L'Avenir relaunch

This well known Stellenbosch farm with good French Connections has been rather silent over the past year or two and, last Thursday night, they threw an excellent party on the lawns of the farm to relaunch them back into the midst of the vibrant SA wine industry. The party was opened by Antoine Leccia the CEO of Advini Wine Group in France, who are part owners of L’Avenir. The wines were served at stations around the garden and each wine was matched with two dishes, one of French origin and one of South African origin. Not all of the matches worked, some of the food being a little misunderstood by our local chefs (please don’t roast rabbit dry! Casserole it) but some of the matches and the dishes were divine. We particularly raved about the Steak au Poivre versus the Championship Boerewors served with the Classic Reserve Pinotage. This wine is epic, a Pinotage Lynne, (pathologically not a Pinotage fan) would drink anytime of the day or night, could she get her hands on it. And we do have a little. If only all of it could be made this way. It is silky soft and full of deep dark fruit and not one hint of any metallic or rusty flavours or any sweaty leather

Warmly welcomed by Rebekka Swiegers with a glass of their MCC Pinotage Brut rosé bubbly

The menu with the two pairings for each wine

Chatting at one of the wine and food stations

The Far and Near Pinotage Rosé stand

An unidentified canapé

Beetroot cured salmon ...

...or Pork terrine with the Rosé

The salmon on bread topped with avocado

Antoine Leccia, the CEO of Advini Wine Group, tells us about the links with the farm and what they are trying to achieve for the future

A rapt audience sips some bubbly

Andre Morgenthal of WOSA

Tables to sit at with food and wine

L’Avenir’s tasting room

Snails wrapped in filo pastry and fried crisp, was not too kind to the snails

Deep fried pumpkin fritters

Prawns for the Cape Malay prawn curry. We were given prawns and rice but someone forgot to put on the curry sauce

Cooking the curry sauce over a gas flame. It did exist

Springbok loin on a bed of cauliflower puree, also missing its Pinotage jus and Pinotage Jelly

Roasted rabbit

A classic Tarte Tatin, which John missed tasting as he left it too late. It was delicious

Slivers of an absolutely decadent chocolate tart

Checkers' Championship Boerewors. This man really knew how to cook this superb sausage

Cooking in almost complete darkness, he produced moist and perfectly cooked Boerewors. The French were ecstatic about it, as were we

It was served with roosterbrood – bread cooked on the braai coals

The best dish of all: Steak au Poivre. Steak in a cream and brandy pepper sauce. Tender beyond belief which, as there was no cutlery, it needed to be

This was also cooked by the best sausage braaier in the world. We must know his name

A farewell hug for Lynne and Sonja Delport from Barend Barnard, National Sales Manager. It really was a lovely party

© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014

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