Thanks to CNBC Africa for helping get this footage available online.

Enjoy

Can you spot the laptop at the bottom of the fence post?

There is no broadband at Stormhoek (I have written about this before). We are 10km from the centre of the town of Wellington. The quality of the fixed lines means that modems only run at 28k or less and given the distance and remoteness, the errors are many and the speed very poor. Our fixed line operator – Telkom – has not rolled out ADSL (because of the density of the population in our valley being very low – and the cost high) and although a local wireless operator – iBurst – has a tower on the Groenberg (right in front of our house), we are directly in the shadow of the signal meaning that there is no signal.

So I have toyed with the idea of using 3G to make this broadband connection possible. But there are problems:

• On our neighbours border (the corner post in the picture above) – Welvenplas – is the only place to secure a 5 bar connection to one of the cellular operators.
• This spot is 200 meters from the farmhouse.
• This spot is approximately 30 meters higher than the farmhouse.
• The farmhouse is surrounded by trees.
• There is no power source anywhere nearby.

My chosen solution is basically to use a 3G router to get the Internet signal. The router is powered by a battery charged by a 40W solar panel (we too can dip into the super sustainable pond). But obviously the adapter for the router runs off alternating current (AC) and so requires a regulator (to even out the DC – direct current like you get from a battery – current supply) and an inverter (this converts DC to AC). In the US this would not be necessary as the power supply is already DC.

But now how do you get the signal to the farmhouse?

To accomplish this it is necessary to set up a point to point network. This link is established using two directional antennae and another router (as a client – receiving point) setup at the fresh water pond (just above the treeline around the house). The antennae are setup facing each other across the Cinsault vineyard. So my aim must be true to get the best of the connection. The receiving antenna will be powered from an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) that is charged from the house. This makes this impervious (at least for a few hours) to the frequent power outages we experience at the farm. Lastly a CAT5 (normal network cable) is run down to the house and into a network switch. All the computers in the house will be connected to it. This way everyone in the house will be able to browse 24 hours a day – wired or wirelessly. Woo Hoo!

On Thursday – last week – I ran a test on the border fence for connectivity. It passed with flying colours. But you should know that wireless is affected by weather – particularly rain, so I am hoping that the 3G solution will have enough scope to counteract the impact of fluctuations with respect to rain and cold.

If you want to read more about the technology I plan to use then check out:

• The Climate Change Online store who were incredibly helpful in sourcing the solar power solution
• DLink South Africa, especially Wynand who highlighted the 3G router they offer as well as advice on the point to point stuff. If you are interested in networking at all – check out their free self study course. It includes pretty much everything that you need to learn about this stuff
• Vodacom SA who supply the 3G routers

Before embarking on this path make sure that the routers you get can take another antenna. Newer ones are not coming out with replaceable antenna – presumably to reduce cost.

If you are interested, these things are not really that hard to setup. There is a wealth of information available on the Internet and much of this I used in formulating this solution. I will keep you all posted as we progress.

The solution will cost us about ZAR9000.00 but this against a telephone bill of ZAR10,000 means that it will pay itself off within 2 months.

PS: make sure your equipment is approved by your local ICT (Information, Communication and Telephony) regulator to avoid repercussions.

PPS: dBi is a measure of your antenna’s capability. A 12 dBi directional antenna can be used up to 1.5km (depending on conditions).

PPPS: There is a difference between an Omni (all) directional antenna and a directional antenna in that a directional one focus’s in one direction.

I do go on a bit. Sorry.

Yesterday we had to call the labelling of the Stormhoek Pinot Grigio 2008 off, soon after we started. We had to let the bottles warm up. They were too cold to label.

When the wine in the bottles is colder than the atmosphere, water condenses on the surface. The glue on the back of the pressure sensitive labels won’t stick on water. You can roll the label on. Then it slides right off.

We switched to bottling and labelling red wine. We bottled our first batch of vintage 2007 Stormhoek Pinotage.

The vineyard mix (the Pinotage vineyards supplying the grapes we used to make the wine) in the 2007 is very close to that we had in 2005, when our Pinotage won the 2006 International Wine and Spirit championship. Winemakers always think that this vintage is better than the last one. We’ll see.

There is a big drive toward using lighter glass bottles. People making and selling wine  used to think that consumers preferred heavier (and even heavier) bottles (if a wine’s in a heavier bottle, it must be better). What do you think?

We are using a medium-weight bottle for most wines. Later this year, we’ll probably switch to the new ultra-lightweight bottle. Less glass is needed to manufacture each bottle and therefore less glass gets thrown away or recycled.

After we finished the Pinotage, we washed the line down and went back to labelling Pinot Grigio. This time the labels stuck.  Just as well, as there was a lorry-driver at the door, with an idling truck standing outside.

The challenges of modern marketing are not to be underestimated. The song that the title of the post goes on to say: "We read the papers everyday. We like who we like. We hate who we hate, but we are also easily swayed." (Kaiser Chiefs)

That pretty much expresses the attitude of Stormhoek’s target market. "Don’t waste our time unless we can relate to your story."

It is tough to appeal to the 25 – 40 market unless you have something to say that is worthwhile. The idea of attention economics has spread far and wide. So it boils down to "if you have our attention you can have our money…maybe…"

Today’s economic attention is driven by "cool". This has a "waterfall effect" that we prefer to refer to as "word of mouth". Word of mouth has driven pretty much every significant change that influenced the political and product marketing landscape in all cultures.

Currently, this includes clothes, environmental considerations and community focus. Shoo wah doll! [Cool]. So let’s make a difference.

The South African Wine Industry is a world leader in applying organic (policy driven) farming methods. Cool. Because everyone wants less Sulphur (or artificial agents) in their wine.

We [Stormhoek] work on attention by:

• Working with the local "tech" community with the 27dinners
• Designing and participating in courses at local business schools
• and anything else that makes a difference

So if you are planning your budget for 2008-2009. Prepare to spend a great deal on your target market – without the soft, useless promotions please. Spend your bucks where it will be felt.

Note to self: I love the Kaiser Chiefs, but I would love a Pearl Jam concert in Cape Town – are you listening Eddie? I’ll even send you a case of our great wine. (Bet you’ve heard that before.)

Note to you: if you don’t know the Kaiser Chiefs and love punk then check them out here

2nd note to you: sway baby sway

Wine labels are finicky. They all look the same. Or nearly the same. Each one has to be different. But not too different. Wine drinkers are paying for a luxury and it must look like one.

Back at the beginning, all wine labels were hand drawn. Then printed type faces were used, in black and white.

Colour didn’t appear till the mid-20th century. Next, an ingenious machine was invented that held thousands of labels in two stacks; front and back. It took them one by one, slapped liquid glue on the back of the paper of each label (imagine how quick) and rolled the labels onto the bottles in sequence.

Then came the modification of self-adhesive labels so that they could be used effectively on luxury wine bottles.

These Pinot Grigio 2008 labels were printed today on a paper sheet loosely adhered to a backing sheet (self adhesive). The labels are die-cut at the last step where the top sheet of paper is cut, but not the backing sheet. They are printed two at a time, then the sheet is further cut (lengthways) to make two rolls of labels, still on backing sheets. You can see that the bits of the top sheet of paper not required, after the die-cut, are peeled away.

The labeller we use is designed for self-adhesive (pressure sensitive) labelling. It peels off the labels one by one and rolls them onto the bottles as they pass on the line.

We’ll go on to the market here with Stormhoek Pinot Grigio 2008 during this week. Right now the bottles are waiting for the labels. And the retailers are waiting for the labelled and cartonned bottles.

When will we ever get ahead of the game?

The great restaurant of the Stellenbosch winelands is hard to find.

96 Winery Road is way out in the country, midway down a featureless road, in amongst countless farms, a potted palm nursery, a big cooperative grape crushing and fermenting plant and half a dozen small wineries. You have to drive down Winery Road, as you might expect, but don’t look for road numbers. There aren’t any. Even the restaurant isn’t at no. 96. The access driveway belongs to the Zandberg Guest House. If you turn in there, you can’t miss 96.

The restaurant opened its doors in 1996, which is where the name came from.

Thousands of people from every corner of the globe have found their way here, where the food is always nicer than you expect. And the wine list is worth a three day safari. It has won so many awards it would be foolish to mention even one here.

After twelve years of great food and ten thousand business deals, who says you need the right address to make good business in food?

Try this place once in your life. The telephone number gets a lot of work. +27 21 8422020.