Tuesday, December 08, 2015

Sunday at The Magic of Bubbles festival in Franschhoek


This very popular bubbly festival is always held in what seems to be the hottest time of the year so we were relieved to find the temperature still in the 20's on Sunday. The theme this year was Black and White with a touch of "Bling!" and we must say people did dress accordingly with some very smart attire. They had moved the stage back and there were thankfully lots more tables and umbrellas. We tasted many new releases and a couple of very different Methode Cap Classique bubbles and a couple of classic French champagnes as well
The first glass is always the best
The festival is held on the lawns next to the Huguenot monument
The MasterCard jugglers. Slight irony there! Lots of us do it. They were the sponsors
Greta Fox puring on the Charles Fox stand (Elgin), tasting his lovely Blanc de Blanc and his new release
The lovely Kathy van Niekerk on the Boschendal stand had just the right amount of bling and some excellent Brut Rosé MCC
As well as the impressive Jean de Long MCC
Bartho and Suné Eksteen having fun with Henk and Monica van Niekerk of Paul René
There is always a huge and eager crowd at the Colmant stand
A classic champagne fountain on the Pongracz stand. The best use for that style of champagne glass!
Raymond Ndlovu, who is a partner at Black Elephant wines, pours us a taster of their MCC. They were all kitted out in their bike racing gear, very chic
Lots of tables and umbrellas, everyone was seeking a bit of shade
The girls on the Genevieve stand – Owner/winemaker Melissa Nelsen and Colleen Cook
Great packaging for Christmas, already gift wrapped
Looking oh so cool on the Steenberg stand were Caroline van Schalkwyk and her team
Our great lunch came from the Cabrière stand and was called the Combo. One roll with smoked salmon and horseradish cream, the other with rare roast beef and a garlicky Hollandaise sauce
The Piper-Heidsieck stand was also extremely popular as people vied to taste the real French champagne
And next door on the Lanson stand, Karin Visser was also offering Louis Bouillot Crémant de Bourgogne alongside the Lanson Black Label
"What am I doing here?"
Another lovely French champagne to taste was the Billecart-Salmon, served by an elegant Adri Roux with great panache and bling
Angels on sticks, not horseback
A happy Bennie Stipp of De Wetshof and assistant winemaker Jamie Luckhoff with their delightful Pinot Noir 2008 Brut MCC
Kerryn Lancaster, ‎Marketing Manager: Wines at KWV, showed us a brand new limited release offering from Laborie, launched for the first time at this festival, a top of the range MCC Brut, The Jean Taillefert Prestige Cuvee Pinot Noir - crisp creamy and floral with lovely dry fruit and a good mousse
Served with a silver and gold macaron. How is this for bling!
The Silverthorn team with Karen and Tivon Loubser, Khuselo Mputa of Grande Provence and Faine Loubser
Lynne having fun with Paul Kruger of Villiera and Hannes Meyer of Simonsig on the Simonsig stand
A desert rose
The Malan family of Simonsig, Michael, Diane and Johan with the triple magnum of Kaapse Vonkel MCC, the first MCC to be produced in South Africa. We absolutely loved their Brut Royale
It’s always good to see Zahra Manji, a Main Ingredient customer from our early days
Tasting Claudia MCC on the Domaine des Dieux stand with Megan Parnell and Shayne Mullis
A novel way to use your bubbly corks! With Domaine des Dieux
Jean-Philippe Colmant and Alison
Some girls having fun with Jenny Prinsloo,CEO of the Franschhoek Wine Valley and lots of Veuve Clicquot
Wine people having a party. Theo Basson of Ormonde, Suné and Bartho Eksteen, Alan and Therese Mullins and Berinda Basson
Some more corks for John’s muselet collection to go up on the wall in our wine cellar. The only rule is that we have to have tasted the bubbly
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015

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