TCA-free corks coming soon, Amorim says

Haven't we heard all this before? 

The head of the world’s largest cork manufacturer, Antonio Amorim, says that his Portuguese company will have achieved the total eradication of cork taint across the billions of corks it produces by 2020.

“We will have a non-detectible TCA guarantee for everything, it’s in our company strategy for 2020; we are working as fast as ever,” he told The Drinks Business.

Amorim said that he is financing research and development that will eradicate TCA from all Amorim natural cork stoppers. The news just comes a couple of hundred years too late.

“We don’t want to segregate corks that are contaminated, we want to eliminate TCA – that’s what we are planning with our new technology, and we believe it is possible,” he said.

Amorim said he has been testing such technology over the past 12 months, noting that initial results were “very positive”. 

“But we are not here to minimise TCA; we are here to eradicate it.”

Amorim sold 5.4 billion corks in 2017 but New World producers are increasingly preferring screw caps to natural cork as a closure for their wines. 

  

Special wine release marks 90th birthday for De Bortoli family

The De Bortoli family is releasing a very special wine to make the 90th anniversary of its involvement in the the wine industry. The milestone will be marked by a limited edition of Black Noble, the world’s only fortified made from botrytis grapes. Black Noble was first created De Bortoli managing director Darren De Bortoli in 1998 in the NSW Riverina region, inspired by a wine his grandfather - and company founder - Vittorio De Bortoli produced in the 1930s. Black Noble is crafted from the same botrytised semillon grapes harvested for the company's iconic Noble One stickie, which was developed by Darren and his father Deen in 1982. The limited edition Black Noble is crafted from parcels of wine with an average blended age of 20 years in barrels. "We have been setting aside portions of these parcels since 1982, with a selection of exceptional quality blended to deliver structure, strength and complexity in this limited edition," says Darren De Bortoli. "A little fermentation occurs before fortification when a grape spirit is added to inhibit further fermentation. The wine is then clarified, and a touch of brandy is added for extra complexity before being transferred into used Noble One barriques." The 90th Anniversary limited-edition Black Noble is presented in an elegant bottle and gift box, each marked with its own serial number. Every staff member at De Bortoli will be presented with a bottle, or it can be purchased for, you guessed it, $90, at leading liquor outlets across Australia.

British publican misreads the public mood about Trump

A British publican appears to have badly misread the mood of his customers after renaming his London establishment The Trump Arms to mark the visit of US president Donald Trump. 

With protesters marching on the US embassy to protest Trump’s visit to Britain and a general dislike of the bombastic politician, the former The Jameson pub in Hammersmith, West London, suffered a backlash. 

It received a barrage of negative reviews on its Facebook page after it emerged that the pub would change its name and throw a welcome party on Tuesday for the presidential visit.

Damien Smyth, the pub’s Irish landlord, told the London Evening Standard that he wanted to show Trump that, despite widespread protests and a giant Trump baby balloon flying over the Houses of Commons, he had support in the capital.

The pub describes itself as a “traditional” British establishment on TripAdvisor. 

“I’ll never set foot in this pub again,” said one reviewer, who used the name Rose Garden, who added the place “stinks of p*ss”.

“Horrible place and becoming a favourite with racist misogynists,” Jack Adkins added.

The strange story of Benoni, the princess and the pugilists

When Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco is not living an alluring lifestyle with Prince Albert and the glitterati of the principality, she can sometimes be found hanging out in a decidedly uncool former mining town outside Johannesburg.

Princess Charlene grew up in Benoni, a city known for its mine dumps, many lakes and a shopping centre built as a replica of a Mississippi paddle steamer. It is home to just 160,000 people, fewer than Cairns in Australia.


Princess Charlene in Benoni this week. Pic: Benoni City Times

Benoni, bizarrely, is also the home town of some of the most beautiful and talented women on the planet; and the home of several world-class sportsmen.

Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron was born and grew up in Benoni, while Princess Charlene, the former Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock, went to school here and has several family members who are still residents. 

Australian television star Jessica Marais, who starred in US TV series Magic City, was also a Benoni girl, as is multiple award-winning Afro-Soul singer Lira.

New Zealand-based comedian Urzila Carlson is another ex Benonian, having worked at the local paper, the Benoni City Times, founded in 1921.

Also born in Benoni: Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe, the second wife of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and First Lady of Zimbabwe from 1996 until his resignation in November 2017.

Benoni's a fairly tough place, but has produced more than its fair share of boxing champions, dating back to Vic Toweel the former undisputed world bantamweight champion in the 1950s - known as "the Benoni buzzsaw" - to more recent world champion pugilists Brian Mitchell and Philip Holiday (who once beat triple world champ Jeff Fenech).

Former world heavyweight Gerrie Coetzee is from down the road in Boksburg and is often seen in Benoni.


One of Benoni's many mine dumps

Springbok rugby star Bryan Habana is also from Benoni, as were former Bafana Bafana soccer internationals Pollen Ndlanya and Rowen Fernandez, who started his career at Benoni Northerns. The late former South African wicket keeper Denis Lindsay ran a sports store in town.

Princess Charlene is in Benoni this week; set to mark Nelson Mandela Day (July 18) with visits to local orphanages as part of her charitable work.

“It’s always great to come back home," she said. "I always found that in my life swimming gave me an opportunity to travel the world. I always felt responsible and a need to give back to my country and give back to those who are less fortunate."

Prince Albert visited Benoni in 2015, having lunch with members of his wife's family at a popular local Irish pub, McGinty’s.

PS: Leading Australian travel writer Catherine Marshall and yours truly both went to Benoni High School and I started my career on the Benoni City Times - hence my interest  


  

New heritage hotel to open in Hobart

It has been a private mansion, a hostel, a girls’ school and a Salvation Army headquarters. Now Maylands Lodge in Hobart is being readied for its opening as a luxury heritage hotel.

The historic property Maylands was built in 1887 and was designed by renowned Tasmanian colonial architect Henry Hunter. It is located in New Town, just north of the Hobart CBD, and will provide accommodation for visitors looking for a unique Tasmanian experience. 

This heritage gem is scheduled to open as luxury accommodation in August after an 18-month restoration project. 

“It is absolutely wonderful to see this iconic building come back to life,” Maylands Lodge general manager Gareth Hinds told Brand Tasmania. "It really is a hidden Tasmanian gem.”

Encompassing three levels of Victorian Italianate grandeur over 1000m2, Maylands Lodge has a sweeping staircase hand-crafted from Baltic pine, Huon pine and blackwood; wide floorboards made from New Zealand Cowrie pine; towering stained-glass windows; and wrap-around balconies that look down over the city.

The property was purchased in 2016 by the Gardiner family, who have a building background.

“This is very much a family affair and we have all been working really hard together over the last 18 months to restore Maylands,” Alan Gardiner said. “Our built heritage is such an important part of Hobart, and that includes incredible properties like Maylands. Bringing them back to life is also very important for our growing tourism industry."

Maylands Lodge will be ready to receive guests in mid-August, offering 12 rooms.

Set on more than half a hectare it will also have a large potager, giving guests a garden-to-plate dining experience in the intimate restaurant.

For details see https://maylandslodge.com.au/

Melbourne entertainment icon set to make a return

One of Melbourne' iconic entertainment venues is about to be re-born three years after it closed its doors.

St Kilda’s much-loved Hotel Esplanade will reopen this November, when leading hospitality group Sand Hill Road unveils its redevelopment of the seaside icon.

The Espy will be home to a range of lifestyle experiences and offer new dining, drinking and cultural destinations to Melbourne.

Andy Mullins, a Sand Hill Road director, fondly recalls what the previous owners told them the day the sale went through.

“They said that we might have bought The Espy, but we’d never really own it. It belongs to the people of Melbourne. We have always loved the pub, but we know that it holds a special place in many different hearts for many different reasons. There’s no other pub like it in Australia.”

The 140-year-old St Kilda landmark will employ up to 300 people when it reopens.

One of the most noticeable changes will be the size of the venue, with parts of the building people never knew existed opening up.

Visitors who remember the Espy as two levels will now be able to journey from the basement stage and iconic public bar to the expansive main bar, garden terrace overlooking St Kilda Pier, Gershwin Room, a fast-paced casual dining kitchen, Mya Tiger (a Cantonese restaurant with accompanying cocktail bar) and The Ghost of Alfred Felton (a sophisticated cocktail bar on the top floor).

Sand Hill Road’s vision is ultimately to create a pub where all Melburnians feel at home.

“We’re not trying to please one market, that’s not The Espy," says Mullins. "We’re going all out to create a world-class cocktail bar, and then only 27 stairs away have 800 people looking out to the ocean, drinking beers and smashing pizzas or heading into a gig at one of the stages inside. 

"Different types of people, there for different reasons, day and night. That’s always been The Espy - a melting pot of Melbourne”.

The Espy’s food offering will be led by executive chef Ash Hicks, while drinks will be curated by Kevin Peters and group sommelier Matt Skinner.

Hotel Esplanade is at 11 The Esplanade, St Kilda. www.hotelesplanade.com.au