A quiet corner of the Cardiff Castle Building in Newlands hides a small oasis called Sushi Box.  It started out as a mere take-away business but has now grown into a fully-fledged sushi restaurant.

Having frequented more than a few sushi “places” in Cape Town, I’ve always commented that most of them seem to have no atmosphere; no attention is given to décor or your dining experience as the focus is entirely on the art of making sushi.

Sushi Box is different: even their take away orders are packed in tailor-made containers, with a separate section for your chopsticks and soy sauce.  No squeaky polystyrene container with a lip that springs open and spills your sushi all over the car seat.  The laminated box slides open gently, to reveal the deliciousness within. More

When Simon van der Stel sent Abraham Gabbema inland from the Cape in 1659 on a trade expedition to the interior he did not expect him to found a new town. But when Abraham made camp after a rainstorm and saw granite outcrops on the mountain glistening and called them “de Diamondt en de Peerlberg” (Diamond and Pearl Mountain); a town called Paarl (or Pearl) came to be.

A farm in the Paarl district was granted to a French Hugenot, Isaac Taillefert in 1691.  The land in those days stretched from the Paarl Mountain all the way to the Berg River. They set about clearing the bush and planting vines and within seven years they were making quite decent wine. The Tailleferts sought to name their farm after the district of La Bri from which they originated but with regular use and colloquialism, the name Laborie finally emerged and stayed.

The historic Manor House (left) & Entrance to Harvest Restaurant (right)

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Here at Batonage dot com we are always seeking ways to further our wine education; whether it’s by visiting wine estates to taste new wines, attending formal courses like those offered by WSET or technical tastings hosted by SASA.

You don’t have to be a qualified Sommelier to become a member of the South African Sommelier Association (SASA) – just pay your small (R300) annual membership fee as a “wine enthusiast” and voila – you enter a world of wine that offers you tutored tastings, exposure to different varietals and wines you have never dreamed of being able to taste.

A little background on SASA: They are dedicated to the discipline, art and love of Wine and Spirits. The aim of the association is to ensure that South Africa has its own professional board who shares the joy and energy of wine and spirits.  SASA is a non-profit organization and aims to offer its services to local and international Sommeliers, in being the contact and network portal for those local and international.  The association aims to provide training and mentorships to guarantee the continuous development of professional standards of the highest level. More

What does luxury mean to you?  A quick Google search defines it as “the state of great comfort and extravagant living”.  Why do we love and even covet luxury so much?  That is simple: It makes us feel good.

We are on a never ending quest to find the ultimate luxurious indulgence in accommodation.  One of those “last minute” discounted websites offered an excellent rate on a night at the Taj Hotel; a group of highly acclaimed, 5 star hotels described as “breath taking” with “legendary hospitality” on their websites. More

We’ve written about Meerlust before – a place with so much history that it actually boggles the mind.  300 years of history is effectively what you get with every bottle of wine you open from them.  The current owner – Hannes Myburgh – is the 8th generation of Myburgh in charge of the property. I doubt there’s any other wine farm in the country that can boast 8 generations of the same family at the helm.

On Friday we attended the launch of the Meerlust Red 2011. The wine is effectively a more approachable Meerlust Rubicon. Released in years where the dense fruit core that makes the Rubicon such a hallmark wine cannot be achieved due to climatic conditions, the Red is still a bloody attractive offering. 2010 had a very mild winter, and the vines at Meerlust did not get enough cold to put them into the dormancy that is needed for full regeneration. Due to this and variable 2011 weather, the necessary fruit quality was not achieved that is normally used for the Rubicon. More

Three years ago, November with the launch of the then new Platter guide for 2011 I noticed a producer I hadn’t heard of before amongst the 5 star winners for Chenin Blanc. With me being a Chenin whore of note, there was never much chance of Botanica Chenin Blanc going unexplored. In actual fact, there was never much chance of the brand Botanica going unexplored especially after I found out that the red wine in the short line up is a Pinot Noir.

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Shopping usually involves dealing with various degrees of irritation related to traffic, parking and people.  Those early morning forced choices when taking meat from the freezer to defrost or the after-work sprint to the shops, add more tension to your already over stressed modern life.  The most important decision I want to make when arriving home is what wine to open first!

The founding members of Daily Dish (Diane de Villiers & Jo-Pierre Lerm) were also just as frustrated with the last-minute dash around the crowded supermarket after work and bored with the same old meals and sad take-outs.  They hunted around for a service that would deliver either fresh ingredients or home cooked meals. Online ingredient shopping turned out to be a nightmare and “home-cooked meals” looked worse than boarding school fare.

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“L’Ormarins”; the pronunciation alone has tripped up many a wine lover even before indulging in a bottle of their classic Optima Red Blend.  After major expansion and rebranding, the name L’Ormarins will now simply be used to indicate the name of the original farm in Franschhoek.  Antonij Rupert Wines will be the new home of Antonij Rupert, Cape of Good Hope, Protea and Terra del Capo wines.

The entrance to the Terra del Capo Tasting Room

Is there safety in a name?  The golden thread running through everything that happens at Antonij Rupert Wines is quality.  The wine offering shown a dramatic increase in quality and the high level of customer service (whether you’re tasting, buying a R40 bottle of wine or gawking at the vehicles in the Franschhoek Motor Museum) are being maintained, making it a “sure bet” when recommending a wine farm to a visitor!

                   The impressive tasting counter with a view of the bottling line & the comfort of the Antipasti Bar

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An “Italian tasting” – the words even sound mysterious; a bit like an Alfa that doesn’t ever break down. These are wines we don’t get to drink every day; even when you want to spoil yourself, most people will indulge in a sexy French number, the region of choice would vary according to budget.

Italy does not really feature as the very first “go-to” country for adventurous wine tasters, but it should. We have some wonderful examples made here in SA and the Italian stuff are not so difficult, or that expensive to get hold of.

We put together a line-up for tasting, focusing on Sangiovese and Nebbiolo from South Africa and Italy.

Some technical stuff about Sangiovese (everything from the internet and various publications, of course):  The name is derived from the Latin sanguis Jovis, “the blood of Jove” – from the story that the Romans stored wine inside caves in the Mons Jovis – a mountain.

The official home of Sangiovese is Tuscany, but it is planted all over Italy with varying success. The Tuscany region is located in central Italy along the Tyrrhenian Coast. It is home to the regions of Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino where the wines are primarily made with Sangiovese.

Serious decanting – necessary for the young Italians More

“Village-style buildings clustered around swimming pools and lush green lawns” hardly sound like a description of a 155-room 4 star hotel in the Winelands.  It sounds more like an upmarket suburb that canny developers will advertise as “a young family’s dream” and “pedestrian friendly”.

This is the home of Spier Hotel; where rolling lawns, gardens and walkways connect the rooms with the reception area, lounge, bar, terrace and restaurant.  The hotel is a pioneer in responsible tourism and was one of the first in South Africa to be awarded the Fair Trade in Tourism SA accreditation in 2004.

The rooms are spacious and the bed oh-so comfortable; almost making you forget about the swimming pool under your window!  All the amenities you expect from a 4 star hotel are there: mini-bar, satellite television, air conditioning, room service and kick-ass water pressure in the shower.  After a busy day exploring Spier, we were exhausted and our room gave us a safe, cool and comfortable haven that we did not want to leave for dinner. More