A break in the
storm. Looking across Wellington to the surrounding mountains
In
this week’s MENU:
Learn about wine and cooking
We write about
our experiences in MENU, not only to entertain you, but to encourage you to
visit the places and events that we do. We know you will enjoy them and we try
to make each write up as graphic as we can, so you get a good picture of what
is on offer at each place, restaurant, wine farm, festival we visit. To get the whole story with photographs, please click on “Read on.....”
at the end of each paragraph,
which will lead you to the related blog, with pictures and more words. At the
end of each blog, click on RETURN TO MENU to come back to the blog
version of MENU.
The Quest for the Best in Wellington Once
a year Wellington Wine Route asks its wine farms to enter their wines in this
competition to find the best wines that Wellington is producing. The Award
ceremony was held last Wednesday at Au’ de Hex conference venue in Wellington
and there were some surprises.
We also note that not all the wine farms in the area
enter this competition. We think this is a mistake and would encourage them to
rethink this next year. We like the fact that the competition is judged by some
very experienced local and international Sommeliers who have an excellent
insight into the requirements of the target market. We have attached Higgo
Jacobs speech (He convened this panel) and the sommeliers' comments on the
wines they tasted and also the list of winners.. Read On.....
Caroline’s Red Wine Review Caroline
Rillema has a very good palate and a very good wine business. Once a year, she
showcases her favourite red wines at her Red Wine Review and we were privileged
to be invited this week. It was held at the Table Bay Hotel. There were some
absolutely stunning wines in the list, in fact it is hard to mention any that
were not special. She chooses her top 60 red wines, all of which must be at
least Platter 4½ star or Old Mutual Trophy winners. This is the a superb
opportunity to taste so many of the current top and iconic red wines of the
country, at one tasting; wines that are not ever open for tasting, even on the
farms. All for a ticket price which is less than the price of one of these
bottles. Some farms bring their newly released wines to show and others bring
vintage wines to taste. And you can book (through Computicket) for her White
wine review on the 21st of October to taste 60 iconic white wines for R200. See our Events calendar. Read On.....
Sir de Villiers Graaff invites us for a
look at the future of De Grendel Wine Estate Sir David
Graaff, 3rd Baronet, passed away at home on the De Grendel family farm on
Saturday, 24 January 2015, after a short illness. His son Sir de Villiers
Graaff, is now the 4th Baronet and he invited the media to this event.
We know, when we visit De Grendel, that we are going
to taste great wines. Charles Hopkins makes them and his care and attention to
detail shows in each bottle. Their Koetshuis 2015 Sauvignon Blanc is one of our
favourites and is crisp and full of all the lovely gooseberries, elderflower, green
pepper and asparagus tastes we so enjoy in this varietal. We hear that our
favourite blend The Winifred will have a small release this year to De
Grendel’s wine club members only, and the 2012 Op die Berg Pinot Noir we tasted
was a quintessential example full of smoky cherries and vanilla, gently
perfumed with well integrated fruit but it needs time. They have completely
changed the old tasting room into a comfortable lounge with those amazing views
out over the sea to Table Mountain. The restaurant downstairs has also had some
changes Read on.....
MORE, the Cook Book launch We
were invited to the launch of this book on midday Saturday at Societi Bistro.
Owner Pete Weetman had generously allowed them to take over lunchtime service
of the restaurant and chef Stefan Marais made lovely snacks from the book. Author
Sylvie Hurford has written this, her second cookbook for families with
allergies. The focus is on feeding children, who do not yet have family
allergies, food that will keep them free of those allergies that plague their
families. The simple and delicious recipes are wonderfully showcased by
photographer Warren Heath and book designer Petal Palmer Read On.....
Morvino Trade tasting This
small trade tasting was held in the famous Ocean room at the Mount Nelson Hotel
on Monday night and we had such fun catching up with the wines, and friends
from wine farms we know and love. This was accompanied by good canapés made by
the Mount Nelson kitchen, they did very good smoked salmon on melba toast and
pulled pork rolls amongst others. Read On.....
Vinimark and WineWorx Trade tasting Vinimark and Wine Worx held their
annual trade wine show on Monday evening at the Cape Town International
Convention Centre. They have a superb list of French champagnes and distribute
some of the best South African wines... Read on.....
is Lynne's take on the Sweet Potato and Turnip Dauphinois
we were served at the Quest for the Best Wellington wines . We had this with
our roast lamb on Sunday.
1 large white sweet potato, peeled - 2 turnips, topped
and tailed and peeled where necessary - 30 to 40g grated Emmenthal cheese - 4 T
double cream yoghurt - salt and freshly ground pepper - 1 T butter - 3 T
chicken or vegetable stock
Using a mandolin grater if you have one, slice the
potato and turnips into thin slices. Layer them alternately in a buttered
baking dish, seasoning the layers as you go and spreading a layer of yoghurt
and cheese between each layer. Top with cheese and some small cubes of butter
and pour the stock in carefully around the edges. Bake in a 180 ⁰C oven until
well done and browning on top. Serves 4.
Coming Events:
AUGUST
Friday, 7th
August
7p.m for 7:30 p.m. Mediterranean
Extravaganza at Erinvale Estate Hotel & Spa, a
Mediterranean food and wine pairing extravaganza offered by Chaine des
Rôtisseurs chef Ghenwa Steingaszner of GHENWA’S LEBANESE COOKING CLUB and Henry
Kotze, cellar master of Morgenster Estate. The event will take place in the
“Seventeen07” dining room and will feature intermittent entertainment provided
by singer and musician Dara Steingaszner (daughter of chef Ghenwa). Cost: R
550 Space: limited to 35 Dress code: smart casual. Erinvale Hotel
offers free parking and attractive special rates for guests wishing to stay for
the night. For reservations & hotel bookings please contact Genine Bruce,
Conference Coordinator at +27 21 847
1160 or conf@erinvale.co.za www.erinvale.co.za
Saturday, 8th August from 11h00 to 12h30 Ladies of
Leisure at Le Bonheur. Join winemaker Lauren Behrens in celebrating Woman’s Day. Ladies are
encouraged to arrive with a group of friends and enjoy a morning of wine and
treats. Six wines will be paired with sweet and savoury delicacies at the
magnificent Le Bonheur Manor House. The event costs R125 per
person. Advanced booking is advised. Call 021 875
5478 or email info@lebonheur.co.za to make your booking now.
Saturday
8th August Barrel lunch at
Beaumont Family Wines. Starting at 11:30 with a short demonstration
by Sebastian on the art of pruning a vine and then heading back to the barrel
cellar for a delicious lunch paired with Beaumont wines. Menu @ R410 per person Bookings & Contact hereontact
Sunday,
9th August 10h30
to around 15h00. Celebrating All Things Beautiful on Women’s Day at Nederburg.
Meet new Nederburg cellar-master Andrea Freeborough for a luxurious ladies’
feast of the senses in the Winelands. Book your seats at R350 a head from Webtickets For additional information, please contact
Nederburg on 021 877 5155, or send
an e-mail to nedwines@distell.co.za.
Learn about wine and cooking We receive a lot of enquiries from
people who want to learn more about wine. Cathy
Marston and The Cape
Wine Academy both run wine education courses, some very
serious and others more geared to fun. You can see details of Cathy’s WSET and other courses here and here and the CWA courses here. Karen Glanfield has taken
over the UnWined
wine appreciation courses from Cathy. See the details here
The Hurst Campus, an accredited school for people who want to become
professional chefs, has a variety of courses. See the details here
In addition to his
Sense
of Taste Culinary Arts School, Chef Peter Ayub runs a
four module course for keen home cooks at his Maitland complex. Details
here
Nadège Lepoittevin-Dasse has French cooking classes in Noordhoek
and conducts cooking tours to Normandy. You can see
more details here
Emma Freddi runs
the Enrica Rocca cooking courses at her
home in Constantia
Nicolette van
Niekerk runs baking courses at La Petite Patisserie in Montague
Gardens
George Jardine
will be running a series of winter cooking courses and other activities at
Jordan. Details here
6th August 2015
PS If a word or name is in bold type and underlined,
click on it for more information
Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172 / 083 656
4169
Postal address: 60 Arthurs Rd, Sea Point 8005
Our Adamastor
& Bacchus© tailor-made Wine, Food and Photo tours take
small groups (up to 6) to specialist wine producers who make the best of South
Africa’s wines. Have fun while you learn more about wine and how it is made!
Tours can be conducted in English, German, Norwegian and standard or Dutch-flavoured
Afrikaans.
If you like the photographs you see in our publications,
please look at our Adamastor
Photo website for our
rate card and samples from our portfolio
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Recommendations
of products and outside events are not solicited or
charged for, and are made at the authors’ pleasure. All photographs, recipes and text used in these
newsletters and our blogs are © John & Lynne Ford,
Adamastor & Bacchus. Our restaurant reviews are usually
unsolicited. We prefer to pay for our meals and not be paid in any way by
anyone. Whether we are invited or go independently, we don’t feel bad if we say
we didn’t like it. Honesty is indeed our best policy. While every effort is
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