Find Something for Christmas at Allesverloren

Share one of the oldest and most esteemed ports in South Africa this festive season with the Allesverloren Port gift pack, a beautifully presented gift box with a bottle of this well-loved port, a set of port glasses and indulgent Lindt chocolates. 

This Allesverloren port has an alluring armoas of fruit cake, honey, raisins and black currant with chocolate and mocha undertones that fill the mouth before ending with a velvety and lingering fruitcake aftertaste. It is perfect for sharing with guests along with cheese and dessert or simply enjoy on its own. 

Allesverloren Port is a blend of equal parts Tinta Barocca, Souzao and Pontac grapes with the balance being Malvasia Rey, Tinta Röritz, Tinta Francisca and Touriga Naçional.

Allesverloren dates back to 1704 and began producing wine in 1804, exactly one century after the farm was established. In 1872, Allesverloren was acquired by Daniel Francois Malan and now is run by the fifth generation of Malans on the farm.

The Allesverloren Port gift set is available at leading liquor outlets and is expected to retail for around R160.

Hartenberg Artisanal Charcuterie, Olive & Wine Tasting

Artisanal charcuterie and olives meet classically crafted wines in a unique taste experience at Hartenberg Wine Estate, one of South Africa’s leading and oldest producers of Shiraz on Bottelary Road in the Stellenbosch Winelands.

Priced at R60 or R100 depending on the choice of wines, these bespoke pairings bring together the expertise of Hartenberg Cellarmaster Carl Schultz, charcuterie artisan Steve Jeffrey and Chrisna Pepler who works her magic with locally grown olives. Both are regulars at Cape Town’s famous Biscuit Mill Market.

Try Hartenberg Sauvignon Blanc with Chrisna’s green olives infused with citrus and lemon grass and the Alsace air dried sausage, both of which enhance the gooseberry flavour and richness of the wine. Hartenberg Chardonnay with its zesty lemon and honey flavours suits a soujouk or chorizo, whilst the smoked olive tapenade is a definite hit. Hartenberg’s Riesling and Pinotage love spicy foods and are among the few wines that can stand up to Steve’s extra hot Italian sausage. Roasted rosemary olives and the Moroccan sumac spiced sausage best bring out the berries of the Hartenberg Merlot. The Hartenberg Estate Shiraz loves all things smoked and goes down sublimely with smoked olives and pancetta.

The charcuterie and olive wine tastings are available Mondays to Saturdays and seven days a week from December. For bookings, call Tel: (+27)21-8652541, Email: info@hartenbergestate.com or visit www.hartenbergestate.com. Hartenberg Estate is situated on the Bottelary Road off the R304 to Stellenbosch.

And Now for Something Completely Different...

FRANCO has been working at establishing Youth groups in the Townships as a way to keep the young people off the streets, off drugs and off alcohol. We work with Minnie Petersons’ YEA and KUSASA.

One of the groups calls themselves Sondelani Productions, supported by FRANCO. They are led by an amazingly proactive young man, and are all from the Eastern Cape , where unemployment and the problems that go with it are rife.

Besides working here, in the Franschhoek townships and for no pay, Sondelani plan a trip to the Grahamstown area to help their own communities establish similar youth groups.

On Friday night, 5th November at 1830 in the NG Church Hall, they are putting on a show which they call “Spring Entertainment” that features some delightful Xhosa male and female choral work and gum-boot dancing.

The show lasts about 1 hour, which allows you to make your restaurant booking, and tickets are R30, available at the door or from Tourism (upstairs, above the pharmacy).

This same group has plans to start cleaning up the township (in conjunction with other groups) and have started a netball league for about 70 girls. They have also been sent by FRANCO on an education trip to Hermanus to see the whales (that none had ever seen before.) and a team-building and leadership camp-out to Villiersdorp.

We have all heard the stories about the youths hanging around the streets, doing nothing and getting into trouble. Well, this group is doing their very best NOT to fall into that trap. They are doing things.

They are spreading the message of no drugs, no booze, responsible sexual behaviour, no lying, cheating or stealing.

This is also an opportunity for returning swallows, or visitors, to see a little local culture. They really need your support.

(Almost) Business As Usual at d'Ouwe Werf

If, like me, you've been watching the progress at d'Ouwe Werf you'll be intereseted to know that:

Nederburg Concert Series Ends on a Grande Note

The glamorous Grand Finale Concert celebrated the talent of some of the country’s top classical musicians when Soprano Zanne Stapelberg, accompanied by Minette du Toit-Pearce, Peter and Suzanne Martens and Philippus Hugo set the tone for a most enjoyable evening.

The romantic works of French and Spanish composers and Martens’ arrangements of the "Seguidille" (Carmen) and the "Flower duet" (Delibe's Lakmé) were fantastic.

The evening ended with a three course formal dinner in the wine cellar, hosted by cellar master Razvan Macici, paired with wine from the Nederburg Manor Range.

The November edition is out!

The November edition hits the streets today. Read it online at http://apps.facebook.com/the_month/

From the editorial: Some time ago one of our regular readers was driven to comment that “The Month is almost like a real newspaper!” No doubt, once she’s had a look at our front page, she’ll call saying that “The Month is almost like a real magazine” too. Of course, she’d be correct on both scores as The Month is, after all, Your Winelands Magazine in Newspaper Format. 

Read the rest of the paper online. 

 

We can help you!

If you need to get the message across but don't know where to start, we can help.

The Month is able to generate quality copy as well as design and place ads in the Winelands and Canal Walk editions of The Month and, for those looking for a smaller target-audience, the Franschhoek-Paarl and Stellenbosch Advertisers offer rates that start at only R140 Ex VAT.

Nadine , in Franschhoek, delivers a breakfast smoothie and lunchtime wrap for just R45.00 She also offers other tasty treats such as Salads, Sandwiches, Burgers and Pastas at more than affordable prices. See her ad in the November edition of the Franschghoek-Paarl Advertiser.

Your potential customers won't know about you unless we tell them.