Petes-Pix: June 2019

My Books

"Pinotage: Behind the Legends of South Africa's own wine" is available on the ibookstore

Learn more about my new book telling all about Pinotage and read sample pages at
pinotagebook.weebly.com

A I Perold's
A Treatise
on Viticulture
A I Perold (1880-1941) was South Africa's first Professor of Viticulture and Oenology. He dedicated himself to improving the quality of grapes for wine, brandy and the table. He studied wine and brandy production in Europe, imported more than 60 varieties to the Cape and bred new ones. Perold said this book “is intended to serve both the student and the practical grape-grower. There are in it technical passages that will appeal more to the student, e.g. the chapters dealing with the biology of the vine, its external and internal morphology, the theory of grafting. My remarks on the practice of viticulture, such as those dealing with the propagation, manuring and pruning of the vine, the production of table grapes for export, will, it is hoped, assist the practical grape-grower as well as the student.” This is a newly typeset reprint, not a photocopy. Text on the 712 pages have been aligned to match the original pagination so any external references to pages in the Treatise will be valid in this edition
Available in paperback and hardback editions. 712 pages

A Year in Paarl
with
A I Perold

Dr Perolds report on his Paarl experiments 1915 - 1916 reprinted with glossary, introduction and brief biography. Fascinating historical document on viticulture for wine and table grapes, wine and brandy making.

28 June 2019

Barefoot Wine (through dark glasses)

This was outside Marks & Spencer in St Albans this afternoon.

On the trays they were giving passers-by Sauvignon Blanc and Malbec. The savvie was dry, not as crisp and gooseberry sharp as I prefer but better then many insipid savvies I’ve had in pubs.

The Malbec wasn’t bad, fruit without the jammy sweetness I associate with Barefoot. One could taste any wine they had in the van.

The only other red was a Shiraz and I was pleasantly surprised in that it was noticeably dry with tannins. Would I rush out now and buy a bottle of Barefoot? No, but I’m much more pleasantly disposed to them than I was before the tasting, and if there were a glass of Barefoot Shiraz in a pub I’d go for it, if only to taste it properly in a glass.

Horrible little plastic beakers of course; but I did score a pair of Barefoot branded sunglasses!

13 June 2019

Viking From Budapest to Bucharest

Viking Lif, sailing down river Danube from Budapest to Bucharest. 11 days starting 3 June with two days in Parisi Udvar hotel in Budapest, seven nights on the boat and one night in Radisson Blu, Bucharest.

View from cabin in Budapest

The Danube was swollen and the boat we'd been scheduled to board, Embla, had been unable to pass under a bridge upstream on Budapest so they'd swapped the passengers onto the Lif.

Parisi Udvar entrance and restaurant

Parisi Udvar ceiling

Parisi Udvar had opened only two weeks before we got there after a massive renovation. The entrance hall is magnificent, the rooms are spacious and well equipped but the restaurant was luxury priced for inexperienced, slow, inefficient non-luxury service.

Driving 10 horses, standing on last 2

The cruise was, as usual, excellent, though the included trips mostly featured castles and churches. The Bakodpuszta horse farm (Kalocsa, Hungary) was the best with a welcome glass of wine and a snack on arrival, and amazing display of horsemanship, a drink at the finish and a ride in a horse drawn cart.

Croatia flag on Osijek fortress

Stork and nest, Osijek, Croatia

Serbian flag

Just opened, Golubac Castle at entrance to Iron Gates, Serbia

This sign was at the entrance to and in Golubac Castle and I saw a snake swimming in the river under the castle, but the guide said the snakes were harmless and the sign were to discourage anyone from leaving the paths.

Sailing through the Iron Gates

The 'Iron Gates' is the gorge the Danube flows through with cliffs or iron rich stone. The local guides said that they attract lightning leaving nearby habitations safe. A dam has raised the water level flooding roman and mediaeval remains