Just after Christmas the fabulous Isabella Niehaus stopped at my door with the most amazing gift – two kilograms of plump West Coast mussels, so fresh I figured they’d still been clinging to a rock that very morning. Isabella is one of my local food heroes. The meals she serves at the long table in her gorgeous Langebaan home overlooking [...]
Situated in the Knorhoek Valley at the foot of the Simonsberg mountain, a mere 10km outside of Stellenbosch, you’ll find Muratie – a wine estate with a history and heritage that’s quite unusual. The story of Muratie is essentially a love story. One that goes back many years – all the way back to 1685, when the then Governor [...]
Hit the N2 out of Cape Town and if the traffic is good (which these days is a pretty big if) you get to Sir Lowry’s Pass in under an hour. In mere minutes you climb over 400m above sea level and, once you get to the top, a whole different world unfolds before you. You’re in the Overberg (which [...]
I don’t know about you but I am more than ready to kiss 2020 goodbye. And I’m going to do it with extra festive season cheer this year, because that’s what I need. So this Christmas it’s loads of fairy lights, absolutely everywhere. Loads of white Iceberg roses and masses of blue hydrangeas in giant glass vases, absolutely everywhere. [...]
Say ‘Four Cousins’ and quaffable everyday wines at pocket-friendly prices immediately come to mind. But what many may not know is that this range is actually part of the Van Loveren stable – and that it was launched by four real-life cousins! Van Loveren, in the beautiful Robertson Valley, has been in the Retief family since 1937. The first [...]
The non-alcoholic wine trend is seriously on the up and up. Now I do love my wine, but there is very definitely a space in my wine rack for low alcohol or no-alcohol wines. So I’m delighted that there are some new kids on the block for summer 2020. PIEKENIERSKLOOF WINE COMPANY – SIX [...]