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Originating in Spain, tapas are small savoury dishes. They offer a great alternative to the traditional notion of a three-course meal. Over the weekend, I teamed up with the Culinary Academy on the farm for a tapas workshop. Here is a run down…

On Saturday night the Veritas Wine Awards ceremony was held at the CTICC. With 314 wineries entering a total of 1753 wines, it’s the largest wine awards in SA. Therein, lies the nub of the matter. The challenge is to stand out. It helps, but I don’t think winning gold medals is nearly enough…

Yay, at last summer is winning the battle against winter…I hope. This has been the longest winter for decades. Great to now wake up with the sun. We are busy suckering in the vineyards at the moment. Here are a few pics from this morning in a block of Malbec.

Chocolate, wine…together? How does one even pair and taste them? Maja Berthas, chocolate fundi, explained all at Caroline’s Fine Wine Cellar. I though chocolate with 80% cocoa content was guaranteed to be good quality- apparently not always…

The USA economy is in a state of turmoil. Banks are failing, foreclosures are surging and job losses are imminent. The government proposes to fork out $700 billion to rescue the financial system. What does this all mean for the wine sales? What does it mean for Backsberg and other South African producers?

Is the Swedish wine monopoly Systembolaget all bad? Or are there two sides to the monopoly system, for consumers and producers alike? The monopoly means goodbye to independent wine shop and bottle stores, but there are a number of upsides with the system too- skål to those benefits.

Yesterday, I met up with the restaurant manager at Stockholm’s iconic Grand Hôtel. Home to Nobel prize laureates when they are in town, the hotel is of the most prestigious in Scandinavia. We tasted some Backsberg wines in their cellar, with the Babylons Toren Viognier 2006 going down well.

It’s my lucky day: had lunch in Östermalm. This Stockholm district is not for the budget-sensitive. Over lunch I met up with WOSA’s Swedish rep. South Africa is doing very well in Sweden, despite the Swedish Alcohol Retail Monopoly! SA has been in the top 3 exporters to Sweden for the last number of years.

I don’t like the term ‘marketing manager’. It just doesn’t feel right. I prefer storyteller. Marketing for me involves telling stories. Stories allow a conversation to take place, they allow you – the reader – to participate and to engage.