The United Kingdom tends to function as a litmus test for international wine markets.

The island nation has a long history of wine appreciation and is credited with creating the prestigious Master of Wine program as well as WSET — the Wine and Spirits Education Trust.

Wine is part of daily life in the U.K. and brands that enjoy success at the supermarket level often go on to achieve international fame and fortune.

England has traditionally been a robust market for French wines, so it came as a surprise to learn that South African wine sales recently surpassed French wine sales — at least in the supermarket realm.

Arniston Bay is one of the most successful South African wine brands in the UK.

This brand has been named one of the top selling wines in the UK. Arniston Bay is the fourth biggest South African brand in the UK and has a 5.8% value share and 5.6% volume share in the South African category respectively.

Read more on  calgaryherald.com

More men are starting to drink rosé wine as drier styles become more fashionable, according to leading UK supermarket buyers and suppliers.

The growing popularity of food and wine matching is also helping the rosé category to attract more male drinkers, according to Pierpaolo Petrassi MW, Tesco’s senior product development manager for wine, who said the chain’s new Great With initiative sought “to include a rosé wine for each food type”.

The cliché of rosé being a female drink is still prevalent, but less than it was, so we’re moving in the right direction. The sweet, fruity style still dominates in volume terms, but many customers are also discovering drier, more refreshing styles.

Vicky Wood from Co-op added by saying  “There has been a shift in male drinking habits towards rosé over the past 12 to 18 months, which I think has been helped, in part, by the introduction of ciders over ice and initiatives from other categories.”

She added that while “the sweeter white Zinfandels and White Grenaches are still extraordinarily popular” in the Co-op, sparkling rosé and still pinks from France, South Africa and Argentina “are also selling well”.

The Arniston Bay Pinotage Rosé is one of the South African rosé wines which is doing exceptionally well in the UK market. This wine has juicy cherry flavours underpinned by red apple and passion fruit notes with a lengthy close.

Read more on offlicencenews.co.uk

Boffins have reported the first scientific elucidation for one of the most widely known rules of thumb for blending wine with food: “Red wine with red meat, white wine with fish.”

Scientists in Japan have claimed that the unpleasant, fishy aftertaste noticeable when consuming red wine with fish results from naturally occurring iron in red wine.

Takayuki Tamura and colleagues note that wine connoisseurs established the rule of thumb because of the flavour clash between red wine and fish. They point out, however, that there are exceptions to the rule, with some red wines actually going well with seafood. Until now, nobody could consistently predict which wines might trigger a fishy aftertaste because of the lack of knowledge about its cause.

The scientists asked wine tasters to sample 38 red wines and 26 white wines while dining on scallops. Some of the wines contained small amounts of iron, which varied by country of origin, variety, and vintage.

They found that wines with high amounts of iron had a more intensely fishy aftertaste. This fishy taste diminished, on the other hand, when the researchers added a substance that binds up iron.

The findings indicate that iron is the key factor in the fishy aftertaste of wine-seafood pairings, the researchers say, suggesting that low-iron red wines might be a good match with seafood.

Read more on zeenews.com

Arniston Bay Brand News

White wines and fish are generally a great pairing and if you serve the fish with a creamy source , I would recommend the Arniston Bay Chardonnay . This is a stunning, versatile and well balanced wine.

South Africa boasts some of the finest beaches in the world. From the pristine coastal stretch of Cape Vidal in KwaZulu-Natal to the Eastern Cape’s famous Wild Coast, from the penguin colony of Boulders Beach to sun-drenched Camps Bay in the Western Cape.

Although our football team is not the best in world… when it comes to beaches, we can boast with some of the best in the world.

Our beaches are much more than a haven for sun-worshippers and surfers. There’s so much to see and do along our dramatic coastline, including a range of wonderful multi-day coastal hikes.

With a coastline of 3 000 kilometres, South Africa has enough beaches to accommodate thousands of sun lovers without ever getting crowded. The beaches near the larger coastal cities get most visitors, of course, and in high summer bathers might have to negotiate a tangle of tanned limbs to get from the sea to their towels.

But there are dozens of other beaches along the country’s coastline where you can find space, privacy, soft sand and clear blue waves.

One of these quite and idyllic beaches is Arniston. South East (150km) of Cape Town you will find Arniston, a tranquil fishing village, which is particularly beautiful, and out of season is all but isolated.

Arniston Bay Wines  are inspired by the tranquility and peaceful relaxation of this quaint little fishing village.

For info on SA beaches visit: southafrica.info

I stumbled across this recipe and it is a true winner – not only does it taste great, it’s also very easy to prepare. After you’ve the smallest amount of work, the dish practically takes care of itself so it’s ideal when you don’t have time to slave away in front of the stove yet still want to impress guests.

Ingredients

1.5kg  rump of beef, trimmed of its fat Sea salt and black pepper 50ml olive oil 2 yellow onions, peeled and chopped 4 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped 4 celery sticks, trimmed and chopped 4-6 fresh bay leaves 1 small bunch of thyme 1 small bunch of rosemary 8 cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly crushed 750ml good-quality red wine 1 litre chicken stock

Preparation

Start by seasoning the meat generously all over, then form it into a roll and tie with string. Heat the olive oil over a medium heat in a heavy-based saucepan large enough to easily hold the meat. When the oil is hot, add the meat and brown really well all over, this will take about 10 minutes. Lift out and set aside on a plate.

Next add the vegetables to the same pan along with the herbs and garlic, and turn the heat down to low. Cook the vegetables, stirring every now and then, for 15 minutes or until they have softened and are sweet to the taste.

At this point return the meat to the saucepan. Pour over the wine, followed by the stock. Place the lid on the pan and turn the heat down to its lowest possible setting and leave, if you can, for five hours.

Next, take out the meat and bay leaves then strain the sauce through a colander, pressing firmly with the back of a ladle to pass the vegetables through. This will serve to thicken the sauce. Return the meat and bay leaves to the pan and pour over the strained sauce. Turn off the heat and allow to cool. Before serving, reheat the meat gently, it should by now be falling apart and so soft that it can be eaten with a spoon.

Serve in warm bowls accompanied by whatever you fancy; buttermilk mashed potatoes, crusty bread or just a simple salad and a glass of really good red wine.

I served this dish with a bottle of Arniston Bay Cabernet Sauvignon 2008. This wine has deep red colour with fresh redcurrant and berry fruit aromas with hints of nutmeg and mint.

Source: The Independent

The average employed adult works between 35-44 hours a week. That’s a huge amount of time to spend in the office, and yet the same people who change all their light bulbs to CFLs rarely give a second thought to getting their to-go coffee in a paper cup.

It only takes minutes to make your workspace a little more environmentally friendly. Here are a few tips to get you started.

1. Turn off the equipment when you leave for the day. Yes, even though Billy from accounting likes to stay late. An action as simple as turning off a 75-watt desktop monitor when you leave can save up to as much as 750 pounds (340kg) of carbon emissions a year. A power strip can make turning all the equipment off easier at the end of the day, including coffee makers and microwaves. Just make sure the printer is powered down properly, as printers need to seal their cartridges before shutting off.

2. Buy green materials. Switching to recycled printer paper could save thousands of innocent trees a year — and that’s not including paper towels, toilet paper, water cups and all the other products that make working in an office a comfortable enterprise. Many offices have already stopped buying the formerly ubiquitous bottled water. Talk to your office manager about stocking recycled printer paper or replacing the break room cookies with locally grown fruit. And nix printing out separate agendas for everyone at the morning meeting — slides or e-mailed agendas work just fine.

3. Green your duds. If you’re not lucky enough to work in an office where jeans and Chuck Taylors are de rigeur, you already know that great thing about office clothes is that they’re not supposed to be particularly trendy. Consider buying your crisply pressed trousers and blouses from thrift or consignment stores. Also, avoid dry-cleaning. Most dry cleaners use a chemical known as perchloroethylene, which is dangerous for both you and the environment. “Perc” is a known carcinogen that erodes the ozone layer and can easily contaminate groundwater. Most materials, like silk and wool, can be hand-washed. If you must go to a dry cleaner, look for one that uses green cleaning techniques, such as liquid carbon.

4. Telecommute. E-mailing, instant-messaging and videoconferencing have made working from home easier than ever before. Take advantage of it! Getting off the road even one day a week significantly reduces the amount of gasoline you burn, and you can even use the time you save on the trip to have an extra cup of coffee in your reusable ceramic mug. If telecommuting isn’t a possibility for you, consider asking your boss about instituting a commuter credit program for use on public transportation, or putting up a bulletin board for carpooling.

5. Reusable Cups. Avoid using styrofoam cups for anything. Use a mug for coffee and a water bottle for water. If you recycle at home, you can recycle, reduce and reuse at the office too.

6. Recycle Everything. You can recycle everything from your paper and plastics that might come from the vending machines at work, or paper that might otherwise get thrown away. Some companies will even take your old office furniture to recycle the desks and chairs. You could even donate the furniture to a school near by to not only help the community, but also increase the tax write off for the company. Here is a site to reference: Planet Green.

Arniston Bay Brand News

Arniston Bay believes in sustainable practices to protect our environment. This is reflected by initiatives like wine pouches (Astrapouch) and some Arniston Bay wine ranges which is being bottled in lighter weight glass.

It’s happened to you and it’s happened to me… why does there always seem to be a white shirt, carpet or couch involved? Yes, I’m talking about the dreaded red wine stain.

So what exactly is the best way to remove a red wine stain? When push comes to shove, everyone seems to have a different remedy and no one seems to know whether their remedy actually works! Well, I have decided to give some of the popular “quick fixes” (and some unusual ones) a try, to see which works the best.

My testing procedure began by pouring some red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon to be exact) on white fabric and then applying each remedy immediately. I also tried each remedy after a few hours, once the stain had dried. Here are the results, in no particular order (see “after” pictures of the fresh stains below):

Water: This seemed to fade the “fresh” stain only slightly more than the “old” stain, with both leaving a very noticeable mark on the fabric. Score: Fresh stain: 6/10; Old stain: 4/10 White wine: I found that the white wine didn’t work much better than the water, in fact the water did a better job with the “old” stain. So, instead of wasting your white wine, rather use water to treat a red wine stain. Score: Fresh stain: 6/10; Old stain: 2/10

Salt: Salt didn’t make much of a difference to either of the two stains (fresh and old). In fact, it just made more of a mess than any of the other methods tested. Score: Fresh stain: 2/10; Old stain: 1/10

Milk: Being white and packed with goodness, I thought milk would do the trick, but yet again I was disappointed. The milk faded the fresh stain a fair amount, but hardly made any difference to the old stain. Score: Fresh stain: 6/10; Old stain: 1/10 Cleen Green: This common cleaning agent worked wonders, removing the fresh stain COMPLETELY in no time. The old stain however turned to an ugly green/grey colour after being treated with the Cleen Green. Score: Fresh stain: 10/10; Old stain: 1/10

Hydrogen Peroxide: This might just be the answer to the world’s red wine stain problems… Mix equal parts of Hydrogen Peroxide (available from any chemist) and dish washing liquid. After a few seconds of rubbing.voila.fresh stain GONE! The old stain required a bit more elbow grease, but in the end it was reduced by approximately 80%. However, as this is a bleaching agent I would not recommend using it on coloured fabrics or carpets! Score: Fresh stain: 10/10; Old stain: 8/10

Source: SA Wine Advocate

South Africa has overtaken France to become the fourth largest selling country for wine in the UK.

Latest figures from market analysts AC Nielsen show sales of South African wines have overtaken French for the first time in the UK wine market.

South African wine sales grew 20 percent, by volume, to 12,270,000 9L cases, compared to a decline in French wine sales of 12 percent, to 12,266,000 9L cases; South Africa is now the fourth largest selling country for wine in the UK.

Although the South African wine industry is over 350 years old, it has been in its recent history that exports have seen significant growth. In 1994, when Nelson Mandela was elected president and the country became a peaceful democracy, the industry exported around 50million litres of wine, globally; by the close of 2009 exports had increased eightfold, reaching almost 400million litres.

Commenting on the news Jo Mason, UK market manager, Wines of South Africa, said: “This is a momentous occasion for the South African wine industry, which is relatively young in terms of the global export market. In 1994 our producers wouldn’t have dreamt of selling more wine to the UK than France, but now the wine landscape has changed completely. UK consumers no longer default to European wine and the quality of wine from South Africa is up there with the best in the world.

This achievement has coincided with a year where South Africa is thrust into the spotlight, as host nation for the FIFA World Cup, which should ensure continued success for our wines, as visitors flock to the Cape or crack open a bottle while watching the game.”

Read more…

Arniston Bay Brand News.

Arniston Bay is one of wine brands which contributed considerably to the rise of South African wines.  This popularity of this brand as increased amnsily in the past few year especially in the UK market.

The traditional dinners that many people prepare for their Easter holiday meal consist of either roasted lamb or baked ham. The tradition of roast lamb actually dates back to biblical times, to a meal that was commonly referred to as the “sacrificial lamb,” while the baked ham is an American tradition that began more out of necessity than for any other reason.

Prior to refrigeration, hogs were slaughtered in the fall and what wasn’t eaten immediately was cured and smoked to last through the springtime. These two main courses are on the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to pairing wines.

The perfect pairing for a Smoked Ham (or gammon) will depend on the sauce or preparation method. But in general the saltiness of the pork will probably lend itself to fruitier wines like the Arniston Bay Chenin Blanc Chardonnay. This wine has pineapple and melon flavours on the nose with a full fresh and crispy finish.

Roasted lamb offers a much wider variety of wine from which one can choose, including Bordeaux style , Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and  Malbec to name a few. I think the Arniston Bay Cabernet Merlot will go perfect with a roasted lamb.

Read more on : www.bradenton.com