of pasteurised beer is that it has a

longer shelf life.So, it’s a balance between

freshness and shelf life,. A brewer cannot

have both and needs to seek the balance

What are the requirements of a

draught beer vs bottled?

It depends on whether the beer

has been pasteurised or not ‒

and how it’s done. Some brewers won’t

pasteurise their beer but then face the

challenge of microbiological and colloidal

stability of their beers. By some

international standards, genuine draught

cannot be pasteurised but brewers can

sterile fi lter their beer. That means they

fi lter out the beer spoilage micro-organisms

that would normally be destroyed using

pasteurising. They then fi ll their beer

into sterile containers under sterile

packaging conditions, for example MGD

(Miller Genuine Draft) and Castle Draught

in bottle.

Most brewers, large and small ‒ including

craft brewers,will fl ash pasteurise their

draught beer en route to a clean and

sterilised keg. This guarantees the

appropriate shelf life whilst the keg is not

connected to the tap. Bottle beer is

normally tunnel pasteurised or cabin

pasteurised which requires more time and

more eff ective pasteurisation with a

denn

is

But is there a diff erence between beer in a bottle or can and the brew dispensed via a

pump? The natural person to ask was all round beer guru and evangelist, Denis Da Silva,

SAB’s Trade Brewer.

for the target consumer. Compare it to milk.

You could have it straight from the cow,

warm and unpasteurised with little or no

shelf life, or refrigerated and pasteurised

with a limited shelf life or even as UHT

(ultra-high temperature) pasteurised milk

with extra-long shelf life and no need for

refrigeration. It’s still milk but they diff er in

taste due to the pasteurisation techniques.

What are the challenges

with draught?

There are many! Far more so than

with bottled or canned beer.

There’s the need for dispensing equipment

that requires capital and ongoing

maintenance including regular cleaning. It’s

got to be hygienically clean to avoid quality

problems. The limited shelf life of the beer

once the keg has been connected to a tap

is probably the single biggest challenge.


Beer

consequently longer shelf life. The shelf life

includes colloidal stability (the diff erence

between a beer remaining clear or going

cloudy) and microbiological stability (where

the quality deteriorates over time and

begins to develop off fl avours due to

contamination).

The fl avour stability of the beer will wane

over time: it loses its freshness and

drinkability. Fresh beer is always best! To

retain fl avour stability of draught beers, one

needs experienced and well-qualifi ed

brewers, backed up with the right

technology and equipment.

Most research I can fi nd seems to

point to draught beer being

almost exclusively unpasteurised?

Some brewers claim that draught

tastes better than bottle beer. This

is because there is less, or no pasteurisation

that causes heat damage to the brew. The

subsequent infl uence of pasteurisation is

that the beer appears to taste less fresh.The

benefi t of pasteurised beer is that it has a

longer shelf life.So, it’s a balance between

freshness and shelf life,. A brewer cannot

have both and needs to seek the balance

What are the requirements of a

draught beer vs bottled?

It depends on whether the beer

has been pasteurised or not ‒

and how it’s done. Some brewers won’t

pasteurise their beer but then face the

challenge of microbiological and colloidal

stability of their beers. By some

international standards, genuine draught

cannot be pasteurised but brewers can

sterile fi lter their beer. That means they

fi lter out the beer spoilage micro-organisms

that would normally be destroyed using

pasteurising. They then fi ll their beer

into sterile containers under sterile

packaging conditions, for example MGD

(Miller Genuine Draft) and Castle Draught

in bottle.

Most brewers, large and small ‒ including

craft brewers,will fl ash pasteurise their

draught beer en route to a clean and

sterilised keg. This guarantees the

appropriate shelf life whilst the keg is not

connected to the tap. Bottle beer is

normally tunnel pasteurised or cabin

pasteurised which requires more time and

more eff ective pasteurisation with a

denn

is

But is there a diff erence between beer in a bottle or can and the brew dispensed via a

pump? The natural person to ask was all round beer guru and evangelist, Denis Da Silva,

SAB’s Trade Brewer.

for the target consumer. Compare it to milk.

You could have it straight from the cow,

warm and unpasteurised with little or no

shelf life, or refrigerated and pasteurised

with a limited shelf life or even as UHT

(ultra-high temperature) pasteurised milk

with extra-long shelf life and no need for

refrigeration. It’s still milk but they diff er in

taste due to the pasteurisation techniques.

What are the challenges

with draught?

There are many! Far more so than

with bottled or canned beer.

There’s the need for dispensing equipment

that requires capital and ongoing

maintenance including regular cleaning. It’s

got to be hygienically clean to avoid quality

problems. The limited shelf life of the beer

once the keg has been connected to a tap

is probably the single biggest challenge.


draught

31

The more the volume per tap served in an

outlet the better it is for beer quality.

Storing kegs in a cold room is another, as

is the ongoing training of bar staff in

handling draught equipment ‒ especially

pouring and serving. Bar staff come and go

in South Africa and not many see it as a

career, so there’s a need for continuous

training. Each outlet should have a draught

champion who is passionate about draught

and the equipment.

At Newlands brewery and most of our

other SAB breweries in major cities, a

weekly Draught Academy is run, where

we address these challenges and train bar

staff outlets.

What is fi ltering and what

diff erence does it make?

The choice of whether to fi lter or

not lies with the brewer. Most will

choose to do so as it removes residual yeast

from the beer and it’ll be visually more

appealing to the consumer. Some are not

fi ltered, for example weiss mit heff e (wheat

beers with yeast). Most beer drinkers enjoy

this as part of the style of the beer.

Filtration’s been around for a long time. In

fact, most alcoholic beverages are fi ltered,

including wine.

Chilling: just how important is

temperature and how does it

aff ect the end product?

Temperature is important. Once

fermentation’s complete, beer is

allowed to mature at very low

temperatures for fi nal fl avour development.

It is normally chilled again before fi ltration

which will result in the precipitation of

compounds that can fi ltered out to avoid

Keep the party clean

If you’re aiming for the perfect draught, the fi rst step is to

ensure you glasses are spotlessly clean.

A FEW TIPS TO REMEMBER:Never wash your glasses in the same water as your food dishes or cutlery. Grease, fat or food residue not only looks terrible

but can certainly aff ect the taste and quality of the beer.

Try and dry the glasses upside down on a corrugated tray or

board. This allows air to circulate inside the glass. In a bar environment do not use a

towel unless you’re positive that it has only been used on glasses. And even this is not ideal as it’s

diffi cult to keep the towels clean and lint free.

Store your beer glasses at counter height or lower. Grease,

cigarette smoke and cooking odours tend to rise. Save your

overhead racks for other glasses ‒ cocktails and liquor based

drinks are not aff ected in the same way as beer.

clarity problems later on. The ideal would

be to retain these low temperatures

throughout the value chain all the way to

the consumer; from refrigerated

warehouses, delivery to outlets in

refrigerated trucks and storage in cold

rooms to maintain optimal freshness and

drinkability. But one needs to be realistic

about costs and environmental impacts.

What about propulsion methods

‒ the way the beer gets into the

glass. How is it done?

It varies from hand and foot driven

piston pumps to gas cylinder

driven systems. The most common gas

used to dispense draught beer is carbon

dioxide, CO2, as this is the same gas present

in the beer which is produced naturally by

the yeast during fermentation. Brewers can

mix gases like nitrogen and CO2 for kegs

that are stored in cold rooms to avoid

carbonation of the beer and to produce a

better foam on top of the beer with a

tighter foam head and smaller bubbles.

Very fi ne bubbles result in a “cappuccino”

like foam which can change the mouthfeel

of the beer and make it smoother drinking

‒ like Castle Milk Stout on tap.

Is the fl avour of draught vs bottle

noticeably diff erent?

Yes, but you need to be a good or

experienced beer taster.

Consumers would enjoy drinking more

draught beer as its freshness contributes to

the drinkability and moreishness of it.

Research has shown that consumers

intuitively prefer fresh beer to ageing beer

and, given the choice, will consume more

fresh beer than older beer.

How to serve the perfect frosty:

Step 1Rinse the clean beer glass with

fresh, cold water.Step 2

Fill the glass as shown in the pictures above. Open and close

the tap from the base of the handle in one smooth motion.

Step 3Serve right away.


American whiskey

Whiskey ‘n ryen 2009 the stills at Mount Vernon, George Washington’s estate in Virginia, owed with spirit again – more than 200 years

after ceasing production.Before his death in 1799 George

Washington, the quintessential American pioneer president, was one of the country’s most successful distillers. His Mount Vernon spread boasted its own grist mill, still house with 50 mash tuns and � ve copper stills – the smallest of which had a capacity of just under 500ℓ. � e distillation was handled by John Anderson, the son of Washington’s Scottish farm overseer, James Anderson, along with six slaves.

According to surprisingly detailed records which have survived, the recipe for Washington’s Mount Vernon whiskey comprised 60% rye, 35% corn and � ve percent barley. In the year of his death, the estate produced 50 000ℓ of whiskey and produced a whopping pro� t of $7 500, according to Michael Jackson’s book,

It’s a scene almost as iconic as the mesas and buttes of

Monument Valley: the saloon doors swinging open and a

bottle of whiskey sliding down the counter to yet another dusty, thirsty cowboy. But the story of American whiskey goes back to

before the West was settled. Fiona McDonald reports.


American whiskey

Whiskey ‘n ryen 2009 the stills at Mount Vernon, George Washington’s estate in Virginia, owed with spirit again – more than 200 years

after ceasing production.Before his death in 1799 George

Washington, the quintessential American pioneer president, was one of the country’s most successful distillers. His Mount Vernon spread boasted its own grist mill, still house with 50 mash tuns and � ve copper stills – the smallest of which had a capacity of just under 500ℓ. � e distillation was handled by John Anderson, the son of Washington’s Scottish farm overseer, James Anderson, along with six slaves.

According to surprisingly detailed records which have survived, the recipe for Washington’s Mount Vernon whiskey comprised 60% rye, 35% corn and � ve percent barley. In the year of his death, the estate produced 50 000ℓ of whiskey and produced a whopping pro� t of $7 500, according to Michael Jackson’s book,

It’s a scene almost as iconic as the mesas and buttes of

Monument Valley: the saloon doors swinging open and a

bottle of whiskey sliding down the counter to yet another dusty, thirsty cowboy. But the story of American whiskey goes back to

before the West was settled. Fiona McDonald reports.


Bourbon

33

Whiskey, the de� nitive world guide.Washington’s whiskey is

representative of the style of the spirit that would have been distilled in the late 1700’s. It provides a snapshot of American whiskey’s origins and development – a tale involving settlers, taxation, war, pioneers and using the raw materials available locally.

One of the largest settlements in America at the time – and still the largest – New York, was originally called New Amsterdam. at should provide an indication of the predominance of Dutch settlers who’d based themselves there – along with Germans too. Both these nationalities had a long tradition of distilling so it was only natural that they would have continued to do so.

ey blended corn, because it was grown locally by the indigenous Indian population and rye, because they knew it and used it to bake their traditional breads. Barley was less successful as a crop in those early days.

REVOLUTIONFrom 1775 to 1783 the American colonists fought a war of independence against the British, aided by the French. (Take note: that’s important and crops up later!) e American revolution as it came to be known, established the new nation’s independence but it also � nancially hamstrung the country.

With taxes on imported items as high as could be tolerated, Washington and his government needed to raise money

– and lots of it. Consequently a decision was taken to enact the � rst tax on a domestically produced item – whiskey – in 1791. It led to the whiskey rebellion which lasted three years.

Writer and world whiskey expert Dave Broom presented a lecture on American Whiskey at the 2011 Whisky Live festival. He said farmers realized the bene� ts of processing their raw material – corn. Farmers could get 50c for a bushel of corn but there was a glut of it and transport was expensive. Getting it to market would cost them more than the price they could realise. By distilling it and making whiskey, it was also easily transported to market and a more valuable product – worth around two dollars for the same bushel of raw material. “Makes more sense to distill, doesn’t it?” was Broom’s summation.

By 1794 the opposition to the whiskey tax had taken on a violent edge and even led to armed insurrection. e whiskey

rebellion is notable for the fact that it became the � rst time that the federal government raised its armed forces to quell the growing opposition which it did with a 13 000 strong show of force in Monongahela, Pennsylvania.

What many farmers did was to simply up stakes and move elsewhere – in this case, over the Appalachian mountains into areas which were beyond the reach of the federal government – such as Kentucky and Tennessee which remain to this day, the heartland of the American whiskey distilling tradition.

Because of the � nancial and logistical support of the French during the American war of independence, in 1785 (before the same French Royal family had their respective heads lopped o¡ in the French Revolution of 1789…) a large county was named after the French Royal family – Bourbon. Whiskey made in that county was transported in barrels emblazoned with the area of origin – and that’s how the American spirit became synonymous with being called Bourbon.

e impact of the in£ ux of Scots and Irish settlers had a profound im£ uence on American distillation. e Scots began arriving after being forcibly displaced from the Highlands in the late 1700’s while the Irish potato famine caused thousands of people to £ ee to America around 1840. ey brought their skills and knowledge of the distilling process along with them.

Historic records from 1810 re£ ect that there were 2 000 registered distilleries and that by 1850 this had grown to 5 000 registered potstills in Pennsylvania alone. So what happened? Why is it that American whiskey

Tennessee whiskey“What is the diff erence between Bourbon and Tennessee whiskey?” we asked Dave Hughes.

“None!” was his short answer. “Bourbon can be made anywhere in the USA.”

“There is no distinct style because most distilleries produce their own individual style.”

Some distilleries make a big deal about sour mash, he said. “In fact, all Bourbon is sour mash.”

According to law, Tennessee whiskey is straight Bourbon whiskey produced in the state of Tennessee. What does set it apart, however, is the local practice of using the Lincoln County Process ‒ of fi ltering new make spirit through sugar maple charcoal prior to maturation.


American whiskey

production slumped so dramatically?It started in the mid-1800s with the

Civil War when many men went o� to � ght and production almost ground to a halt. Just a few decades after that the temperance movement kicked in and Prohibition was proclaimed. It lasted until 1933. During Prohibition most of the distilleries went out of business – and those that managed to keep their doors open and the stills � owing were producing limited amounts of medicinal alcohol. � e Irish and Scots had stepped into the void and the market got used to drinking their whiskies. Other contributory factors were the Depression and World War II.

MODERN INFLUENCESStuart Ramsay wrote the following in his overview of American whiskey in Jackson’s book: He noted that there has been a resurgence in interest in American whiskey since the 1980s. People tired of the mass production and dumbing down of the product began rediscovering complexity and quality of aged American whiskey

Dave Broom echoed those sentiments in his Whisky Live lecture in Johannesburg. He said American whiskey is one of the most exciting – and fastest growing – segments of the international whiskey market. It’s certainly the most innovative – and one of the biggest areas of innovation is that of yeast strains.

“You’ve got to remember that you can’t rush whiskey. For those of us who drink and write that’s an immensely frustrating thing because we want the new stu� to see what’s happening. But whiskey takes 10 or 20 years to be ready – and when it’s experimental, it might work…and it might not! So what we’re seeing now is the result of experiments conducted one

and two decades ago.”When it came to American whiskey,

Broom said: “Rye gives power, corn the roundness and wheat the delicacy and lightness.” Most modern American whiskies are a blend of all three. American whiskies are unique in that they don’t use just one yeast strain – as in Scotland. Each distillery jealously guards its yeasts. � at’s where much of the complexity in modern American whiskey is created. Four Roses, established in 1888, has � ve di� erent strains – because it used to be owned by Seagrams which also owned four other distilleries. � e other four shut their doors but the yeast strains were retained… It’s now in the Japanese Kirin stable.

“Strain K provides a spice, while O o� ers bold fruits. Strain Q is quite � oral while F is more herbal and � nally the V strain is lightly fruity,” Broom said. It is by playing around with these strains and di� erent percentages of rye, corn and wheat that deliciously unique whiskies are being produced in America.

“If you try and wrap your head around the intricacies of all that you’re bound to end up with a headache,” Broom conceded. “But what a nice headache! It’s that sort of complexity that makes American whiskey so exciting.”

Names and dates: 1783 ‒ Samuels family tradition established. They’re the oldest Bourbon distilling family but before 1840 didn’t produce commercial amounts. Around 100 years later in 1943 Bill Samuels Sr. shied away from the family recipe, creating a bourbon that was smoother and less bitter. The result? Maker’s Mark, which incidentally is one of the few American whiskies to be spelled without the distinctive “e” in whiskey, as a mark of respect to the family’s Scots/Irish ancestry.

The same year ‒ 1783 ‒ saw the fi rst commercial distillery in Kentucky begin production in Louisville, on the banks of the Ohio river. Evan Williams bourbon is still one of the main names in bourbon today.

Elijah Craig is credited with ageing the spirit ‒ although there’s some dispute about that. Not in dispute is that this Baptist minister opened a distillery in Georgetown, Kentucky ‒ Heaven Hill ‒ in 1789.

In 1795 the Beam family established their distilling tradition. The surname Beam was derived from the German surname Boehm but no-one quite knows when it was Americanised. Jim Beam remains a strong American whiskey brand to this day.

Between 1861 and 1865 the Civil War was fought between the north and the south. A man who’d struck it rich in the California Gold Rush, Major Benjamin Blanton, made the mistake of tying his fortune up in Confederate War Bonds ‒ and losing it all when the south fell. Blanton was broke but a few years later set himself up in a Kentucky distillery which later became the famous Stagg Distillery which nowadays produces Blanton’s.

(Information courtesy of www.cocktails.about.com/od/history/tp/bourbon )


American whiskey

production slumped so dramatically?It started in the mid-1800s with the

Civil War when many men went o� to � ght and production almost ground to a halt. Just a few decades after that the temperance movement kicked in and Prohibition was proclaimed. It lasted until 1933. During Prohibition most of the distilleries went out of business – and those that managed to keep their doors open and the stills � owing were producing limited amounts of medicinal alcohol. � e Irish and Scots had stepped into the void and the market got used to drinking their whiskies. Other contributory factors were the Depression and World War II.

MODERN INFLUENCESStuart Ramsay wrote the following in his overview of American whiskey in Jackson’s book: He noted that there has been a resurgence in interest in American whiskey since the 1980s. People tired of the mass production and dumbing down of the product began rediscovering complexity and quality of aged American whiskey

Dave Broom echoed those sentiments in his Whisky Live lecture in Johannesburg. He said American whiskey is one of the most exciting – and fastest growing – segments of the international whiskey market. It’s certainly the most innovative – and one of the biggest areas of innovation is that of yeast strains.

“You’ve got to remember that you can’t rush whiskey. For those of us who drink and write that’s an immensely frustrating thing because we want the new stu� to see what’s happening. But whiskey takes 10 or 20 years to be ready – and when it’s experimental, it might work…and it might not! So what we’re seeing now is the result of experiments conducted one

and two decades ago.”When it came to American whiskey,

Broom said: “Rye gives power, corn the roundness and wheat the delicacy and lightness.” Most modern American whiskies are a blend of all three. American whiskies are unique in that they don’t use just one yeast strain – as in Scotland. Each distillery jealously guards its yeasts. � at’s where much of the complexity in modern American whiskey is created. Four Roses, established in 1888, has � ve di� erent strains – because it used to be owned by Seagrams which also owned four other distilleries. � e other four shut their doors but the yeast strains were retained… It’s now in the Japanese Kirin stable.

“Strain K provides a spice, while O o� ers bold fruits. Strain Q is quite � oral while F is more herbal and � nally the V strain is lightly fruity,” Broom said. It is by playing around with these strains and di� erent percentages of rye, corn and wheat that deliciously unique whiskies are being produced in America.

“If you try and wrap your head around the intricacies of all that you’re bound to end up with a headache,” Broom conceded. “But what a nice headache! It’s that sort of complexity that makes American whiskey so exciting.”

Names and dates: 1783 ‒ Samuels family tradition established. They’re the oldest Bourbon distilling family but before 1840 didn’t produce commercial amounts. Around 100 years later in 1943 Bill Samuels Sr. shied away from the family recipe, creating a bourbon that was smoother and less bitter. The result? Maker’s Mark, which incidentally is one of the few American whiskies to be spelled without the distinctive “e” in whiskey, as a mark of respect to the family’s Scots/Irish ancestry.

The same year ‒ 1783 ‒ saw the fi rst commercial distillery in Kentucky begin production in Louisville, on the banks of the Ohio river. Evan Williams bourbon is still one of the main names in bourbon today.

Elijah Craig is credited with ageing the spirit ‒ although there’s some dispute about that. Not in dispute is that this Baptist minister opened a distillery in Georgetown, Kentucky ‒ Heaven Hill ‒ in 1789.

In 1795 the Beam family established their distilling tradition. The surname Beam was derived from the German surname Boehm but no-one quite knows when it was Americanised. Jim Beam remains a strong American whiskey brand to this day.

Between 1861 and 1865 the Civil War was fought between the north and the south. A man who’d struck it rich in the California Gold Rush, Major Benjamin Blanton, made the mistake of tying his fortune up in Confederate War Bonds ‒ and losing it all when the south fell. Blanton was broke but a few years later set himself up in a Kentucky distillery which later became the famous Stagg Distillery which nowadays produces Blanton’s.

(Information courtesy of www.cocktails.about.com/od/history/tp/bourbon )

35Sep|Oct 2013 Vol 08 www.topsatspar.co.za

Durbanville Hills

Go to www.facebook.com/CheersMag, SHARE

the Cheers Facebook page and double

your chance of winning!

how to enter By entering you stand a chance of winning a Durbanville Hills Box Giveaway

Send an email with the subject line Cheers Durbanville Hills Box Giveaway containing your name, ID number, physical address (not a P.O. Box please!), name of

the TOPS at SPAR store at which you made any purchase from and the till slip number, along with a contact telephone number to qualify for the random

draw to [email protected]. SEE T&C’S ON PG 2

Durbanville Hills bespoke red wine box

Five lucky Cheers readers stand the chance to win a bespoke box selection of five

Durbanville Hills red wines valued at R900 each!

Durbanville Hills bespoke red wine box

Five lucky Cheers readers stand the chance to win a bespoke box selection of five

Durbanville Hills red wines valued at R900 each!

win

Not for Sale to Persons Under the Age of 18. Drink Responsibly.

The scenic view of Table Mountain, Table Bay and the rolling hills from Durbanville Hills Wines’ cellar is more than just a beautiful location. It’s at the very heart of why the wines produced here are rich in character, fl avourful and exceptional.


Water & whisky

A rare resource provides the foundation for the dram. Cliff ord Roberts unravels some of the mystique around water in whisky.

isge beatha – or Water of Life was the rather optimistic name early distillers baptised the

amber liquid so widely enjoyed today as whisky. Water is one of its main ingredients.

Every bottle of whisky contains a percentage of alcohol; it’s what is written on the label. � e remainder is derived from springs and lakes that distilleries so preciously guard. Almost any photograph of a distillery one might encounter will include the rippled surface of a glistening pool or stream, where it is visible. Some however, like the Tennessee distillery that makes Jack Daniel’s or the Taiwanese distillery that makes Kavalan single malt, get their water from natural subterranean wells – the former from a limestone cave, the latter from a natural reservoir of water from the Shue-Shan Mountains.

Water too is used early in the

production of whisky, in the malting and mashing for example, where malt grist is mixed with hot water as a way of extracting sugar; and, in cooling the distillate.

And let’s not forget, the splash or block of ice accompanying a tot or two, which experts suggest should be � ltered mineral water rather than the chlorinated stu� from municipal taps.

What would Johnnie Walker be without the water source at Cardhu, Tamdhu without the River Spey or the Highland whisky of Dalwhinnie without Lochan Doire-Uaine?

Even from early on, distillers emphasised the importance of a water source; that the properties and � avours of water varied widely and contributed powerfully to the � nal dram.

But, as the late Don Paul points out in his book My Whisky Companion, while whisky marketing “rests on the purity, clarity and softness” of water in the production processes, others say its e� ects are nominal.

Glenmorangie chief distiller Dr Bill Lumsden says of all � avours in his brand, the water from the Tarlogie Springs contributes maybe only � ve percent. � at � ve percent however is

of whiskyliquid heart

the much valued, if one is to go by Glenmorangie’s marketing material: “So important are the Tarlogie Springs to Glenmorangie that in 1989, the Company thought to safeguard their purity, purchasing 650 acres of surrounding woodland to protect its future, and ensure that Glenmorangie would always retain its unique, distinctive character.”

Similarly, the Grant family sought to protect the Robbie Dhu spring that allowed them to produce Glen� ddich and promptly bought 1200 acres of land surrounding it.

It’s an easy conclusion to reach that water fi ltered by nature lends a particular taste unique to its path.


Water & whisky

A rare resource provides the foundation for the dram. Cliff ord Roberts unravels some of the mystique around water in whisky.

isge beatha – or Water of Life was the rather optimistic name early distillers baptised the

amber liquid so widely enjoyed today as whisky. Water is one of its main ingredients.

Every bottle of whisky contains a percentage of alcohol; it’s what is written on the label. � e remainder is derived from springs and lakes that distilleries so preciously guard. Almost any photograph of a distillery one might encounter will include the rippled surface of a glistening pool or stream, where it is visible. Some however, like the Tennessee distillery that makes Jack Daniel’s or the Taiwanese distillery that makes Kavalan single malt, get their water from natural subterranean wells – the former from a limestone cave, the latter from a natural reservoir of water from the Shue-Shan Mountains.

Water too is used early in the

production of whisky, in the malting and mashing for example, where malt grist is mixed with hot water as a way of extracting sugar; and, in cooling the distillate.

And let’s not forget, the splash or block of ice accompanying a tot or two, which experts suggest should be � ltered mineral water rather than the chlorinated stu� from municipal taps.

What would Johnnie Walker be without the water source at Cardhu, Tamdhu without the River Spey or the Highland whisky of Dalwhinnie without Lochan Doire-Uaine?

Even from early on, distillers emphasised the importance of a water source; that the properties and � avours of water varied widely and contributed powerfully to the � nal dram.

But, as the late Don Paul points out in his book My Whisky Companion, while whisky marketing “rests on the purity, clarity and softness” of water in the production processes, others say its e� ects are nominal.

Glenmorangie chief distiller Dr Bill Lumsden says of all � avours in his brand, the water from the Tarlogie Springs contributes maybe only � ve percent. � at � ve percent however is

of whiskyliquid heart

the much valued, if one is to go by Glenmorangie’s marketing material: “So important are the Tarlogie Springs to Glenmorangie that in 1989, the Company thought to safeguard their purity, purchasing 650 acres of surrounding woodland to protect its future, and ensure that Glenmorangie would always retain its unique, distinctive character.”

Similarly, the Grant family sought to protect the Robbie Dhu spring that allowed them to produce Glen� ddich and promptly bought 1200 acres of land surrounding it.

It’s an easy conclusion to reach that water fi ltered by nature lends a particular taste unique to its path.


by Cliff ord Roberts

“Our uniqueness starts with the water,” Jack Daniel’s master distiller Je� Arnett is quoted in Dave Broom’s book, � e World Atlas of Whisky. � e whisky producing states of both Tennessee and Kentucky sit atop a limestone belt, resulting in plenty of mineral-rich water said to give distinctive taste to brands like Woodford Reserve and Wild Turkey bourbon. Down Under too, limestone water is used by the Great Southern distillery in Albany, Western Australia, for making Limeburner’s single malt.

Perhaps unconvinced by the sceptics, Don Paul himself chooses in a chapter on the topic, to hold in his mind glorious memories of whisky and, in this case, Scotland. With every sip he conjured up the heather, misty mountains and sparkling water that appeared “as if someone had taken a cloth and polished it up”. hard vs soft

Distilleries often refer to the qualities of water used in the making of their

whisky as being “hard” or “soft”. The hardness of water refers to the

amount of dissolved minerals like iron, zinc, magnesium and calcium it

contains. Soft waters are generally used in the making of most Scotch

whiskies, with exceptions to include Glenmorangie, while hard limestone water is a key ingredient of bourbon.

With every sip he conjured up the heather, misty mountains and sparkling water that appeared “as if someone had taken a cloth and polished it up”.

� e romantic notion of whisky has given rise to fantastic legends around just the water of distilleries.

In one, Japanese whisky co-founder Masataka Taketsuru apparently searched for three years before coming upon the ideal site for his Miyagikyo distillery, at the convergence of two rivers. � e story goes that his mind was made up when he � nally walked into the stream, scooped up some icy water and drank.

Josie’s spring supplying Speyside’s � e Glenlivet since 1859 is famous for its steady � ow. Some days the distillery pumps 300 gallons from it – and it has never dried up.

� e Islay distillery of Bruichladdich gets its water from three sources – the Bruichladdich loch for mashing; the Bruichladdich burn for condensing; and the Octomore spring for bottling. Lagavulin, on the same island, is supplied by two lochs at Solum, where the water is dark and peaty.

Water has an interesting part to play in the spread of the early Canadian whisky tradition. Dave Broom describes in his Atlas, the development of Canadian whisky as having “delineated by water, following the � ow of the St Lawrence River and the lakes that feed it”.

Yet one of the most astounding stories relating to water in whisky belongs to the Scandinavian distillery of Braunstein, possibly the only one whose water source is provided by melted icebergs from the Greenland ice cap.

Now there’s a story to share over a wee dram... Sources: The World Atlas of Whisky by Dave Broom, published by Mitchell Beazley (2010); My Whisky Companion by Don Paul, published by The Cigar Club of South Africa (2005); www.lochlomonddistillery.com; www.whiskiesofscotland.com; www.jackdaniels.com; www.bladnoch.co.uk; http://nonjatta.blogspot.com.

38

Wine times

Party on, Wine!

Wine festivals have bloomed over more than a decade and there’s no sign of it

letting up. Cliff ord Roberts reports.


38

Wine times

Party on, Wine!

Wine festivals have bloomed over more than a decade and there’s no sign of it

letting up. Cliff ord Roberts reports.



Harvest 2014

Party on, Wine!

Wine times


hen it comes to spectacle, you have to hand it to the Spaniards. e land

that gave us Fernando Torres casts a giant shadow on most other modern attempts, especially when it comes to wine celebrations and certainly on our shores. e Festa della Filoxera, ranking as a pitch-perfect raspberry in the face of a world awash in also-rans, must be a sight to behold. Giant phylloxera bugs made of cardboard and wire, slowly plod down the high street in Catalonia’s San Sadurni through the smoke of � reworks that light up their brightly coloured thoraxes.

In La Rioja, a northern region of the Iberian peninsula that’s famous for its red wine, the good people of Haro erupt with bonhomie around harvest time and literally chuck buckets of the stu� at each other. Drenched and purple at the end, everyone hugs each other in true Mediterranean fashion and goes o� in jolly mood to watch a bull� ght.

It seems not much has changed since the ancient Grecians tossed sloppy wine lees at targets as part of jolli� cations in honour of Dionysus. If local politicians weren’t such an uptight bunch and volunteered as said targets, an enterprising soul might easily spark a revival of the game right here. Alas, such hilarity is doomed too for the currency rate of exchange these days means there’s barely wine to spare in any case. e name of the game, dear Abba, is sell, sell, sell.

Just a sip of the icebergThis isn’t a list of all wine festivals,

not by a long shot. Nonetheless, you had better start with your push-ups.

Muratie Harvest Festival (www.muratie.co.za) happens on March 1.

On March 15, there’s the Wellington wine harvest festival (www.harvestfestival.co.za), with a trio of themes ‒ New Fashioned Boere Bazaar, Top Chill and Wilder as die Wildtuin.

The Cape rural music and wine festival at Solms Delta (www.solms-delta.co.za) was inaugurated at the Franschhoek farm in 2008.The next Oesfees hits the stage on March 22.

The inaugural Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo Celebration of Bubbles takes place in

Sandton on March 29&30 ‒ a showcase of local and international Cap Classique and

Champagne producers. RMB Winex (www.winex.co.za), directed by Michael Fridjhon, it runs shows in White

River, Mpumalanga March 15 & 16; Polokwane July 24 & 25; Bloemfontein July 31 & August 1;

and, in Sandton on October 29 to 31.

The Good Food & Wine Show (www.goodfoodandwineshow.co.za) takes

place in Cape Town May 29 to June 1; Durban October 24-26, and Johannesburg

July 31 ‒ August 3.

Robertson Wine Valley marks the 10th anniversary of the Wacky Wine weekend

(www.wackywineweekend.com) on June 5-8.

The Calitzdorp Port Festival

(www.portwinefestival.co.za) in Calitzdorp takes place this year on June 14&15.

Celebrating with the French and selling wine at the same time, the Franschhoek Bastille Festival (www.franschhoekbastille.co.za)

runs on July 12 & 13.

Also marking a decade this year will be Durbanville’s Season of Sauvignon

(www.durbanvillewine.co.za). The event traditionally is held in October.

Wellington Wine Harvest

Festival

Cape Rural Music & Wine

Festival, Solms Delta

Fran

schh

oek

Bast

ille

Fest

ival

Muratie

Harvest Festival

Wine times


hen it comes to spectacle, you have to hand it to the Spaniards. e land

that gave us Fernando Torres casts a giant shadow on most other modern attempts, especially when it comes to wine celebrations and certainly on our shores. e Festa della Filoxera, ranking as a pitch-perfect raspberry in the face of a world awash in also-rans, must be a sight to behold. Giant phylloxera bugs made of cardboard and wire, slowly plod down the high street in Catalonia’s San Sadurni through the smoke of � reworks that light up their brightly coloured thoraxes.

In La Rioja, a northern region of the Iberian peninsula that’s famous for its red wine, the good people of Haro erupt with bonhomie around harvest time and literally chuck buckets of the stu� at each other. Drenched and purple at the end, everyone hugs each other in true Mediterranean fashion and goes o� in jolly mood to watch a bull� ght.

It seems not much has changed since the ancient Grecians tossed sloppy wine lees at targets as part of jolli� cations in honour of Dionysus. If local politicians weren’t such an uptight bunch and volunteered as said targets, an enterprising soul might easily spark a revival of the game right here. Alas, such hilarity is doomed too for the currency rate of exchange these days means there’s barely wine to spare in any case. e name of the game, dear Abba, is sell, sell, sell.

Just a sip of the icebergThis isn’t a list of all wine festivals,

not by a long shot. Nonetheless, you had better start with your push-ups.

Muratie Harvest Festival (www.muratie.co.za) happens on March 1.

On March 15, there’s the Wellington wine harvest festival (www.harvestfestival.co.za), with a trio of themes ‒ New Fashioned Boere Bazaar, Top Chill and Wilder as die Wildtuin.

The Cape rural music and wine festival at Solms Delta (www.solms-delta.co.za) was inaugurated at the Franschhoek farm in 2008.The next Oesfees hits the stage on March 22.

The inaugural Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo Celebration of Bubbles takes place in

Sandton on March 29&30 ‒ a showcase of local and international Cap Classique and

Champagne producers. RMB Winex (www.winex.co.za), directed by Michael Fridjhon, it runs shows in White

River, Mpumalanga March 15 & 16; Polokwane July 24 & 25; Bloemfontein July 31 & August 1;

and, in Sandton on October 29 to 31.

The Good Food & Wine Show (www.goodfoodandwineshow.co.za) takes

place in Cape Town May 29 to June 1; Durban October 24-26, and Johannesburg

July 31 ‒ August 3.

Robertson Wine Valley marks the 10th anniversary of the Wacky Wine weekend

(www.wackywineweekend.com) on June 5-8.

The Calitzdorp Port Festival

(www.portwinefestival.co.za) in Calitzdorp takes place this year on June 14&15.

Celebrating with the French and selling wine at the same time, the Franschhoek Bastille Festival (www.franschhoekbastille.co.za)

runs on July 12 & 13.

Also marking a decade this year will be Durbanville’s Season of Sauvignon

(www.durbanvillewine.co.za). The event traditionally is held in October.

Wellington Wine Harvest

Festival



Fran

schh

oek

Bast

ille

Fest

ival

Muratie

Harvest Festival


Xxxxxx

41



And you can understand why. Until recently, an ordinary bloke could only venture a very inaccurate guess as to how much money wine festivals made. As usual, everyone plays their cards close to their emaciated chests. But all must have known soon after the Robertson Wine Valley Association launched its Wacky Wine Weekend in 2004, following it with Wine on the River, Robertson Slow, Hands-On Harvest and a doodad in Gauteng – something was de� nitely up.

� e result is worthy of your pity for the loyal festival groupie. Just take a look at the abbreviated list of South African wine shows and festivals alongside this article. Online, you’ll � nd good advice on how to make the most (survive?) of the coming season.

A short while ago in 2010, a masters student from Potchefstroom did us all a favour, reviewed the literature and conducted some research, which was then published for all to see. Elize-Mari Joubert’s dissertation concluded that the Wacky Wine Festival – one of the biggest of its kind - made a “positive economic contribution of an estimated R29.9-million” to the local greater Robertson area. Punters injected R15.4-million by buying accommodation, wine and the like, while the cost of extra sta� ng and marketing saw

producers toss in their R6-million share.� e o� cial source, Robertson wine route

manager Elizma Botha, says the organisation doesn’t publish sales � gures. Visitor numbers however, went from an estimated 2 500 people at that � rst event to a peak of 19 200 during the 2010 Fifa World Cup. Still, even at slightly reduced numbers and seemingly unperturbed by a rise in cost-of-living, Wacky Winers last year blew a record in cash.

� ese days you can hardly toss a branded wine glass down the town’s Jacaranda-lined streets without it landing on lodgings for rent. � e number of guesthouses in the town has doubled since 2003, to 68, while the number of walk-in visitors to the tourism o� ce went from 205 then, to around 15 000 last year. Some 24% were ascribed to Wacky Wine alone.

No surprise then that the cash cow has taken to grazing in all manner of climes and a good thing too. With the price of petrol headed for who knows where, we can put o¢ riding bumpers of the 1% for a while longer. From the Free State to Mpumalanga, Gugulethu to Soweto, there’s a whole lot of sippin’ going on. And we haven’t even touched on those crowded stalls at the ABSA KKNK arts festival, Cultivaria in Paarl and the Hermanus Whale Festival either.

Stellenbosch Wine Festival promised a “bigger, better and bolder” experience this year. � e granddaddy of wine routes clearly hasn’t lost the will to throw a party. Still, it’s no Barrel Racing in Botriver – the closest thing you’re likely to � nd to some of the bug-lined, wine tossing spectacles up north.


estimated 2 500 people at that � rst event to

number of guesthouses in the town has

around 15 000 last year. Some 24% were

where, we can put o¢ riding bumpers of the 1% for a while longer. From the Free

number of guesthouses in the town has

From the Free State to Mpumalanga, Gugulethu to Soweto, there’s a whole lot of sippin’ going on.

Award-winning journalist Cliff ord Roberts loves researching topics such as beer ‒

especially the practical side of the subject!

cliff

ord

Calitzdorp Port Festival

The Good

Food & Wine

Show

TOPS as SPAR Soweto Wine &

Lifestyle Festival

Of course, two wine events which shouldn’t be overlooked in any

festival round-ups are the TOPS at SPAR wine events, held in Gugulethu

and Soweto respectively. The Gugulethu event traditionally takes

place in the vibrant township in late May

while Soweto’s socialites come out in droves

in the glorious Spring weather in September

to enjoy the Highveld wine showcase.


TOPS at SPAR didn’t get to be the country’s biggest liquor retail chain by not knowing what their customers wanted. In just a dozen years they have engendered that most fragile of human emotions among their clientele – trust.

“To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved,” wrote Scottish author George MacDonald. And that he was trusted as a great writer is not in doubt as other – more famous – writers cited him as an inspiration. Authors such as CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien and WH Auden lauded his work and in� uence while GK Chesterton said MacDonald’s books “had made a di� erence to my whole existence”.

Once any relationship of trust has been frayed, dented, called into question or possibly even betrayed, there’s no going back. It’s like having a cheating partner:

can you ever truly trust that person again or will there forever been a level of doubt about their honesty and integrity?

Well, to adapt that relationship of trust to a vinous analogy, TOPS at SPAR is encouraging its customers to trust its Fundis – the panel of six tasters which weeds through a large array of wines to select a suitable line-up of wines that can be trusted, removing the stress and strain of trying to � nd a good bottle of wine at a decent price.

� e latest TOPS at SPAR promotional � yers which accompanied the quarterly selection that hit store shelves in February was appropriately headed sip-tippers! And in TOPS at SPAR drinktionary terms, a sip-tipper is de� ned as “an individual who inspires you to drink the best wines”.

Having been the proverbial ‘� y on the wall’ at the selection process conceptualised and driven by TOPS at SPAR Group Liquor executive Mark Robinson late last year,

Tongue testersWine can be so frustrating and yet so thrilling.

Consumers are frequently baffl ed by the wonderful variety and array of labels positioned on the shelves, not quite knowing whether delight or horror lies

ahead. Fiona McDonald reports on the most recent TOPS at SPAR fundi tasting.

The panel weeds through a large array of wines to select a suitable line-up that can be trusted, removing the stress and strain of trying to fi nd a good bottle at a decent price.

TOPS at SPAR

Tongue testersTongue testersTongue testersTongue testersTongue testersTongue testersMTongue testersTongue testerseTongue testerslTongue testerslTongue testersvTongue testersvTongue testersy

Tongue testersy

Tongue testersn

Min

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r

NNeil Pendock Nts

ikkii B

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Tinu

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Sa m arie Smith

Tongue testersM ark R obin

son


TOPS at SPAR didn’t get to be the country’s biggest liquor retail chain by not knowing what their customers wanted. In just a dozen years they have engendered that most fragile of human emotions among their clientele – trust.

“To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved,” wrote Scottish author George MacDonald. And that he was trusted as a great writer is not in doubt as other – more famous – writers cited him as an inspiration. Authors such as CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien and WH Auden lauded his work and in� uence while GK Chesterton said MacDonald’s books “had made a di� erence to my whole existence”.

Once any relationship of trust has been frayed, dented, called into question or possibly even betrayed, there’s no going back. It’s like having a cheating partner:

can you ever truly trust that person again or will there forever been a level of doubt about their honesty and integrity?

Well, to adapt that relationship of trust to a vinous analogy, TOPS at SPAR is encouraging its customers to trust its Fundis – the panel of six tasters which weeds through a large array of wines to select a suitable line-up of wines that can be trusted, removing the stress and strain of trying to � nd a good bottle of wine at a decent price.

� e latest TOPS at SPAR promotional � yers which accompanied the quarterly selection that hit store shelves in February was appropriately headed sip-tippers! And in TOPS at SPAR drinktionary terms, a sip-tipper is de� ned as “an individual who inspires you to drink the best wines”.

Having been the proverbial ‘� y on the wall’ at the selection process conceptualised and driven by TOPS at SPAR Group Liquor executive Mark Robinson late last year,

Tongue testersWine can be so frustrating and yet so thrilling.

Consumers are frequently baffl ed by the wonderful variety and array of labels positioned on the shelves, not quite knowing whether delight or horror lies

ahead. Fiona McDonald reports on the most recent TOPS at SPAR fundi tasting.

The panel weeds through a large array of wines to select a suitable line-up that can be trusted, removing the stress and strain of trying to fi nd a good bottle at a decent price.

TOPS at SPAR

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Tongue testersM ark R obin

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Mar|Apr 2014 Vol 11 www.topsatspar.co.za 43Mar|Apr 2014 Vol 11 www.topsatspar.co.za

Fundis

I can attest to the rigour of the tasting. � e trusted palates participating were Tinus van Niekerk, TOPS at SPAR’s wine consultant; Neil Pendock, a mathematician by profession and a wine writer and taster by desire; Ntsiki Biyela, winemaker at Stellekaya in Stellenbosch, and wine writers Melvyn Minnaar, Samarie Smith of Die Burger and former WINE magazine editor Christian Eedes. � e collective experience and knowledge gathered at the tasting bench at Kleine Zalze in November would have been interesting to quantify…

All the wines were served blind, at the ideal tasting temperature – with the white wines served a few degrees cooler than the reds. � ey had also been divided up into categories ahead of the tasting. So, for example, all the Chardonnays were tasted together, similarly so were Chenin Blanc or white blends, Pinotage, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and other broad classes.

As an aside for those who don’t necessarily know the distinction between serving wines ‘sighted’ or ‘blind’, sighted means what it infers – with sight of the label so that the taster knows they are drinking a Chardonnay from Producer X. It is often believed that tasters tend to be in� uenced by their background knowledge and perceived reputation of the wine in this sort of scenario. Tasting wines blind – means that all the taster has to go on when making a judgement is the wine in the glass. No price information and no area of origin is given so they cannot be prejudiced against a Chardonnay from Worcester, Elgin or Elim versus one from a more fancied area such as Stellenbosch, Paarl or Franschhoek.

And monitoring the whole process are two independent auditors. Prior to the tasting, they inspect the line-up of wines to make certain that the wines poured match up with the list supplied to them – in terms of vintage, grape variety and producer or range.

TOPS at SPAR’s selection is scrupulously blind – and the tasters certainly do not pull any punches when they read out their scores and comments for the auditors. One of the red wines, for example, had its fans as well as detractors. In the pro-corner some of the panel came out in favour of the wine, trying to land punches against those who disagreed with their opinion. � e verbal jabs of those in the other corner, defending why they believed the wine deserved a lesser score was something to watch. � ey cited a lack or fruit, balance or disharmony or even a

possible fault. Ultimately, they both retired to their corners with the auditors deciding that the points won the day.

But that’s just one aspect of the process. Once the selection has been � nalised, the TOPS at SPAR crew swing into action, � rstly securing adequate supplies and delivery schedules to ensure that the wines are in all stores by the due date – but also getting their marketing department to develop the appropriate material, printing up hundreds of thousands of � yers and also placing adverts in newspapers across the country!

And all of this happens so that Mrs Jane Bloggs knows that when she wraps her hand around one of the Fundi selection, she can trust that she won’t be disappointed by what TOPS at SPAR have placed on the shelf. Trust is indeed a great compliment.

www.topsatspar.co.za 43

Chardonnay from Producer X. It is Chardonnay from Producer X. It is often believed that tasters tend to be often believed that tasters tend to be in� uenced by their background in� uenced by their background knowledge and perceived reputation of knowledge and perceived reputation of the wine in this sort of scenario. Tasting the wine in this sort of scenario. Tasting wines blind – means that all the taster wines blind – means that all the taster has to go on when making a judgement has to go on when making a judgement is the wine in the glass. No price is the wine in the glass. No price information and no area of origin is information and no area of origin is given so they cannot be prejudiced given so they cannot be prejudiced against a Chardonnay from Worcester, against a Chardonnay from Worcester, Elgin or Elim versus one from a more Elgin or Elim versus one from a more fancied area such as Stellenbosch, Paarl fancied area such as Stellenbosch, Paarl or Franschhoek.

against a Chardonnay from Worcester, Elgin or Elim versus one from a more fancied area such as Stellenbosch, Paarl


World Bicycle Relief

David Bristow went ride-about in Zambia with a bunch of Yanks, most of them from the Midwest,

and tamed a very rare kind of cycling beast. Photography by David Bristow.

A bicycle like a diamondA bicycle made for 3

frica gets to people in many di� erent ways, and people

get Africa in about as many. I remember a

French journo who couldn’t pack fast enough to leave. He told a long-winded story about how Scorpion nags Crocodile to take him across a swollen

davi

d

David Bristow has buckets of MTB experience having ridden and written

“The Spine of the Dragon.” He’s also the webmaster of www.dragontrax.co.za, a

site which aims to be the country’s go-to, free, repository of GPS’d MTB tracks.

river. Crocodile relents and as they approach the bank Scorpion stings him in the eye. “Owwwwwwww! What was that for,?” cries Crocodile. “� at’s Africa,” shrugs Scorpion and scuttles o� .

� en there’s me, born here and will die here happy. Once I rode my mountain bike clear across South Africa and Lesotho for the sheer joy of it. Call me Gump [if you like]. So when I found out about a group calling themselves World Bicycle Relief (WBR) and their trip Africa Rides, a two week visit delivering a “super bike” around Zambia, I signed in blood.

A call to Professor Google informed me WBR was based in Chicago and was the love child of FK Day and his wife Leah Missbach Day. FK is, with his brother Stan, co-founder of the high-tech bike parts manufacturer SRAM. FK and Leah started WBR after a post-tsunami trip to Sri Lanka convinced

them that what the � ird World needed most was a new kind of bicycle.

So next they went out to Africa where they and their team developed something they call a Bu� alo Bike, for the shear big-heartedness of it. � e idea was simple: a bicycle made with modern technology, super strong materials and love, which could be a game changer in parts of Africa beset by troubles.

� ey had � rst discovered the need for a tough-as-bu� alo-hide bike when in 2005 a tsunami had devastated parts of Sri Lanka. � ey rushed there to give what help they could, and found the local Asian-made bikes could not cope with the heavy work required. And so was born an idea.

“All answers lie in the � eld,” Dave Nieswander, the African director of WBR who set up the project, would impress on us “bu� alo soldiers”. � ey went to Africa, Kenya speci� cally, to develop and � eld test their baby. � en they chose Zambia as the most fertile place to roll them out. � ere are many ways a bicycle can help to break cycles of poverty and sickness, not with what Dave referred to as BSOs (bicycle shaped


World Bicycle Relief

David Bristow went ride-about in Zambia with a bunch of Yanks, most of them from the Midwest,

and tamed a very rare kind of cycling beast. Photography by David Bristow.

A bicycle like a diamondA bicycle made for 3

frica gets to people in many di� erent ways, and people

get Africa in about as many. I remember a

French journo who couldn’t pack fast enough to leave. He told a long-winded story about how Scorpion nags Crocodile to take him across a swollen

davi

d

David Bristow has buckets of MTB experience having ridden and written

“The Spine of the Dragon.” He’s also the webmaster of www.dragontrax.co.za, a

site which aims to be the country’s go-to, free, repository of GPS’d MTB tracks.

river. Crocodile relents and as they approach the bank Scorpion stings him in the eye. “Owwwwwwww! What was that for,?” cries Crocodile. “� at’s Africa,” shrugs Scorpion and scuttles o� .

� en there’s me, born here and will die here happy. Once I rode my mountain bike clear across South Africa and Lesotho for the sheer joy of it. Call me Gump [if you like]. So when I found out about a group calling themselves World Bicycle Relief (WBR) and their trip Africa Rides, a two week visit delivering a “super bike” around Zambia, I signed in blood.

A call to Professor Google informed me WBR was based in Chicago and was the love child of FK Day and his wife Leah Missbach Day. FK is, with his brother Stan, co-founder of the high-tech bike parts manufacturer SRAM. FK and Leah started WBR after a post-tsunami trip to Sri Lanka convinced

them that what the � ird World needed most was a new kind of bicycle.

So next they went out to Africa where they and their team developed something they call a Bu� alo Bike, for the shear big-heartedness of it. � e idea was simple: a bicycle made with modern technology, super strong materials and love, which could be a game changer in parts of Africa beset by troubles.

� ey had � rst discovered the need for a tough-as-bu� alo-hide bike when in 2005 a tsunami had devastated parts of Sri Lanka. � ey rushed there to give what help they could, and found the local Asian-made bikes could not cope with the heavy work required. And so was born an idea.

“All answers lie in the � eld,” Dave Nieswander, the African director of WBR who set up the project, would impress on us “bu� alo soldiers”. � ey went to Africa, Kenya speci� cally, to develop and � eld test their baby. � en they chose Zambia as the most fertile place to roll them out. � ere are many ways a bicycle can help to break cycles of poverty and sickness, not with what Dave referred to as BSOs (bicycle shaped


by David Bristow

“People who previously had just one cow to feed the family had morphed into prosperous farmers with herds of both cows and Buffalo Bikes.”

The Milkmen cometh

The Factory

objects), but one made with high tech and love, one tough like a pachyderm.

For example, they have teamed up with World Vision/Rapids health care do-gooders to provide bikes to volunteer care givers who are now able to visit several Aids patients a day and deliver the meds vital for their lives. In pre-Buffalo days they might visit only one, and the people were dying rapidly. We rode about and saw peasant farmers who, a year before had been on death’s door, their families dying of Aids and starvation. Now they were healthy, happy and their fields were burgeoning.

We know intuitively the bicycle is the most efficient machine ever made, and some would add the most satisfying. WBR has got data from years of field testing, complete with pie charts and tables. They reckon a bike, even a beast weighing a hefty 23kg, can carry a person five times further than a person walking, and carry a load 10 times heavier. That’s a lot of extras in a place where most people walk, or ride bikes, to school, to work, or to the local clinic.

We rode dusty tracks to schools where we were greeted like liberators, with lots of singing, dancing and food. Lots. No Buffalo Bike is ever given away. Either

an aid organization like World Vision buys them at cost and distributes them, or good people in Chicago participate in the annual Wrigley Field 100 miler and raise sponsorship to buy bikes. To date they have raised millions of dollars and bought tens of thousands Buffalo Bikes.

Several times each year WBR invites them on an event called Africa Rides to see how the programme rolls, and to hand out bikes they have sponsored. School pupils and their parents sign a contract, that they will achieve certain attendance levels or the bike is handed on. First on the list are girls, starting with those living furthest away from school. We visited homes and saw how this had liberated girls from the grinding drudgery of labour and discrimination ingrained in traditional societies.

We rode down tree-lined lanes to see small dairy farms. As the sun rose we saw farmers, mounted on Buffalo bikes loaded with milk urns weighing up to 90kg, make their ways to the local milk collection point. They bought their bikes

with micro loans. People who previously had just one cow to feed the family had morphed into prosperous farmers with herds of both cows and Buffalo Bikes.

Each place we stopped we heard stories from the local people whose lives had been transformed by the humble bicycle. And we told them ours. We rode with songs in our hearts and we sang: “We are the Buffalo soldiers, (Come) from the heart of America …”

Africa got to us all, me the local yokel, as well as these big-hearted people from the heart of America. They ranged in age from Corinne, 10, to Nancy, substantially older but game as any young chicken. I reckoned it must be something in the water of Lake Michigan.

Much like a diamond, a Buffalo Bike is forever. Okay, it may need a replacement part or three over time. But the effects they have on the people who own them, and the many more who depend on them, will indeed last forever. Story first published in FullSus, a monthly mountainbiking newspaper. www.fullsus.co.za)

48

Call the TOPS HOTLINE0860 313 141

Available at TOPS at SPAR and

SPAR stores

SPAR

GOOD LIVING AT W

WW

.SPAR.CO.ZA


Thingamajigs

2

3

4

Clean sweepSPAR Good Living has all the

tools to prevent the dust from settling on a new year!

1 Handy dustpan and brush set, 2 Easy squeeze butterfl y mop, 3 Or turn your hand to the twist mop, 4 Soft-bristled fl agged broom for fi ne dust particles, 5 Firmer-bristled fl oor broom ideal for carpets, 6 Scrubbing brush.

1

6

7

8

9

9 Cobb Meat Thermometer - R95, Yuppiechef.com

8 Kitchen Craft Wall Mounted Crown Bottle Opener - R135,

Yuppiechef.com

7 Smokey Joe Silver Charcoal Braai - R825,

Yuppiechef.com

15 Vacu Vin Drink Layering Tool - R95,

Yuppiechef.com

5

48



SPAR stores

SPAR

GOOD LIVING AT W

WW

.SPAR.CO.ZA


Thingamajigs

2

3

4

Clean sweepSPAR Good Living has all the

tools to prevent the dust from settling on a new year!

1 Handy dustpan and brush set, 2 Easy squeeze butterfl y mop, 3 Or turn your hand to the twist mop, 4 Soft-bristled fl agged broom for fi ne dust particles, 5 Firmer-bristled fl oor broom ideal for carpets, 6 Scrubbing brush.

1

6

7

8

9

9 Cobb Meat Thermometer - R95, Yuppiechef.com

8 Kitchen Craft Wall Mounted Crown Bottle Opener - R135,

Yuppiechef.com

7 Smokey Joe Silver Charcoal Braai - R825,

Yuppiechef.com


Yuppiechef.com

5

49

thingaCall the

TOPS HOTLINE0860 313 141


SPAR stores

SEE CONTENTS PAGE FOR A FULL LIST OF STOCKISTS AND THEIR

CONTACT DETAILS.


useful items

1011

12

13

17

15 1617 Bodum Pavina Double Wall Small

Two Piece Glass Set ‒ R220,Mantality.co.za

11 Multi Bar Tool - R450, Yuppiechef.com

10 Chef’n Stainless Dual

Grinder ‒ R280,Mantality.co.za

13 Yuppiechef Beer Bread Gift Box - R435,

Yuppiechef.com

12 Vacu Vin Cocktail

Connoisseurs Gift Set - R445,

Yuppiechef.com

16 True Utility® Scarab 5-in-1 Keyring Multi-tool ‒ R120, Mantality.co.za


Yuppiechef.com

14

14 Dreamfarm Clongs Tongs - R190, Yuppiechef.com

14

14 Dreamfarm Clongs Tongs - R190, Yuppiechef.com

50

Beyoncé ‒ R149 Beyoncé wasn’t exactly quiet during the fi rst 11 months of 2013 ‒ new

songs trickled out regularly and she appeared on albums from the-Dream, Kelly Rowland, and

husband Jay-Z. But the December 13 release of her fi fth album was a surprise. It contains the elegant

ballads “Rocket” and “Heaven” ‒ the low-slung and playfully risqué boogie of “Blow” and a new

version of it as well “Bow Down” (titled “Flawless” with a guest appearance from writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie).

Beyoncé co-wrote and co-produced the majority of the material along with the likes of Hit-Boy, Pharrell, Timbaland,

Justin Timberlake, and Miguel.

Mike and the Mechanics: The Singles ‒ R139 Gathering the singles from the

Mike Rutherford-led group from their initial beginning to the 2013, Singles: 1986-2013 features their

well-known songs “Over My Shoulder,” “The Living Years,” and “Word of Mouth.” This is a concise collection

for fans and newcomers alike. With two discs packed with some of their best songs, it’s a must-have!

Entertainment

CORNER

mus

ic

the P

APER

There’s nostalgia in the form of Ole Blue Eyes’ cd as well as new material from the current Queen of contemporary music, Beyoncé. And there’s more in store on the DVD and book front too. Julia Andrade looks at them all.

the

the

The Tombs: By Clive Cussler and Thomas Perry ‒ R145Treasure hunters Sam and Remi

Fargo are contacted by a scientist

who thinks he’s found clues to the

location of Attila the Hun’s legendary

tomb. But no sooner have the couple

arrived in Germany, than the

scientist is kidnapped and his lab

ransacked. Racheting up the tension

with each new chapter, The Tombs is

an exceptionally inventive thriller

from the master of adventure.

Barracuda: By Christos Tsiolkas ‒R240 Daniel Kelly has one chance to escape

his working-class upbringing. His

astonishing ability in the swimming

pool is destined to transform his life.

But when he melts down at his fi rst

big championships and comes only

fi fth, he turns on everyone around

him and destroys everything he has

ever wanted. Barracuda is the huge

new sucker punch of a novel from

Christos Tsiolkas, author of the

phenomenal bestseller The Slap.

Therapy: By Sebastian Fitzek ‒ R145Twelve-year-old Josy has an

inexplicable illness. She vanishes

without a trace from her doctor’s

offi ce during treatment. Four years

later, Josy’s father, psychiatrist

Viktor Larenz, has withdrawn

himself to an isolated North Sea

island in order to deal with the

tragedy. When he is paid a visit by a

cd’s

There’s nostalgia in the form of Ole Blue Eyes’ cd as well as new

beautiful stranger who suff ers from

an usual form of schizophrenia,

Viktor reluctantly agrees to take on

her therapy in a fi nal attempt to

uncover the truth.

Eat Right for Your Body Type: By Anjum Anand ‒ R170 Anjum Anand believes the key to

sustainable, healthy weight-loss does

not lie in modern Western science or

diet experts but in the Indian system

of Ayurveda ‒ the oldest and most

holistic medical system on the planet.

In this groundbreaking diet book,

Anjum shows how to work out your

body type, the foods you should eat

(or avoid) and how to combine them

into delicious recipes for every meal.

Subliminal: By Leonard Mlodinow ‒ R185 In Subliminal Leonard Mlodinow

reveals the hidden power of our

Frank Sinatra: With Love ‒ R59 Sinatra worked with many talented artists such as George Gershwin, Billy May, Johnny

Mercer and Nelson Riddle during his time with the Capitol and Reprise labels ‒ which has been combined in the second release from the

new Sinatra Signature Collection as: Sinatra, With Love. Get this CD and you will have ‘the world on a string’ as it were. With 16 classic love

songs spanning his 60-year career, including the well known ‘The way you look tonight’ featuring on this disc, what more could you ask for?

Sights & sounds

50

Beyoncé ‒ R149 Beyoncé wasn’t exactly quiet during the fi rst 11 months of 2013 ‒ new

songs trickled out regularly and she appeared on albums from the-Dream, Kelly Rowland, and

husband Jay-Z. But the December 13 release of her fi fth album was a surprise. It contains the elegant

ballads “Rocket” and “Heaven” ‒ the low-slung and playfully risqué boogie of “Blow” and a new

version of it as well “Bow Down” (titled “Flawless” with a guest appearance from writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie).

Beyoncé co-wrote and co-produced the majority of the material along with the likes of Hit-Boy, Pharrell, Timbaland,

Justin Timberlake, and Miguel.

Mike and the Mechanics: The Singles ‒ R139 Gathering the singles from the

Mike Rutherford-led group from their initial beginning to the 2013, Singles: 1986-2013 features their

well-known songs “Over My Shoulder,” “The Living Years,” and “Word of Mouth.” This is a concise collection

for fans and newcomers alike. With two discs packed with some of their best songs, it’s a must-have!

Entertainment

CORNER

mus

ic

the P

APER

There’s nostalgia in the form of Ole Blue Eyes’ cd as well as new material from the current Queen of contemporary music, Beyoncé. And there’s more in store on the DVD and book front too. Julia Andrade looks at them all.

the

the

The Tombs: By Clive Cussler and Thomas Perry ‒ R145Treasure hunters Sam and Remi

Fargo are contacted by a scientist

who thinks he’s found clues to the

location of Attila the Hun’s legendary

tomb. But no sooner have the couple

arrived in Germany, than the

scientist is kidnapped and his lab

ransacked. Racheting up the tension

with each new chapter, The Tombs is

an exceptionally inventive thriller

from the master of adventure.

Barracuda: By Christos Tsiolkas ‒R240 Daniel Kelly has one chance to escape

his working-class upbringing. His

astonishing ability in the swimming

pool is destined to transform his life.

But when he melts down at his fi rst

big championships and comes only

fi fth, he turns on everyone around

him and destroys everything he has

ever wanted. Barracuda is the huge

new sucker punch of a novel from

Christos Tsiolkas, author of the

phenomenal bestseller The Slap.

Therapy: By Sebastian Fitzek ‒ R145Twelve-year-old Josy has an

inexplicable illness. She vanishes

without a trace from her doctor’s

offi ce during treatment. Four years

later, Josy’s father, psychiatrist

Viktor Larenz, has withdrawn

himself to an isolated North Sea

island in order to deal with the

tragedy. When he is paid a visit by a

cd’s

There’s nostalgia in the form of Ole Blue Eyes’ cd as well as new

beautiful stranger who suff ers from

an usual form of schizophrenia,

Viktor reluctantly agrees to take on

her therapy in a fi nal attempt to

uncover the truth.

Eat Right for Your Body Type: By Anjum Anand ‒ R170 Anjum Anand believes the key to

sustainable, healthy weight-loss does

not lie in modern Western science or

diet experts but in the Indian system

of Ayurveda ‒ the oldest and most

holistic medical system on the planet.

In this groundbreaking diet book,

Anjum shows how to work out your

body type, the foods you should eat

(or avoid) and how to combine them

into delicious recipes for every meal.

Subliminal: By Leonard Mlodinow ‒ R185 In Subliminal Leonard Mlodinow

reveals the hidden power of our

Frank Sinatra: With Love ‒ R59 Sinatra worked with many talented artists such as George Gershwin, Billy May, Johnny

Mercer and Nelson Riddle during his time with the Capitol and Reprise labels ‒ which has been combined in the second release from the

new Sinatra Signature Collection as: Sinatra, With Love. Get this CD and you will have ‘the world on a string’ as it were. With 16 classic love

songs spanning his 60-year career, including the well known ‘The way you look tonight’ featuring on this disc, what more could you ask for?

Sights & sounds

*cd’s and dvd’s available at kalahari.com

Game of Thrones (season 3) ‒ R299In the third season of the highly acclaimed HBO hit drama

series, the Lannisters are barely holding onto power after a

savage naval onslaught from Stannis Baratheon, while

stirrings in the North threaten to alter the overall balance

of power in Westeros. Robb Stark, King in the North, is

facing major calamity in his eff orts to build on his victories

over the Lannisters while beyond the Wall, Mance Rayder

(played by Ciarian Hinds) and his huge army of wildlings

continue their inexorable march south. Across the Narrow

Sea, Daenerys Targaryen ‒ reunited with her three

fast-maturing dragons, attempts to raise an army to sail

with her from Essos, in hopes of eventually claiming the

Iron Throne.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ‒ R119Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning

the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute

Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn

around and leave their family and close friends,

embarking on a “Victor’s Tour” of the districts. Along the

way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the

Capitol is still very much in control as President

Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games

(The Quarter Quell) ‒ a competition that could

change Panem forever.

Gravity ‒ R119Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock)

is a brilliant medical engineer

on her fi rst shuttle mission,

with veteran astronaut Matt

Kowalsky (George Clooney) in

command of his last fl ight before retiring. But on

a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes.

The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and

Kowalsky completely alone ‒ tethered to

nothing but each other and spiralling out into

the blackness, they must work together to

survive; now adrift in space.

cd’s, dvd’s & books

unconscious and how it shapes our

experience of the world. Almost everything

we do ‒ who we marry, who we vote for,

how we handle money, even what we think

we remember about our past ‒ is largely

driven by the mind’s subliminal process and

not by our conscious awareness, as we have

long believed.

The Shadow of the Crescent Moon: By Fatima Bhutto ‒ R240Fatima Bhutto’s stunning debut begins and

ends one rain-swept Friday morning in Mir

Ali, a small town in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas

close to the Afghan border. It chronicles the

lives of fi ve young people trying to live and

love in a world on fi re. Individuals are

pushed to make terrible choices. And, as

the events of this single morning unfold,

one woman is at the centre of it all.

Gabriel’s Redemption: By Sylvain Reynard ‒R145Professor Gabriel Emerson has left his

position at the University of Toronto to

embark on a new life with his beloved

Julianne. Together, he’s confi dent that they

can face any challenge. But Julianne’s

graduate program threatens Gabriel’s plans

for their life together as the pressures of

being a student become all consuming.

The Dogs of Littlefi eld: By Suzanne Berne ‒ R240 Littlefi eld, Massachusetts, named one of the

Ten Best Places to Live in America, is proud

of its fi ne schools, its girls’ soccer teams, its

leafy streets and quaint village centre. But,

when sociologist Dr Clarice Watkins arrives

in Littlefi eld to study the elements of ‘good

quality of life‘, someone begins poisoning

the town’s dogs. The Dogs of Littlefi eld is a

wry exploration of the discontent

concealed behind manicured lawns and

picket fences of darkest suburbia.

dvd’s

DISCLAIMER Please note that prices of all books, cds and dvds are recommended retail prices and are correct at the time of going to press. They are, however, subject to change at the discretion of suppliers, without any prior notice. All books featured here are distributed by Penguin Books SA.



Recipe book

GO TO ‘IN THE BASKET’ ON PG71 FOR YOUR FULL GROCERY LIST




SPAR storesSimple yet tastyThe South African food blogging scene would have been poorer had Cape Town food enthusiast Nina Timm decided to stick with her chosen profession as a speech therapist. Instead, legions of fellow foodies can now page through her recipe book, Easy Cooking from Nina’s Kitchen, published by Struik Lifestyle.

t all started at her mother’s knee. Nina Timm acknowledges that her greatest formative food in� uences were her mother and

grandmother, both excellent home cooks who knew that life’s problems could be solved with a favourite meal prepared with an abundance of love. Following in their footsteps seemed a natural progression, in spite of her slight career detour via speech correction!

Her emphasis has always been on the

enthusiasm and enjoyment of preparing food for others to sample – the social side of food.

It was her husband who nudged Timm to share her wealth of knowledge with a broader audience, especially since her two children were con� dently toddling into the world. e internet made it easy and she established a website – www.my-easy-cooking.com.

“For a computer novice like me, it was quite a challenge,” she acknowledged, but like baking, through trial and error she

got the hang of things. Not only that, but she was soon being nominated for higher honours and in 2012 was named Blogger of the Year by Eat In magazine.

Afrikaans radio listeners will also recognise her name from ursday mornings on RSG when she happily shares recipes and foodie news with an eager audience.

Anyone who likes fuss-free, unpretentious and straightforward delicious food should consider adding this to their recipe book library.

INGREDIENTS:For the crust:250ml cake fl our

250ml grated strong mature Cheddar

cheese

125ml soft butter

5ml mild mustard powder

For the fi lling:30ml cooking oil

2 large onions, peeled and fi nely chopped

2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

2.5ml smoked paprika

6 jumbo or extra-large eggs

a pinch of salt and pepper

1 x 250g tub plain cream cheese

125ml cream or milk

250g strong Cheddar cheese, grated

180g marinated or roasted and quartered

artichokes

METHOD: For the crust: Spray a 25cm tart dish with

non-stick cooking spray. Place all the

ingredients in a food processor and pulse

until a dough starts to form. Refrigerate the

dough for about 20 minutes. On a lightly

fl oured surface, roll out the dough, then

press it over the base and sides of the tart

dish. Set aside until needed.

For the fi lling: Preheat the oven to 180̊C.

Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onions and

potatoes with the paprika until soft and

lightly browned. Allow to cool slightly.

Combine the eggs, salt, pepper, cream

cheese, cream or milk and Cheddar cheese

and carefully pour into the crust. Evenly

spoon the onions and potatoes over the egg

mixture and arrange the artichokes on top.

Bake for 30‒40 minutes or until the fi lling

feels fi rm to the touch. Allow to cool slightly

on a wire rack. Serve for lunch topped with

shavings of Parmesan cheese alongside a

fresh rocket salad. Makes 1 medium-sized tart

ARTICHOKE, POTATO & CHEESE TART“Very rich and very tasty”, says Nina. “The cheesy crust goes perfectly with the robust artichoke and potato fi lling. Really a very fi lling meal!”


Recipe book





SPAR storesSimple yet tastyThe South African food blogging scene would have been poorer had Cape Town food enthusiast Nina Timm decided to stick with her chosen profession as a speech therapist. Instead, legions of fellow foodies can now page through her recipe book, Easy Cooking from Nina’s Kitchen, published by Struik Lifestyle.

t all started at her mother’s knee. Nina Timm acknowledges that her greatest formative food in� uences were her mother and

grandmother, both excellent home cooks who knew that life’s problems could be solved with a favourite meal prepared with an abundance of love. Following in their footsteps seemed a natural progression, in spite of her slight career detour via speech correction!

Her emphasis has always been on the

enthusiasm and enjoyment of preparing food for others to sample – the social side of food.

It was her husband who nudged Timm to share her wealth of knowledge with a broader audience, especially since her two children were con� dently toddling into the world. e internet made it easy and she established a website – www.my-easy-cooking.com.

“For a computer novice like me, it was quite a challenge,” she acknowledged, but like baking, through trial and error she

got the hang of things. Not only that, but she was soon being nominated for higher honours and in 2012 was named Blogger of the Year by Eat In magazine.

Afrikaans radio listeners will also recognise her name from ursday mornings on RSG when she happily shares recipes and foodie news with an eager audience.

Anyone who likes fuss-free, unpretentious and straightforward delicious food should consider adding this to their recipe book library.

INGREDIENTS:For the crust:250ml cake fl our

250ml grated strong mature Cheddar

cheese

125ml soft butter


For the fi lling:30ml cooking oil

2 large onions, peeled and fi nely chopped

2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed



a pinch of salt and pepper


125ml cream or milk

250g strong Cheddar cheese, grated

180g marinated or roasted and quartered

artichokes

METHOD: For the crust: Spray a 25cm tart dish with

non-stick cooking spray. Place all the

ingredients in a food processor and pulse

until a dough starts to form. Refrigerate the

dough for about 20 minutes. On a lightly

fl oured surface, roll out the dough, then

press it over the base and sides of the tart

dish. Set aside until needed.

For the fi lling: Preheat the oven to 180̊C.

Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onions and

potatoes with the paprika until soft and

lightly browned. Allow to cool slightly.

Combine the eggs, salt, pepper, cream

cheese, cream or milk and Cheddar cheese

and carefully pour into the crust. Evenly

spoon the onions and potatoes over the egg

mixture and arrange the artichokes on top.

Bake for 30‒40 minutes or until the fi lling

feels fi rm to the touch. Allow to cool slightly

on a wire rack. Serve for lunch topped with

shavings of Parmesan cheese alongside a

fresh rocket salad. Makes 1 medium-sized tart

ARTICHOKE, POTATO & CHEESE TART“Very rich and very tasty”, says Nina. “The cheesy crust goes perfectly with the robust artichoke and potato fi lling. Really a very fi lling meal!”

53Mar|Apr 2014 Vol 11 www.topsatspar.co.za

Giveaway

JACOB’S LADDER BEEF “This is my brother’s favourite dish when he

visits my parents, so we all know that we

will be eating this beef at some stage

during the long December holidays.”

INGREDIENTS: 2kg deboned brisket or 2.5kg brisket

on the bone

Salt and coarsely ground black pepper

1 litre 100% peach juice

100ml soy sauce

2 onions, peeled and fi nely chopped

250ml good-quality mild chutney

A few sprigs of fresh thyme, chopped

METHOD: Remove and discard most of the fat from

the brisket. Season the brisket with salt and

pepper and place in a stainless-steel oven

dish. Mix the remaining ingredients and

pour over the brisket. Cover the dish with

foil or a lid and marinate in the fridge for a

few hours or overnight. Preheat the oven to

180̊C. Roast the meat for about 2 hours,

remove the foil or lid as soon as the meat is

tender, and roast uncovered for a

further 10‒15 minutes. Remove

the meat from the dish and allow

it to rest for at least 10 minutes

before carving into thin slices. If

the leftover juices are very watery,

boil to reduce or thicken with a little

cornfl our. Serve the brisket with the gravy

and vegetables of your choice, such as

whole or mashed potatoes, green beans

and carrots. Enough for 10-12 people. The

leftover meat can be used in sandwiches or

even frittatas.

ARA whisky advert 210x275 18/11/11 12:34 Page 1

Composite


ARA whisky advert 210x275 18/11/11 12:34 Page 1

Composite



Giveaway

Double your chance of winning! Go to www.facebook.com/CheersMag and

LIKE the Cheers Facebook page.

winStand a chance of receiving

one of two copies of ‘Easy Cooking’,

published by Struik LifestyleSEE T&C’S ON PG 2

enter now!To qualify, send in a postcard or

e-mail clearly marked Cheers Book Giveaway and containing

your name, ID number, physical address (not a PO Box please!)

along with a contact telephone number to qualify for the

random draw. Entry deadline is Friday, 11th April 2014.

The address to send it to is [email protected] or

Cheers P.O. Box 259, Rondebosch, 7701.

EMERGENCY CHOCOLATE AND PEAR DESSERT “We all have those days in our kitchens and

in our lives when we need to take a short

cut to get through to the other side!” says

Nina. “The ideal is to prepare your meals

with care, taking your time, but sometimes

there’s no other way than just to look in the

food cupboard for inspiration. This dessert

is as old as the hills, and was originally

made with peaches. I prefer pears, because

they are softer and there’s no need to

struggle with peaches that try to escape

from the dish when you cut them.”

INGREDIENTS:1 x 410g canned pears (drained)

6 Romany Cream Original Chocolate biscuits

60ml port or sherry

2 egg whites

100ml castor sugar

METHOD:Preheat the oven to 180̊C. Place the pears

in an ovenproof dish with the hollows

facing upwards. (I always cut a very thin

slice off the bottom to create a level base so

that they don’t slide around in the dish.)

Place a Romany Cream into each hollow

and pour a little port or sherry over each

biscuit. Bake in the oven for about 10

minutes or until the biscuits are soft.

Meanwhile, beat the egg whites until soft

peaks form, then beat in the castor sugar a

tablespoonful at a time. Remove the pears

from the oven and drop a dollop of

meringue on top of each biscuit. Return to

the oven and bake for 5 minutes or until the

meringue is golden. Serve with a scoop of

vanilla ice cream. Enough for 6 people.

Variations: The pears can be replaced with

canned peaches. You could also fold 125 ml

desiccated coconut into the meringue after it

has been beaten. The dessert can be made

ahead of time up to the meringue stage. Make

the meringue as soon as your guests are ready

for dessert and bake until the meringue is

golden ‒ baking time is literally just 5 minutes.

Silwood Kitchen


TOPS Nosh

Paella might seem to travellers to be the quintessential Spanish dish ‒ but to a Spaniard, it’s essentially a regional dish from

Valencia. Julia Andrade snapped the pics.

fi esta timehe modern origins of this dish can be

traced back to the mid-19th century, to the

eastern coast of Spain ‒ or Lake Albufera

near Valencia. In recent years this city has

become famous for hosting the America’s cup sailing

competition as well as the Formula 1 Grand Prix.

And the term Paella comes from the large, circular

shallow pan that this mixed rice dish is cooked in,

traditionally made by men over an open fi re fuelled by

pine branches and cones during fi estas.

There are essentially three types of paella ‒

Valencian, seafood and mixed. The true Valencian

paella is made of white rice, green vegetables

and then various meats which include chicken,

duck, rabbit and even snails, along with green

beans and seasoning. As the name suggests,

seafood paella substitutes seafood such as

fi sh, prawns, mussels and calamari for the

meat ‒ and also loses the green veggies.

Mixed paella is the dish which doesn’t

conform to the previous two descriptions ‒

it can contain prawns as well as chicken and

chorizo sausage, for example.

All of this food heaven was made possible

hundreds of years ago when the old Roman

irrigation systems were improved by Moorish

farmers ‒ which led to bountiful rice harvests. As a

result the folks living in the greater Valencia area

began eating more rice, often whipping up casseroles

of fi sh, spices and rice for religious festivals and large

family get togethers.

This recipe provided by Silwood kitchen serves four.


INGREDIENTS:1 onion, chopped

30ml oil2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tin chopped Italian tomatoes5ml smoked paprika

Salt and freshly ground black peppersugar

80g chorizo sausage, sliced 1 red pepper, cut into diamonds

1 cup ricea pinch of saff ron, soaked in 5ml water

750ml light chicken or fi sh stock salt and black pepper

1 chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces 100g calamari‒ sliced

100g fi sh ‒ cut into fi nger-like strips8 prawns ‒peeled and deveined

1 lemon, cut into wedges125ml frozen peas

8-10 mussels 1 orange, segmented

8 calamata olives, de-pipped20ml parsley, chopped

SPECIALISED EQUIPMENT: 26cm paella pan or

casserole dish.

TOPS Nosh

METHOD:step 1:

If using fresh mussels, remove the beards, scrub and rinse well then ‒ while still wet ‒ place into a saucepan. They should fi t

snugly in a single layer. Cover and heat on a medium heat for approximately

5 minutes or until the mussels have opened. Discard any that don’t open.

If using frozen mussels in their half shell, they’re already cooked so skip this step.

step 2:Make a sofrito (Spanish fl avour base) by

sautéing the onions in oil until soft. Add the garlic, tomatoes and paprika and cook over a medium heat until well reduced. Season

with salt, pepper and a touch of sugar.

step 3: Add the chorizo and cook for 2-3 minutes.

step 4: Then add the rice and red peppers, stir for approximately 1-2 minutes, until the rice

is translucent.

step 5: Add the stock and saff ron and bring

to the simmer.

step 6: Season the chicken pieces and add to the

rice, simmer for 10 minutes.

step 7: Season the fi sh, prawns and calamari with

salt, pepper and lemon juice; add to the pan, pushing the pieces into the rice.

Allow to simmer for another 10 minutes.

continued on pg60

paellastep by step


INGREDIENTS:1 onion, chopped

30ml oil2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tin chopped Italian tomatoes5ml smoked paprika

Salt and freshly ground black peppersugar

80g chorizo sausage, sliced 1 red pepper, cut into diamonds

1 cup ricea pinch of saff ron, soaked in 5ml water

750ml light chicken or fi sh stock salt and black pepper

1 chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces 100g calamari‒ sliced

100g fi sh ‒ cut into fi nger-like strips8 prawns ‒peeled and deveined

1 lemon, cut into wedges125ml frozen peas

8-10 mussels 1 orange, segmented

8 calamata olives, de-pipped20ml parsley, chopped

SPECIALISED EQUIPMENT: 26cm paella pan or

casserole dish.

TOPS Nosh

METHOD:step 1:

If using fresh mussels, remove the beards, scrub and rinse well then ‒ while still wet ‒ place into a saucepan. They should fi t

snugly in a single layer. Cover and heat on a medium heat for approximately

5 minutes or until the mussels have opened. Discard any that don’t open.

If using frozen mussels in their half shell, they’re already cooked so skip this step.

step 2:Make a sofrito (Spanish fl avour base) by

sautéing the onions in oil until soft. Add the garlic, tomatoes and paprika and cook over a medium heat until well reduced. Season

with salt, pepper and a touch of sugar.

step 3: Add the chorizo and cook for 2-3 minutes.

step 4: Then add the rice and red peppers, stir for approximately 1-2 minutes, until the rice

is translucent.

step 5: Add the stock and saff ron and bring

to the simmer.

step 6: Season the chicken pieces and add to the

rice, simmer for 10 minutes.

step 7: Season the fi sh, prawns and calamari with

salt, pepper and lemon juice; add to the pan, pushing the pieces into the rice.

Allow to simmer for another 10 minutes.

continued on pg60

paellastep by step


Silwood Kitchen

59

step 4

step 5step 7


TOPS Noshde

an

These delicious recipes were prepared and cooked by chef Dean Jones, a second year student at the Silwood Kitchen in Cape Town. www.silwood.co.za

step 8: Lastly, add the peas and mussels, cover and allow to heat through

on a low heat for 5 minutes. The liquid should have almost evaporated by this stage and the rice should be cooked through.

step 9: Arrange the orange segments and olives on top, remove

from the heat, cover and allow to stand for 5 minutes.

Serve in the pan, garnished with chopped parsley.

continued from pg58

step 8

enjoy





SPAR stores


TOPS Nosh

dean

These delicious recipes were prepared and cooked by chef Dean Jones, a second year student at the Silwood Kitchen in Cape Town. www.silwood.co.za

step 8: Lastly, add the peas and mussels, cover and allow to heat through

on a low heat for 5 minutes. The liquid should have almost evaporated by this stage and the rice should be cooked through.

step 9: Arrange the orange segments and olives on top, remove

from the heat, cover and allow to stand for 5 minutes.

Serve in the pan, garnished with chopped parsley.

continued from pg58

step 8

enjoy





SPAR stores


For too long we have all looked on the darker side of things. Now is the time to tap into a more modern and lighter style of doing things. Here are a few suggestions by celebrated food blogger Anél Potgieter.

Trending topicsan

él

on Appetit magazine listed the “Blondie” as one of the food trends last year and I can only concur. � is is decadence with

a capital D. For too long chocolate brownies ruled the dessert roost – in all shapes and sizes … yet I dare to re-introduce the Cinderella cousin … the Blondie!

For dessert snobs, blondies have always been a pale imitation of their darker inspiration. But now the fairer-hued bar is coming into its own. In New York, Stellina sells a Dirty Blondie with peanut butter and to� ee. And in San Francisco, Black Jet Baking Co. adds brown butter and Maldon sea salt to set a new standard for what the classic un-brownie should be.

� ese are simply so sexy, sassy and delicious. I added all my favourite stu� … like white chocolate (you can give me white chocolate anyday and anytime – just LOVE it) along with pistachio nuts. And because I was in an Easter mood, I added some marshmallow Easter eggs. � is is my most adorable sweetie thing at the moment. Try it!

Blogspot

As addictions go, zoo biscuits are not the worst in the world. Food blogger Anél

Potgieter admits they gave her life meaning and purpose.

BLOG: lifeisazoobiscuit.comTWITTER: @anelp

Prep time:15 minsCooking time: 35 minsTotal time: 50 minsServes: 6

INGREDIENTS2 eggs175g demarera sugar (or Muscovado sugar)1tsp vanilla essence100g butter ‒ melted100g fl our½tsp baking powder50g pistachio nuts100g white chocolate ‒ cut into very small pieces3-4 marshmallow easter eggs, cut into small blocksSprinkle of Maldon salt

Garnish:RaspberriesCrème Fraiche

METHOD:Preheat the oven to 180̊C. Beat the eggs till foamy. Add the sugar bit by bit. Beat for about 2-3 minutes. Add the vanilla essence and then add melted butter, a little by little while beating. Mix the fl our and baking powder and add it to the egg mixture. Fold in with spoon, taking care not to overwork the mixture. Add the pistachio nuts, white chocolate and marshmallow eggs. Line a 20cm x 20cm baking tray with baking paper. Add the dough and sprinkle with a bit of Maldon salt. Bake for 35 minutes at 180̊C. Let it cool before serving with fresh raspberries and a dash of crème fraiche.

The blondie


For too long we have all looked on the darker side of things. Now is the time to tap into a more modern and lighter style of doing things. Here are a few suggestions by celebrated food blogger Anél Potgieter.

Trending topics

anél

on Appetit magazine listed the “Blondie” as one of the food trends last year and I can only concur. � is is decadence with

a capital D. For too long chocolate brownies ruled the dessert roost – in all shapes and sizes … yet I dare to re-introduce the Cinderella cousin … the Blondie!

For dessert snobs, blondies have always been a pale imitation of their darker inspiration. But now the fairer-hued bar is coming into its own. In New York, Stellina sells a Dirty Blondie with peanut butter and to� ee. And in San Francisco, Black Jet Baking Co. adds brown butter and Maldon sea salt to set a new standard for what the classic un-brownie should be.

� ese are simply so sexy, sassy and delicious. I added all my favourite stu� … like white chocolate (you can give me white chocolate anyday and anytime – just LOVE it) along with pistachio nuts. And because I was in an Easter mood, I added some marshmallow Easter eggs. � is is my most adorable sweetie thing at the moment. Try it!

Blogspot

As addictions go, zoo biscuits are not the worst in the world. Food blogger Anél

Potgieter admits they gave her life meaning and purpose.

BLOG: lifeisazoobiscuit.comTWITTER: @anelp

Prep time:15 minsCooking time: 35 minsTotal time: 50 minsServes: 6

INGREDIENTS2 eggs175g demarera sugar (or Muscovado sugar)1tsp vanilla essence100g butter ‒ melted100g fl our½tsp baking powder50g pistachio nuts100g white chocolate ‒ cut into very small pieces3-4 marshmallow easter eggs, cut into small blocksSprinkle of Maldon salt

Garnish:RaspberriesCrème Fraiche

METHOD:Preheat the oven to 180̊C. Beat the eggs till foamy. Add the sugar bit by bit. Beat for about 2-3 minutes. Add the vanilla essence and then add melted butter, a little by little while beating. Mix the fl our and baking powder and add it to the egg mixture. Fold in with spoon, taking care not to overwork the mixture. Add the pistachio nuts, white chocolate and marshmallow eggs. Line a 20cm x 20cm baking tray with baking paper. Add the dough and sprinkle with a bit of Maldon salt. Bake for 35 minutes at 180̊C. Let it cool before serving with fresh raspberries and a dash of crème fraiche.

The blondie


lifeisazoobiscuit

I just love fresh fi sh. But I’m “no fuss fi sh” person. I’m not one for those complicated fi sh recipes: the simpler, the better. Just baked

or grilled with some subtle fl avourings of lemon and herbs or even cooked whole over the coals. That’s my preference.

One of my most memorable meals ever was a fi shy one. I had a dreadful case of bronchitis while on a trip to Istanbul in Turkey.

As I recall, I was feeling particularly sorry for myself while ambling along the Bosphorus River when I smelt this amazing aroma... A

local fi shing boat was moored alongside the pier and the fi shermen were selling freshly grilled fi sh on ciabatta bread, with

just a squeeze of lemon juice. A bite ... and at that moment I felt so much better and I knew someone loved me.

It’s important to source your fi sh from someone who really

knows their stuff ‒ and for me, that’s Julie Carter of Ocean Jewels in Cape Town (http://www.oceanjewels.co.za/ 083 582 0829). Check out her website and subscribe to her mailer. She has a

genuine passion for fi sh and is determined to sell only the freshest fi sh possible.

I visited her stall at the Neighbourgoods Market at the Old Biscuit Mill this past Saturday and she recommended I sample

two little Pangas (Pterogymnus Laniarius its Latin name ‒ orange on the sustainable fi sh list). I decided to combine these Pangas

with genuine Mediterranean fl avours of olives, origanum, tomatoes and lemon. It’s a dish that reminds me of Turkey ‒ and

all the wondrous colours, sights, sounds and smell of the Mediterranean. It makes me feel loved and happy.

Baked Mediterranean fi sh

Prep time: 15 minsCook time: 30 minsTotal time: 45 minsServes: 2

INGREDIENTS2 small whole fi sh 2 cloves garlic, slicedOlive oil for drizzling over the fi sh and at the bottom of the baking tin¼tsp dried origanum1 lemon, slicedJuice of one lemon

1 bunch of spring onionsOlive oil250g cherry tomatoes100g calamata olivesWhite pepper for seasoning Salt for seasoning

METHOD:Preheat oven to 200̊C. Pat fi sh dry with kitchen towel. Make small incisions into fi sh, placing the sliced garlic in the slits and fi ll the fi sh belly with olives, spring onions and sliced lemon. Drizzle with olive oil and season with origanum, salt and pepper. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake in the over for 20 minutes with foil on. Turn the oven onto grill, remove the foil and squeeze the lemon juice over before grilling for 5-10 minutes. Serve with a fresh salad and bread. Enjoy!


GO TO ‘IN THE BASKET’ ON PG71 FOR YOUR



SPAR stores

Green - Best Choice, Orange - think Twice, Red - DON’T BUY www.wwfsassi.org.za


Tuis Nywerheid

Vat vlamVat vlamVat lamVat vlamvVat vlamVat vlamlamVat vlamvVat vlamlamVat vlamVoorbereiding is die sleutel tot enige sukses

‒ van ’n rugby wedstryd tot ’n werks geleentheid of ’n troue. Mens moet fi ks wees, weet hoe om aan te trek en seker wees die hart is reg vir die man of

vrou. En die selfde giet vir ’n braai.


Tuis Nywerheid

Vat vlamVat vlamVat lamVat vlamvVat vlamVat vlamlamVat vlamvVat vlamlamVat vlamVoorbereiding is die sleutel tot enige sukses

‒ van ’n rugby wedstryd tot ’n werks geleentheid of ’n troue. Mens moet fi ks wees, weet hoe om aan te trek en seker wees die hart is reg vir die man of

vrou. En die selfde giet vir ’n braai.


Emile Joubert

oor die onderwerp van braaihout aangepak word, wil ek graag net ’n beroep doen op diegene wat na die

land se Grondwet kyk. Kan die doodstraf tog maar nie heringestel word vir mense wat nat of klam braaihout aan niksvermoedende braaiers verkoop nie? Die gesig van ’n hoop hout wat bo ’n pak Blitz staan en rook en siss en sug voordat dit vrek, laat mens met ’n wanhopige gevoel wat niemand verdien nie. Sak en as, letterlik.

Droë hout, ’n behulpsame vrou in die kombuis, sonskyn en ’n glasie koue Chardonnay is die fondamente van ’n suksesvolle braai, maar soos dit maar met als in die lewe gaan en soos my buurvrou altyd sê, is hout nie sommer net hout nie.

Ek skryf uit ’n Kaapse oogpunt, so my houtvoorstelle mag nie dieselfde wees as vir ander landsdele nie. In Pretoria, byvoorbeeld, kan mens seker ’n koekhou van ’n vuur maak met gebreekte rugbypale,terwyl piesangboom ’n kookwater stel kole in KwaZulu-Natal mag verseker...

rugbypale,terwyl piesangboom ’n kookwater stel kole in KwaZulu-Natal mag verseker...

emile

Writer and PR guy Emile Joubert was a fi nalist in the Men’s Health Braai King

competition, uniquely qualifying him for this column.

WATTLE EN ROOIKRANSAltwee houtsoorte is voortspruitend in

indringerboomspesies van Australië, so

mens kan soveel brand as wat jy wil sonder

om jou groengewete leed aan te doen. Dis

ook die hout wat gewoonlik by die garage

gekoop word, en wattle en rooikrans is die

houtweergawe van die Kia-motor: dit doen

die werk, maar jy weet daar’s iets beter om

die draai.

Die houtsoorte brand vinnig uit en laat ’n

mooi gevormde kool wat goeie hitte afgee,

maar verbasend vinnig afkoel. Maak dus ’n

groot hoop kole as jy drie sarsies braai het,

sê nou maar eers wors, dan tjops gevolg

deur braaibroodjies.

KAMEELDORING EN SEKELBOOMNou praat ons. Hierdie hout is dig gevorm en

hard, aangesien die bome in droeërlandsdele

in die Noorde en Namibië groei. Die gevolg is

’n baie warm vuur en lekker ferm kole wat nie

ná ’n halfuur in hopies as verander nie. Dis

perfekte kole vir rooivleis ‒ veral steak ‒ maar

wees versigtig dat jy nie jou reputasie as

braaier beskadig deur hoender of vis op die

warm hout te verbrand nie.

HARDEKOOLHy is skaars, maar ons Kapenaars ruil ’n

goeie boks wyn vir ’n streepsak of drie

hardekool. Dis ’n bielie van die Bosveld-

hout en presies wat die naam sê: deksels

hard en vrek warm. Drie middelmoot

stompies is genoeg om ’n trekos mee te

braai en die volgende oggend krap jy net

die as van die kool af dan maak jy koffi e

soos ’n Italianse barrista. As jy vir die eerste

keer met hardekool braai, wees versigtig en

beplan wanneer jy wát gaan braai.

WINGERDSTOMPIESDie oulike kronkel-vorm van die

wingerdstompie is tog so oulik en tog so

Kaaps, maar hier is meer styl as substansie.

Wingerdstompe is nogal poreus, so jy gaan

nie die wêreld aan die brand braai nie tensy

jy ’n hoop kole so groot soos Leeukop

maak, maar dan loop staan en verander als

weer in as.

Johann Krige van Kanonkop se wynplaas

braai immers sy snoek vir agt minute “want

dis hoeveel braaihitte jy uit ’n hoop

wingerdstompe kry”. En ja, jy braai lekker

vis, sosaties en dun tjops, maar kwalifi seer

nie as ’n ernstige braaikool nie.

Máár, soos dit met die braaikultuur gaan,

is niks voorskriftelik nie. Braai wat jy wil net

waarop jy gemaklik voel. Ons is mos

Braaibroeders. En nie nat agter die ore nie.

Above: Dichrostachys cinerea Sicklewood (sekelboom) in fl ower. Below: Wingerdstompies.

MAR

CO S

CHM

IDT|

WIK

IPED

IA.O

RG

Acacia, cross section,

commonly known as Wattle.

Responsibility


Responsibility

66 www.topsatspar.co.za Mar|Apr 2014 Vol 11 Mar|Apr 2014 Vol 11 www.topsatspar.co.za 67

sustainable seafood

saving our seas


Responsibility

There’s lots more fi sh in the sea’ ‒ or so the

expression goes ‒ but are there really?

Fiona McDonald looks at the South

African Sustainable Seafood Initiative

‒ Sassi for short.

Responsibility



Fiona McDonaldlooks at the South



Best Choice - Herring

usselcracker, white steenbras, galjoen or even 74’s – when was the last time you saw

those in a restaurant or � sh shop? It’s been years, right? And the reason for that is that all of these � sh are on the South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (Sassi) watchlist, meaning that these � sh are in danger.

Sassi uses a tra c light system which is easy for people to relate to: � sh on the green list are OK, on the orange list are those that are potentially in danger and on the red list… well, there’s no way you should ever be o� ered those in a restaurant because they are severely threatened. Increasingly, local retailers and restaurants are buying into the sustainable seafood initiative and only sourcing green list � sh.

It’s an indictment of us as the human race that our scientists know more about the surface of the moon than they do about the ocean � oor. Elephant and rhino poaching is on the increase with hundreds of rhino being slaughtered for the alleged bene� ts of their horns. It’s a cause which has mobilised many campaigns in South Africa and abroad. But if there’s one example of over utilising a single resource and

having a massively detrimental e� ect and potentially harming an entire ecosystem, it’s what has happened to � sh stocks the world over.

Wars have been fought over � sh – Sweden and Britain had numerous clashes, some as recently as the mid-1970s, over cod. Fish and chips used to be the national dish in the United Kingdom – with tasty, � aky cod invariably the � sh that was battered and deep fried. But cod stocks in the North Atlantic have collapsed in dramatic fashion and for the past 30 years there’s been both a ban and a concerted e� ort to allow the � sh to breed and replenish.

American author Mark Kurlansky devoted an entire book to cod: Cod: A Biography of the Fish � at Changed the World, 1997. It’s a fascinating read and details how the Grand Banks o� the north-eastern coastline of America were

once the most bountiful � shing grounds going. � ere’s historical evidence that Vikings sailed and � shed there in the � rst century – and there’s certainly records stretching back as far as the 16th century.

Kurlansky’s book details how the strides that man made in developing sailing vessels and catching methods hardly made a dent in the shoals of cod. But it was the advent of modern industrial methods – trawling, sonar to locate schools and factory ships – which saw catches hit 300 000 tons annually by the 1960s. In 1968 records re� ect that a staggering 800 000 tons of cod were caught in one year – but then things started to tail o� dramatically. At that point just about every � sh-loving nation in the world was sending vessels to plunder the waters – Spain, Portugal, America, Canada, Korea, Japan and China.

� e cod stocks were deemed to have collapsed in the 1990s, with stocks estimated to be just one percent of what they were in 1977.

It’s all too easy to say that we’re not a� ected, that cod is not a � sh that we ever see in South Africa. But did you know that even in our waters, our most valuable � sh resource – the hake – is under threat? Hake, Kingklip and even cob/kabeljou are on the orange list nowadays. � ere are many in conservation circles who believe that the abalone or perlemoen is virtually a lost cause due to poaching and that the authorities, try as hard as they might, are of little use.

Growing up in KwaZulu-Natal, bag limits on shad – also known as elf in the Cape – were � ve � sh per angler per day. � at was because stocks of this formerly plentiful � sh were under threat – even 30 years ago! And yet the irony is that dieticians and nutritionists the world over are emphasising that � sh should form a

Increasingly, local retailers

and restaurants are buying into the sustainable

seafood initiative and only sourcing

green list fi sh.

Thin

k Twi

ce - H

ake


Responsibility



Fiona McDonald looks at the South



Responsibility



Fiona McDonaldlooks at the South



Best Choice - Herring

usselcracker, white steenbras, galjoen or even 74’s – when was the last time you saw

those in a restaurant or � sh shop? It’s been years, right? And the reason for that is that all of these � sh are on the South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (Sassi) watchlist, meaning that these � sh are in danger.

Sassi uses a tra c light system which is easy for people to relate to: � sh on the green list are OK, on the orange list are those that are potentially in danger and on the red list… well, there’s no way you should ever be o� ered those in a restaurant because they are severely threatened. Increasingly, local retailers and restaurants are buying into the sustainable seafood initiative and only sourcing green list � sh.

It’s an indictment of us as the human race that our scientists know more about the surface of the moon than they do about the ocean � oor. Elephant and rhino poaching is on the increase with hundreds of rhino being slaughtered for the alleged bene� ts of their horns. It’s a cause which has mobilised many campaigns in South Africa and abroad. But if there’s one example of over utilising a single resource and

having a massively detrimental e� ect and potentially harming an entire ecosystem, it’s what has happened to � sh stocks the world over.

Wars have been fought over � sh – Sweden and Britain had numerous clashes, some as recently as the mid-1970s, over cod. Fish and chips used to be the national dish in the United Kingdom – with tasty, � aky cod invariably the � sh that was battered and deep fried. But cod stocks in the North Atlantic have collapsed in dramatic fashion and for the past 30 years there’s been both a ban and a concerted e� ort to allow the � sh to breed and replenish.

American author Mark Kurlansky devoted an entire book to cod: Cod: A Biography of the Fish � at Changed the World, 1997. It’s a fascinating read and details how the Grand Banks o� the north-eastern coastline of America were

once the most bountiful � shing grounds going. � ere’s historical evidence that Vikings sailed and � shed there in the � rst century – and there’s certainly records stretching back as far as the 16th century.

Kurlansky’s book details how the strides that man made in developing sailing vessels and catching methods hardly made a dent in the shoals of cod. But it was the advent of modern industrial methods – trawling, sonar to locate schools and factory ships – which saw catches hit 300 000 tons annually by the 1960s. In 1968 records re� ect that a staggering 800 000 tons of cod were caught in one year – but then things started to tail o� dramatically. At that point just about every � sh-loving nation in the world was sending vessels to plunder the waters – Spain, Portugal, America, Canada, Korea, Japan and China.

� e cod stocks were deemed to have collapsed in the 1990s, with stocks estimated to be just one percent of what they were in 1977.

It’s all too easy to say that we’re not a� ected, that cod is not a � sh that we ever see in South Africa. But did you know that even in our waters, our most valuable � sh resource – the hake – is under threat? Hake, Kingklip and even cob/kabeljou are on the orange list nowadays. � ere are many in conservation circles who believe that the abalone or perlemoen is virtually a lost cause due to poaching and that the authorities, try as hard as they might, are of little use.

Growing up in KwaZulu-Natal, bag limits on shad – also known as elf in the Cape – were � ve � sh per angler per day. � at was because stocks of this formerly plentiful � sh were under threat – even 30 years ago! And yet the irony is that dieticians and nutritionists the world over are emphasising that � sh should form a

Increasingly, local retailers

and restaurants are buying into the sustainable

seafood initiative and only sourcing

green list fi sh.

Thin

k Twi

ce - H

ake


sustainable seafood

greater part of a healthy diet – because all those Omegas and essential fatty acids that sh contain are good for us!

Sassi, which falls under the umbrella of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – an organisation which takes the lead in conservation of wildlife and endangered species, was formed in 2004. Sassi’s website states it best: “ � e ocean provides us with tremendous and often unseen economic, social and cultural bene ts; it acts as a vast highway for commerce, it provides a place for recreation and, importantly, it supplies food or income for 2.6 billion people worldwide. Today, however, the ancient tradition of shing has in many cases left in its wake dangerously depleted sh stocks and an ecosystem whose balance has been su� ciently tipped to jeopardize the existence of a number of key species.”

� e United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organisation report of 2010 reported that 85% of the world’s sh stocks

are either “over exploited or exploited to their maximum”, Sassi reports.

Formed in late 2004, Sassi aims to be an easy way for everyone in the chain – from those whose livelihoods depend on sh, to restaurateurs and consumers, to understand that every e� ort needs to be made to try and halt any further depletion of sh stocks.

SASSI has three primary objectives: to promote voluntary compliance of the law through education and awareness; to shift consumer demand away from over-exploited species to more sustainable options and also to create awareness around marine conservation issues.

Everyone should take responsibility for being aware of what the status of a sh is. Next time you’re in a restaurant, ask your waiter not only what the line sh of the day is – but whether it’s on the green, orange or red list. Alternatively, use your phone to access the sassi website (www.wwfsassi.co.za) and check for yourself.

Text the name of the fi sh to the number 079-499-8795 to get an immediate response telling you whether to tuck in, think twice or

avoid completely. For more information about SASSI, you can visit the SASSI website at www.wwfsassi.org.za. Or email SASSI at [email protected].

ecosystem whose balance has been su� ciently tipped to jeopardize the existence of a number of key species.”

� e United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organisation report of 2010 reported that 85% of the world’s sh stocks

Best Choice - Anchovy

Think Twice - Abalone

Best Choice - Best Choice -

Don’t buy - Shark

One tequila, two tequila, three tequila ‒ more!The spirit of Mexico

Putting cork in it ‒ From the space shuttle to the latest in paint technology

How do you like them apples? ‒ Cider grows in popularity

what to look out for next issue

brought to you by www.topsatspar.co.za

Congratulations to last issue’s winners


enjoy your spoils!

LAMPEDUSA BOOK WINNERS:1. Vera Grimm (Olivedale, JHB)2. Magdalene Abrahams

(Kuilsriver, Cape Town)

One tequila, two tequila, three tequila ‒ more!The spirit of Mexico

Putting cork in it ‒ From the space shuttle to the latest in paint technology

How do you like them apples? ‒ Cider grows in popularity

what to look out for next issue

brought to you by www.topsatspar.co.za

Congratulations to last issue’s winners


enjoy your spoils!

LAMPEDUSA BOOK WINNERS:1. Vera Grimm (Olivedale, JHB)2. Magdalene Abrahams

(Kuilsriver, Cape Town)

Grocery list

All ‘in the basket’ items are available at your nearest TOPS at SPAR and SPAR outlets. See www.topsatspar.co.za and www.spar.co.zaand SPAR outlets. See www.topsatspar.co.za and www.spar.co.za

Your complete list of ingredients for all the recipes in this issue.



SPAR stores

TOPS at SPAR

GroceriesAvailable from TOPS at SPARLiquor

60ml port or sherry

Available from SPARDried Spices/Herbs/Stock

salt and black pepper

2.5ml dried origanum


a pinch of saff ron


5 cups light chicken or fi sh stock

Fresh Fruit/Veg/Herbs/Spices

bunch of thyme

30 ml parsley

1 bunch of spring onions

4 cloves garlic

1 large red pepper

1 orange

3 lemons

250g cherry tomatoes

5 onions

2 large potatoes

Cans/Jars/Bottles/Cartons

Olive oil

75ml oil

200g calamata olives

180g marinated or roasted artichoke

1 tin chopped Italian tomatoes

1 x 410g canned pears

1l 100% peach juice

100ml soy sauce

250ml good-quality mild chutney

5ml vanilla essence

Baking/Dry goods

1 box of Romany Cream Original Chocolate biscuits

100g white chocolate 3-4 marshmallow easter eggs,

100ml castor sugar

175g demarera sugar (or Muscovado sugar)

300g fl our

2.5ml baking powder

2 cups rice

50g pistachio nuts

Dairy

200g butter

125ml cream or milk


375g grated strong mature Cheddar cheese


Meat/Fish/Poultry

2 small whole fi sh (Green SASSI listed)

200g fi sh (Green SASSI listed)

12 mussels in the half shell

200g calamari

12-18 prawns

2 chicken breasts

2kg deboned brisket or 2.5kg brisket on the bone

100g chorizo sausage

Frozen goods

1 cup frozen peas

For garnishing

Raspberries

Crème Fraiche



Loopdop

Umdloti TOPS at SPAR Shanta Naicker is your Manager at the Umdloti TOPS at SPAR

Address: Shop 1, Main Road, Umdloti , KwaZulu-Natal Tel: (031) 568 1088 Fax: (031) 568 1402 Email: [email protected]

Business Hours: TOPS at SPAR Mon - Fri: 09h00 - 20h00, Sat: 08h00 - 17h00 & Sun: Closed. SUPERSPAR Mon - Sat: 07h15 - 20h30, Sun: 08h00 - 20h00. Mon - Sat: 07h15 - 20h30, Sun: 08h00 - 20h00.

gerr

itGerrit Rautenbach

shan

ta

En toe ontdek ek Umdloti...Mens vergeet nie maklik die eerste keer wat jou hart ’n bietjie vinniger geklop het nie. Gooi warm see water en son by en dis ’n perfekte resep!

at die jaartal was maak nie saak

nie, maar in daardie jaar was ek

in standerd drie. Dis nou

hedendaagse graad vyf. En daar was ’n

geskiedenistoer vanaf my eie persoonlike

Laerskool Louw Geldenhuys na die

bloeddorstige Zoeloeland.

Nee wag, ek moet verduidelik. Zoeloeland

was toe lankal nie meer bloeddorstig nie,

maar dit was ’n geskiedenistoer wat ons sou

gaan wys het waar Andries Pretorius en Piet

Retief en al daai snare baklei het. Sodat ons

die handboeke beter kon verstaan, sien...

Ek weet self nou nie hoe geïnteresseerd

ek en my beste pel Herman was oor die

slagvelde wat moes gedoen word nie, maar

vir ons was dit een grote avontuur weg van

die huis. Ek en hy het nie veel geweet van

Bloedrivier nie, maar ons was bloedbroers.

Ek en Herrie was betyds en het die

agterbank in die bus gekry. Saam met Pierre

en James het ons ingeburger vir die

avontuur van ’n leeftyd. Voor ons het ’n paar

girls gesit, maar aan hulle het ons ons g’n

fl enter gesteur nie. Ons was die manne en

die manne was wat getel het.

Iewers langs die pad het ons Bloedrivier

gaan bekyk. Daar was sulke nagemaakte

waens wat so in ’n laer getrek gestaan het.

Ek dink Coert Steynberg het hulle nog

gegiet. Ons het gekyk en gehoor en

herbeleef hoe die daad gebeur het, maar

ons nou nie laat intimideer deur feite nie.

Ons was net in standerd drie, eintlik.

Wat daar gebeur het onthou ek min van,

maar ek onthou toe ons terug by die toerbus

kom, het Wilma wat in my klas was en op die

bank voor my in die bus gesit het, net voor

my die trappe bestyg. Op daai oomblik woer

een van die outjies van voor af by die bus uit,

stamp haar wild en sy land reg in my arms

wat ‒ van hoe en waar weet ek nie ‒ reg

gestaan het om haar te vang. Daai sawwe

lyfi e het my ’n bietjie laat vergeet van

bloeddorstige riviere en so. Ek het haar hand

styf gevat. Sy het my so aangekyk en haar

hand weggeruk.

“Jy! Jy kan nie my hand vashou nie.”

Na ’n draai by Dingaan se Umgungundlovu

waar die towenaars moes sterf is ons verder

tot by die see. Tot by die skoolkampterrein

by Umdloti. Vir die res van die reis het Herrie

en trawante se grappies op my dowe ore

geval. Want daar was ’n ander towenaar in

my kraal. Ek kon nie verstaan hoe Wilma

skielik so mooi geword het nie...

Die volgende oggend het ons almal by

Umdloti se getypoel gaan swem. Soos die

towenaars dit wou hê het Wilma voor my

uitgehardloop. So omkyk-omkyk het sy die

wal misgetrap om plonsend in die poel te

beland. Sy het skuimend uit die water

opgekom en haar oë het myne gevang.

Duidelike angs sinjaal dat sy nie kan swem

nie. Ek duik in. Hand om die sawwe lyfi e

swem ek haar uit.

Ons sit op die wal met ons voete in die

water. Sy vee die seewater uit haar gesig en

die trane uit haar oë. Sy laat sak haar hande

en dan kruip die een naaste aan my in my

rigting.

“Jy... Jy mag my hand vashou.”

Umdloti is vandag nog een van my beste

plekke.

Warm seewater is maar net een van Umdloti se aantrekkings.

Freelance writer Gerrit Rautenbach is a man who knows how to spin a yarn, having been the editor of Mooi Loop

and Wegbreek magazines.


Loopdop

Umdloti TOPS at SPAR Shanta Naicker is your Manager at the Umdloti TOPS at SPAR

Address: Shop 1, Main Road, Umdloti , KwaZulu-Natal Tel: (031) 568 1088 Fax: (031) 568 1402 Email: [email protected]

Business Hours: TOPS at SPAR Mon - Fri: 09h00 - 20h00, Sat: 08h00 - 17h00 & Sun: Closed. SUPERSPAR Mon - Sat: 07h15 - 20h30, Sun: 08h00 - 20h00. Mon - Sat: 07h15 - 20h30, Sun: 08h00 - 20h00.

gerr

it

Gerrit Rautenbach

shan

ta

En toe ontdek ek Umdloti...Mens vergeet nie maklik die eerste keer wat jou hart ’n bietjie vinniger geklop het nie. Gooi warm see water en son by en dis ’n perfekte resep!

at die jaartal was maak nie saak

nie, maar in daardie jaar was ek

in standerd drie. Dis nou

hedendaagse graad vyf. En daar was ’n

geskiedenistoer vanaf my eie persoonlike

Laerskool Louw Geldenhuys na die

bloeddorstige Zoeloeland.

Nee wag, ek moet verduidelik. Zoeloeland

was toe lankal nie meer bloeddorstig nie,

maar dit was ’n geskiedenistoer wat ons sou

gaan wys het waar Andries Pretorius en Piet

Retief en al daai snare baklei het. Sodat ons

die handboeke beter kon verstaan, sien...

Ek weet self nou nie hoe geïnteresseerd

ek en my beste pel Herman was oor die

slagvelde wat moes gedoen word nie, maar

vir ons was dit een grote avontuur weg van

die huis. Ek en hy het nie veel geweet van

Bloedrivier nie, maar ons was bloedbroers.

Ek en Herrie was betyds en het die

agterbank in die bus gekry. Saam met Pierre

en James het ons ingeburger vir die

avontuur van ’n leeftyd. Voor ons het ’n paar

girls gesit, maar aan hulle het ons ons g’n

fl enter gesteur nie. Ons was die manne en

die manne was wat getel het.

Iewers langs die pad het ons Bloedrivier

gaan bekyk. Daar was sulke nagemaakte

waens wat so in ’n laer getrek gestaan het.

Ek dink Coert Steynberg het hulle nog

gegiet. Ons het gekyk en gehoor en

herbeleef hoe die daad gebeur het, maar

ons nou nie laat intimideer deur feite nie.

Ons was net in standerd drie, eintlik.

Wat daar gebeur het onthou ek min van,

maar ek onthou toe ons terug by die toerbus

kom, het Wilma wat in my klas was en op die

bank voor my in die bus gesit het, net voor

my die trappe bestyg. Op daai oomblik woer

een van die outjies van voor af by die bus uit,

stamp haar wild en sy land reg in my arms

wat ‒ van hoe en waar weet ek nie ‒ reg

gestaan het om haar te vang. Daai sawwe

lyfi e het my ’n bietjie laat vergeet van

bloeddorstige riviere en so. Ek het haar hand

styf gevat. Sy het my so aangekyk en haar

hand weggeruk.

“Jy! Jy kan nie my hand vashou nie.”

Na ’n draai by Dingaan se Umgungundlovu

waar die towenaars moes sterf is ons verder

tot by die see. Tot by die skoolkampterrein

by Umdloti. Vir die res van die reis het Herrie

en trawante se grappies op my dowe ore

geval. Want daar was ’n ander towenaar in

my kraal. Ek kon nie verstaan hoe Wilma

skielik so mooi geword het nie...

Die volgende oggend het ons almal by

Umdloti se getypoel gaan swem. Soos die

towenaars dit wou hê het Wilma voor my

uitgehardloop. So omkyk-omkyk het sy die

wal misgetrap om plonsend in die poel te

beland. Sy het skuimend uit die water

opgekom en haar oë het myne gevang.

Duidelike angs sinjaal dat sy nie kan swem

nie. Ek duik in. Hand om die sawwe lyfi e

swem ek haar uit.

Ons sit op die wal met ons voete in die

water. Sy vee die seewater uit haar gesig en

die trane uit haar oë. Sy laat sak haar hande

en dan kruip die een naaste aan my in my

rigting.

“Jy... Jy mag my hand vashou.”

Umdloti is vandag nog een van my beste

plekke.

Warm seewater is maar net een van Umdloti se aantrekkings.

Freelance writer Gerrit Rautenbach is a man who knows how to spin a yarn, having been the editor of Mooi Loop

and Wegbreek magazines.

Cheers - March/April 2014 (Vol.11)

Documents

Transcript of Cheers - March/April 2014 (Vol.11)