Admen are not joking when they say Red Bull gives you wings: three billion cans of the stuff are sold each year. Amy Winehouse, the torch-song diva who flew too close to the flame, was a big fan, apparently.
India and Brazil are two emerging wine-producing countries that have an advantage on the competition - climate gives them two vintages a year.
The declaration "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times" opens A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. It also sums up the SA wine scene today.
Love it or hate it, Pinotage is the taste of South Africa. A wild and aggressively fruited cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, it can also make wines of incredible finesse and complexity with old Lanzerac vintages from the '60s being pure Burgundy. First bottled more than 50 years ago, it has been something of a local hero ever since.
Ray Edwards probably has South Africa's biggest bar bill. That's because he is, until the end of the month, CEO of Tops at Spar, which, with 345 stores, is the country's biggest liquor store chain.
Decanter magazine emerged as an unlikely denier of climate change earlier this month when it quoted US academics on the vexing issue and its effect on the relentless increase in the alcohol content of wine.
Two decades ago Gerald Ratner was the world's largest jeweller, operating 2500 shops.
THE first thing that jumped out and hit me between the nostrils from a glass of Beanotage 2010, Marius Malan's attempt at the wildly popular coffee/mocha style of Pinotage, was vanilla. Which comes as no surprise, as toasted oak staves rich in vanillin define this popular style.
Two Banghoek beauties show SA is growing up nicely
But retailers' mark-ups keep cheap imports at the door
The bubbly at Kate and William's left English winemakers feeling blue
China and its culinary tradition is key to a whole new language of wine appreciation
When the roof of the Glenfiddich distillery warehouse in Speyside collapsed under the weight of four foot of snow in January last year, malt master Brian Kinsman had a wee problem.
Queen Victoria famously draped her tables with shawls and antimacassars to hide the nether regions of diners, while piano legs were considered quite scandalous.
Edward VIII was quite right, but not about the bubbles
Rust en Vrede has listened to consumers and adjusted its style
Can reviews be reduced to Twitter-length smartphone reports? And do we need them?
In South Africa other people pump petrol. Not because drivers are especially lazy, but because the career of a petrol jockey is a noble one, providing employment for tens of thousands.
The alcohol content of local wines is steadily increasing, but is that a good thing?
Portuguese wines selling well in the UK but SA sales are down
he beauty and brains behind some stellar wine-marketing coups now has her sites on China
The bombshell that SA had been invited to join Bric - a phantom club of the fastest-growing emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India and China - was a welcome Christmas present for SA wine.
SA's bid to host Mr Gay World 2012 is promising news for hard-pressed wine producers
Commenting on the reclamation of the Constantia Valley by baboons, a reader, Tom Robbins, recalls a Cape Times headline: "Baboons come down to Newlands to look for wives".
Groovy Hermanus hedonist and winemaker Bartho Eksteen took a leaf out of Lou "Mambo #5" Bega's songbook when he christened his oaked sauvignon blanc Hermanuspietersfontein No. 5, a wine that saw him crowned Diners Club Winemaker of the Year at the end of November.
