Dramatic sculpture a new highlight of the Cape Town night sky

Even at the luxurious Table Bay Hotel, kilometres away on the Cape Town waterfront, you can see the newly unveiled SunStar sculpture twinkling in the night sky from the peak of Signal Hill.

But the SunStar is no ordinary metal artwork - it symbolises the transformation of South Afrca to from apartheid outcast to beacon of hope.

Twenty years into a new democracy and almost a year since the passing of global icon Nelson Mandela, SunStar was launched

The 24-metre-high sun-shaped sculpture was conceptualised and designed by Cape Town artist and founder of the Robben Island Art Company and Trust (RIACT), Christopher Swift, as one of Cape Town's projects for its stint as Design Capital of the World 2014.

The SunStar is a temporary installation - although should it prove popular it may stay in situ for a while.

Constructed in large part from the steel from the original fence that once surrounded Robben Island, Nelson Mandela's long-time jail, the sculpture is designed to show how the ultimate symbol of apartheid has been transformed into an inspiring piece as a metaphor for the future of South Africa.

The structure is in the form of an eight-point star. The wiring from the Robben Island fence fills the internal areas of the sphere and is surrounded by a metal frame depicting the sun’s rays, to form the eight-pointed star.

“The SunStar is emblematic and a visual reminder to South Africans of how far the country has come since our first democratic elections, but also of the journey yet to come," says sponsor Sun International chief marketing and strategy officer Rob Collins.

The site for the SunStar sculpture was chosen for its impressive views over the city and to enable locals and tourists easy access.

Signal Hill has a shared history among all Capetonians and is easily accessible by road just a few minutes outside of the city centre, with uninterrupted views of Robben Island, Table Mountain, Lion’s Head, Devil’s Peak and the city.

Hotel guests are encouraged to stand beneath the sculpture to enjoy spectacular views of both the city and Robben Island.

Swift’s design takes the environment and sustainability into account. The sculpture features a solar-powered light system made up of low-power LED strip-lighting and floodlight support, which light up the sculpture at night, making it visible to visitors flying in and out of South Africa's second city.

# The writer was a guest of Sun International 

An airport hotel that's perfect for those on a tight budget

Airport hotels are, by their very definition, expensive.

Real estate in and around most airports is premium priced, and hotel chains know they have a captive audience; guests needing to depart on dawn flights or arriving in the small hours of the morning.

It is easy to pay $200-$300 a night for an airport hotel when all you really need is a comfortable bed for a few hours pre- or post flight.

That's what makes the unprepossessing Ibis Budget Melbourne Airport a property worth having in your little black book. 

It is within the airport precinct unlike many impostors that can be several kilometres away and end up costing hefty taxi fees to get there and back, but comes without a hefty price tag.

Just a short stroll along well-marked pathways from both the Melbourne domestic and international terminals, rooms here start from around $120 a night.

For that you get a very good double bed (and sometimes an additional bunk bed), a spacious air-conditioned room with a decent shower, wash basin and toilet, desk, a TV, alarm clock and even a window that opens to let in air.

The shower and toilet are compact, to be blunt, but perfectly adequate for one or two nights, while the hotel and room appeared impeccably clean. Soap is provided, but no shampoo, along with two mid-sized towels not designed for hippopotamus-sized guests such as myself.

There are vending machines should you be hungry or thirsty, a cafe that serves breakfasts, and helpful desk staff. Wi-fi, unfortunately, incurs a charge, There are internet facilities in the lobby and an on-site laundry

If you have lots of luggage then a room on the ground floor would certainly be preferable. And if you arrive outside reception hours then an automated check in kiosk can issue your room key. 

A basic but affordable hotel that ticks a lot of boxes. 

Ibis Budget Melbourne Airport, 12 Caldwell Drive, Melbourne Airport 3045. (03) 8336 1811 ibisbudget.com  accorhotels.com. Check-in from 12 noon. Check out by 10am.   

# The writer was a guest of Accor Hotels

Prosecco: Italy's new sparkling star

The beautiful wine region of Prosecco is right on the doorstep of one of the world's most romantic cities, Venice. And while Venice is a destination of timeless appeal, wine styles don't get any hotter right now than prosecco.

In Venice, the cool crowd sip on Bellini cocktails made from prosecco and peach juice. In New York and London, spritzes are all the rage, with prosecco mixed with Aperol or Campari. Combined with vodka and lemon sorbet, prosecco is also an ingredient of the cocktail sgroppino, while in Australia, it has enjoyed an immense rise in popularity as an aperitif.

This evening I am enjoying a Bellini in the bar of the ultra chic M Gallery Hotel Papadopoli, a boutique establishment at the intersection of the Grand Canal, the “main road” in Venice, and the smaller Tolentini canal.

I'm taking a short break exploring the marvels of the city after a trip to what has become one of Italy's hottest vineyard destinations; centered on the nearby towns of Treviso, Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, where grape growing dates back to Roman times.

Wine tourism is all the rage here, and across Italy, with over five million travellers each year motivated solely by their love of Italian wines. And prosecco is at the forefront. Last year it out-sold Champagne globally and the whole region has a gourmet focus, producing an array of table wines (unlike Champagne), cheeses including Asiago and Grana Padano and various salumi and prosciutto.

The surge in international demand has meant plantings are increasing rapidly throughout the region – as are tourist numbers.

The appeal of prosecco is easy to understand; whether made fully sparkling (spumante) or lightly sparkling (frizzante), it is refreshing, low in alcohol and relatively affordable. It is all about freshness and immediate drinkability. It has been promoted as “nice, at less than half the price (of Champagne)”.

Wine producers here run the gamut from small farmhouse makers with just a few rows of grapes on steep slopes to those with historic mansions like Villa Sandi, which dates back to 1622 and is one of the grandest wine estates you'll find anywhere. 

The region is alive with cantinas offering tastings and upmarket hotels and eateries catering for the influx of tourists – including Villa Sandi's boutique Locanda Sandi (above). Take detours off the main roads here to hillside villages where the odd wild boar still roams.

The entire appellation is dotted with medieval walled towns and cities and beautiful old churches. The rugged countryside is full of abbeys, churches and castles with a mountainous backdrop.

The delightful city of Treviso (below), known as Little Venice because of its rivers, canals and many churches, barely rates a mention in many guide books but it is a charming base from which to explore for those who do not wish to commute the 40 or so kilometres from Venice.

Some of the old water mills that dotted the city have been converted into trendy homes but the city retains much of its ancient charm. It's a prosperous place; where locals and tourists alike stroll the ancient streets and piazzas, and walk the river banks and canals in the midst of leafy gardens.

The region is best explored by taking the La Strada di Prosecco (Prosecco Road) – a driving route that passes many of the finest wine estates, vineyards, osterias and enoteccas.

It is interesting that while prosecco is known and loved as a style, many drinkers know nothing of its back story.

Prosecco is usually made from the indigenous glera grape (itself sometimes known as prosecco), although other varieties are allowed and while the name prosecco derived from a village near Trieste, DOC Prosecco is produced in the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions, largely around the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene.

Unlike Champagne and premium Australian sparkling wines, prosecco is largely produced using the charmat method, in which secondary fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks. This makes the wine cheaper to produce, and has resulted in a global explosion of interest over the past five years with 65% of production exported.

The wines range from sweet to dry but all are best consumed when the wine is as young as possible – and certainly within a couple of years of production.

Some experts say prosecco should be enjoyed from a white wine glass rather than a Champagne flute, as this accentuates both the aromas and flavours.

In 2009, the Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene DOC appellation from the hilly areas of the region, was lifted to the loftier DOCG recognition, and there is also now an Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG to the southwest. The DOCG consorzio has even applied for UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

The other regions have since 2009 been recognised as DOC – and that includes the majority of the prosecco exported to Australia.

Either way, its is no surprise that Italian producers hail prosecco as “the success story of the 21st century”. It's the instant success story that has taken hundreds of years.

That said, the news is not all good. The wet 2014 vintage has been described as “the most difficult in 50 years” with both quantity and quality down considerably. Some of the leading producers have said they will not make flagship wines.

But still the planting continues, and exports continue to grow.

THE FACTS
M Gallery Papadopoli Hotel Venezia is set in an 18th-century mansion with just 97 rooms and suites, some with magnificent views. The hotel is just a short walk from the bus station and one stop, or an easy walk across the the Constitution Bridge, to the Piazzale Roma water bus stop and the main railway station. +39 041 710 400. www.hotel-papadopoli-venice.com.

Emirates flies from Australia to Dubai 84 times per week, with daily onward connections to 35 European destinations, including Venice. Emirates provides 30kg of checked luggage per passenger in economy class and 40kg in business class. 1300 303 777 or www.emirates.com/au

How a rural Tasmanian family became the flagbearers for organic cider

A small family business in Tasmania's picturesque Huon Valley is helping put organic cider on the map.

Launched just two years ago by a fourth-generation apple farming family, Willie Smith's Organic Cider is now widely distributed throughout Australia.

Andrew Smith and his business partner Sam Reid have drawn inspiration from Andrew's pioneering forebears to create Australia’s first certified organic apple cidery and have also opened a popular apple museum and tasting facility that hosts a winter festival attracting more than 3000 people.

Andrew Smith and food curator Michel;e Crawford

“The great thing is that we can guarantee that everything in our ciders is 100 per cent natural,” says Andrew Smith. “We see our business as a tribute to the pioneers who first transformed Tasmania into the `Apple Isle’ with honesty and hard work."

The Smith family is synonymous with southern Tasmania – and apples. Andrew Smith’s great grandfather William first planted apple trees at his Grove property, just outside the town of Huonville, in 1888 and the orchard has operated continuously since.

While many orchards across the state have been pulled out as demand for Tasmanian apples has declined, the Smiths have persevered through tough times to prosper as the country’s biggest organic apple orchard (115 acres) and the sole organic apple supplier to Woolworths nationally.

A $250,000 cidery has been built on the family farm to brew Willie Smith’s Organic Cider - a premium product that aims to provide consumers with an alternative to highly-processed, artificially-sweetened ciders that are often made with Chinese apple concentrate.

Willie Smith’s direction is inspired by the cider making process of Northern France and is matured in oak vats to deliver a distinctive farmhouse style (or in the case of some special-release ciders, in barrels that have been used for whisky maturation). All products are made without the use of synthetic chemicals, fertilisers or genetically modified organisms and with a focus on sustainable practices.

Andrew’s business partner in Willie Smith’s, former Diageo marketing manager Reid, is also originally from Tasmania and firmly believes the cider will be on par with the best from France.

“I'd like to think Tasmania and Australia can be recognised as world class producers of cider and perhaps even do what the wine industry did and export our product back to where it originated,” he said.

“We feel that with our cider and other Tasmanian ciders that have recently come on to the market, that Tasmania can regain the 'Apple Isle' moniker and return the apple industry to long-term and sustainable growth.’’

Reid and cider maker Rowl Muir-Wilson spent time travelling to the world’s most famous cider regions - Normandy in France, Spain’s Basque region and Somerset in England, to explore the history of the cider making craft.

“Linking with world-class producers can only benefit us locally as we bring some of the knowledge, skills and experience back to Tasmania,’’ Reid said.

“Our business is in its infancy whereas most of these producers have been making cider for at least 200 years and many of them have links going back 400 or so years. We are hoping to learn from that experience and help move the Australian cider industry forward in the same way the wine industry learnt French techniques in the 1970s.”

The opening of the Apple Shed Museum and tasting facility just before Christmas 2013 was the latest step.

``We had so many people interested in what we are doing and just dropping into the packing shed, where we make the cider which has been fantastic,’’ Andrew Smith said. 

“Unfortunately it was a working operation which was not designed to handle visitors at any scale. We decided the Apple Shed would provide a much better experience.”

The development includes detailed history exhibitions about the apple industry – with artefacts dating back to the mid 1800s, including portraits of Willie Smith’s family – as well as cider displays, a tasting bar and a providore-style shop-front. The next stage of the project includes a copper still for the production of organic apple brandy.

The Apple Shed - 1942-built apple packing shed, which housed a run-down museum, has been totally restored and it and the tasting facility are key components of the Tasmanian apple trail.

The facility, developed at a cost of more than $450,000, including a State Government grant of $150,000, has been inspired by European cider houses and features regional and seasonal produce platters developed by local foodie Michelle Crawford.

“We're conscious that Tasmania competes internationally for the tourist dollar and so we felt we had to do something world class to draw people down here.” Reid said.

Andrew Smith added: “The Apple Shed is a place that both acknowledges the apple industry's significant and at times challenging history and celebrates its vibrant future through the development of the cider industry.”

Willie Smith’s Organic Cider is available on-tap in bars and pubs and also available for purchase at premium locations across Australia.

# This is a version of a story that originally appeared in Nourish magazine

They call it the best breakfast in Africa: and they aren't joking

If your idea of breakfast is baked beans on toast, or a bacon sandwich, then you've come to the wrong place.

If you like the idea of a lavish buffet featuring over 260 choices, however, you will be in breakfast heaven.

The breakfasts at the Crystal Court restaurant at The Palace of the Lost City, - part of the massive Sun City leisure complex two hours north-west of Johannesburg - are truly extraordinary.

First there is the setting; life-sized elephant sculptures, floor-to-ceiling arched window frames overlooking water features and lush gardens, with sparkling glimpses of the ginormous pool. And, of course, a gentlemen in a bow tie playing the giant piano for your morning pleasure.

Sit down and order tea, or coffee, or maybe some toast and then start to explore the massive buffet.

There's a roast of the day, yesterday it was roast beef, this morning gammon steak. There's a huge selection of cereals, salads, yoghurts and fresh juices (six every day).

Then there's a remarkable spread of hot dishes, from kippers to congee, from a waffle station to a massive choice of cheeses and cold meats.

There's an omelette station making egg dishes to order and a spread of pastries and cakes that would delight the sweetest of tooths.

It's been described as the best breakfast in Africa and could be argued that it is the best in the world, short maybe of Las Vegas. 

It is really a brunch - and is served until 1pm at weekends. An in addition to the standards there are selections of Chinese and Indian dishes, as well as South African specialities.   

Sun City, is, of course, Africa's Las Vegas, where nothing succeeds like excess. And breakfast is just the beginning.

www.suninternational.com/sun-city

Meet the Henschke family: Australian wine royalty

The Henschke family has been making wine since Johann Christian Henschke planted a small vineyard on his diverse farming property at Keyneton, high above the Barossa Valley, back in 1862.

He was one of many Silesians who had fled their European homeland in search of religious freedom, and initially made wine to be enjoyed by his family and friends.

He would be very pleasantly surprised, no doubt, to learn that today the Henschke name is known around the world with the family's flagship Hill of Grace wine one of Australia's most acclaimed single-vineyard releases, much sought-after by collectors.

Christian Henschke's first commercial release was in 1868, setting the wheels in motion for greater things to come.

Each generation has helped build the business, still owned and operated by the family. Fourth-generation vigneron Cyril Henschke pioneered varietal and single-vineyard wines at a time when blended wines and fortifieds were in vogue.

His greatest legacy was the creation of Hill of Grace and Mount Edelstone in the 1950s, shiraz wines from Eden Valley that have captured the wine world’s imagination.

Today, the Henschke family produces around 30,000 cases of wine a year and has over 120 hectares under vine in both the Eden Valley and the Adelaide Hills. Wine guru James Halliday describes Henschke as “the best medium-sized wine producer in Australia” and says “Hill of Grace is second only to Penfolds Grange as Australia's red wine icon.”

The Eden Valley, Mount Edelstone, Hill of Grace and Lenswood vineyards are all managed by viticulturist Prue Henschke using biodynamic and organic principles.

Prue works alongside her winemaker husband Stephen and in 2006 the couple made the decision to go fully organic, including the use of some biodynamic practices. Sustainability is their watchword.

The famous Hill of Grace vineyard contains some vines that are 120 years old, while Mount Edelstone was planted in 1912.

One of the problems facing organic growers has been the control of under-row weeds, which is achieved in conventional vineyards by the use of herbicides. Under-vine weed control in the Henschke vineyards has been switched from herbicides to pine oil in the winter, and then in the summer an under-vine ploughing device which takes out weeds without damaging the vines is used.

In some of the vineyard blocks straw mulch is left under the vines, deterring weed growth and helping to maintain soil moisture, while the Henschkes also use organic sprays.

“We are looking for management systems that help the health of the soils, and help them retain moisture,” says Prue Henschke. “The soil components are manufactured by the microbes in the soil: they need food and the right conditions.

"We are combining organics and biodynamics to give an integrated system. This sort of fusion of sustainable wine growing, organics and selected biodynamic practices strikes me as an enlightened, rational approach, although it would probably be frowned upon by purist followers of biodynamics.”

Prue Henschke says different grape varieties demand different regimes, which is why she is constantly learning.

“The grapevine is an extraordinary plant,” she says. “Different varieties reflect a wide range of climate adaptability – grenache loves the heat and pinot noir produces its exotic flavours in a cooler temperate climate. To produce the vivid varietal flavours, the vines need healthy soils to survive by buffering them against the extremes of summer.

“Along with the minerals and water making up the physical part of the soil, organic matter and soil microbial activity are major players in the health of the soil and both are at risk from excessive cultivation and high levels of fertiliser.

“The inclusion of biodynamic principles in our vineyard management gives a two-fold benefit – replacement of inorganic fertilisers with compost and the end of using herbicides.

“It incorporates the cyclic nature of our farm – from the manure of the cows and the eggshells from the chooks, to the recycling of our grape marc to produce compost, which in turn produces great wine.

“The influence of the moon cycles has always been a familiar feature – Hill of Grace is always picked just before the full moon of Easter and Mount Edelstone a week or so after. Throw in nectar- providing local native plants to help with pest and disease control and we have a garden of earthly delights – a food chain that replaces pest control.

”We see the nourishing of our land as a tool to connect between healthy soils and healthy people. We want to tread as lightly as possible on our land; land that is our home, our peace, our nourishment, pleasure and future.“

And the Henschkes are not standing still. Their three children now play an active role and Prue is trialling new grape varieties and clones in the three different vineyard regions: grenache, mataro and counoise in the Barossa Valley; tempranillo, barbera, nebbiolo and various clones of shiraz and riesling in the Eden Valley; and grüner veltliner and clones of pinot noir, chardonnay and merlot in the Adelaide Hills. 

# This is a version of a story that originally appeared in Nourish magazine.