Only three stories for you this time. One, a sad occasion but a celebration of a life cut short. And two wine experiences with beautiful South African wines. We think you’ll enjoy them. As always, click on the photographs and headlines to open the full stories Arco Laarman wake at Kaapzicht Arco Laarman was a well-known, well-liked and respected winemaker who died recently. We were invited to his wake which was held at Kaapzicht wine estate in Bottelary. This was not a sad occasion, more a celebration of a life well lived and a fine career very sadly cut short. It was attended by many of his ..read more

A tasting we always look forward to Catherine Marshall is one of our best wine makers. Modest to a fault, she works tirelessly to make superb wines For those in the know, they are an essential and a joy You will find her wines in all the best restaurants and wine emporiums We are always excited to taste her new vintages Her tasting room and winery is at the top of the Polkadraai Hill outside Stellenbosch The display of her current range of wines Members of the wine trade, sommeliers and journalists were invited Sue Anderson takes care of Cathy's Marketing and PR A smiling welcom ..read more

Arco Laarman was a well-known, well-liked and much respected winemaker who died recently We were invited to his wake which was held at Kaapzicht wine estate in Bottelary This was not a sad occasion, more a celebration of a life well lived and a fine career very sadly cut short It was attended by many of his family and friends, so many of us associated with the wine industry Arco Laarman was only 49 and at the peak of his career, making great wine under his own label, having spent many years working at Glen Carlou before going out on his own and succeeding so well. A sad loss Arco at Glen Carlo ..read more

This time, most of our stories are part of one big story – a visit to the Agulhas Triangle area of the Western Cape Overberg and they are all connected with the Agulhas Triangle Wine Festival. The Triangle is, undoubtedly, the coolest area in our wine country. As Strandveld winemaker Conrad Vlok said, “Winter starts early here”. This gives the cool climate varietals which thrive there a special quality. See our story about the Festival to read more about it. Look at the places where we ate and slept… and think about visiting there yourself Supper in The Hyde Hotel's London Road Bistro Hype ..read more

Our route to the Agulhas Festival took us through the historic village called Elim It has its roots in wine production, something we believe that too few people know it is appropriate that the Agulhas Wine Festival took place on an Elim estate We can do no better than to quote Wikipedia to tell you the basic facts about it: "Elim is a village on the Agulhas Plain in the Western Cape of South Africa. It was established in 1824 by German missionaries as a Moravian mission station. When selecting the location, the missionaries placed a high priority on the proximity of water and on terrain tha ..read more

We had attended the previous Triangle Wine Festival which showcased the excellent wines of the area so well and were very keen to attend this one. The venue had changed to Black Oystercatcher Wine Farm Elim is quite a distance from Cape Town so we had arranged good accommodation just 9 kilometres away and drove down on Friday and visited the festival on Saturday Rain was threatened and we had some in the night, but it stayed dry for the whole day They had put up marquees where various vendors sold their food Nelson Mandela's boat? We were invited to attend the guided tasting held in the win ..read more

Searching on line for good out of town accommodation can be arduous; after many searches, Lynne had almost given up We needed a place for 3 couples and, at our age, we all want our own bathrooms, a view and space We were planning to go to the Triangle Wine Festival in Elim for the weekend and she found this marvellous place at the last moment; almost every other affordable place was already booked It is called Doornbosch and is between Baardskeerderbos and Elim Have a look at their website https://doornbosch.co.za/  The house we booked is called Eland. It is spaci ..read more

We have been to Marietjie's Pub and Grill in Baardskeerdersbos a few times This time, it was just 7 kilometres from our accommodation, so that sorted out supper on our first night in the area At weekends, you'll need to book; it's a popular place The main restaurant has a bar; sadly, there were smokers and the smell carries through into the restaurant area They have a small shop with very interesting items as well as jams and preserves We took a table in the bottom section Translation: Our Food is as Hot as my "Little Bit on the Side" Our Beer as Cold as my Husband They do not charge ..read more

Friends from the Netherlands have been visiting for several weeks We wanted to take them to the Triangle Wine Festival in Elim, so we planned a great weekend for them and another couple We drove down on Friday and had a reasonably good trip to Hermanus until a huge boat, called Shangri-La, slipped off its trailer in Somerset West, causing absolute traffic chaos We planned to stop for lunch en route in Hermanus. A place, recommended by locals, which was totally new us, despite our many visits to the area It is a great find. Fick's Pool is tidal, and was apparently dynamited ..read more

Hyperli https://hyperli.com/ is an on-line site selling vouchers for bargain meals for two people They sell other things which might be contentious, but we stick to the meals and accommodation! The deals are in and around the big cities in SA We have tried a few meals and accommodation deals over the years and not been disappointed Lynne had bought one to try as the Hyde Hotel is local (London Road, in Sea Point) and it sounded good We were there recently for the launch of Bruce Jack's Jack@Skye wine bar on the roof They have off-street parking in their underground garage ..read more