A sublime day out

Every year, December is welcomed in the most superb fashion – with the Franschhoek Cap Classique and Champagne Festival.This year, I have TWO sets of FOUR tickets to give away. Tickets for Saturday 3 December have already been SOLD OUT, so if you want to indulge in heavenly fizz this weekend, you want to get in on this action.

I am giving away:

One set of 4 tickets for Saturday 3 December, and
One set of 4 tickets for Sunday 4 December.

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A Particularly Gorgeous Meme Example

I have a soft spot for memes.  I love them. They tickle my funny bone in the best way and they are EVERYWHERE.  Condescending Wonka, Bad Luck Brian, Skeptical Baby, Grumpy Cat… the list is endless. If you’re not sure what I’m on about, do click over to the Memesly.com list of popular memes. But be warned, you may lose hours of productivity…

With the rise of meme hilarity on the internet, people have (as one does on the internet) started making their own memes. Meme generators are everywhere, where you can choose or insert an image and add a caption. Knowing this, I did a little giveaway on the SuperFANS mailing list. We were generously given 5 more double sets of tickets to pass on to deserving SuperFANS (in addition to our previous Magic of Bubbles giveaway). And the winners were chosen through trial by meme!

Here are a few of the best entries I received. A fantastic exercise in MCC driven creativity.

First up was a classic Doge meme:

Then a spectacular cat gif, which really clinched the tickets for the entrant:

A touch of Gatsby never hurt anyone:

And a bit of wrestling action, underlining the important difference between Champagne and our local offerings:

Batman educating Robin on that selfsame difference:

And finally, Ned Stark pointing out important MCC drinking etiquette:

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Magic of Bubbles

Summer is upon us, dearest winos and readers, and few things are as summery and refreshing as the Magic of Bubbles. Whether your taste is expensive and French or divine and local, we are heading into bubbly season. And there’s no better place to get your fizzy on than at the Franschhoek Cap Classique and Champagne Festival.  The festival takes place on the lawns around the Huguenot Monument on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 November. Read on, because I have two double tickets to give away…

The festival promises to be nirvana for those who seek the pleasure of bubbles. Not only will classic French Champagne – the likes of Piper Heidsieck, Champagne Guy Charbaut and Veuve Clicquot – be represented, but also some of the best MCC South Africa has to offer: Pierre Jourdan, Morena, Môreson, La Motte, Boschendal, Leopard’s Leap, Noble Hill, Plaisir de Merle, Anthonij Rupert Wines, Graham Beck Wines, Krone, Pongracz, Simonsig, Steenberg and Villiera. A veritable who’s who of the precious liquid.

Some of Franschhoek’s star restaurants will also be there to ensure festival goers are well fed with delicious menus. Bread & Wine, The Salmon Bar, Haute Cabrière, Le Franschhoek, L’Ermitage, Restaurant at Grand Provence and Mont Rochelle are only a few of those who will be fuelling the hungry Champagne-seekers.

The theme of this year’s festival is Black & White, with the focus on parasols and panama hats. There is even a ‘Best Dressed’ competition, with the best dressed couples on Friday and Saturday walking away with a 2-night safari at Ngala Safari Lodge.

Is your mouth watering yet? Are you thirsty for some luxurious treats? Tickets are R200 pp and are available through Webtickets. But how about you try your luck instead? The fabulous folks from MasterCard and the festival have given me TWO DOUBLE TICKETS to give away for entry to the festival on SUNDAY 30 NOVEMBER. To enter, you need to:

1. Comment on this post and describe to us why you love the precious, fizzy liquid this festival is all about. Be creative, put your heart into it and make me feel the love. Best entry wines.
2. Share this post on Twitter and/or Facebook. You can share the link in your own tweet, or copy and paste the one below:

The Magic of Bubbles awaits! Enter to win double tickets to the #FHKBubby festival http://bit.ly/1xd3SQD

Competition closes Friday 14 November, winners will be chosen and notified via email/Twitter. Please note, tickets will not be transferrable for the Saturday, so ensure you are available the Sunday.

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Nirox is essentially a retreat for artists, primarily sculptures – and you’ll be able to explore the entire park while quaffing away your troubles. Sound cool?

Nirox Sculpture Park

We ran a competition recently so 2 lucky readers and 2 SuperFANS are already booked to attend. We look forward to hearing back from them! Read on for all the details…

~Andy

Here’s the press release from the wonderful lads and lasses at MasterCard who are the primary sponsor. Hash tags for the event are #MasterCard and #WSF2014. Scroll down to the bottom for a taste of the wineries, restaurants and artists who’ll be at the event.

The Winter Sculpture Fair presented by MasterCard returns to NIROX

Enjoy a great day of art, food and wine in the countryside with family and friends

Johannesburg, South Africa – 2 April 2014: The Winter Sculpture Fair presented by MasterCard will return to the NIROX Sculpture Park near the Cradle of Humankind on the 10^th and 11^th May 2014 where a selection of South Africa’s best contemporary sculpture and Franschhoek’s finest food and wine will be showcased. 

Now in its second year, the Fair will offer visitors exquisite food and fine wine produced by 38 of Franschhoek’s most popular restaurants, producers and wineries. Restaurants such as Bread & Wine Vineyard Restaurant, The French Connection and The Kitchen at Holden Manz will be selling freshly prepared, deluxe lunches, and wineries including Haute Cabriere, Môreson, Leopard’s Leap, Vrede en Lust and La Motte, among others, will offer wine and bubbly by the bottle or glass. A selection of Franschhoek cheeses, charcuterie, and chocolates will also be available to purchase, ahead of winter.

“We are really excited to bring back this priceless experience to Gauteng’s food, wine and art lovers,” says Philip Panaino, Division President, MasterCard, South Africa. “This unique event will once again give visitors the opportunity to enjoy some of the country’s finest cuisine, wine and sculpture in a beautiful outdoor setting that is usually not open to the public.”

Situated in a 15 hectare private nature reserve, the highly-acclaimed NIROX Sculpture Park will be home to the ‘NIROX SCULPTURE | WINTER 14’ exhibition curated by Mary-Jane Darroll, and will showcase nearly 100 sculptures by more than 50 artists. Visitors will be able to meander through the park to view the artworks, before picnicking in the countryside with family and friends.

“Local artists, recognised as worldwide leaders in contemporary sculpture such as Marco Cianfanelli and Angus Taylor will once again feature their sculptures, and we’re particularly glad to welcome artists who are returning to South Africa after spending time abroad, including Johan Thom, Aliza Levi and Sean Blem,” says Ross Douglas, Director of Artlogic, the Fair organiser.

At the launch of the inaugural Winter Sculpture Fair last year, MasterCard provided funding to the NIROX Foundation to commission a sculpture by a local artist. This piece, Frank van Reenen’s The Giant, will be on display for the first time at the 2014 Fair. 

“Through commissions such as this, we support local sculpture talent, and the advancement of South Africa’s reputation in the global contemporary arts arena,” says Panaino.

The 2014 Winter Sculpture Fair is open from 10h00 – 17h00 daily on both 10 and 11 May 2014. Book your tickets online to avoid disappointment, as limited tickets will be available at the door. Tickets cost R100 and are available through www.webtickets.co.za, with a 10% discount if they are purchased using a MasterCard branded card. Children 12 years and under enter free. For more information, visit www.wintersculpturefair.co.za; email [email protected] or follow @ArtlogicSA on Twitter.

The following Franschhoek wineries, restaurants and retailers will participate in the 2014 Winter Sculpture Fair presented by MasterCard:

Wineries: Akkerdal, Black Elephant Vintners/La Petite Vigne, Boekenhoutskloof, Four Paws, Franschhoek Cellar, Glenwood, Grande Provence, Haute Cabriere, Holden Manz, La Bri, La Chataigne Wines, La Motte, Leopard’s Leap, Lynx Wines, Maison, Môreson, My Wyn, Plaisir de Merle, Rickety Bridge, Solms-Delta and Vrede & Lust.

Restaurants:  Angala Restaurant, Bacon of the Month, Bread & Wine Vineyard Restaurant, Café Des Arts, Duncan for Dinner, Fromage de France, Fyndraai Restaurant at Solms-Delta, Haute Cabriere Restaurant, Huguenot Fine Chocolate, Le Verger – the Orchard Restaurant at Le Franschhoek and Spa, Leopard’s Leap Family Vineyards, L’Ermitage Restaurant , Paulina’s Restaurant at Rickety Bridge, The French Connection, The Kitchen at Holden Manz and The Kitchen at Maison.

Artists participating in the ‘NIROX SCULPTURE | WINTER 14’ exhibition include:

Willem Boshoff, Marco Cianfanelli, Angus Taylor, Doreen Southwood, Richard Forbes, Hanneli Coetzee, Rodan Hart, Lwandiso Njara, Johan Thom, Aliza Levi, Sean Blem, Bronwyn Lace, Liza Grobler, Stephan Hobbs, Marcus Neustetter, Michelle Mathieson, Frank van Reenen, Jeremy Rose, Stephan Erasmus and Gordon Froud, among others.

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