Friday, March 27, 2009

Van Loveren’s blog a SA Blog award finalist

The wine and food blog of Van Loveren Vineyards has been nominated for a South African Blog award. These awards are seen as the “Oscars” of South African bloging and it is a true accomplishment to be nominated.

This premier annual competition is divided into specific categories and the Van Loveren’s Blog (http://4cousins.blat.co.za/ ) is nominated for the Best Food and Wine blog.

The editor of this blog , Johan Schwartz (Bivio Consulting) , indicated that “It is a great honour and achievement for our team”. Schwartz added that the achievement is emphasized if you look at the quality and stature of the fellow nominees. Fellow nominees include well known wine personalities and sites like Neil Pendock’s blog, Cooksister.com and The Cru.

This blog is a celebration of life site with a predominant food and wine theme and has been very successful in the past 12 months. Although the general language of the blog is English some posts and conversation were also done in Afrikaans.

The online voting for the Best South African Food and Wine blog has started and the closing date is the 1st of April. Voting can be done by visiting the blog (http://4cousins.blat.co.za/ ) and clicking on the SA Blog awards banner.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Forget the stars , drink wine that you like

My Grandpa used to say that you never save or diet on holiday and that life is too short to drink bad wine.

This is so true because we are living live at an enormous pace and when we eventually have the time to sit down and relax, it is time to treat yourself. Maybe treat is not the right word but what I mean is that when we are in our we-time mood (me-time) , it is not the time to drink wine that you do not like.

The problem is that when we order a wine at a restaurant our first question is: “What is the Platter number for the wine”. Referring to the star ratings from the John Platter Wine Guide (SA wine guide).

Wine guide scores have influenced the preferences and the thinking of the wine loving people (and the industry) for as long as I can remember.

It is time to appreciate wine according to your own preferences, rating scale and perceptions and not on the points, scores or opinions of others.

One must be realistic about the price you are willing (able) to pay for your wine. The ration between perceived value and the price are aspects that are unique and individual by nature. This implies that you must get wine that is of the quality and enjoyment level that you want but still within your price range. Do not go for wines, that you perceive as, great but to expensive or affordable but not enjoyable.

So listen to my Grandpa and live life a little.