Franschhoek SPCA Art Auction

The Franschhoek SPCA Art Auction features a number of unique commissioned pieces created using wine barrel ends and available exclusively through the Franschhoek SPCA's online auction site. It's worth a visit - here.

Lights, Camera, Action!

Franschhoek owes its existence to a “diverse group of courageous individuals who, in extraordinary circumstances, left their pasts behind with the promise of a second chance at life and created a society far from their homes, friends and families.” It sounds almost like the basis of a good movie plot – and rather amazingly it is. In fact the preceding quote is paraphrased from the press release that sets the scene for the soon-to-be-hit BBC One series currently being filmed in the Franschhoek valley, called Outcasts.

Big names on set include Eric Mabius (Daniel Meade of Ugly Betty), Liam Cunningham (Clash of the Titans), Hermione Norris (Spooks), Daniel Mays (Ashes to Ashes), Amy Manson (Desperate Romantics) and Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Gallactica). Filmed on location in the valley, the series plays out on the planet Carpathia, in the town of Forthaven, which offers the displaced inhabitants of Earth a chance at redemption and all the inevitable human pitfalls of love, greed, lust, loss and longing. That same press release reads: “As they continue to work and live together they come to realise this is no ordinary [place].”

Ben Stephenson, of the BBC says: “Outcasts is a richly intelligent, character led drama full of big ideas about what it is to be human told through thrilling and surprising stories… with compelling characters and it is hugely exciting that this amazing cast is going to bring it to life.” It’s no wonder then that they’ve chosen the inspiring Franschhoek valley as their home-from-home. “The Franschhoek mountains offer us the epic locations that we wouldn’t find anywhere else,” says the Pearl Valley-based producer Radford Neville, who has the likes of Married, Single, Other and Wuthering Heights under his belt. Other notable names include directors Bharat Nalluri (Tsunami, Spooks, Hustle, Life On Mars) and Omar Madha (Spooks, Law & Order, Burn Up), Executive Producers Matthew Read (for the BBC) and Jane Featherstone, Simon Crawford Collins, Faith Penhale and Ben Richards of Kudos, the company that has produced a number of award-winning series such as Spooks, Hustle, Life On Mars and Ashes To Ashes.

The valley has accommodated the big names associated with the Outcasts production with little hype or fanfare. The well-known personalities, such as Mabius and Norris, have enjoyed the cosmopolitan nature of Franschhoek, which has allowed them to integrate themselves into the local community despite their fame. Like Forthaven, Franschhoek is no ordinary place and can truly claim to be the place to live, work and play from the famous to the outcasts.

What Antjie Missed

Dear Brett,

I thought the Literary Festival was great. There was such a wide variety of topics and presentations, and a real buzz at and after each.

The one sadness for me was an outburst from the floor that expressed disgust at the speakers of the seminar, whites in general, and dismissed Franschhoek as full of rich people who are doing nothing. The anguish of the speaker was real and understood.

But she was looking far too narrowly at what is going on, and missed the widespread actions of countless ‘little efforts’ which are probably our major hope.

Franco is seen by many outside the town as the best effort they know to coordinate attempts to meet needs within the disadvantaged groups of our valley. There are dozens of other efforts going on in the town that seek no publicity and just get on with the job. Of course we have solved all the problems yet. There are too many. But we are working at it, and we are making a difference.

We are not alone in doing this; it is true all over the nation. Everywhere one goes, if one looks at the grassroots and not at the top, there are amazing things going on, and communities are changing.

It seems a peculiar blindness that fails to recognise the reality that most living things grow from the bottom up, and not from the top down.

We should look again and feel encouraged.

Helen Mekie

DEMAND IN ANGELS TEARS GROWS ACROSS ASIA AND NEW LOCAL DISTRIBUTORS INTRODUCED

01 April 2010 – The award winning Angels Tears Collection of wines is showcasing at the prestigious Food & Hotel Show in Asia, April 20 to 23, 2010, to expand business and strengthen relationships with Beverly Liquor Trading, its new Asian distributor.

Comments Market & Sales Development Manager, Fergill Fortuin: “The four wines, White, Pink, Sauvignon Blanc and Red, within the Angels Tears Collection certainly complement the laid back Cape Town lifestyle. The wines have an incredible following and an ever increasing fan base worldwide, which has seen an escalating interest in Asia, especially Singapore. We hope to now facilitate the growing demand for the Angels Tears Collection in Hong Kong, China and Japan. It’s the perfect time to do a full marketing and distribution campaign with the World Cup 2010 festivities coming up.”

New distributors in South Africa include: Somerset Wines International (Pty) Ltd, which covers Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West and Soweto – Somerset Beverages C.C. for the Western Cape and Free State and finally Borges Distributors C.C for the KwaZulu-Natal area.

Some of the numerous high profile awards gained include: the Angels Tears Sauvignon Blanc 2009 - Silver Medal at the Michelangelo International Wine Awards and the Best Value 2010 Award by Wine Magazine for its quaffable Red, to name just a few.

The collection is created by legendary, award winning Winemaker, Jaco Marais using classic cultivars of the highest quality, grown on 22 hectares of pristine vines in the famous Franschhoek Valley, Cape Town.

To learn more about this incredible lifestyle collection of wines visit: www.angelstears.co.za

Harvest fun at Grande Provence

24 March 2010-Harvest Day in the Cape Winelands grew even more popular this year at the 5-star Grande Provence Heritage Wine Estate, Franschhoek where the Estate not only provided a fun filled family day out but also educated guests about the delicate art of wine making and made understanding wine more accessible to would be enthusiasts. This year was the first year that guests were invited into the private cellar to learn more, and in further detail about the barrelling process and to give guests a sneak preview of the Estate's private collection of Grande Provence wines.

Award winning Winemaker Jaco Marais took guests through all the wine making processes from the actual grape picking to fermentation and bottling. Guests were then invited to the extensive gardens to relax and enjoy a chilled glass of wine before stomping the grapes, the old fashion way. Live music was provided by Rikus Burger and the reward for the guest’s efforts for stomping the barrel loads of grapes was a lavish braai feast prepared by newly appointed international Executive Chef, Darren Roberts, under the shade of the magnificent old oak trees. After lunch guests had fun and games with the traditional French game of Boules.

Past, President, Future?

Seen at the celebration to commemorate Nelson Mandela's release from Groot Drakenstein correctional facility (the former Victor Verster maximum security prison near Simondium, between Franschhoek and Paarl) on 11 Feb 2010:

Pearl Valley - the Real Winner

Scotland´s Richie Ramsay held his nerve in a sudden-death play-off with Shiv Kapur from India to win the 99th South African Open Championship at Pearl Valley Golf Estates in the Franschhoek valley in December.

On a day when any one of the top 12 players on the overnight leader-board could have won the second oldest national Open in golf, it was the 2006 US Amateur champion who closed out his first European Tour title at the first play-off hole, becoming only the seventh foreigner and first Scotsman to win this title.

An emotional Ramsay explained how he couldn’t put a price on the win. “To see my name up there with all those great names, like Gary Player and Ernie Els, it’s a lot to take in. It’s a huge honour to win South Africa’s national Open and it will open a lot of doors for me.”
Ramsay had made a strong start to the tournament with an opening 67, but a 75 in round two saw him fade from contention. He fought back with a third round 68 and began the final round three off the pace from overnight leader Pablo Martin on 11-under. “I talk about the power of positive thinking,” said Ramsay. “I didn’t think about a low round. I just picked a shot and went for it. It was a day to play fearless golf.”

Ramsay’s fearless approach delivered a bogey free seven-under-par 65 to set the clubhouse target at 13-under-par 275 and tie Kapur, playing two matches behind. Kapur, with a single bogey on his card, failed to capitalize on a spectacular chip shot at the last when he missed an eight-foot putt that would have given him the win. In the play-off, both players missed the fairway with their drives but Ramsay hit a superb three-wood second, from 260 yards, to within 15 feet, with Kapur barely managing to punch out into the rough. This left the way clear for Ramsay, who pushed his first putt just short of the hole and had a formality tap-in to seal the victory.
“If you’ve got two putts to win, you take them,” said Ramsay, who also predicts that Kapur will win soon on the European Tour. “He played some unbelievable golf there; a very steady golfer. He will become a very tough opponent in the next couple of years.”

The smile stayed, but the magic disappeared for Spain’s Pablo Martin who, although clearly enjoying himself out there, struggled to a one-over-par 73 and a tie for sixth on 10-under-par
278 with Darren Fichardt, the top performing South African on the day, who carded a 66.
The 2009 event was the final staging of the SA Open by Pearl Valley. The past three year’s professional and successful hosting is not only a feather in the cap of Pearl Valley Estates but
for the valley as a whole. Jack Hrad, GM-Operations, said “Members and Owners of Pearl Valley have been very proud to host the event and appreciated the praises of Tour Professionals and organizers for the entire experience - the golf course, the estate, the organization, the enthusiastic crowds, and the off-course enjoyment of the Franschhoek valley and all that it
has to offer. Many players, experiencing the valley for the first time, loved it and expressed disappointment only that they would not be here together again soon.”

The Championship will return to Durban Country Club for its centenary edition in December 2010.