Sunday, August 23, 2026

Ree Marketing wine trade tasting at The Winchester Hotel


Riana Stadler Smit invited us to her Ree Marketing trade show at The Winchester in Beach Road, Sea Point
It was a very good, well attended tasting
But: A constructive comment:
Could tasting organisers please place the wine tasting tables in the order in which they appear in your catalogue?
It would save tasters so much time searching and avoid our missing some brands

The tasting room filling up, the tasting was very popular and soon would be choc-a-bloc


We started big. Rudi Schultz was showing five of his Schultz Family wines and they were all noteworthy and buyable
His Skeleton Bay 2024 Chenin Blanc has refinement, honeysuckle perfume, pear
and a hint of oak from fermentation in old Burgundian barrels
It is fruity on nose and the lovely balanced palate
The 2025 Chardonnay is reminiscent of Chablis, a classic nose and long crisp flavours
Fermented and aged in French barrels, 5% new, the balance 2nd and 3rd fill

The Pepper Street Syrah 2024 has  bright fruit, incense wood, spice and layered fruit - 
berries, pomegranate and some beetroot and black pepper on the palate. Serious!
Dungeons Cabernet Sauvignon  2021 is a true Cabernet, nose and palate meld together in concert
Silky and soft with great wood
Boneyards 2021 a blend of 86% Cabernet, 14% Petit Verdot
Incense wood and violets on the nose, so approachable and drinking so well, with fruit, wood and minerality in layers
Built to last and still a wine to keep

Alvi's Drift has a large list but there were only a few to taste, so we did the Reserve Sauvignon Blanc
It's a mature wine and has had some wood, as it was matured in foudres
It has been in the SA top list of Sauvignon Blancs

Lynne was wowed and surprised at the Hidden Valley Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc
with its amazing prickle and enjoyable green flavours

They also have a good Brut Cap Classique

On the back tray, beef tartare on biscuits
The canapé in front looked enticing, but we avoid sticky fingers on cameras and notebooks, so we didn't taste it

We recently tasted and wrote about Riebeek Cellars' Raar wines at the Shiraz Awards and really liked them
We used to sell lots of the Pieter Cruythoff Brut in our shop years ago, good to see this value wine is still doing well

Juno Wines are made by the Cape Wine Company
We were keen to taste the 2023 Old Vine Grenache Noir.
Shy on the nose with cherry fruit, and then full on the palate with sweet and sour berries in balance,
length and depth, a good food wine


Simonsig Brut Rosé has always been Lynne's go to Brut Rosé Cap Classique
It never disappoints, a good mousse, good fruit but restrained and subtle with the right amount of crispness















We were in raptures at the Simonsig Labyrinth Cabernet Sauvignon
A classical Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon from three select vineyard sites, one of which is a labyrinth
Aged for 14 months in French oak barrels. Rich and deep layered flavours  backed by tobacco wood
And the Frans Malan, a Cape Blend of Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot,
honouring Simonsig founder Frans Malan
Matured for 17 months in French oak barrels
It has rose and violet perfume that Lynne would wear, minerality and incense wood
Cherry and pomegranate fruit good acidity, chewy chalky tannins with long well integrated wood, built to last eons

Simonsvlei Merlot has richness and good fruit and wood on the nose, 
 dark coffee wood and cherry fruit on the palate

Lynne has come up with an idea of how to entice the youth of today to drink more wine
If we can get them to drink these fruity Orange and peach wine-based Spritzers,
could we entice them into more sophisticated tastes? 

The 2022 Zorgvliet Cabernet Franc has minerality and good berry fruit and smoke, green herbal notes on the nose,
a sophisticated palate, lots of cherry, berry fruit, minerality, chalk and supporting wood. Food calls
Their 2019 Flagship wine, Richelle is a Bordeaux blend
Very good wood smoke, minerality, vanilla and shy fruit on the nose
Ripe berry fruit: raspberries, tayberries and blackcurrant with  grippy, chalky tannins. It needs time and should reward 

Caprese sticks and a very innovative and different canapé,
almond macaroons topped with a spicy, savoury prawn cream

One of the best canapés ever, sticky roasted aubergine, which we speared with the caprese stick 


A bubbly Carmen Stevens with her wines

We loved her 2024 Crisp Chenin Blanc, fruit then wood then layers of ripe pear citrus fruit minerality ad a hint of wood smoke
The Merlot was a deserving finalist in the 2026 Merlot Awards



All the stories we have produced since 2012
can be opened from the archive list near the top of the column on the right of this page


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Thursday, August 20, 2026

Birthday lunch at FYN

Instead of a cake or a small party this year, Lynne opted to go opulent on her birthday
and take up the wonderful winter special offered by Fyn in Parliament Street in the city centre -
lunch at one of our top and our favourite restaurants
The view of Church Square, Parliament Street and Lion's Head from our table
with the cranes used in rebuilding Parliament after the disastrous fire several years ago
A chilly late winter day with the promise of rain later

We love watching the open kitchen and all the industrious chefs preparing the delicious and visually beautiful food 

The Menu

We opted just to drink plain water and a good bottle of wine from the list
that we thought would go perfectly with the mixed courses. It certainly did. 
The table setting is very oriental and the food is Japanese, fused with fresh local South African food

Bruwer Vintners excellent Grenache Rosé

Cape Point Tuna Fin to Tail. On the left, The freshest piece of red raw tuna loin we have ever eaten,
it was crisp and al dente to the palate, topped with spring onion
and accompanied by a sweet Cape Malay influenced chutney
We imagine that this is the rare, most expensive piece that buyers fight over in the Japanese fish markets
A treat to taste it. 
The middle piece was slices of the pink tuna found more in sushi,
separated by sliced radish and the last was very clever, a pocket morsel the outside made from crisp fish skin,
with a white puréed (tail?) fish centre
and topped with a set caramel jelly, more like eating a pastry and quite delicious 

A large Daikon radish was brought to the table.

Next course:
 Seasonal Tempura. Tentsuyo
Tentsuyo is a Japanese dipping sauce for tempura made from Dashi, Soya, Mirin and a little sugar
Then the Daikon radish was grated into it. The radish was not has hot as we expected
The Tempura was slices of sweet potato and globe artichoke in its crisp airy batter
Also on the table was a small selection of pickled vegetables to add contrast and dimension, which they did
When we had dipped and eaten our tempura and pickles, a warm broth was brought to the table,
and added to the cup of remaining Tentsuyo, and we drank it. Delicious, comforting and surprising

Atlantic RIdge Kingklip
This course was outstanding. The Kingklip, South Africa's most caught fish
(much of it by boats from the far East & Europe, so it's in danger of being fished out here),
was super fresh and local (not from New Zealand) and was fried in butter
Set on a base of barley with black Tuge yam, lemon, ginger and confit tomatoes
and topped with Salty Fingers, a local seaside succulent. The buttery foam completed the dish

Cape Farms 
Outiniqua Springbok . Prenia . Cepes
Tender pink springbok loin, topped with crisp cheese crumbs, set on barley, in a rich Buchu Jus, with cepe mushrooms
The shredded green Prenia pallens is an edible South African succulent (Mesembrianthemum)
grown on the coast of the Western Cape and used by farmers and ancient foragers for millenia
An apple purée and tiny scattered cubes of fresh apples
John's dish was similarly great but sans any mushrooms

Table decoration - Ornamental kale paired with a trailing spekboom
both edible, but we didn't want to spoil the beauty

Coastal Winds
Mostert's Mill Grain Beer . Cape Citrus . Lemon Buchu
Dessert of a double malt chocolate Bavoire, tasting of (Murphy's Irish) stout, with a shot of lemon in the centre
Served in a crisply crunchy brown butter tuile with very moreish Brown Butter Ice cream and orange jellies.  More please



Medicinal Fynbos
Buchu . Cape Mountain Sage
Tucked into some gnarled wood roots were good flavoured Guava and yogurt Fruit Loops
and cubes of a peanut, caramel and chocolate "lunch bar"

And a Happy Birthday! Very unexpected and appreciated, with the last course they brought Lynne a birthday candle
on a white chocolate covered lemon cheesecake with black sesame and gold leaf!

A superb lunch, thank you and a great experience exploring different taste and texture combinations
Your staff are fantastic, polite, attentive and friendly. Real Michelin level service. We will start saving for next time


All the stories we have produced since 2012
can be opened from the archive list near the top of the column on the right of this page
Posted by MENU at 3:23 pm 0 comments

Bruce Jack tasting at the Hyde Hotel, Sea Point

 A chance to catch up with Bruce Jack and his many wines at the Hyde Hotel in Sea Point
Bruce states that his mission in life is to add Joy to life. And he does
He was recently named among the Drinks Business' top 100 winemakers in the world,
and Bruce Jack Wines have featured six times in Drink's International's "50 Most Admired Wine Brands"
He produces wines from 8 different farms in different terroirs:
Daschbosch, Merwida, Riebeek, Bonnievale, Helderzicht, The Drift Estate (his own farm), Black Oystercatcher
and De Rust, source of his cider

A glass of Bruce's Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc to start the tasting
Clean and crisp with definite SB character, lots of apple and lemongrass notes, and good sparkle mousse,
very much a "start the party" wine

Reciprocal Trading director Tarryn Vincent with their Riedel wine glasses and The Epic Journey 2022
imported by Bruce Jack in association with Reciprocal from Coombesville in California's Napa Valley
It has good wood on the nose with cherry and dark berries with some violets
Licorice, wood, dark berry fruit on the palate with chalky tannins, and some salty minerality on the end
Different but good for being so

Bev Murray with wines imported by Reciprocal Trading
We so enjoyed the 2023 French Domaine des Melandes Chablis, true to type and style and just a bit out of our price range
It brought back good memories of our last visit to Chablis

The Chablis and BY.OTT rosé from Provence 

The Drift Estate Wines



The Drift Estate wines, grown in the Overberg near Napier, were very impressive, they are hand crafted by Bruce

The Penelope Cap Classique is a rosé, uniquely from the Touriga Franca grape and Chardonnay,
crisp with a good mousse, long flavours

The Estate red blend, Moveable Feast, is a spicy Shiraz
with Tannat, Malbec, Touriga Naçional, Touriga Franca, Barbera & Tinta Barocca
It is soft on the palate at first, then the other varietals climb in and wow, the wine deepens with complexity. A food wine

The best wine of the day for us was There Are Still Mysteries Pinot Noir
Perfume and fruit in layers on the nose, rich and classic, juicy and full and long on the full palate,
the red fruit required good soft tannins and wood just to support and it has it
Rather Hemel and Aarde in style and not surprising
as the grapes are sourced from selected vineyards in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Elim & Overberg Highland

The Gift Horse Barbera is another food wine, rich nose with rose and spice, good supporting wood,
lighter at first on the palate then it broadens out
Rhubarb, pomegranate fruit with long balanced sweet and sour flavours

Denzil Swarts of Zoetendal with Jean-Mari Reyneke

Denzil makes his wines on Zoetendal near Elim and is gaining a very fine reputation for them

The Off the Charts range of wines crafted from grape varieties and regions that are South Africa's viticultural cornerstones
The Viognier from the Off the Charts range has a very good varietal nose, peach and lime,
followed by wood notes and good fruit 

We tasted the Ghost in the Machine range
The Clairette Blanche is complex on the palate with depth and wood
The Malbec Viognier blend has good grapes and lighter in  texture on the palate, good wood and chalky tannins to support

Raath promotions representatives Brent Wessels and Elize Barnard sell The Berrio to the trade

The Berrio is one of Bruce's oldest wine brands
It is a  cool-climate wine from the windswept Elim ward near Cape Agulhas in the Western Cape,
originally founded by farmer Francis Pratt and winemaker Bruce Jack
It is named after the lead ship of Vasco da Gama’s 1497 voyage

The Black Oystercatcher wines from the Elim area are some of the best and most concentrated wines
from the area which is closest to the southernmost tip of Africa, has superb soils, climate and is close to the sea
The Sauvignon Blanc is very special, complex, crisp, full of minerality and a favourite



The Oystercatcher Swart Tobie is a special Shiraz and their description of it is
“In the glass, it displays pronounced aromas and flavours of cassis, mulberry parfait, vanilla, charred oak, and star anise”

Jacqueline Lahoud of Winemag.co.za and Bruce Jack

Lot of trade people were present to taste the wines and place orders

The range of Bruce Jack Reserve wines. The Bruce Jack  Chardonnay wins awards
The 2025 has vanilla wood, crisp fruit on both nose and palate and is in balance

Bruce Jack with his Marmalade Invader orange wine
We have to admit that we are not entranced by Orange wine but it seems that the young are, so it sells well.

Some canapés to stave off hunger


Pescaluna Limelight White is a wine made specially to go with seafood,
crafted by Bruce and fisherman Gastáo Fernandes, Bruce's old school friend, as a homage to Vinho Verde
and has only 10% alcohol

This is the Awaken the Arcade range, suited for wine bars and to appeal to the younger wine consumers
Bruce says that the Orange wine The Marmalade Invader is the best orange wine in the world in his estimation
and the Wire Frame Riesling Sauvignon Blanc blend is a 50 year wine
We found it aromatic with honey and fruit on the nose, crisp and sweet on the palate

A final catch up chat with young Bruce as we left

Newly appointed Hyde Hotel executive chef Scott Hendrie discussing his new menu with Lynne
The hotel is very near to our home, with good views from the roof wine bar; we will go again to try his food


All the stories we have produced since 2012
can be opened from the archive list near the top of the column on the right of this page
Posted by MENU at 1:21 pm 0 comments
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