Rain on the way?

Those threatening clouds are back, but it's still sunny down in our end of the valley. On average we get one third of the rain that falls on the Steenbras Dam side (that is the part that is dark grey in the picture).

Open Gardens and Sheena Ridley

For the first time South Hill's magnificent gardens will officially be participating in the annual Open Gardens weekends here in Elgin! If our contemporary indigenous gardens, great wine and fantastic food aren't enough to tempt you to come and visit, we are also thrilled to announce that renowned artist, and former local of the valley, Sheena Ridley will be hosting her exhibition of paintings and sculptures at South Hill, this year from tomorrow the 28th October until Sunday the 6th of November.

Photographs hardly do these whimsical sculptures justice, so come and visit either this weekend or next.

Spring Has Definitely Sprung!

Wow, in the fury of getting the vineyards pruned before budding our blog has been somewhat neglected, but hopefully the new life that we see all around us will be reflected here too! What a spectacular season spring is, so much so that words and even pictures can barely do it justice, but I'll give the latter a go.

But there really is no substitute for actually visiting, so why not joining us for the open gardens on the 28-29th Oct or the 5-6th November?

Winter Solstice

It was a bitterly cold start to the shortest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere, here in Elgin. The shortest night has also been the coldest with the first frost of 2011 but the sun is out and whilst the forecast of 26 degrees seems a little bullish, it is warming up nicely!

Winter Wonder

Crisp air, clear skies and not a breath of wind, who said winter was all bad?

South Hill About Town

We’ve done a few wine sponsorships about Town of late and we’d like to share one or two of our experiences with you, if we may…

PR-Net meetings are held on a monthly basis by PR Guru and Travel Writer, Brain Berkman. Earlier this month Brian was kind enough to let us showcase and supply South Hill wines for attending PR’s at a meeting led by Clare Mack of Spill and Jamie Who, where they talked about communicating with bloggers. The bottom line is… treat a blogger as you would any other media personality, and target blogs as you would any other media platform. We had loads of fun at this rowdy meeting:

[Thanks Brian Berkman and Mike Wesson for these pics]

On another note, we’ve also spent some time with Marlene van der Westhuizen and guests in her Green Point kitchen. As you may know, Marlene is the author of many cookbooks such as Lazy Lunches and Sumptuous, she is owner of The Food Studio, and more recently has launched month-long cooking courses in France, which sound divine!

The studio in Green Point is a stunningly restored and light Victorian building that inspires and relaxes at the same time, add to the mix a leisurely cooking demonstration and a glass of good wine, and you never want the afternoon to end!

Picture the setting:

[Thanks Food Studio]

Now call 021 433 2259 to find out more about the class, the cost, and to book. 

Last Chance!

Just a reminder that this is your last chance to ‘like’ our Facebook fan page before 15 March (yes, that’s tomorrow) in order to stand a chance of winning a case of South Hill wine.

Search for South Hill, ‘like’ the page to become a fan and revert back regularly for news and special offers. We also welcome your thoughts on the Elgin Valley, wines and weddings.

Join us on Facebook now!

Weddings at South Hill

After sharing our picture showcase of South Hill and its stunning honeymoon suite we’ve decided to let you know more about weddings on the farm.

Wedding parties can opt to have their ceremony inside (depending on the size of the group) or outside on the boule court near the pool, followed by a reception in Gordon Manuel’s restaurant, The Venue – where Gordon himself caters. Many brides opt for a marquee, which can be set up adjacent to The Venue - hosting around 150 seated guests. South Hill wines will, no doubt, flow and couples will soon be able to celebrate with a limited edition Method Cap Classique exclusively offered to weddings at South Hill.

For more information call 021 844 0033 or email thevenue@southhill.co.za.

In Living Colour

So, we started this blog a while ago now and we thought we’d share our little slice of heaven with you ... in pictures. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words:

Stunning views and bewildering vineyards

 

 

Royal treatment at The Guesthouse

 

Chill out at Gordon Manuel’s @ The Venue

 

Let us coordinate your big day

Dining inside or out

Honeymooning is our speciality - do it here!

And here ...

Join our community on Facebook!

We’ve set up a fan page on Facebook, simply called South Hill. Search for South Hill, ‘like’ the page to become a fan and revert back regularly for news on our latest blog posts, special offers and fab giveaways. You can also share titbits with us about the Elgin Valley, wines and weddings, or ask the winemaker questions.

Join our Facebook fan page before 15 March and you might be one of three lucky winners of a case of South Hill wine!

Top Ten for SA Wine News

Looking for a few good reads about South African wines? Here are our ten favourite South African wine sites to keep you informed ... or just in good spirits:

• Wines of South Africa – a non-profit industry organisation whose goal is to promote the exports of South African wines. The website acts as an information portal on everything from regions, varieties and terroir to sustainability, ethical trade and biodiversity. wosa.co.za
• wine.co.za – a website dedicated to the SA wine industry offering news, views, reviews, events and more. wine.co.za
• Grape – a website of epic blog proportions with four dedicated wine bloggers (well-respected in the wine world), a guest blog, and a space for Grape readers to contribute too. grape.co.za
• Pendock Uncorked – a witty blog about all that is wine. Neil Pendock has been called "South Africa's most influential wine writer" by DrinksBiz and some of his thoughts on wine will have you in stitches. blogs.timeslive.co.za/pendock
• Wine Goggle – an interesting site on the lighter side of wine with the tagline “wine, food and fun through rosé-tinted spectacles”. winegoggle.co.za
• Cathy Marston – Wine Editor of Food24.com shares wine, food and restaurant news on her own informative website. cathymarston.co.za
• The Cape Town Wine Blog – specifically about Cape Town’s wine scene, the Cape Town Wine Blog provides information on wine tastings, farms and wine news from the region. capetownwineblog.com
• Under the Influence – with the tagline “discover wine” it really does provide news on everything wine from first growths to estates, as well as an interesting blog to keep up-to-date with. undertheinfluence.co.za
• Wine Times – a website dedicated to wine events, wine news, wine restaurants and bars, gossip and recipes ... even those for phuza breakfasts. winetimes.co.za
• Wine magazine - the website of one of South Africa’s top wine magazines (Ramsay’s Wine magazine) long ago went online with their news and views on South African wines, restaurants, and winelands travel. winemag.co.za

And out of interest, online food and drink magazines to watch out for include:

• www.crushmagonline.com
• www.showcook.com
• www.spill.co.za
• thefoodie.co.za
• aficionado.co.za/jamiewho

South Hill joins the Elgin wines throng at the Elegantly Elgin Wine Festival

For those of our readers who hail from Joburg; visit us at our table at the Elegantly Elgin Wine Festival in Sandton for a chat and a tasting. It’s the perfect opportunity to learn more about our farm, but also about the fantastic Elgin Valley.

The Festival is being held at the Sandton Sun from today until tomorrow, on the 6^th Floor SAN Deck. The show opens to the public from 17h30 – 21h00 with tickets available at the door or via events@julietcullinan.co.za*. Entry is R90.00, and well worth it - as a whole selection of wines from the Elgin Valley will be on show and available for tasting!

*Please email the organisers at events@julietcullinan.co.za to find out about availability.

Word of the day: 'veraison'

In the last month and a half, while we have been enjoying the festive season break, the vines have been working hard to ensure that your next festive season will not be a dry one, well not on the wine front at least!

The bunches have filled out nicely and as you can see, the ripening process has just begun. This photo shows the first signs of veraison in our Cabernet Sauvignon. This is the time when the hard green berries in red varieties begin to colour and soften. White grape varieties soften and become slightly translucent which is a lot more difficult to capture in a photo.

I will post a follow up photo in a few days so that you can follow the process but at this stage we are still about two months away from harvesting the Cabernet Sauvignon which is generally the last block to ripen on South Hill.

Back to Work, Back to Reality: The Priceless Gift of Relaxation

The New Year usually starts in drips and drabs with the first week of January reserved for a handful of sacrificial workers who are sent back at work. Most of them twiddle their thumbs for ten days, jealous as all hell that the rest of the country is still on holiday.

But before we know it, it’s back to the two day break after a five day working week and we all start to look for that little bit of well-deserved personal downtime.

The Elgin Valley is a best-kept secret just one hour out of Cape Town. Think rolling fruit orchards and winelands (and subsequently some pretty fantastic wine), outdoor activities, rumbling tractors ... and tranquillity.

So how about a visit to South Hill with a leisurely wine tasting, a delicious country meal at our restaurant, Gordon Manuel @ The Venue or a weekend stay in luxury at The Guesthouse or The Pumphouse. Whether you’re here for a few hours or a few days, the time away – your time – will help bridge the gap till that next long, lazy holiday.

www.southhill.co.za

A Glass a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

It’s that time of year again when we feel the need to make those pesky New Year’s resolutions. Isn’t everyone’s basically the same? Eat healthy, drink less, stop smoking, exercise…blah blah blah. But how many of us actually make head way with those resolutions? And, if you do manage, for how long?

At South Hill we have a 2011 New Year’s resolution we think our readers will enjoy ... drinking one glass of South Hill Cabernet Sauvignon a day – every day – to keep the doctor away. And of course, we are talking about drinking in moderation and only having one or two glasses! At one glass a day, that’s only 91.25 bottles of wine this year.

There’s as much debate about having a glass of red wine a day as there is about drinking coffee or eating chocolate. Research shows that there are significant health benefits to drinking red wine, (unfortunately white wine doesn’t contain quite as many anti-oxidants as a red). Take note, these benefits are from the grapes and not the alcohol – so a glass of scotch a day wouldn’t do the same.

Basically, red wine aids digestion due to polyphenol anti-oxidants that limit the growth of destructive bacteria and neutralize toxins from fatty foods preventing blood clots and blood vessel damage caused by fat deposits. It also helps regulate cholesterol levels in the blood by reducing the formation of bad cholesterol and increasing good cholesterol, thereby lowering the risk of heart disease.

We suggest you enjoy your glass a day with a fine meal and good company. Here’s to you, here’s to 2011!