Francis Krone
The life and times of a Sommelier in South Africa.
Another wine list competition
In a week where the Top 100 wine list competition has been in the media extensively it was also announced that South Africa has another new wine list competition. I will be honest in the fact that even though I was excited about the Top 100 Wine List Challenge I did not enter our wine … Read more
Wine Bars in Johannesburg
At a wine bar in Beaune Major cities throughout the world has an abundance of wine bars available for patrons to frequent during an evening of relaxation. It is a destination where you can discover wines from areas you might not normally drink from in an informal environment. In South Africa there are some wine bars in … Read more
Wrestling with Questions
As Sommeliers we constantly striving to improve our knowledge and our qualification. The next level for me will be the advanced sommelier pin that I hope to attempt towards the end of 2012. Read this interesting article Gareth has written about the next pin: http://viathegrapevine.blogspot.com/2011/12/advanced-pin-dream-or-possibility.html
Busy months ahead
Saxon Sommelier Team The next couple of months is going to be very busy and exciting with some of the events lined up at the Saxon Hotel. During March Gareth and I will be judges at the Regional Chaine Des Rottiseur Junior Sommelier competition. Then on the week-end of the 16th and 17th of March Chateaux Mouton Rothschild will be at the Saxon … Read more
Well done my friend!
Sometimes our achievements can only be limited by our own imagination. I am pretty shure that if Gareth was told two years ago that he will be the South African Junior Sommelier Champion in 2011 he would not have believed you or even have imagined it. So well done my friend you have made us … Read more
Salon Visit
Guy on the way down to the cellar. I recall tasting Salon for the first time only three years ago and up to that point it was a wine that I have only heard about. Well when I tasted it back then I did not know that this day would arrive, but what I did … Read more
Judging Regional Sommelier Competition
So on Wednesday morning I was joined by one of my fellow Sommeliers Migaul Chan to come and judge at the regional Chaine des Rotisseur Johannesburg competition that was held at the Saxon Hotel. The competition took up the whole morning as we had to judge our candidate Gareth Ferreira on Champagne service, Decantation, Menu pairing and written exams. Gareth … Read more
Cos D’Estournel at the Saxon Hotel
Another great event was hosted at the Saxon Hotel in conjunction with the International Wine Company. The event consisted of a featured tasting of 10 vintages of Cos D’Estournel which included the 1961 vintage led by Jean-Guillaume Prats (Director-General of Cos D’Estournel), Chris Meyers (Mahler-Besse) and Steven Lack (IWC). Followed by a six course dinner accompanied by selected vintages. Thank … Read more
Easy steps how to Sabrage
The story goes that this tradition started as Napoleon’s generals wanted to impress the rich widow Madame clicquot by decapitating bottles of Champagne with their sabres. This tradition has turned into a party trick done all over the world today with various levels of success. On my recent trip to England one of the sommeliers I met proceeded … Read more
Chenin Blanc Classic
Chenin Blanc is a grape that we have in abundance here in South Africa. Here is a great take on the grape and is something that we at the Saxon watch at least once a month. So here from one of the most entertaining wine lovers in the world watch my absolute favourite library TV clip. enjoy! If you … Read more
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