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Wine
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The Final Vinous Word From Me
22 May 2013 by Harry Haddon / No Comments
This is the last column from me here, for the known future at least. Which, let’s be honest, is nowhere past my first cup of coffee tomorrow morning. It’s been a blast. Or, as much of a blast as a wine column can be. I have stood on a soapbox a couple times and railed against the insidiously commercial, cynically sweet, and risibly reduced-alcohol wines that plague our shelves.
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From Lekker To… Really Bad – A Roundup Of Recent Freebie Wine Samples
02 May 2013 by Harry Haddon / No Comments
While I was away in the Drakensburg trying to survive for a week on only box wine, a little pile up of samples built up back at home. In this week’s column I go through them at let you know what they’re like.
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Make Your Weekend Plans Now – The Elgin Wine Fest Is Where It’s At
02 May 2013 by silverstreak / No Comments
Elgin, it’s a beautiful place. Like a scene from a Blake poem, it’s all dew drops, unpasteurised cheese and wood fires, fresh fruit and good wine. Which makes it’s the perfect place to host a wine festival.
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Pairing Wine & Food Made Easy [INFOGRAPHIC]
28 Apr 2013 by Aramat Broccoly / No Comments
This is probably the best thing an uneducated wine drinker could ask for. You know that moment when your waiter asks you what wine you’d like to drink with your food, and you panic, and end up going with old faithful? Well this little infographic could save you from tragic pairings in the future.
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Wine PR – Where Words Go To Die
24 Apr 2013 by Harry Haddon / 2 Comments
I am sure that for every sensible word written about wine, Public Relation teams issue out 100 silly ones. Luckily conscientious writers shield the broader public from much of this hyperbolic guff, however, some of it does slip through on back labels, and boy, is it a load of tripe.
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Oak Chips, Staves And Critters – Why I Avoid Wines With Animals On The Label
04 Apr 2013 by Harry Haddon / 2 Comments
I remember reading this in the Onion once: “The quality of wine is inversely proportional to the ferocity of the animal on the label.” Sadly for South Africa, we have many animal labels. Producers, it seems, think that they can bottle any crap and then throw on a cutesy label and all is forgiven.
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Why Does The Quality Of 5-Star Hotels In South Africa Vary So Much?
03 Apr 2013 by Seth Rotherham / No Comments
I have just settled down next to the heated pool. This after a game of tennis, some brekkie and a 10 minute steam followed by a shower. Things could be worse. How other hotels can claim to be 5-stars, I don’t know.
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A Foolproof Guide To Starting Your Own Wine Tasting Club
02 Apr 2013 by Aramat Broccoly / 1 Comment
Need a little help? Hosting a wine tasting club isn’t always the easiest thing to do, especially if you don’t have a lot of experience with the theme. Wine Tasting is becoming a little bit of thing lately, so we thought we’d equip you with the knowledge that you’ll need to pull off hosting a wine tasting club succesfully. [...]
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5 Ways To Sabrage A Champagne Bottle [VIDEOS]
02 Apr 2013 by Aramat Broccoly / No Comments
It’s a short work week. Which means that you’re highly likely to be drinking bubbles this coming Friday. So you might as well do it properly. And by properly, we mean by sabrage. What is sabrage? I’m so glad you asked: The opening of a bottle, normally of champagne, by slicing off the bottle’s neck with [...]
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Old Wine For The Win – Why Aging Can Get You Better Results
20 Mar 2013 by Harry Haddon / 1 Comment
A few columns back I mentioned the RE:CM 10 year old wine awards, and how some of the wines I tasted during the judging (I was filming not judging) were not very good. I couldn’t mention the best ones, as the results had not yet been made public. I can now talk freely as the awards have been handed out.
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Wine Lists – That Hoary ‘Ol Chestnut
15 Mar 2013 by Harry Haddon / 2 Comments
Fear not, I will not be ranting here. I will not spend 1000 words frothing at the keyboard about the abysmal, facile, corporate, lackluster, insulting, sell-out winelists that do not deserve the bad laminating they have.
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Reimagining Pinot Noir
13 Mar 2013 by Harry Haddon / 5 Comments
I have been thinking quite a lot about Pinot Noir lately after having written an article on the grape for a local magazine. I feel that I can usefully reconstitute some of those points here in slightly stronger language.
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Are Wine Bargains A Good Thing? I Think Not
27 Feb 2013 by Harry Haddon / 11 Comments
I had a new wine experience this past weekend. I wish this meant tasting a new exotic variety, or an ancient vintage, or even just a good Pinotage. But no, it was far more banal than any one of those, it was a trip to the Wade Bales Society wine sale.
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Harvest Time Is Here – Spend A Day Falling In Love With Wine
22 Feb 2013 by Harry Haddon / No Comments
I do not lay awake at night wondering about the permutations of whether Oscar Pistorious shoots with or without prosthetics, I do not toss and turn weighing in my mind the quality of Lindiwe Mazibuko’s State of the Nation Address rebuttal, nor do I consider whether Vernan Philander can bowl better. No friends, I ask myself how can I get more people drinking wine
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Facebook “Friends” The Wine World
20 Feb 2013 by Aramat Broccoly / No Comments
We LIKE this. A new Facebook online store has been developed encouraging their US users to buy and send gifts with just a click of a button. Remembering birthdays used to be a daunting experience until these guys came along, and now they making something like purchasing wine just as easy.
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The Best Value Pinot In The Country, And Musings On Old Wines
15 Feb 2013 by Harry Haddon / 4 Comments
This week’s column may come across as slightly schizophrenic. I have some thoughts on older wines and a wine recommendation. They are totally unrelated.
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Today You’ll Learn – How A Wine Judging Panel Works
08 Feb 2013 by Harry Haddon / 2 Comments
Wine judging is a strange endeavor. As weird, I imagine, as the judging at country fairs of jams, tarts, cakes, flower arrangements, and whatever other product of pastoral hobbies are put forward.
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Riesling, You Need To Drink More Of It
24 Jan 2013 by Harry Haddon / 8 Comments
Riesling. What a grape. I wonder how much you’ve had? Probably not enough. I know I haven’t. The wines of the Riesling grape are hard to have too much off. It is another type of wine in South Africa that is on the up, if a bit slower than Riesling lovers would like; but then all things vinous are slow.
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The God Of Wine’s 6 Wine Commandments For 2013
17 Jan 2013 by Harry Haddon / No Comments
The God of wine – Bacchus – called me on New Year’s Day for a talking to atop the rather benign Bottellery Hills. He gave me six commandments to give to you. So listen carefully, young and old.
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Terroir(ble) Tendencies
07 Dec 2012 by Harry Haddon / 3 Comments
Terroir. It’s time we had a chat about it. Is it complete marketing hogwash? Is it the holy grail of fine wine making, so, in fact, total hogwash? Is it a real thing that winemakers should strive toward? Wait, hold on Harry, wtf is terroir.
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Nederburg’s Summer Pop Up “Red Table” Restaurant Is Tres Cool
07 Dec 2012 by silverstreak / 1 Comment
Nederburg has created a novel restaurant for the summer, open from Wednesday to Sunday until the end of April. Called the Red Table, it offers locally-sourced fresh, light bistro-style food in a relaxed and gesellige atmosphere. The menu has been devised to match the farm’s rich and varied range of award-winning wines. What makes it [...]
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Welcome To Your New Friday After-Work Habit!
29 Nov 2012 by Seth Rotherham / No Comments
Forget about starting the weekend by schlepping home and collapsing on the couch. Rather enjoy spectacular views of Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean at one of Cape Town’s hidden gems! Zero parking hassles and pure chilled vibes.
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House Of The Week – Your Own Income Producing Wine Farm In Franschhoek – R39 Million
29 Nov 2012 by Seth Rotherham / No Comments
You can make big cash from a property like this. Apart from the prestige of having your own wine farm, this chunk of earth sports 10 luxury suites, conference facilities, wedding venue etc. You’ll be rolling in it… Check out these killer pics..
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What Makes Good Wine, Good?
22 Nov 2012 by Harry Haddon / 8 Comments
What makes good wine good? A devious little question. A question that sits around a corner with its foot held out hoping you trip. It’s a question however, that I am bound to try and answer.
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