www.childrenshospitaltrust.org.za
http://www.aardklop.co.zaCorius is off to the Aardklop Arts Festival this week, and organisers are expecting 180 000 people to pass through the wine tent alone although hopefully not pass out. Why not try out the Aardklop podcast at this link http://aardklop.podbean.com/
Met die aftel van die dae voordat Aardklop afskop, is daar ’n hele paar vertonings wat blyk baie gewild te wees. Die 1812 en militêre skouspel is ’n eenmalige gebeurtenis wat niemand durf misloop nie. Tsjaikowski se 1812 ouverture word uitgevoer met die afvuur van lewendige kanonne. Die aand tree twee militêre orkeste, naamlik die SA Irish Regimental Association Pipes and Drums en die SANW se Koperblaasorkes albei in volle militêre drag op. Om te hoor hoe Tsjaikowski se triomfantlike ouverture eintlik moet klink, moet jy Donderdagaand 27 September op die Fanie Du Toit Sportterrein wees.
Oppiaarde gaan soos gewoonlik weer in die kraal val van enigeen wat hou van rock en alternatiewe musiek. Van ons land se bekendste groepe soos Springbok Nude Girls, The Parlotones, Ollie, Valiant en die Mystic Boereorkes, fokofpolisiekar, Bed on Bricks en Karen Zoid gaan in aksie wees op Saterdag 29 September op die Fanie du Toit Sportsentrum. Die hekke open om 12 uur en die show sal tot laatnag aanhou.
Iets wat jy ook nie aldag gaan hoor nie, is Nicholis Louw, Emo Adams en Jannie Moolman wat die musiek van Elvis, en sy era sing. In Bra Elvis, wat op Woensdagaand 26 September op die Fanie du Toit Sportterrein aangebied word, gaan die koning van Rock, wat vanjaar 30 jaar gelede dood is, se musiek weer herleef. Lank lewe die koning van Rock ’n Roll, Bra Elvis! Ook met Nokokhanya Dlamini en Shine 4.
Van die drama produksies wat uitgesonder kan word is Die Storm, die Afrikaanse vertaling van Shakespeare se The Tempest. 396 jaar nadat hierdie drama vir die eerste keer opgevoer is, bekoor dit nog steeds gehore oraloor. Tjaart Potgieter het dit in Afrikaanse vertaal en Marthinus Basson behartig die regie. In Die Storm toon Jana Cilliers, as Arial, en Antoinette Kellermann as Prospero hulle vaardighede as bedrewe verhoogaktrises.
Festen, is die verhoogweergawe van die 1995 treffer Deense Dogme-film. Festen, wat “Die Viering” in Afrikaans beteken. Die stuk is as The Celebration op Broadway en West End opgevoer en is ’n opwindende moderne tragedie wat ’n spel is met donker en lig. Heinrich Rosenhofer het tydens die ABSA KKNK vanjaar ’n Kanna-toekenning vir beste regie hiervoor ontvang. Met onder meer Johan van Jaarsveld, Stian Bam, Nina Swart, Neil Sandilands en Pedro Kruger.
"Planning your House" is a series of articles that we will place onto the site with information and advice on the planning and building of your house.
The objective of the greater landscape design is to blend conservation and agricultural components to create a truly ‘Cape context’ for the estate and to perpetuate a natural, sustainable habitat for people and wildlife alike, side by side within a working vineyard.
Typically associated within the Cape palette of planting, the Estate guideline combines qualities of classical Mediterranean and English gardens with indigenous textures, colours and scents. A mixture of both indigenous and exotic plant species is the aim of the Estate. In recreating the Vernacular garden, elements of the surrounding countryside and agricultural planting palette should be considered. Feel free to use fruit trees, deciduous trees and simple, uncluttered planting palettes that define the vernacular garden within the Estate.
The erf/open space layout combines the unique geometry of viticulture and olive orchards within a waterweb of wetland and meadows, and serves to embrace the agricultural nature of the area.
Owners of erven are required to design and implement the garden landscapes around the houses in accordance with certain conditions so that the overall aesthetic continuity of the estate will be perpetuated and everyone’s rural experience enhanced. By adhering to the guidelines it is anticipated that the estate will become one of inherent quality, providing for a truly unique wine estate lifestyle.
YOU’VE mastered the intricacies of Bordeaux, Burgundy and Barossa, and pride yourself on choosing the perfect wine to complement a meal, whether it’s Asian fusion or a hearty hanger steak. Perhaps you even have a storage unit or, if you’re lucky, a cellar, to store wine at the proper temperature. But is your glassware still from the Chianti-in-a-straw-bottle age?
Wine consumption has grown with an appreciation for the character of varietals, from classics like cabernet and chardonnay to less familiar names like Grüner Veltiner, a peppery Austrian white, and malbec, a mellow red grape from Bordeaux that has played a starring, solo role in Argentine wine.
So it is not all that surprising to see that glassware has followed suit. Today, wineglasses are increasingly designed to showcase the character of specific varietals.
The theory is that the design of the wineglass — from the shape of the bowl and degree of tapering at the rim, to the design of the rim itself — can affect the way someone experiences the aroma, taste and harmony of a wine. The nuances of a complex red wine, for example, might unfold and beguile in the appropriate glass, but turn harsh and closed in another.
Indeed, according to many wine professionals, the right stemware can mean the difference between savoring a luscious wine and feeling shortchanged.
Others dismiss it as more marketing gimmick than science. The notion that a glass can pinpoint the flow of wine to the tongue “is ridiculous,” says Ted Allen, the wine expert and TV personality. Joshua Wesson, chairman and executive wine director of Best Cellars, a chain of stores that specialize in quality wines under $15, believes that a glass can have some influence on wine, but not as much as other factors like temperature. People fall prey to a sort of “placebo effect” when doing a guided tasting, he said.
Many wine pros say that most people can do fine with three sets: a big-bowled basic glass for reds, a smaller-bowled basic for whites, and a Champagne flute (a flute preserves bubbles best). “If you’re really cramped for space, get one general purpose glass and call it a day,” advised Mr. Allen, who is also a spokesman for Robert Mondavi Private Selection.
The important things to look for in a general purpose glass are a decent-size bowl that allows you to swirl the wine and stick your nose in (since smell accounts for much of what we think of as taste), and clear, unembellished glass or crystal.
The answer ultimately comes down to individual tastes and lifestyles. “If you’re an avid wine drinker, making an investment in four or five styles of wineglass is a very small investment that pays many dividends,” Mr. Kopec says. At Veritas, five versatile glasses from Riedel’s Sommelier line handle most of his needs.
For those who have the storage space, like to entertain, or are regularly quaffing Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, nothing is more elegant than a handblown crystal goblet, like Riedel’s Burgundy Grand Cru model. This generous glass can hold an entire bottle of wine (although experts recommend pouring just four ounces at a time to leave plenty of room to swirl and aerate the wine). When clinked — always at the widest part of bowl, lest they break — they give off a deeply resonant tone that sounds like church bells.
“They really look beautiful,” says Ron Ciavolino, director of wine studies at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. “But some idiot usually knocks one over and you’re supposed to laugh like you don’t care.” New York Times.
South African wine exports are back on track, after dipping by around 5% in 2006 following 12 straight years of growth, says Wines of South Africa CEO Su Birch.
"Total exports across all markets for the first seven months of 2007 are 10% higher than the same period last year, and we expect to be able to maintain that growth rate for the full year," Birch said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Sales in the UK, still our biggest market, are also recovering well. Reports from producers indicate that volumes sold into the British trade during this time are up some 3% on the corresponding period in 2006, although this is still to be reflected in the AC Nielsen data, which records consumer purchases."
Birch said the Nielsen figures for the 12 months to June showed that the average retail price per 750ml bottle had risen to £3.91.
In making the presentation, Chris van Schalkwyk said that ABSA had selected a painting that represented the wines and winemaking lifestyle that promises to come from Croydon. The painting can be viewed in the winery.
Jan Vermeiren is an artist whose work bridges two rich and vastly different cultures. On the one hand there is his European heritage, on the other, the profound influence of Africa, which is now his home. This duality brings an exciting and unusual dimension to his work.
Jan was born in Bornem, Belgium in 1949. From a very early age drawing was an important means of expression for him and he began formal art training while still at school. Later he studied full time at the Academy St. Niklaas and the Academy of Mechelen, and then at the National Hoger Institute in Antwerp.
As a student, printmaking was his special interest, and it was only when he moved to South Africa in 1976 that he became a painter. His decision to move came after he had spent a year in the country during 1973/4 when he was invited to teach lithography. He was profoundly influenced by the extensive range of colours which he found here, after the relative greyness of Belgium. These 'African' colours are very evident in his work - both in the early tones, and in the dark, atmospheric backgrounds, which appears in his more recent work.
Although his ties in Europe are still strong, Jan feels that his work is now more African in nature. For him, the experience of Africa is one of finding his connection with primitive man, of getting to the roots of his origins. His 'African' phase has been greatly inspired by Bushmen rock paintings, which he sees as our link with primitive man.
His work is an expression not of outer reality, but of the subconscious, and it is this instinctive approach that gives his paintings their special dreamlike, spiritual quality. He asks the viewer to react on the same subconscious and spontaneous level, both to the form and content of his work. Form, he finds, evokes deep inner feelings within people, as does the use of colour and light.
His images reveals a series of archetypal symbols derived from various ancient cultures, reflecting his belief that it is these 'primitive' symbols that unite man across time and different civilisations. His aim is to bring the viewer into the spirit of Africa, to encourage a better understanding of the African identity.
This entry from Dictionary of South African Painters and Sculptors
Dates and Time
Friday 14 September 10h00 - 18h00
Saturday 15 - Sunday 16 September 10h00 - 17h00
Entrance Fee R50 (free for Croydon home owners)
The expo will show case Croydon as a development area along with other property development s in SA plus estate living, residential property investment, timeshare, project management, gated communities and property marketing and sales.
"Planning your House" is a series of articles that we will place onto the site with information and advice on the planning and building of your house.
Making sure you get as much as you need - bottling the 2005 wines.
A portable labeling operation visits the Estate - their machine is automated to make sure that the labels are applied correctly
The medical profession has recognized the healthy and nutritive properties of wine for thousands of years. Hippocrates recommended specific wines to purge fever, disinfect and dress wounds, as diuretics, or for nutritional supplements, around 450 B.C. Most of the pathogens that threaten humans are inhibited or killed ff by the acids and alcohols in wine. Because of this, wine was considered to be a safer drink than much of the available water up until the 18th century. Wine is a mild natural tranquilizer, serving to reduce anxiety and tension. As part of a normal diet, wine provides the body with energy, with substances that aid digestion, and with small amounts of minerals and vitamins. It can also stimulate the appetite. In addition, wine serves to restore nutritional balance, relieve tension, sedate and act as a mild euphoric agent to the convalescent and especially the aged.
"The French paradox" -
However, only when the television news magazine “60 Minutes” reported in November 1991, the phenomenon that has come to be known as the “French Paradox” did popular thinking of wine as medicine rather than toxin begin to return. Typically, the diet of people in Southern France includes a very high proportion of cheese, butter, eggs, organ meats, and other fatty and cholesterol-laden foods. This diet would seem to promote heart disease, but the rate there was discovered to be much lower than in America; therein lies the paradox. Baffled researchers launched a study of French folk, trying to determine why people with diets so high in fats were not suffering from more heart attacks. The findings: It's their moderate and steady intake of wine. Long after the discovery that the French were absurdly beating health odds, tons of research in support of wine drinking for good.
First, there were scores of positive studies related solely to the healing powers of resveratrol, an antioxidant found in red grape skins and therefore in red wine. However, now they’re finding many benefits from white wines as well. The health benefits of drinking red wine For over 10 years, research has indicated that moderate intake of alcohol improves cardiovascular health. In fact, in 1992 Harvard researchers included moderate alcohol consumption as one of the “eight proven ways to reduce coronary heart disease risk.” However, research has suggested that specifically red wine is the most beneficial to your heart health. The cardio-protective effect has been attributed to antioxidants present in the skin and seeds of red grapes.
The spring festival saw the end of winter pruning - one of the most important factors in determining crop size and this takes place between July and the end of August.
Old shoots and unproductive wood are removed yearly.
Corius is explaining the lengthened five-wire Perold trellis system.
Home owners joined Beyers Truter for the first foray into the vineyards on a chilly but determined spring day. The novice viticulturists were given a crash course in pruning shears and graft nodes.
Lunch was held in the winery and the 2005 range of Title Deed and Covenant were enjoyed with some Kompanjiestuin sparkling wine, cheese platters and plenty of good cheer. Beyers had personally selected the range of different cheeses to go with the wines.
