Platter’s by Diners Club South African Wine Guide 2020 – a mouth-full for what is essentially known as the Platter’s Wine Guide – turns 40! For a wine guide 40 IS 40 and every single colour coded publication added to the bulky book we consult when we need some wine guidance. The first Platter’s published in 1980 cost… Read More Platter’s Celebrates 40 Years of Wine
No better way to start the week than a Hermanus hike with Tim Lundy, accredited mountain guide and qualified first aider. Tim has recently mapped a few trails from Fernkloof Nature to the vineyards of Hemel-en-Aarde wineries under his new business GlamTrails. We started at the Visitor Centre in Fernkloof and walked to the waterfall,… Read More Glamtrailing through Hemel-en-Aarde
On the eve of Hermanus FynArts, as tradition dictates, those who have worked behind the scenes with festival director Mary Faure and administrator Chantel Louskitt gathered at Braemar, Hemel-en-Aarde family home of Anthony Hamilton Russell, to raise a glass to the good fortune of the festival. For a few hours the hard work of the… Read More 2019 Hermanus FynArts
What a surprise to find that celebrity news publication Hello! dedicated their travel page to Hermanus. Apparently Spanish actress, Penélope Cruz, is a fan of the Western Cape, South Africa, and visits with her gorgeous family. Birkenhead Portfolio played host to a number of activities which included: Staying at the luxury Birkenhead House Coffee at… Read More Hello! Hermanus
Fridays are always good. But last night was extraordinary. The amount of old white wines tasted on a casual evening superseded any other tasting I remember. First up was a Hemel-en-Aarde Hamilton Russell Vineyards Chardonnay. A 1999 vintage. Beautiful! A linear, clear taste that’s undeniably Chardonnay doing Hermanus and the Walker Bay appellation proud. The Decanter Vintage… Read More Fine Wine Friday
Weekends can go one of two ways. I like both equally. It’s either lazy days of lounging or a hectic fun-packed blur. An early rise to meet Timothy of Hiking Cape Town and family had me walking through Hermanus vineyards on a sunny Saturday morning. From Hamilton Russell Vineyards to Bouchard Finlayson and onwards to… Read More Hemel-en-Aarde Saturdays #capewhalecoast
The Veritas Awards was hosted for the 26th time this year making it South Africa’s oldest wine competition. From the original 801 submissions the contest has grown to close to 1700 entries this year. All the double gold and gold Veritas medal winning wines were up for tasting this past week at the Cape Town Convention… Read More Wines I tasted at Veritas
Hemel-en-Aarde is well-known for its Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. For those who believe they need to earn a drink of fine wine SA Forest Adventures offers a range of activities to complement a Hermanus outing. Having quad biked through the vineyards of Hamilton Russell I was ready for something a bit more adventurous. Adventure was what I was… Read More Hermanus Adventure #zipline
The fourth Hermanus FynArts festival will start this week and run from 10 till 19 June. It’s chilly and the nights are long. All the more reason for adding a bit of art, culture, wine and food to lift the spirits. Top of the list has to be the Wine Plus series curated by art… Read More Five Hermanus FynArts things to do
Tim James, wine journalist and author of Wines of the New South Africa: Tradition and Revolution, recently introduced his list of fine red blends to an audience of Hermanus FynArts attendees. The tasting got going with observations about the many white and red blends available in South Africa and the great skills local winemakers apply to excel at producing good… Read More Defending Blends
Frieda Lloyd Explores 