Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Charles Withington's Darling Wine Shop opens

Janet Withington's delicious food 
Nick Pentz (Groote Post) and friends 
Speech time 
Mzoli Ngcawuzele (Mzoli's) and Charles Withington 
 A selection of Darling wines
Janet and Charles Withington 
Charles with Mzoli and Remington Norman 
The shop interior, with candelabra 
Main Street Darling and the shop, early evening

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Callender Peak and Winterhoek wines



A long table - just the thing for a dinner party - or a wine tasting
Clive (give it horns) Torr led the tasting and told us about the vineyard, the grapes and making the wine 
Johan Kruger of Sterhuis, chardonnay maestro
Marguerite Macdonald
Johan is a passionate exponent of chardonnay. Mike Bampfield-Duggan was amused
A gorgeous head of Gorgonzola
and more
enjoyed by everyone
French roof tiles make very original candle holders

Callender Peak Chardonnay 2009

Nikki Booth made the food - HE thinks he owns the kitchen
Modern Africa. Security guard Bokenge Lokali, from the Congo and friend - watching a movie on his MacBook

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

The Nedbank Green Wine Awards

The Nedbank Green Wine Awards presented with Getaway Magazine at the Mount Nelson
Jeanri-Tine van Zyl and Emma Odendaal
David Biggs with Nico Vermeulen, Wedderwill winemaker
David Biggs, Emma Odendaal and Lynne 
The introduction was made by Cameron Ewart-Smith, editor of Getaway



































Johan Reyneke, Best White Wine - Reyneke Chenin blanc 2010
Francois van Zyl of Laibach Vineyards: 2010 Ladybird Red - Best Red Wine
Rudi Liebenberg, executive Chef at The Planet, talked about his green philosophy and food


 Kathryn Steenhuisen Frew, Getaway Events Co-ordinator made it all happen

We moved into The Planet for lunch and more awards
Christian Eedes, dressed appropriately
Inge Kotze, WWF,  spoke about the importance of sustainability
followed by Greg Garden, who presented the remaining awards 
Lehani Langenhoven of La Motte - Runner-up, Best environmental farming practice
Liesl Cluver Rust and Jacqui Harris, Paul Cluver Wines - Winner, Best environmental farming
practice
and Johan Reyneke received the Overall Winner award with the Reyneke Chenin blanc 2010
and the Awards were presented by Greg Garden, Nedbank Group Brand Executive with Jacqueline Lahoud, Getaway publisher, to Stellar Organic Winery for Heaven on Earth Natural Sweet

Monday, November 21, 2011

111117 Main Ingredient's MENU - Hot box, Kathy Raath, Christian's chardonnay Report,Christmas products & markets, things to do, places to go

MENU
Main Ingredient’s weekly E-Journal
Gourmet Foods, Ingredients & Fine Wines
Eat In Guide’s Outstanding Outlet Award Winner from 2006 to 2010
Click on anything underlined and Green to open a link to pictures or more information

Feeding koi – a swirl of light and water

Hot box (or, as our once-a-week domestic helper Vivienne Memani calls it, a Magic Box - she loves hers). As we try to save as much energy in our house as possible, one of these has long been on our shopping list and when our friend Penny Dobbie told us she was selling them, we bought one immediately. Basically two gingham bean bags, filled with small polystyrene pellets; you heat up your dish to boiling, then place it in the bottom bag, which has a depression in it, and cover with the smaller bag. When you come home several hours later, the food is cooked. As we go to market very early in the morning and often return quite late when Lynne is tired, this is a perfect energy-saving solution to a hot dinner. The first meal she made was specifically designed to challenge the method. She soaked some dried white beans overnight and then brought them to a rapid boil. In a le Creuset pot with a tight lid, she browned some onions, garlic and then added carrots, celery, leeks, courgettes, tomatoes, herbs, spices, bacon bits and some potjie venison pieces, topped up with a good stock and a glass of port and then added the drained beans and seasoning. Brought to the boil at 7 last Friday morning, the pot was (amazingly) still almost too hot to touch when we got home at 6 that evening and dinner was ready without any more work required. You can use any recipe you have for a slow cooker and it is perfect for cooking samp and beans, rice and other pulses which would normally require lots and lots of fuel to cook them. Or you can use your favourite Potjie recipes. (Ironically our electric slow cooker has the instruction not to leave it on alone in the house…. So, of course, we were not using it.)
Penny sells these magic gingham ‘boxes’ for R150 and she has a special rate if you buy two or more. A great Christmas present for someone who has everything and/or a busy life. Contact her on: 021 424 8349 or 083 940 5744. You can collect from her home in Tamboerskloof and they are amazingly light.
Kathy Raath wines had a trade tasting at the newly converted Hilton Hotel (on the corner of Buitengracht and Wale Streets, at the edge of the Bo Kaap) on Monday night and we really enjoyed this very social tasting. Kathy has a very good small list of producers. We started with Teddy Hall’s MCC bubbly, which is unique in this country because it doesn’t go through malolactic fermentation. It has wonderful mature flavours but still has a delicious freshness, followed by his Chenin Reserve, but then he is a past master at this wooded and wonderfully sophisticated Chenin. His Summer Moments entry level Chenin (light but full-flavoured) and smooth, dry Winter Moments red blend are very good value. Other highlights were Landskroon Port (always amazing quality and value), Bouchard Finlayson (Blanc de Mer - wonderful with seafood - Sauvignon blanc, all 4 Chardonnays, Hannibal 2008 and 2010 and the Galpin Peak Pinot noir), Van Loveren’s fresh Christina MCC and delicious Colombard, Rudera’s Robusto Chenin, Shiraz (paired with chocolate) and noble late harvest, Johan Kruger’s Sterhuis beautifully mature MCC, fruity Chenin Viognier and sophisticated Astra red blend, Dornier’s wonderful Donatus Chenin/Semillon blend and pocket-friendly Cocoa Hill wines and Eikendal’s Chardonnay, MCC and Classique Red blend, as well as their new flagship red, these showing a new, fresher style under the guidance of Nico Grobler.
The Christian Eedes Chardonnay Report 2011    Christian Eedes has got together with James Peterson CWM, Sommelier at Belthazar, and Roland Peens of The Wine Cellar to taste 50 of the current release of local chardonnays and voted for their top ten. In alphabetical order, these are: Five star wines: Ataraxia 2009, Hamilton Russell Vineyards 2009, Oak Valley Elgin 2010, Tokara Reserve Collection Stellenbosch 2010, Tokara Reserve Collection Walker Bay 2009. Four and a half star wines: Glen Carlou 2010, Glen Carlou Quartz Stone 2009, Julien Schaal Mountain Vineyards 2010, Laborie Limited Collection 2010, Mulderbosch Barrel Fermented 2009. We, with other members of the wine media, were invited to taste them on Tuesday night at Toro wine bar at 68 Waterkant Street in the Cape Quarter in town.
If you want to taste these excellent wines, Christian is organising a public guided tasting (click on this link to book) at the Vineyard Hotel on Friday, December 2nd – please note there are only 75 places available for this tasting, which we highly recommend, so do get your booking in very soon. The wines that are still available can be purchased from Wine Concepts.
If you want to taste these excellent wines, Christian is organising a public guided tasting (click on this link to book) at the Vineyard Hotel on Friday, December 2nd – please note there are only 75 places available for this tasting, which we highly recommend, so do get your booking in very soon. The wines that are still available can be purchased from Wine Concepts.
Lynne’s favourites were Ataraxia, Oak Valley, Laborie and Tokara. She found the Hamilton Russell horribly overwooded, still in the old style, which she doesn’t like. John’s observations (in the order in which he tasted them) are: Julian Schaal 2009: crisp acid, very leesy, fat mouthfeel. Glen Carlou Green Label 2010: Balanced, elegant, soft orange vanilla. Glen Carlou Quartz Stone 2010: big, a little tannic, quite Burgundian, leesy and austere. Tokara Stellenbosch 2010: a little acidic, lemony leesy undertone, balanced, Roses lime marmalade finish. Laborie Limited Collection 2010: Fat mouthfeel, cooked apples/sweet fruit. Tokara Walker Bay 2009: Classically wooded. Lightly oak-dominated, leesy orange marmalade with some mineral support. Mulderbosch Barrel Fermented 2009: balanced, big wine with yeasty lemon. Oak Valley 2010: Very rich orange marmalade with lees & Vanilla. Ataraxia 2009: Very elegant, quite lean oak with good orange marmalade.
While we were tasting the wines, we were served platters of the tapas that Toro specialise in and they were very good. This small wine bar is a find and we will definitely return to taste some of their wine selection, and the food - as it was so moreish – and, looking at their menu on line, not terribly expensive. Definitely a place to take your foreign visitors and local friends when touring the Bo Kaap, De Waterkant and the Cape Quarter. They put out dishes of very good sliced biltong and fresh almonds and served platters of their Charcuterie – we had Montanara salami, Parma ham, and Coppa ham. Also served were deliciously soft peeled pink Prawns on bruschetta, ripe brie on a cracker topped with chilli jam, lovely sweet brioche type rolls stuffed full of chicken and onion jam, and a limey salmon ceviche. It’s a small place with a tiny outside terrace and very willing staff. Just one or two doors down Waterkant St from the original Cape Quarter entrance. Phone 021 418 2846 or 079 063 7055
We will be giving you some different recipes from next week to help with ideas for what to serve.
Seafood Warning?     We visited a major seafood wholesaler this week and saw something that made us slightly suspicious. Nice fat pieces of Patagonian squid cut into scallop shaped pieces. Why? It would be most distressing to pay a huge amount for good scallops and find that you were actually being served pieces of squid. Do let us know if you have an encounter. Our concern is that South Africa is quite inexperienced as far as scallops go as they have been so scarce and so expensive, so how would you know?
Our products: Christmas cometh like a train     If you are getting sucked into the vortex that Christmas is becoming, please note we have stocked up with lots of foodie items which make great presents. We can put together hampers or boxes for you, just tell us what you want. Lynne has some Christmas puddings from last year so they are wonderfully mature and she will be making more this week. The price has not changed – they are still R85 each and are full of all the necessary luxury ingredients like cherries, dates, figs and nuts. Made with butter rather than lard, they also have lots and lots of brandy and can be quickly reheated in the microwave. She will be making small individual Christmas cakes which make delicious small festive gifts and were so popular last year. We should have these by next week.
Also for the rapidly approaching Christmas festivities, we have added lovely small Italian Panettoncino cakes and Cantuccini biscotti. Chestnuts are always popular for stuffings and we have them tinned and vacuum packed and we can provide frozen chestnuts to order (they need to be ordered and paid for and collected from our house) but please don’t leave buying these to the last minute, they do run out every year just before Christmas and we cannot get more. We also have sweetened and unsweetened chestnut purees. Lynne has been busy making her famous Christmas puddings and we will soon have small individual Christmas cakes,.
We have a lot of fun putting MENU together each week and, of course, doing the things we write about, but making it possible for you to enjoy rare and wonderful gourmet foods is what drives our business. We stock a good range of ingredients and delicious ready-made gourmet foods. So, please have a look at our Product List and see what you need. You can contact us by email or phone, or through our website. We can send your requirements to you anywhere in South Africa, but don’t leave it too late. Remember the old maxim: “Post early for Christmas”!
Our market activities   You will find us at Long Beach Mall this Friday, 18th November from 09h00 to 17h00. We will also be at Long Beach on Tuesdays 6th, 13th and 20th December and Fridays 2nd and 16th December. We will be at The Place at Cavendish on Friday 25th November and Fridays 9th and 23rd December. We will be at the Old Biscuit Mill’s brilliant, exciting and atmospheric Neighbourgoods Market, as always, this Saturday between 09h00 and 14h00 and every Saturday, including Christmas Eve, December 24th.
E-marketing. We have had responses from several people to our interview on Cape Talk with Pavlo Phitidis and Aden Thomas. Most have offered to redesign our website (which is needed), but few have actually come forward with a proper proposal about giving it a better appearance and creating an online shop. We are considering options. John has embarked upon a UCT e-marketing course and this week, for the first time, we are using mailing software to get round MWeb’s ridiculous restriction on the number of messages we can send per hour and the number of recipients per hour.
The Eat In DSTV Food Network Produce Awards aim to acknowledge and celebrate outstanding, independent South African producers for putting South Africa on the international food map with their integrity, care for the environment, passion and innovation. Of course, an outlet is a vital connection between the producers and public, which is why the awards also recognise the stores, shops and market for their vital role in the process. If you think that the bread from your local bakery or fresh veggies from your Saturday morning market is worthy of some praise, now's your chance to speak up! We are very proud of being winners in a few previous years. Nominate your favourite producer, product or outlet in this year's Eat In DSTV Food Network Produce Awards. Read more about it and submit your nomination before Friday, November 25th at http://www.eat-in.co.za/Awards/Nominations
There is a huge variety of interesting things to occupy your leisure time here in the Western Cape. To help you choose an event to visit, click on our list of Interesting Food and Wine Events. All the events are listed in date order and we already have exciting events to entertain you through into the new year. Click here to access the list. You will need to be connected to the internet.
Many of the specials in our list of restaurant special offers are continuing through summer and we have been told that there will be some new summer menus soon. Click here to access it. These Specials have been sent to us by the restaurants or their PR agencies. We have not personally tried all of them and their listing here should not always be taken as a recommendation from ourselves. If they don’t update us, we can’t be responsible for any inaccuracies in the list. When we have tried it, we’ve put in our observations. We have cut out the flowery adjectives etc. that so many have sent, to give you the essentials. Click on the name to access the relevant website. All communication should be with the individual restaurants.







17th November 2011
Remember - if you can’t find something, we’ll do our best to get it for you, and, if you’re in Cape Town or elsewhere in the country, we can send it to you! Check our product list for details and prices.
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 or Dutch flavoured Afrikaans.
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 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 made to avoid mistakes, we are human and they do creep in occasionally, for which we apologise. Our Avast! ® Anti-Virus software is updated at least daily and our system is scanned continually for viruses.
This electronic journal has been sent to you because you have personally subscribed to it or because someone you know has asked us to send it to you or forwarded it to you themselves. Addresses given to us will not be divulged to any person or organisation. We collect them only for our own promotional purposes and keep our mailing list strictly confidential. If you wish to be added to our mailing list, please send us a message, inserting "subscribe" in the subject line. If you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please send us a message, inserting "remove" in the subject line

111110 Main Ingredient's MENU - Roodeberg, Kaapse Vonkel 40th, Buitenverwachting, Backsberg, Platter 2012, product news, events & restaurant specials

MENU
Main Ingredient’s weekly E-Journal
Gourmet Foods, Ingredients & Fine Wines
Eat In Guide’s Outstanding Outlet Award Winner from 2006 to 2010
Click on anything underlined and Green to open a link to pictures or more information
Fields and trees at the foot of the mountains near Ashton
KWV Roodeberg relaunch     Last Thursday, we attended a double event at KWV’s cellars in Paarl. The main feature was the relaunch of Roodeberg and then KWV’s new premium wine in the Roodeberg range – Doctor Charles Niehaus, named for the originator of Roodeberg, which was KWV’s export only flagship in the dark old days. It was held in great esteem because of its limited availability. In this country, you could only obtain it if you had a KWV allocation. In some years during the 80s, you could get it – with a Douglas Green St Augustine label, a fact given away by identical wording of the descriptions of the two wines in early Platter guides. See some pictures here. Lynne used to buy lots of it when she lived in London.
We were given four vintages of Roodeberg to taste: The 1977 (made from cabernet sauvignon with some pinotage, tinta barocca and cinsaut, showed its age but still had some fruit), 1999 (dark, chewy with violets on the nose, good cherry fruit, with a long dark oak/marmite end), 2009 (some elastoplast aroma with violets & chocolate; full mulberry, red cherry & rhubarb fruit with chocolate on the end then mocha) and our favourite, the 2010 (soft gentle nose with well integrated chocolate & cherries. Full mouth with lovely sweet fruit: red cherries, mulberries, spice & dark chocolate, brandy end). Recommended retail price is R60.
After tasting these, we were introduced to the Dr Charles Niehaus red blend, which is 50% Shiraz, 40% Cabernet sauvignon and 10% Merlot. 9000 litres were made. It is a very soft, deep, elegant wine which has had 14 months in French & American oak. Cabernet flavour dominates, rather than Shiraz, with very little spice. It is deep and rich, worth drinking now or in a year or two. Flavour of very juicy plums with soft generous tannins: a good food wine. Expect to pay about R160.
A highlight of the tasting was the food, which was prepared by Andi Foulkes’ Dish Food & Social. The dishes, when spicy, did not overpower the wines and the standout for us, and for most others, was the delicious, rich small venison pies.
An interesting aside is that Richard Rowe was asked about the fact that Roodeberg now has screw caps. He said that he preferred them because there is a much lower risk of a wine being tainted and because wines have been shown to last much better under screw cap. He told us about an experiment at Sydney University about 30 years ago in which four varietals, Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer and Riesling were bottled under screw caps. When opened last year, they had all retained their colour and all bar the Gewürztraminer were remarkably fresh. The latter showed a little of the typical signs which that varietal shows with age, but probably compared with a five year old wine under cork. We were given a 2002 Flagstone Two Roads Chardonnay recently which had a screw cap. It was amazingly fresh and young for a 9 year old white wine and was quite delicious. People sometimes talk to us about the “romance” of removing a cork. We don’t drink romance and we prefer to have a wine which hits the glass in good condition. There is far more romance in pouring the wine into a good quality glass; far better than pulling a cork and pouring the wine into a horrible, thick rolled-rim “café de Paris” glass.
40 Years of Kaapse Vonkel      Thursday evening saw us at the Vineyard Hotel again, this time for the 40th Anniversary dinner for Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel, pairing their excellent vintage Methode Cap Classique bubblies with food. We had quite a long chat with Cellarmaster Johan Malan who said that, originally, he had feared that it would not work to pair just Kaapse Vonkels with the food but, having done a pre-tasting, he was sure that people would enjoy the matches. We were welcomed by a glass of the refreshing 2009 with its fine mousse, bready nose and mouth full of limes, lemon, grapefruit, marzipan and earth notes. Pictures here.
The starter of Simonsig cured Norwegian (firm and slightly sweet) salmon, cucumber spaghetti and oyster beignets with an unusual sweet vanilla vermouth sauce on the side was delicious and, later, Chef Alex Doherty, was generous enough to tell us how he made the salmon, which was in the style of a gravadlax and had been steeped in spices, salt and sugar and Simonsig bubbly for two days. We drank the 2005 with this. A good vintage made of 55% Chardonnay, 42% Pinot Noir and 3% Pinot Meunier, and matured on the lees for 6 years, this recently degorged wine shows lovely bone dry, almost sauvage character, which makes it perfect for drinking with food. Its age and maturity showed very well indeed, but it was fresh and full of citrus fruit flavours.
The main course was probably one of the best dishes Lynne has ever had at the Vineyard and perhaps one of the best she has had in Cape Town (lots of diners agreed with this). Tender orange glazed duck breast served on a wild mushroom and goats’ cheese risotto, with a Kaapse Vonkel foam and a herb salad containing lots of chervil. Poor John donated Lynne his mushroom risotto but enjoyed the duck. This was an absolutely perfect match for the wonderful Kaapse Vonkel 1999. The very complex nose had brioche, apricots and oloroso, vanilla and cashew nuts. Having been on the lees for more than 10 years and also recently degorged, it has very long lasting clean lime and other citrus notes, with white peaches and a buttery lees end. The wine comprises 53% chardonnay, 39% Pinot Noir, 4% Pinot Meunier and a surprising 4% pinotage which must account for some of the wonderful flavour.
Dessert was an old fashioned apple and pear trifle in a glass, sadly, for our taste, made with jelly – we prefer it without - and this was served with a magnum of the 2002 Kaapse Vonkel. The dessert was very creamy and rich and this could have overcome a lesser wine but it stood up to the cream and sweetness. It is full of marmalade and honey and lime sweetness, with brioche lees, perfume and apricots, while still being crisp and appley.
Sadly this was the last of the excellent series of food and wine pairing dinners at the Vineyard until next year but you must not miss their Rosé and Bubbly festival on Sunday 27th November….
Basking at Backsberg     Sunday saw us at Backsberg to celebrate the 50th birthday of a friend from Portugal. Everyone was worried that the Saturday’s rain would continue, but it was a perfect day and we were able to enjoy a leisurely feast in the garden under the pale green spring oaks. Backsberg do a spit lamb lunch, starting with spanakopita and a tomato concasse which are served at the table, then you go inside and help yourself to an amazing array of vegetables and salads including crisp duck fat potatoes and then back outside to the spit, where you can choose lamb cooked to perfection in the style you like it, well done, medium, pink or very underdone. Lovely gravy is available. Dessert, also served at the table was a sticky chocolate roulade with ice cream and we drank (at our host’s gracious expense) some of Backsberg’s very best wines, chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc and the excellent Family Reserve Red Blend, which has rich fruit flavours and soft tannins. It’s a lovely way to spend a Sunday lunchtime in the country. If the weather is inclement, you can eat inside in the restaurant.
Sunset over Sea Point     We then went to friends who have one of the best views in Sea Point as they overlook Sunset beach with an unencumbered sea view. They wanted to try out experimental pork done three different ways on us and we had a lovely time trying out their three adventurous recipes and pairing them with some good wine choices.
THIS YEAR’S VINTAGE AT BUITENVERWACHTING    On Monday night, we were back at Buitenverwachting for one of their really great annual occasions, their 2011 Vintage Tasting where they showcase the wines they have released this year. They match the wines with lovely canapés made in the restaurant. This list might give you some help if you are doing a function for Christmas as some of the matches were amazing.
Their classic Buiten Blanc with mussels and linguine in a wine sauce was very good; the, as yet unlabelled, superb and complex Chenin Semillon with rich pastry vol au vents filled with chicken cream and fresh porcini – excellent but rather messy; the Blanc de Noir with a strawberry gazpacho with raw salmon tartar – we question whether tomato and strawberry flavours mix, but the salmon and strawberry went very well with the wine; Sauvignon Blanc with ricotta filled tortellini, a tomato sauce and artichoke; Hussey’s Vlei Sauvignon Blanc had the best match of the evening - a huge peeled prawn covered in chilli, barbequed on a grill then put into a yuzu (very sour Japanese lime juice) and celery sorbet - sheer BLISS; the red blend Meifort with a tender piece of fillet covered with a disk of ham jelly, which we thought was a little salty and robust. The deep and delicious Cabernet Franc had no food match and cried out for one; the seriously delicious top of the range red blend Christine with fillet of springbok with chocolate port and bacon sauce was another amazing match.
Out on the terrace, we tasted the glorious “G” Gewürztraminer, the marvelous white Maximus Semillon/Sauvignon blend and Batavia, an experimental blend of Riesling, oaked Viognier and Chenin blanc.
Back inside for the 1769 natural sweet (made from oaked Muscat de Frontignan); full of honey, heady and heavy and sophisticated in depth, this was served with cheese and figs but we didn’t get any as we tasted this long after the food was served. There was also the wonderful grappa which we didn’t taste this time, because it was late and we were being cautious. We have to add here that, at tastings like this, Lynne drinks a little of each wine. John, the driver, tastes, spits, evaluates and moves on.
It was a really superb evening, if a little spoilt by some guests who smoked out on the verandah. The stink of second hand smoke came through into the restaurant and was most unpleasant for the majority of the guests. People do need to know that, if you attend a formal wine tasting, you must not smoke anywhere near the tasting nor should you wear heavy perfume. Both can seriously interfere with people who are tasting wine seriously. The smell of the smoke has a bad effect on the results and does the farm showing the wines no favours. It can also seriously jeopardize a restaurant, which can be fined for allowing smoking, which would be tragic.
Platter Guide 2012 launch     On Monday evening, we attended the launch of the 2012 edition of the 2012 Platter Guide to South African Wines. This is the 32nd edition of this authoritative guide to the wines produced in this country. The first edition (we have every one) has 119 pages and weighs 108 grams. The 2012 edition has 618 pages and weighs 469 grams.  A bit of useless knowledge, which gives an idea of the extent to which the industry has grown since 1980. Platter’s 2012 print version will be available from the second half of November at selected bookstores and retailers country-wide. The recommended retail price is R159.95. The book can also be ordered online from Kalahari.com (www.kalahari.com) and SA Wines Online (www.sawinesonline.co.uk). The web-based version of the guide launched on the 8th November at www.wineonaplatter.com, with the iPhone App®, in conjunction with Wine-Oh!, available for download from www.wine-oh.info in the next few weeks, and a version for Android smartphones, a mobi site and an e-book to follow. The book is an ideal Christmas gift for the wine lover. The highlight of the launch for many of us was being able to taste the Five Star wines, of which there are 45. Of these, three producers – Boekenhoutskloof, Mullineux Family and Nederburg – each earned three five star ratings and one – Graham Beck Wines – followed closely with two. Eleven wineries received five star ratings for the first time: Badsberg, Colmant, Diemersfontein, Fable, Flagstone, Glenelly, Miles Mossop, Mont Destin, Oak Valley, Vins d’Orrance and Warwick. Boekenhoutskloof is the Winery of the Year and The Wolftrap White 2010, their blend of Viognier, Chenin blanc and Grenache blanc is the Superquaffer of the year. You can see the detailed press release with the list of all the five star wines here. We have to mention the Mullineux white blend of chenin blanc with dashes of Clairette Blanche and Viognier – dry as a bone it tastes of liquid honey. Very deserving of its 5 stars.
Sonia Cabano gave us a copy of her new book “Relish – Easy sauces, seasonings and condiments to make at home” recently and we have to share one of the recipes for pasta with you. We haven’t made it yet but will definitely… soon. We quote:
Sweet Pepper, Basil and Cream Sauce                                  
For 300-450g dried pasta, enough to serve 4-6 people, use:
2 medium onions, finely chopped – 2T (30 ml butter – 1 T (15 ml) olive oil – 2 each medium green, red and yellow sweet peppers, chopped small – salt and ground black pepper to taste – 150 ml double cream – 6 large basil leaves, finely chopped – 2 T (30 ml) chopped fresh parsley – 4 T (60 ml) freshly grated parmesan
1.            Cook the onions in the butter and olive oil until golden and soft.
2.           Add the diced peppers and cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Season very well.
3.           Add the cream, turn the heat high and allow to bubble until the cream as reduced by half.
4.            Add the basil, parsley and Parmesan and toss with hot cooked pasta. Serve immediately.
The Eat In DSTV Food Network Produce Awards aim to acknowledge and celebrate outstanding, independent South African producers for putting South Africa on the international food map with their integrity, care for the environment, passion and innovation. Of course, an outlet is a vital connection between the producers and public, which is why the awards also recognise the stores, shops and market for their vital role in the process. If you think that the bread from your local bakery or fresh veggies from your Saturday morning market is worthy of some praise, now's your chance to speak up! We are very proud of being winners in a few previous years. Nominate your favourite producer, product or outlet in this year's Eat In DSTV Food Network Produce Awards. Read more about it and submit your nomination at http://www.eat-in.co.za/Awards/Nominations
Our products.     New this week are two additions to the range of Protea Hill Farm balsamic reductions, which are doing so well: Green pepper and Lavender. The Green pepper should go well with oysters or roast chicken and the Lavender with lamb. We had a busy day yesterday, collecting replenishments from suppliers. The popular Prego sauce, which was sold out last week, will be available from us at Cavendish tomorrow and at the Biscuit Mill on Saturday. Goose fat is still a bit scarce, but we should have it soon and we have to recommend that you use duck fat instead.
We have a lot of fun putting MENU together each week and, of course, doing the things we write about, but making it possible for you to enjoy rare and wonderful gourmet foods is what drives our business. We stock a good range of ingredients and delicious ready-made gourmet foods. So, please have a look at our Product List and see what you need. You can contact us by email or phone, or through our website. We can send your requirements to you anywhere in South Africa.
Our market activities   You will find us at The Place at Cavendish tomorrow, Friday, 11th November from 10h00 to 17h00. Our next date at Long Beach for November is Friday, 18th November. We will be at The Place at Cavendish again on Friday 25th November. We will be at the Old Biscuit Mill’s brilliant, exciting and atmospheric Neighbourgoods Market, as always, this Saturday between 09h00 and 14h00. The Neighbourgoods market has been rearranged. The tables have been arranged at right angles to the way we are all used to, with all the aisles running straight down from the entrance, in order to improve the flow of visitors through the market. Lynne will be wearing a gold plastic crown in order to help you find us.
There is a huge variety of interesting things to occupy your leisure time here in the Western Cape. To help you choose an event to visit, we have taken our list of Interesting Food and Wine Events online. All the events are listed in date order and we already have exciting events to entertain you through into the new year. Click here to access the list. You will need to be connected to the internet.
Many of the specials in our list of restaurant special offers are continuing through summer and we have been told that there will be some new summer menus soon. Click here to access it. These Specials have been sent to us by the restaurants or their PR agencies. We have not personally tried all of them and their listing here should not always be taken as a recommendation from ourselves. If they don’t update us, we can’t be responsible for any inaccuracies in the list. When we have tried it, we’ve put in our observations. We have cut out the flowery adjectives etc. we’ve been sent, to give you the essentials. Click on the name to access the relevant website. All communication should be with the individual restaurants.





10th November 2011
Remember - if you can’t find something, we’ll do our best to get it for you, and, if you’re in Cape Town or elsewhere in the country, we can send it to you! Check our product list for details and prices.
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 or Dutch flavoured Afrikaans.
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 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 made to avoid mistakes, we are human and they do creep in occasionally, for which we apologise. Our Avast! ® Anti-Virus software is updated at least daily and our system is scanned continually for viruses.
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