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.

The post {Giveaway} – Franschhoek Cap Classique & Champagne Festival appeared first on Incogvino.

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:

The post Memes, Mirth and MCC appeared first on Incogvino.

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.

The post {Giveaway} Magic of Bubbles – Franschhoek Cap Classique Festival appeared first on Incogvino.

Daily Dish’s amazing menus

We’re all busy people. If we’re not out working hard to bring home the bacon, we’re busy with family, friends, hobbies, exercise, studies… There’s always something. For me, the first thing that flies out the window when I’m swamped is my diet. Even the simplest healthy eating routine gets dropped like a hot, carby potato when I’m buzzing around. I either don’t have time to cook, or I’m too tired. Or there aren’t groceries in the fridge. Cue take-aways. Not ideal.

Enter Daily Dish. A simple solution not only for those of us perpetually strapped for time but also great if you’re out of fresh dinner ideas and the ol’ mac and cheese just doesn’t cut it anymore.

Daily dish is a straightforward service that’s easy to sign up for and offers not only excellently priced meals but flexibility and quality. It takes the hassle out of fresh, healthy dinners. You sign up, choose your menu and they send you everything you need for four meals (and plenty of leftovers!) for a week. Simply go to the website, register (for free) and then browse their menus. They have three options: Classic, Low Carb and Vegetarian. You can have a look at the recipes for the following week and choose your menu. There’s a deadline for orders with the delivery date clearly stated so you know exactly when to expect it.

This week, I chose the vegetarian menu because it looked absolutely fantastic. Admittedly, I “enriched” two of them with some added animal protein but the options were just mouthwatering. The recipes are idiot-proof but make you feel like a top chef. And, because Incogvino is all about the wine (which forms part of lifestyle, of course), I have a little pairing suggestion for each meal I made this week:

• Caponata on Ciabatta – Lovely, fragrant aubergine based dish with olives rosemary and tomatoes. I had some ostrich steak on the side with this, prepped medium to medium rare and paired it with 2009 Zonnebloem Pinotage. The pairing worked well with both the meat and the vegetarian main dish.
• Aglio e Olio with Blistered Cherry Tomatoes – Fabulous, garlicky pasta dish with gorgeous spinach and a hint of chilli for a lovely bite. I added some smoked salmon trout to the dish by flaking it generously on top once finished. Paired it with a 2007 Vriesenhof Pinot Noir but the dish will work well with a Chardonnay too, not too oaked but rather one with some zest.
• Feta Sweet Potato Jackets – The easiest of the meals (which really makes it a no-brainer as the others were all very simple to prepare), I kept this one straight vegetarian. Squeeze lots of lime on top and have it with a flavourful Sauvignon Blanc, like the Nederburg Airhawk.
• Chilli Bean Wrap – This was my ultimate dish of the week. Dead easy recipe but packed with flavour. Also made it vegetarian but it’ll be great with some added mince (or try chicken mince for a fun twist). Tex-mex grub actually calls for a beer (whatever your preference may be) so I didn’t pair this with a specific wine but you can definitely crack open a light red, like a Grenache or a light red blend.

And now, folks, the very generous and brilliant folks from Daily Dish have given us THREE Daily Dish subscriptions for one week (that’s FOUR MEALS) to give away! Here’s how to enter:

1) Like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.
2) Retweet the link to this post and share it on the interwebs. You can make up your own tweet/post or you can just copy and paste this:

Dish me up! Win a week’s worth of delicious @DailyDishForYou meals. Enter here: http://bit.ly/1tSMdv7

3) Leave a comment below telling us which menu (Classic, Low Carb or Vegetarian) you’d prefer and why.

Winners will be drawn randomly on Friday 7 November at 17:00. Please make sure that you live in one of their specified delivery areas.

***COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED***

The post {Giveaway} Daily Dish – The Definition of Convenience appeared first on Incogvino.

FNB Whisky Live Showroom

While this website has its roots firmly planted in wine, the content and appreciation is definitely not limited to said precious liquid. We here at Incogvino do not discriminate between alcoholic beverages and especially not against whisky. Or whiskey. Whichever you prefer. With that in mind, it’s nearly time for the net FNB Whisky Live festival. These annual events are held in Cape Town, Durban, Nelspruit, Sandton and now also Soweto. To celebrate the upcoming FNB Whisky Live Showroom in Soweto, we’re giving away two sets of double tickets to two Incogvino winos (Whiskiers? Whiskos? Whiskocvinos?)

The 2014 FNB Whisky Live Showroom in Soweto will take place at the Walter Sisulu Hall from the 15th to the 17th of August. Moving to a slightly smaller venue than the 2013 event, this promises to be a bit more intimate a setting for whisky lovers, but also means tickets will be limited. To make sure you don’t miss out on this event you can a) enter our Incogvino Twitter competition (details below) or b) secure your place by booking online.

Attendees can look forward to an impressive line-up of international whiskies, including Glenlivet, Bains Mountain Whisky, Balblair and Glenfiddich, to name only a few of many. This event is a great one for anyone to attend, whether you’re a long-time connoisseur or if you’re just starting on our journey of whisky appreciation, it will be a great opportunity to learn, enjoy and indulge.

Tickets for the festival are R150 if you book online and R170 at the door (if there are any left!). Ticket prices include a complimentary tasting glass (of course, how else would you taste the marvellous offerings?), a 2014 SA Whisky Handbook (that will come in handy!), a 500ml bottle of Valpré Spring Water (the key to a good whisky festival is hydration…), 15 tasting vouchers (that’s a lot of whisky) and a bonus 10% discount on any purchases made at the Showroom’s Whisky Shop OR on the Whisky Shop website.

Sound good? Keen to go? Feeling lucky? Then it’s competition time!

Entering for a chance to win one of two sets of double tickets to the FNB Whisky Live Showroom in Soweto (on the Friday 15 August) is as easy as falling off a whisky barrel. All you need to do is:

1. Tweet us @WeAreIncogvino using the hashtag #WantToWhisky and tell us why you want to whisky in Soweto on the 15th of August. Go nuts, be creative or just express your love for whisky in one crazy tweet.
2. For a bonus entry, comment below and tell us your funn(i)est whisky story. 

Entries close on Wednesday morning at 11:00. Winners will be contacted via Twitter and email. Please ensure that you will be able to attend the event in Soweto on the 15th of August. 

*Images and event information courtesy of Tribeca Public Relations*

The post FNB Whisky Live Showroom (and competition!) appeared first on Incogvino.