Leopard's Leap Wines

Wine Tourism supported

Image by RachelC via Compfight

At a recent stakeholder workshop in Stellenbosch, Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk publicly supported the need to grow wine tourism in South Africa. He encouraged South Africa to be put on the map as a world-class tourism destination.

“In South Africa, our wine industry plays an important role in terms of its contribution to specifically regional and rural economic growth and job creation. In 2009 wine tourism contributed an estimated R4.3 billion to our country’s tourism revenue, and we believe there is still great potential for growth in this regard,” Minister van Schalkwyk said.

“Increasing its revenue from tourism can help the South African wine industry to offset international volatility caused by amongst others currency and demand fluctuations. Wine and gourmet tourism, which includes the enjoyment of food and wines, can also play a role in terms of our goal of increasing the geographic spread of tourism in South Africa, as it provides additional options for tourists.

“Wine Tourism is a vital product offering in South Africa’s tourism product as it helps improve the country’s competitiveness against destinations like Brazil, Australia, Kenya and Thailand. 

“We believe stakeholder inclusivity and alignment is fundamental to the adoption and implementation of a winning wine tourism strategy and in that context I would like to congratulate the organisers on convening this workshop today,” the Minister said.

Caribbean writer to speak at Cape Town literary festival

Trinidadian writer Earl Lovelace is set to appear at the inaugural Open Book literary festival this September. 

Lovelace's bibliography reads as long as his seventy-five years. An essayist, journalist, playwright and novelist, in 1997 the Trinidadian won the overall Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book for his novel 'Salt'. His latest, 'Is Just a Movie', has attracted praise from all quarters, confirming his status as a master storyteller.

'Is Just a Movie' is set in Trinidad and garnered the following praise from a recent review in the British The Guardian newspaper: 

'Lovelace is bursting with things to say about this complex, heterogeneous society in the late 20th century. This he does with a flair that at its best reaches a soaring rhapsody. The scabs of racial tension are cautiously peeled back and we witness the community's loves, aspirations and machinations; their little victories and defeats, their best selves and worst selves'.

Open Book is taking place from 21-25 September 2011.

New wine customs emerging

As wine drinkers become more discerning, diverse and informed, traditional customs pertaining to wine are broken. In an article in the Wall Street Journal, the author argues that wine etiquette in restaurants is rapidly changing. Men are not automatically handed the wine list first any more, and more women are becoming sommeliers. The article elaborates:

Meanwhile, the wine list has lost a bit of its ceremony, not to mention heft. Another rule gone by the wayside is that a serious wine list should look—and feel—like a library book. Today, a wine list may be no more than a few sheets of paper or even the back of a menu. It could even be a tablet computer.

A smart wine list might be the reason to dismantle the rule that... sommeliers are the best source of advice. With wine lists that allow diners to access the Internet, sommeliers may not be diners' first source of information. Electronically emancipated diners can now look up descriptions, get the latest wine scores—and even find out how much that Cabernet really costs at retail.

Leopard's Leap copycats spotted in China

Counterfeit wine has become a problem recently, especially in countries like China. Now, Leopard's Leap has become the latest wine brand to be blatantly copied, with the bottle above currently being sold in China.

Although we know we are doing something right if our brand is being ripped off, and that imitation is the highest form of flattery, we will be following up on this case of intellectual property theft. 

Pulitzer winner Paul Harding appearing at Open Book

Internationally-acclaimed novelists Jeanette Winterson, Paul Harding and Earl Lovelace are set to appear at Cape Town’s inaugural Open Book literary festival this September.

The three writers’ bright careers present enticing contrasts for the city’s book lovers. Winterson, born in Manchester, UK, won the Whitbread Prize in 1985, and has published over a dozen books, along with numerous scripts and play adaptations. She is best known for novels like Oranges are Not the Only Fruit and The Passion but also writes children’s books and fiction for young adults, and was awarded an OBE for services to literature in 2006. Winterson will launch her forthcoming novel, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? at Open Book.

Harding, meanwhile, of Massachusetts, USA, has just got his start - which has been an auspicious one, to say the least. With his first novel, Tinkers, he joins the likes of Cormac McCarthy and Philip Roth in winning the Pulitzer Prize, an extraordinary honour for a debut work of fiction, which was also named one of the Hundred Best Novels of 2009 .

Earl Lovelace’s bibliography reads as long as his seventy-five years. An essayist, journalist, playwright and novelist, in 1997 the Trinidadian won the overall Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book for his novel Salt. His latest, Is Just a Movie, has attracted praise from all quarters, confirming his status as a master storyteller. 

Lovelace, Harding and Winterson will count among some twenty-five international writers at Open Book Cape Town, which will take place from 21 to 25 September at The Fugard theatre and other venues in the city’s east precinct.

 

At China's number one university

As part of our Asian tour, we are currently in Beijing, where we are visiting the famed Tsinghua University today. We are sponsoring the university's annual charity golf day. Here is some information on this prestigious university:

Tsinghua University was established in 1911, originally under the name of Tsinghua Xuetang. The university section was founded in 1925 and undergraduate students were then enrolled. The name National Tsinghua University was adopted in 1928. It has developed into a comprehensive research university at a breathtaking pace. At present, the university has 14 schools, 56 departments with faculties in science, engineering, the humanities, law, medicine, history, philosophy, economics, management, education and art.

The university currently has over 4000 faculty members, including 1172 full professors and 1,061 associate professors.

There are over 28,000 students studying at Tsinghua including 14,000 undergraduates and 14,000 graduate students. The Tsinghua graduate school offers 228 doctoral programs and 249 master degree programs. 

The campus of Tsinghua University is situated on the former imperial gardens of the Qing Dynasty and surrounded by a number of historical sites in north-west Beijing.

Leopard's Leap in Malaysia

Leopard's Leap's CEO and marketing director is currently in Asia, meeting with buyers and sales teams.

Our wine was enjoyed at a dinner in Kuala Lumpur attended by representatives of the South African and Malaysian governments. In the photo above, from left, is South African Ambassador to Malaysia Mr Thami Mseleku, Malaysian Deputy Home Minister Datuk Lee Chee Leong, Leopard's Leap CEO Mr Hein Koegelenberg, Mr Nelson Tan, a business partner of Leopard’s Leap, and Mr Marius Kotze, Leopard’s Leap Marketing Director.