This was my first experience of Thanksgiving and it felt so familiar – no doubt all the American movies I have watched. The gathering of friends and family to give thanks for what we have is a tradition going back to the arrival of Pilgrims, having survived harsh conditions and been blessed […]
Leaving Cape Town in the rain on Sunday prepared my arrival in Seattle on Monday afternoon – grey, drizzly, but strangely familiar - reminiscent of time spent in London. My flight via Paris was good overall, but lets face it there is no short way of getting to the States so the jet-lag […]
 Last week I hosted a group of 13 USA travel agents in the winelands and what I particularly enjoyed was the opportunity to introduce newcomers to the unique property that Solms-Delta is.  When I approached Solms-Delta to get involved with this group, I certainly did not give them an easy brief […]
I spent the past three days in the sleepy town of Port Alfred, located an hour and a half from Port Elizabeth. Before last week, I had no idea that an educational institution existed in the town. Stenden South Africa is a satellite campus of Stenden in Leeuwarden, Netherlands and is the only tertiary institution […]
 Athule Kamanga with Amanda Barker, CWA course co-ordinator Last night I lectured for the Cape Wine Academy at the River Club in Observatory. Upon arrival I was introduced to a young man, who had apparently been on-site since 2pm, fours hours before the scheduled lecture. This young man looked […]
I don’t know if it is just me, but for the past two weeks the topic of service delivery has cropped up in various social situations I have been in. I had a particularly bad experience last Thursday with sloppy service from start to finish.  Within the tourism industry, which I have […]
 Have you ever had a day when, irrespective of which wine you drink, you begin to think that alcohol is perhaps not a good idea. Is it you or the wine? Well, those off days could very well be linked to either human or wine. Let’s start with the wine and the presence of sulphites, […]
The composting regime advocated by Wechmar (2010) and outlined here involves a series of steps to ensure best results. The windrow (preferred name for the compost site) is constructed on a 2 – 5% slope in the direction of the prevailing wind. The length of the windrow is approximately 4 […]
Internet is fast and convenient, but it does take the fun out of exploration.  We pay bills, order goods and even communicate without having to leave our homes. With this insight I decided to drive further south this morning, taking Ou Kaapse Weg to make my way to Longbeach Mall. My mission: […]
In May I took a break to Tuscany and have had itchy feet ever since. Apart from the beautiful landscape, delicious wines and food, I found the locals to be friendly, helpful and constantly smiling .  Italy is an Old World wine producer with examples of traditionalist and modernist wines in abundance. One quickly […]
