The mornings have a definite chill in the air and the frightfully territorial squirrels in my garden have burst into a flurry of activity, gathering acorns and digging up my flowerbeds to use as a larder. Yup folks, autumn is definitely here. It’s simply my favourite time of year in the Cape. The beastly South Easter doesn’t howl anymore [...]
The non-alcoholic wine category is growing at the speed of knots. Yes, SA’s three extensive alcohol bans in 10 months (and let me rather not say what I think of that) would have helped fire this growth. But the real thing that is driving it is a general desire to live more healthily. If wellbeing and your waistline are [...]
I’m not gonna lie, 2020 was not my year. But then I guess that spending a considerable amount of time on the couch in one's trackie pants and slippers, whining about the ‘so-many-eth’ wine ban, is hardly conducive to being in the best frame of mind or particularly creative in the kitchen. I’m back with a New Year vengeance [...]
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 [...]