Pebbles Project AGM & launch of the FACET Foundation at Warwick wine estate

Does the Wine Industry “Give Anything Back”? You bet it does. Last week we told you how the R20 000 awarded to each of the top 10 Chenins goes right back into the local community for upliftment. This week, we want to tell you about the Pebbles Project, as some of that money was going to it. You may have already contributed to Pebbles, consciously or unconsciously. In certain local restaurants a voluntary amount is added to your bill as a donation.

The Pebbles Project’s purpose is to enrich the lives of children with special educational needs from disadvantaged backgrounds, especially those whose lives are affected by alcohol, through providing support and training to local wine farm and township crèches and establishing after-school provision for older children living in the Winelands.

The FACET Foundation (UK), established in 2008 by Laurence Graff, and the Pebbles Project Trust have partnered to provide mobile education programmes for children living on farms in the Western Cape. On Wednesday this week, we attended the Pebbles AGM held on Warwick, where two magnificent buses were donated to the projects by Delaire Graff. Delaire Graff has raised an astronomical 8.5 million Rand in private and public donations to Pebbles over the last couple of years. Both buses are fully fitted out, one as a computer lab and the other as a mobile library.

The two Learning Centre vans await the ribbon cutting ceremony. On the left is PR and Marketing Manager for Delaire Graff, Tanja Mackay Davidson

The inside of the mobile library. It is full of wonderful books and DVDs and other media for the children to borrow

Some of the children from the farms concerned, with Johann Laubser, General Manager at Delaire Graff, and colleagues

This young man was full of life and personality. He will definitely benefit from both vans

I am strong! Someone in the background looks a little dubious

This is the Computer centre. Everything they could need has been provided

In the car park at Warwick wine estate, overlooked by the huge Madiba statue, made entirely of beads and wire. He would approve

Two other Pebbles vans, one for transport, the other is a much needed toy library

Sophie Warner, head of the Pebbles Project in South Africa, tells us about the donation by FACET and what it would mean to the children

Johann Laubser tells us how the money was raised by the Graff family, the FACET Trust and Delaire Graff Hotel and wine estate

The ceremonial scissors

The ribbon is cut, to everyone’s delight

A magical unrehearsed moment was when some of the waiting children started to pick up the pebbles beneath their feet

Please Miss, can I go and have a look?

A place of learning and fantasy

The schedule of where the van will be next, bar codes and colour coding will all help

Space for the librarian

Thank you SO much for the donation

Now we can get a look in

Norma Ratcliffe of Warwick with a friend

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014

Elgin Valley Shiraz Tweet up at Chalk & Cork Wine Bar

The Tweet ups have begun again and this one was held at Chalk and Cork wine bar in Kloof Street. What is a Tweet Up?  Wine media meet in a Cape Town location and are guided by an Elgin winemaker. We taste and tweet about each wine. In Elgin, the makers of the wines watch what we are tweeting about the wines and they also tweet. It is fast and furious and, usually, quite honest. We had great fun tasting and tweeting about 11 of Elgin’s Shirazes, ably led by Richard Kershaw MW and Karin Glanfield Pawley

The logo on a glass, reflected in the surface of the wine in the glass

A line-up of some of the wines we tasted

It is quite a small upstairs attic venue, but we managed to fit in nicely. We could see all the tweets sent on the screen on the left hand side. Elgin had a similar screen

Michelle van Staden and Karin Glanfield Pawley take us through the process

Richard Kershaw MW

Allister Kreft of Belfield checking whether his tweet has gone, not doing a selfie. Or is he? Handsome fellow

Laptops, tablets and cell phones ,whatever works best. You have to be quick, taste, write, send, NEXT!

No libellous comments, but lots of different opinions. We seemed to be split into an older taste group and a younger one. There are always very different perceptions of some wines. And we did go into the debate for Shiraz vs Syrah. It is still very controversial

The restaurant laid out a few pizzas for when we had finished and they were necessary. The one on the right is a Banting pizza with a cauliflower base and, of course, all the people who were NOT Banting followers wanted to taste it, so only a couple of us, who are, got a slice. Interesting

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014

Allee Bleue tasting at the Cape Town Club

This was held at the Cape Town Club in Queen Victoria Street and we managed to fit in a very quick tasting before another appointment. Cathy Raath has added Allée Bleue to the list of good wines that she represents. We were welcomed with a glass of their 2012 Brut Rosé MCC and shown a table of all the produce the farm produces. We were able to taste all the current wines and then some of the older vintages. Sadly we did not have time to taste their new port

The Cape Town Club’s glamorous exterior, a familiar location for Lynne as, many eons ago, she worked at J Walter Thompson Advertising agency, next door

New dad Dane Raath shows us the selection of products produced on the farm, 

the herbs, olives, oil and, of course, the wines

Lynne and Dane in the foyer

The library

Another view of the library

The Port set out for tasting

Winemaker Van Zyl du Toit took us through some of the older wines . The Pinotage 2012 has just been voted one of the Top Ten in the ABSA Top Ten Pinotage competition. It is Allée Bleue’s third ABSA Pinotage Top 10 wine, and is the first wine from this varietal, while classified Wine of Origin Franschhoek, to be placed in this competition. It is also Van Zyl’s first award in this event

The trade tasting, with attendees chatting

The Starlette range comprises their entry level wines and you will find it in many restaurants We like the Rosé very much

Tasting the new releases with Paul Turnbull and Janine Lategan

Lynne in deep discussion with Natalie Kuhne, Allee Bleue assistant winemaker

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014

Tasting The High Road at Mano a Mano

Despite horrid wet weather, we left Kirstenbosch for this tasting in town which was held at a venue new to us, Mano a Mano just off Kloof Street in Park Road.  It was pumping with people tasting the two wines but besides PRO Gudrun Clark, three other media and the winemaker Mark Carmichael Green we did not know any of the other guests.  They seem to have a good mailing list business

Mano a Mano terrace and entrance

Winemaker Mark Carmichael Green

Grapes are bought in for these wines from the Stellenbosch and Helderberg areas and are made in Dorp Street, Stellenbosch. They are both Bordeaux blends with varying quantities of Cabernet, Merlot and Cab Franc. The Directors Reserve also has Petit Verdot, which adds violets to this inky dark dense wine with flavours of cassis and blackberries. Classique 2011 is fruit forward with cassis and mulberries. Both are well made and will last

Mano a Mano is a busy bar and restaurant

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014

Lunch at Ocean Sizzler, Big Bay

Well then, what to do for lunch on such a stunning day? We decided to head for the beach and, because we so rarely visit this side of the Bay, we headed for Big Bay, along with half of the people who live in the area. We took a chance and sat down at the first restaurant we saw serving fish, called Ocean Sizzler. It looks like it has been there since the 1970s, with quite shabby decor, but it seemed to be popular

The first glorious day of Spring weather, even though the season has not begun, officially. The view from Bloubergstrand of our beautiful city.

The rather recherché interior of Ocean Sizzler

It reminded Lynne of the old Carousel at the Sea Point pool. Italian tiles and a round bar

The shaded deck and, beyond it, an area with umbrellas

Crisp and freshly cooked hake and chips. John said it was very fresh. The chips are mashed potato made ups, but they were crisp on the outside

Lynne’s promised Birthday plate of sushi. Why is there so much? Well, she expected the others to want a piece or two. And they didn’t. It was very, very good sushi. The rice was firm and pearly and not mushy; she did not detect any MSG and the salmon was good quality. It was moist and fresh. It was also very good value

Clare’s Quattro Stazione Pizza didn’t look like any we have ever seen, as it is usually divided in four with different ingredients in each quarter, but it was a very good olive, mushroom, bacon and cheese pizza, nice and crisp

We took along a bottle of Hartenberg’s Alchemy Chenin Semillon Sauvignon blend, which we had been sent to try. It went very well with the food. Clare had a Cosmopolitan cocktail. The bill for lunch was R355 including service and service was good

The outside of the restaurant in full sunshine with happy people; some eating, others drinking and chilling. Pity about the smokers

Specials are displayed on blackboards

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014