Under the Influence of June

We trust that you have had a good June and are ready for the longer days and shorter nights as we start heading back to the sun.

Under the Influence officially moved offices to the Roundhouse Restaurant at the end of June and we now have a view over Camps Bay and the 12 Apostles but more importantly a superb venue for food, wine and fine spirits to be served and enjoyed. We are launching Monday nights age restricted Under the Influence courses on wines and whiskies at the Roundhouse in July. Bookings are being taken already but our members will get the best seats and deal in the house! More details will be sent through early next week.

Our new website has been launched at www.undertheinfluence.co.za. Click through and send us your comments.

We are also very excited about three new additions to our portfolio of Estates this month. Ataraxia, Quoin Rock and Oak Valley all produce award winning wines and their inclusion in the ensembles will make for some excited palates. Thanks for all of the feedback on the private tastings taking place across the country - it is great to see how our members share Under the Influence!

Under the Influence of latitude

Under the Influence had the pleasure of hosting a wine and food pairing with a difference for Investec at Tintswalo Waterfall last week. The Guests had all worked hard during the year and produced exceptional results and there is no better way to celebrate than becoming Under the Influence. After a sensorial Bourbon tasting our team decided to adopt a "long way down" approach and begun the evening pairing a beautiful German Riesling, we then progressed down to Burgundy and Bordeaux. The wines showed how latitude can influence flavour in a wine and the varying degrees of acidity and flavour intensity paired superbly with the menu prepared by Tintswalo.

The next leg of our journey skipped most of the African continent and found us in Stellenbosch sampling the De Toren Fusion V and finally enjoying a Vin De Constance with dessert, quite fitting as it was the wine that put South Africa on the map.

Thank you to everyone for a wonderful evening.

Under the Influence of Champagne and Popcorn

The Under the Influence team descended on Relish in Cape Town on a beautiful winter evening to help celebrate Sentient Communication's 5th birthday party in style. Apart from the superb crowd in attendance there were also a collection of superb bubblies, including the Lallier Brut
Selection. Guests were given a brief understanding of how to taste bubblies and then paired them with different flavours of popcorn. The light texture of the popcorn complimented the light structure of the Champagnes and the different flavours were unlocked by the fine bubbles. A match made in popcorn heaven!

The celebration progressed well into the night and many thanks to Sarah for sharing her birthday party with us and becoming Under the Influence of Champagne and Popcorn in the process. Have a look at some more photos on the Bizcommunity article.