Wine, chocolate and tea can help beat memory loss

A modest amount of wine could help to beat memory loss and delay the onset of dementia, claim researchers, who added that the same goes for a few squares of chocolate and cups of tea.
However, if anyone thinks that they have got the licence to over-indulge during the festive season, should beware. According to scientists, [...]

Festive season traps

The holiday looms, and so does Christmas. All you want to do is chill out after what’s been a hard year. But that’s not always the easiest thing to do – you know the bit about life being “the thing that happens while you’re making other plans”.
For some, chilling out may mean booking a [...]

The health benefits of wine

 
Moderate consumption of red wine on a regular basis may help to prevent coronary disease and some forms of cancer. The chemical components thought to be responsible are catechins, also known as flavanoids and related to tannins . Catechins are believed to function as anti-oxidants, preventing molecules known as “free-radicals” from doing cellular damage. One [...]

The big cheese

 
When pairing wine and cheese, you want a wine that’s going to complement the flavours of the cheese and not overpower it – and vice versa. You wouldn’t drink a really light wine with a strong-tasting cheese, or a mild cheese with a full-bodied, robust wine.
There’s a general rule of thumb to follow: the stronger [...]

Stock up on wine for the festive season!

Health drinking this season

 
 

 
The festive season is famous for bringing family and friends together. This will undoubtedly result in more social eating and of course drinking. Here are some principles to apply this season:
 
Know your limits:
Safe and healthy alcohol intake levels are 30g/day for men and 20g/day for women (women generally have less of the enzyme [...]

The gift that keeps giving

For a gift with a real feel-good factor for both the giver and the recipient, Long Distance wines are the perfect present. It’s a win-win situation: the lucky recipient has the opportunity to enjoy a unique limited-edition blend of good Riesling, and you’ll be contributing towards a worthy charitable cause as the entire proceeds will [...]

Silly or sane season?

This time of year is not called “silly season” for nothing! December arrives and with it comes extended traffic jams, queues and congestion.
This is a time for sharing. Involve your family and friends in all festive preparations. Here are some ideas to help lighten your load.
• As a family set a theme [...]

UK newspaper readers vote Cape Town “Best World City”

The Telegraph Travel Awards for 2008 were released today and New Zealand, Australia and South Africa were voted the readers’ “favourite destinations on earth”; while their favourite cities were voted as Cape Town, San Francisco, Sydney and Vancouver.
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town was named one of the favourite city hotels in the [...]

Preserving unfinished wines

This is a dilemma amongst many of us. There are times we want to drink wine but couldn’t finish a bottle alone.
Or when we are with a date who is not much of a wine drinker, we will end up with leftover wine, which of course we do not want to just throw away. Wine [...]