South African Wine at It’s Finest

As, we were casually perusing through the abundant labels in a speciality wine store, we came across this. What a find! This might have been one of the best purchases I’ve made while in South Africa.  A wine called “Hat Trick.” The taste was just as brilliant as the label. At a heafty cost of around 300 Rand (approximately 30 USD) it was amazingly expensive compared the the wonderful wines you can get at a fraction of the price. 

So, for the Spirrsguy’s take on Welbedacht’s 2005 Hat Trick:  Full Bodied, a bit woody, lots of essence fig and berries, finishes nice, smooth and fresh on the back palate.  Excellent wine, and a good year. It’s called Hat Trick for goodness sake!

Be sure to bring one back as a WC2010 SA souvenir.  Cheers!

SpringBok anyone?

This here is a national icon (right). It is called a Springbok, also known as an antelope. The word springbok is a mix of Afrikaans and Dutch: spring meaning jump and bok meaning antelope or goat.  You will notice the springbok image in many different areas of business, commerce and sporting teams.  It was the national symbol of South Africa under white minority rule and through years of Apartheid. You will find many sports teams and businesses have adopted the iconic symbol to be represented in thier logos and their emblems. Most famous ones include, South Africa’s National Rugy Union Team and South African Airways.

Now, this here is also a Springbok (left). Commonly known as a SpringBok shooter and found in every bar across South Africa.  As a national symbol, it too resonates amongst pub goers nation wide.

What is it?

SpringBok Shooter: 3 part Creme de Menthol and 1 part Amarula Cream.

By the way, shots are called Shooter here in South Africa, so have a couple Shooter while your out, and if your going to show some national pride, have a SpringBok. Cheers!

Thanks Giving shopping list…

So, wanted to say Happy Turkey to everyone. Since Thanks Giving is not a holiday South Africans celebrate we decided to do thanks giving like we know it and invited our unsuspecting african friends to a lustrious feast.  Now, yes, thats not all thanks giving is all about, but it was nice to introduce them to a meal so many families look forward to and partake in.  Aside from cooking a few dishes to contribute to the pot luck style dinner we had, I was also lucky enough to be apart of the beverage buying for the party. Now, what you will find here, in south africa, things are a bit cheaper when it come to purchasing power. Here’s a run down of what we purchased for a some dinner party of 15.

• 3 Six packs of SA beer
• 2 Four packs of Glorsh Beer
• 6 bottles of Red wine
• 3 bottles of white
• 3 bottles of bubbly
• 1 bottle of cream liqueur

Not bad for 60 buck huh? and yes i meant dollars.