A squirrel
surveys his territory from an old oak on Laborie in Paarl
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
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is on offer at each place, restaurant, wine farm, festival we visit. To get the whole story with photographs, please click on “Read on.....”
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version of MENU.
Doolhof throws a wine and food
extravaganza to showcase their new releases This was held at La Mouette restaurant in Sea Point
on Friday. Media and wine trade people had a lovely time inside at long tables
warmed by the fireplace tasting through the wines and eating a delicious 5
course meal paired with them. Read on
Laborie Winter special We learned about this superb winter
special when we visited in February and thought it would be great to bring our
wine club here for the weekend. Sadly, Zelda Oelofse-Cornthwaite, the General
Manager informs us that the offer is now completely sold out, so you will have
to wait until next year to experience this great offer. Or just pay full price
and go after September, it is so worth it. We had an amazing time, starting
with dinner at Harvest restaurant on Friday evening Read on
Mini Port Festival at Muratie We heard about this festival recently and,
knowing our wine club members well, this seemed the perfect way to spend some
of Saturday tasting port and wines made by the port producers showcasing their
wines on Muratie. Read On
Rhebokskloof After we
checked out from Laborie, we drove down the longest main road in the world which
is in Paarl and went to have a wine tasting and a light lunch at Rhebokskloof. It
was again a beautiful day and our small group had a lovely wine tasting with Tasting
Room Manager Henrico van Lill. We shared some cheese and charcuterie platters
but on Sunday they do have a huge buffet on offer and children are welcome at
the farm. Read On
Double Cream Yoghurt? Read the labels! Since
we returned from Greece, Lynne has been buying various brand of Double Cream
yoghurt, as she finds a daily dose of this delicious food has improved her
general health enormously and puts some of the missing calcium back into her
diet that she can't get from milk, to which she is allergic. Banting has also
make the demand grow. These come in 1 litre containers. Many dairies are now
making these, but we wanted to let you know that they are NOT all the same and
they are not all as they seem. They all contain sugar, which for plain yoghurt
is nonsensical. We think that if this is naturally occurring lactase, they
should say so. We strain our yoghurt overnight to get rid of much of the whey,
which is the sour watery bit. It also makes it thicker. None of the brands
declare the bacillus used; knowing that they are using live and active cultures
would be appreciated. Most of them thicken with starch and declare the sugar. We
would like to see the unnecessary starch, which seems to be there to thicken
the yoghurt, removed.
Prices in Cape Town vary from R19.50 to R25.95.
according to the brand or supermarket specials. The only one we have seen with
a higher price than this is from Woolworths at R32.50, which is why we haven't
tried it. Its oval container looks the same as the Pick n Pay brand, so we
suspect it's the same dairy.
Taste and Texture Award of the week goes to Pick n Pay
for its ultra cream yoghurt, which contains both full cream milk and cream and
has a Glycaemic carbohydrate (GC) content of 6g per 100g. Sadly,
2.8g of this is sugar. They use an antifungal called Pimaricin which apparently
is also an antibiotic. Stabilisers but no starch.
Fair Cape also has cream in it and declares Unsweetened
on the label but has a GC of 6.7g per 100g of which 5.9 is sugar. Preservative
is Potassium Sorbate and they do add modified starch (which is an added
carbohydrate) and milk powder. Crystal Valley have both cream and full cream
milk, skimmed milk powder, modified cornstarch (added carbohydrate), a
vegetable based stabiliser. The one we like the least is Lancewood, which has
no cream in it, also says unsweetened and has the grainy texture of cottage
cheese or quark and is not at all creamy. It has a GC of 6g per 100g of which
4.6 is sugar. It has Stabiliser, whey powder, slimmed milk powder, caseinate,
whey concentrate, whole milk powder, carbonate, citrate and a preservative, Natamycin,
which our research shows is the same as Pimaricin. One of the other yoghurts we
have not bought apparently has added gelatine to thicken it, which vegetarians cannot
eat but might not notice.
How do they make thick yoghurt in Greece? They reduce full
cream milk and then add the bacillus. Nothing else, it is kept at blood
temperature until it sets thick, then refrigerated. If we had the time, we
would make our own, but we don't. Preservative may be very necessary for a
commercial product, but we would hope that they don't use anything that is
suspect.
Coming Events:
Thursday, 30th and Friday, 31st July, 17h00 to 21h00 FNB Free State Wine Show at Emoya Hotel and Conference Centre, 7 Kleynhans
Avenue, Groenvlei, Bloemfontein. www.freestatewineshow.co.za for a full list of exhibitors from end of June. Ticket Price: R150 (includes
unlimited tastings and wine tasting glass); no under 18s, nor babies and
prams. A complimentary show guide includes producer information and
informative notes on wine variety characteristics, food matching and serving
temperatures. Tickets can be purchased via www.computicket.com, Money Market counters in Shoprite Checkers stores and at the door,
subject to availability. Enquiries: 011 482 5936/5/4
Friday 31st July 19h00 for
19h30 The
Drift Farm Food & Wine Pairing Dinner at Azure Restaurant at The
Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa. R545 per person (includes wine, water, tea and
coffee) Bookings are essential: contact restaurant reservations on 021 437
9029 or restaurants@12apostles.co.za
Friday, 31st July, 18h30 for
19h00. Avondale’s “Once in a
Blue Moon” La Luna Dinner with Bertus Basson. A superb 6-course meal paired with Avondale’s wines.
Dress: Smart. Cost: R950 per person. RSVP to Caelli on wine@avondalewine.co.za or 021 863 1976 best before 10th July
AUGUST
Monday,
3rd August, 18h00 to 19h00 Sip and Sample at The
Vineyard Hotel with
wines from Dornier in The Garden Lounge. Producing a large selection of wines - ranging from
Merlot to Chenin Blanc - these family wines are backed by a philosophy of uncompromising quality.
A representative from the estate will host the
hour-long tasting. The tasting is free of charge. For more information, please
call 021 657 4500 or
alternatively visit www.vineyard.co.za.
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.
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
Emma Freddi runs
the Enrica Rocca cooking courses at her
home in Constantia
George Jardine
will be running a series of winter cooking courses and other activities at
Jordan. Details here
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
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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015
