Wine & beer

Corrigan’s Mayfair

Thumbnail image for Corrigan’s Mayfair May 11, 2012

  When is a wine not a real wine?  And no, this is not a “how long is a piece of string” type of nonsense question with no answer; nor is it a reference to the disturbing “wine-style beverages” that you sometimes find lurking in the dark corners of the supermarket wine aisles, that bear [...]

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Gorgeous by Graham Beck – a bubbly bar in Cape Town

Thumbnail image for Gorgeous by Graham Beck – a bubbly bar in Cape Town May 6, 2012

  It had been one of those days. We had arrived in Cape Town early in the morning from London after a night of little sleep, non-functioning seat-back TVs and rather too much alcohol (refer to previous item regarding seat-back TVs!).  I had purchased a data bundle at the airport to load onto my South [...]

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Crab-stuffed portobello mushrooms for the Chablis Challenge

Thumbnail image for Crab-stuffed portobello mushrooms for the Chablis Challenge March 7, 2012

  There are many advantages to having older parents, as I did.  But one of the downsides is that you are unlikely to have a long acquaintance with any of your grandparents.  At least two of my grandparents passed away before I was even born, and the other two lived pretty far away all my [...]

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The Food Blogger Indaba 2012 survey (and a long overdue Wines of South Africa braai post!)

Thumbnail image for The Food Blogger Indaba 2012 survey (and a long overdue Wines of South Africa braai post!) February 12, 2012

 In case you missed my tweet last week, I’m thrilled to say that CookSister was featured in leading UK newspaper The Times last week as web search of the day – page 28 of the Register section.     Flicking through my archives recently as part of lots of behind-the-scenes work taking place here at CookSister HQ, [...]

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Steak on a blue cheese, spinach & pecan risotto

Thumbnail image for Steak on a blue cheese, spinach & pecan risotto January 23, 2012

  As I have said before, I do love a good simile.  One of my favourite wine-related similes is this: Men are like a fine wine. They all start out like grapes, and it’s our job to stomp on them and keep them in the dark until they mature into something you’d like to have [...]

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South African wines at the London International Wine Fair

August 5, 2011

Walking into the London Wine Fair (LIWF) at the cavernous Excel Centre to explore the hundreds of exhibitors showcasing thousands of wines is always an exhilarating experience – and this year was no exception. Now in its 31st year the LIWF is one of the key events in the world wine calendar and is an ideal place for [...]

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Andrew’s Really Secret Event – an afternoon with Australia’s First Families of Wine

July 13, 2011

  So… we'd been walked around Mayfair to a secret location - with a dress code, no less.  We'd missed trains and braved walks in dark woods up precipitous hills as well as hangovers to attend.  So when the invitation for the 4th in the series of ARSE (Andrew's Really Secret Event) gatherings arrived, I signed [...]

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