Wednesday, May 07, 2014

#Stellenblog Party at Dornier

On Monday night, we were whisked off from the Waterfront in rather speedy minibus taxis with 23 other food and wine bloggers to join many others at Dornier Estate’s regal Homestead, an original Sir Herbert Baker design, for this very large and fun event. Four international bloggers, Matt Long of the luxury adventure travel site, Landlopers (www.landlopers.com), Niamh Shields (www.eatlikeagirl.com), recently recognised by The Times as the most influential food blogger in the UK; Norman Röhlig of I-REF (www.i-ref.de), one of the most reputable lifestyle websites in Berlin and Keith Jenkins of the opulent Velvet Escape travel blog (www.velvetescape.com) have been touring SA, hosted by Stellenbosch American Express® Wine Routes. 
Tables had been set up for local wineries and each had a dish to support one of their wines. If they have a restaurant, their chef was there and so we could sample lovely food from Michael Broughton of Terroir and Richard Carstens of Tokara among others We were meant to blog throughout the evening but, sadly, the WIFI was not working terribly well. John did manage to get some out, Lynne did not. We didn’t get to meet any of the international bloggers but believe they were staying at Dornier for the week.
Kleine Zalze, The House of JC Le Roux, Stellenbosch Vineyards, Tokara, Spier, Simonsig, Dornier, Majeka House, The Devon Valley Hotel, Oldenburg, Van Ryn, Warwick Estate, Delheim, Middelvlei and Lanzerac had tables with their wines paired with matching foods. The international bloggers for #Stellenblog were selected for the quality of their content, ideal target audiences and social media reach, representing the wine route’s core international markets: the USA, UK, Germany and the Netherlands. Before the party, they were joined by local bloggers and online influencers for a #Stellenblog Tweet-Up of discoveries when they were let loose for a see-sip-and-savour of the Stellenbosch Way of Life. This sensory meander included stopovers at Bartinney Wine & Champagne Bar, Brampton Wine Studio, the SMAC Art Gallery and the 5-star Coopmanhuijs Boutique Hotel & Spa, whilst Thrifty sponsored all the transport on the day.
By the 5th of May, the campaign’s launch day, it had already generated a digital reach of 20 million opportunities to see (OTS) content generated via Twitter with a reach of 2.1 million accounts. Over 550 pictures have been shared on Instagram. Hashtracking, a twitter tracking tool, shows more than 23 million OTS and a reach of 2.7 million Twitter accounts, whilst the global online tracking agency Brandseye, shows a slightly higher OTS because they also monitor Facebook.
This week-long digital exploration of the beauty and bounty of the region, forms part of the wine route’s year-long Stellenbosch Experience wine tourism marketing campaign, which was initiated in conjunction with Stellenbosch 360, to showcase the region’s authentic, multifaceted and must-experience wine tourism offerings on a global scale.
#Stellenblog is hosted and digitally monitored in association with iAmbassador – renowned for successful blogging campaigns like #Blogville in Emilia Romagna, Italy. This online initiative is also supported by South African Tourism and is aligned with its #MeetSouthAfrica and Indaba 2014 programmes, which will see a number of top international bloggers visit South Africa, and especially Durban from 10th to 12th May. The international #Stellenblog bloggers were flown to South Africa courtesy of South African Airways and connectivity was provided by Afrihost. Pick 'n Pay, another campaign partner, has stocked the Homestead, home to the bloggers for the week, with typical South African food and snacks.
The red carpet to the entrance was blocked by something interesting
Have a glass of lovely Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel Brut and take a mask.
They were a challenge over tri-focals but we managed for a while!
Not only the delightful Miles Mossop of Tokara
with his super Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, but also...
...Tokara's divine chef Richard Carstens
with his dish of tuna on sushi rice with a fresh pea jus
Executive chef Michael Broughton of Terroir,
now famous for his BBC series Seasons,
gave us a very delicious, comforting Braised Lamb risotto,
paired with Kleine Zalze Shiraz 2011
The lovely ladies of Oldenburg,
with their Cape Malay chicken sosatie and Oldenburg chenin blanc
Periperi chicken liver paté, well matched with Warwick's Three Cape Ladies
and fish croquettes with their Professor Black sauvignon blanc
Host winery Dornier had their Donatus white blend to taste, paired with a good spoonful of tender pork belly
How to finish a great evening.
A taster of Van Ryn Brandy
which went excellently with all the dessert choices on offer
Chatting and tweeting on the terrace
How we ended our evening on the terrace.
Macarons and Canel from Makaron restaurant,
tiny cup cakes and some rather strange white rubbery things from JC le Roux, with a good double Espresso
and a van Ryn 15 yr old brandy
Then it was time for the slow taxi home
For more information on the Stellenbosch Experience and #Stellenblog campaigns visit StellenBlog at http://blog.wineroute.co.za/ or contact Mariette du Toit-Helmbold at experience@wineroute.co.za or phone 083 225 5955.
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014

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