Archive for March, 2010

Julie and Julia

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

To be fair, I haven’t really blogged in a very long time. I use this portal to advertise or debrief my events and to post wine snippets about this or that.  Sometimes if I am in a good mood and not being such a Diva, then I’ll publish a press release about a wine event or product that grabs my attention, mostly because they have either wooed me over a lovely long lunch at their wine estate or delivered delicious samples for me to savour. But to be completely honest, which I mostly always am or try to be, I have not blogged here in a very long time.

And Wine Diva is a blog that I started because I knew very little about wine and thought it would be clever and fun to blog as I learn. But I since I now know quite a bit about wine, not too much, and I struggle at times to follow through with my ideas to full bodied fruition  because I am prone to getting a little bored and side-tracked, it seems that I stopped blogging about wine, in the purest sense of the art of blogging.

And to be even more honest, I don’t always feel the urge to blog strictly about wine… I want to blog about my life because wine in moderation is only one wonderful accessory to a life well lived. Ah, and so is good  cooking, which brings me to the reason I am finally blogging here today. A friend of mine, who knows me very well it seems, told me about a movie I should rent, called Julie and Julia, and he added “it’s about a girl who blogs and she reminds me of you”. He prompted me with this serving suggestion in December, and then reminded me this week by asking whether I had rented it yet, because I word for word quoted a line out of the movie without even knowing it! Ha ha that’s a first. You see, I am always quoting lines from movies, but have never quoted a movie I haven’t even seen or a line that I haven’t even heard yet. That’s a little aspect of well done destiny right there, I’d say. Anyway, life has been so busy these past 3 months that I totally forgot to rent and watch it and was glad for the reminder. As God’s timing would have it, I have been struck with a bout of flu and it’s a cloudy rainy Saturday in Cape Town, and that combination called for a recipe of paracetemol, throat spray, Hot Toddy flu caps and staying in bed with a dvd. So I dragged myself out the door this morning, bundled my dog Missy in the car with me, so that she would feel like she has had an outing of sorts, even though I can’t fool her that it’s an official “walk”, and I presented my sniffly self to the typical “Wayne’s world” type video shop assistant and rented the movie.

Oh Divas, it’s a wonderful story that made me feel better and inspired and nostalgic and hungry all in 90 minutes, and it’s about two women, Julia Childs and Julie Powell, who found their passion for living and had a positive influence on the people around then and many others by sharing their interest in and talent for cooking, with writing as a side order, or vice versa. It’s hard to tell what came first, the cooking or the writing. It made me want to haul out my gran’s cookbooks and gourmet my way through them over the next year. It made me sure of the fact that I want to rent a house that has a better kitchen and stove, and I also noted to self the goal of wanting to take another trip to France some day for a rendez vous of gastronomic exploration!

But for right now, since I stilll have the flu, and a pokey kitchen with a 2 plate stove and no oven, and a fridge that is pretty bare, and no travel budget to speak of, with little to no leave due to me, I decided that I’ll do what is in my means to do and blog a little here… before watching the dvd again, sleeping off the flu meds and dreaming about Paris. And I do so love Paris in the springtime. So anyway, what’s your talent that you’re keeping under wraps and should be dusting off? Perhaps Julie and Julia can inspire you too. Just diva it.

Perdeberg parades to the Cape Town Carnival

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

Perdeberg Winery has released a special edition charity wine range for the Cape Town Carnival, which will take place from the 18th to the 20th of March 2010.

The Cape Town Carnival is a community project. They aim to connect the diverse cultures that make up the Cape Town community through music, art, dance – any form of self expression, really! The Cape Town Carnival will also host the highly anticipated parade on Saturday, the 20th of March 2010.

The Cape Town Carnival Parade is a free-access event taking place in the heart of the CBD. With a mass of over 2000 cross-genre, cross-cultural performers partaking in the event, six original Carnival songs that will get the people dancing and a spectacular float and elaborate costumes as draw cards, there should be something to suit just about anyone’s taste.

One vibrant group of over 2000 participants from many of the performing genres across Cape Town will strut their stuff in the parade inspired by this year’s theme, “Rhythm, Roots and Boots”. Audiences can expect to see imagery from Cape Town’s rich heritage and culture as well hear original music composed specifically for the Parade. In addition to the festivities of the main parade, spectators can also look forward to celebrations after the event. A range of other fringe events can also be expected.

To join in the festive spirit, Perdeberg Winery is releasing a special edition charity wine range for the Cape Town Carnival. This wine range will consist of:

Chenin Blanc/Sauvignon Blanc (From R23)
On the nose: dusty nettles, limes with a spritz of lemon.  Zingy, zippy and zaftig which is Noo Yawk Tawk for juicy, but then… you probably already knew that!  On the palate: boiled pear-drop sweets with a sherbet bite.  As Oliver Twist said, “please sir, may I have some more?”

Shiraz/Pinotage/Viogner (From R27)
On the nose: strawberry milkshake with a dusting of cocoa.  On the palate: crushed rose petals as smooth as cashmere with sour cherry/tangerine Lifesaver flavours without the hole in the middle for your tongue to play with.

Sparkling Rosé (From R39)
On the nose: Turkish Delight and ripe, jammy plums (black and red).  On the palate: rich, ripe watermelon with a splash of lime.

With this special range of charity wines, Perdeberg has decided to give back a little more. The proceeds will be donated directly to charity. So, by celebrating together at the Cape Town Carnival, Perdeberg will also be giving something back to the communities in need.

*The above tasting notes and wine blends were compiled by Neil Pendock.

Perdeberg Winery is situated in the Agter Paarl, in the triangle between Malmesbury, Paarl and Durbanville, in the Western Cape. www.perdeberg.co.za, tel: 021 869 8244 or email:  info@perdeberg.co.za