The 14th of February may be Valentines Day, but the 13th is the date that you’ll want to remember. That is, of course, if you and your partner are the lucky winners of this fantastic competition by D-seven and Cosmpolitan and Bilton Wine Estate, in association with Boschendal and The Grand Daddy Hotel.
The winners of the competition, which is currently in it’s final phase of adjudication, by judges, will be driven by classic car to Bilton Wine Estate for wine tasting and romantic dinner for two on the evening of the 13th of February. And if you happen to live outside of Cape Town, you’ll be flown to the mother city courtesy of Bilton before hand. No romantic dinner is complete without a little music, and D-seven is on hand to wind up the romance an extra few notches, whilst doing their absolute best not to appear attractive to your date. Fine wine is courtesy of Bilton and bubbly by Boschendal.
After dinner, the lucky couple will be whisked away to their lodgings for the night, to the ultra-chic Airstream Trailer park on the roof of the award-winning Grand Daddy Hotel, where more Boschendal bubbly will be on hand. The following morning our couple is treated to a champagne breakfast (did anyone say Boschendal?) in Cape Town, and will be free to take in the sites and sounds of the Mother city before provided transport delivers them safely back home on Sunday evening.
If you’ve entered the competition, we reckon it’s time you started holding thumbs…
Referred to all over the world as the classic champagne cocktail recipe, thought to have first originated from the winner of a New York Cocktail competition in 1899.
It sounds like a bizarre combination of ingredients - but you’ll be surprised by the result. Drip 4 dashes of Bitters (Angostura Bitters) on a sugar cube and place in the bottom of a champagne flute. Cover the cube with cognac or old brandy - then top up with champagne.
Perhaps what seems most strange is that as you drink it the flavour changes from dry to sweet.
Fresh from launching her successful debut album Carol Thorns is set to perform at the Rooftop of the Grand Daddy on Wednesday night (3 Feb).
Her album ‘Fireflies in the Rain’ is an introspective and soulful exploration of different musical landscapes featuring Carol Thorns on the electric cello. Capturing the elegance of performer and instrument in a fresh and original way, this groundbreaking album incorporates aspects of World Music and Ambient Electronica, but still retains the richness of the cello’s classical origins.
Boschendal’s Make a Moment Sunsets’ are interactive music, food and wine evenings that are true to the eternal spirit of summer.
Come and join Boschendal at the Rooftop of Grand Daddy Hotel in Long Street Cape Town.
This event is at The Airstream Trailor Park Hotel, roof of Grand Daddy Hotel, Long Street, Cape Town and starts at 18h00. Entrance is free and the show last for about 2 hours.
Win a case of Boschendal Brut Rosé and a jar of Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup !
Bubble over this Valentine’s with Le Grand Pavillon Brut Rosé. Drink it at breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even somewhere in between. The closing date is 28 Febuary 2010.
Boschendal doesn’t just have pink bubbles, the Grande Cuvee Brut Cap Classique is a firm favourite too. Come and taste it at the Boschendal Make a Moment Sunset Events. These events are interactive evenings of music, food and wine that are true to the spirit of summer–evenings that revel in the joy of living and bring to life the truth that, “life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”
Visit makeamoment.me or view the Facebook page Boschendal make-a-moment, to find out about the next event.
This week’s Boschendal Make a moment event promises to be a unforgettable event. Patrick Craig from D-seven indicated that Sakhile Moleshe from Goldfish will join them for tonight’s performance at The Grand Daddy Rooftop.
Craig said that they are looking forward to performing with Shaklie (Moleshe) and believe that the performance will be something different.
This event is at The Airstream Trailor Park Hotel, roof of Grand Daddy Hotel, Long Street, Cape Town and starts at 18h00. Entrance is free and the show last for about 2 hours.
Drinking alcohol every day cuts the risk of heart disease in men by more than a third, a major study suggests.
The Spanish research involving more than 15,500 men and 26,000 women found large quantities of alcohol could be even more beneficial for men.
Female drinkers did not benefit to the same extent, the study in Heart found.
Experts are critical, warning heavy drinking can increase the risk of other diseases, with alcohol responsible for 1.8 million deaths globally per year.
The study was conducted in Spain, a country with relatively high rates of alcohol consumption and low rates of coronary heart disease.
The research involved men and women aged between 29 and 69, who were asked to document their lifetime drinking habits and followed for 10 years.
Crucially the research team claim to have eliminated the “sick abstainers” risk by differentiating between those who had never drunk and those whom ill-health had forced to quit. This has been used in the past to explain fewer heart-related deaths among drinkers on the basis that those who are unhealthy to start with are less likely to drink.
Good cholesterol
The researchers from centres across Spain placed the participants into six categories - from never having drunk to drinking more than 90g of alcohol each day. This would be the equivalent of consuming about eight bottles of wine a week, or 28 pints of lager.
For those drinking little - less than a shot of vodka a day for instance - the risk was reduced by 35%. And for those who drank anything from three shots to more than 11 shots each day, the risk worked out an average of 50% less.
The same benefits were not seen in women, who suffer fewer heart problems than men to start with. Researchers speculated this difference could be down to the fact that women process alcohol differently, and that female hormones protect against the disease in younger age groups.
The type of alcohol drunk did not seem to make a difference, but protection was greater for those drinking moderate to high amounts of varied drinks.
The exact mechanisms are as yet unclear, but it is known that alcohol helps to raise high-density lipoproteins, sometimes known as good cholesterol, which helps stop so-called bad cholesterol from building up in the arteries.
The Boschendal Make a Moment events is fast becoming one of the highlights on the Cape Town Social Calendar.
If D-seven, beautiful people, Cape Town sunsets, groovy roof top bars and moments made with Boschendal Methode Cap Classic sparkling wines sounds to you like a fine way to kick start year mid-week evening, then take the elevator to the roof top of the Grand Daddy Hotel in Long Street, Cape Town. Best of all, it’s free.
Date: The 27th of January.
Place: The Airstream Trailor Park Hotel, roof of Grand Daddy Hotel, Long Street, Cape Town.
South African packaged wine exports are set to grow by 10% , provided the rand doesn’t strengthen materially. This is according to Wines of South Africa (WOSA) CEO, Su Birch.
She was responding to recent retail sales figures released by AC Nielsen for the UK, the country’s biggest wine export destination. These show that South Africa continues to rank as the fastest-growing wine category in the UK, increasing its volume share of the market to 12,3% for 2009, up from 10,4% in 2008.
Although still in fourth place, the country is now virtually on a par with France, which occupies third position, behind Australia and the US. All that is separating South Africa from France, with its 12,4% volume share of the market, is a mere 0,1%.
Total South African supermarket wines sales grew 24% in volume and 23% in value last year. According to the latest export data from SA Wine Information Systems (SAWIS), South Africa’s packaged wine sales to the UK for the year were up 11% on 2008.
“The most encouraging development of all has been the impressive expansion of South African wine sales at price points of £5 and higher,” Birch said. “The sale of wines in the category of £5 to £6,99 grew 15% in value. Those retailing for £7 to £9,99, representing a slightly smaller segment of the market, rose 27% and those above £10, also a smaller category than the wines selling for £5, increased by 43%.”
“It has long been the goal of South African producers to shift away from the extreme value segment in order to ensure the industry’s long-term sustainability,” Birch said. “That such growth has been achieved despite the severity of the global recession gives us a good measure of confidence in the country’s well-established reputation for providing exciting wines across the pricing continuum. However, we remain concerned by the effect of the economy on profit margins.”
She added that FirstCape, South Africa’s biggest-volume brand in the UK, had lifted year-on-year sales in 2009 by 73% in value and 80% in volume. Other leading South African brands to have performed exceptionally well included Kumala, Arniston Bay, Two Oceans and KWV.
“We are optimistic the 2010 World Cup will significantly raise exposure for the country and our wines, not only in the UK but across a broad international front as soccer enthusiasts focus on South Africa during the coming months.”
WOSA would also be capitalising on the tournament with soccer-themed promotions in key export markets.
“Judging on last year’s performance in one of the toughest times in modern economic history, coupled with the competitive advantage afforded us by this year’s World Cup, we should be able to maintain the growth trajectory achieved in recent years in established as well as some newer markets.”
Birch said there had been a year-on-year global volume increase of 7% for South African packaged wine exports in 2009, compared with a drop in bulk sales of 18%, a positive trend in her view. “It is essential that the country concentrate its efforts on packaged wine sales, simultaneously building brands and Brand South Africa. The drop in the proportion of bulk sales to overall exports marks an important stage in the evolution of our industry.”
Other major markets to record strong growth in packaged South African wine volumes last year were Sweden (18%) and Canada (11%), while the Netherlands, Germany and the US had remained virtually unchanged. Denmark had shown a 5% drop but this had been partially offset by increases in export volumes to Finland and Norway. Meanwhile Japan, Nigeria, Angola and China had all delivered double-digit growth.
Champagne or Sparkling Wine is more than just a celebration drink. Bubbly can light up a night and set the ambiance and mood of an evening.
There are a few things to remember when serving bubbly.
Here are three clever tips to pouring a perfect glass of bubbly every time:
Easy does it. Pour a smidgen of the wine into the bottom of the glass first, wait for the initial fizzy head to bubble down, and then pour the rest.
Don’t tilt the glass. Rather, hold it upright, or let it stand on a table and pour the wine directly into it. The swirl and turbulence of a tilted glass can cause the wine to bubble up and over.
Don’t over-fill the glass. It’s a sure way to send all that precious liquid cascading over the edges of the glass. Think ‘less is more’ when filling a glass with wine. And with a bottle of bubbly, it’s always better to go back for a refill from a chilled bottle than to sit with the wine getting warm in your glass.
Sparkling wine offers a great way to punctuate a celebration with a special toast and with a bit of etiquette, it can turn a special occasion into that memorable event.
Valentine’s Day sometimes just isn’t for everyone. But this year, D-seven and COSMOPOLITAN, in association with Bilton Wine Estate, Boschendal and the Grand Daddy Hotel, will guarantee you have a sizzling Valentine’s weekend.
THE PRIZE
On Saturday 13 February, one lucky couple will be transported by a classic car to Bilton Wine Estate for a wine tasting and romantic dinner for two. If you’re not from Cape Town, airplane tickets will be sponsored by Bilton. Wine will also be supplied by Bilton and bubbly by Boschendal. During supper you will be serenaded by the a’capella group D-seven.
Afterwards you will spend a night at the Grand Daddy Hotel’s ‘trailer park caravan’ (more bubbly supplied by Boschendal). The next morning you will enjoy a champagne breakfast in Cape Town, and will be free to roam to city before being sent back home on Sunday evening.
