Sebastian Beaumont shows his new releases at The Union, Bree St

Beaumonts push the boat out

Now this is the way to do a trade tasting of wine. Hire a venue in the centre of town with plenty of parking - The Union, 110 Bree Street, on Heritage Square. Put up a sail in case of rain - it didn't. Have an inside venue "in case" (not needed). Have lots of tables and seating. Pile them with lovely things to nibble while you taste the wines. Food, after all, is what wine normally accompanies. Invite lots of interesting people. All of which is what the Beaumonts did on Monday night. The quality of their wines is never in question, we knew they would be worth tasting and enjoyable. As Platter puts it, they produce individual wines

Lynne catching up with Cathy Raath of Cathy Raath Wines, who markets Beaumont wines with her son Dane

Nici and Sebastian Beaumont, enjoying the evening. Sebastian got his tan surfing at Stilbaai with all the other winemaker surfers. It is an annual event, held in the middle of August each year (August is winter; winemakers aren’t busy)

Nici Beaumont's company, Zest Catering, prepared all the food and it was scrumptious. She made really impressive French style terrine, liver paté & salmon paté. There was great sourdough bread (made with flour ground in the antique water mill on their farm), excellent Parma ham and perfectly à point runny brie and camembert with preserves. She told us this is what they are now serving on their farm in Bot Rivier

Also good parmesan, quince paste 'membrillo' with raw almonds and olives

There were platters on all the tables, sometimes two

Oh, forgot to mention mustard and pickled gherkins

Wines were served on the barrels

They also showcased the new labels which are on the left. We find the text a little small - it is hard to make out the name of the wine and/or varietal and this needs addressing, as wine shops & supermarket shelves are sometimes particularly gloomy and badly lit places and shoppers don’t always have 20/20 vision

The Vitruvian 2011 a blend of Shiraz & Mourvedre is amazingly elegant and full. We particularly liked the Ariane, a Merlot-led Bordeaux blend; it really delivers. Both are 4½ star Platter wines

Lots of sommeliers attended

James Pietersen with Sebastian, tasting their Hope Marguerite Chenin Blanc, rich and elegant from very old Chenin vines, this is a 5 star Platter wine.

 Nici with a tray of crisp chips with truffle mayo. They went like hot cakes

Kim Maxwell and Julian Richfield getting involved with the chips

More of Nici's delights, duck spring rolls with a sweet chilli plum dipping sauce

And dessert, especially matched to their superb Goutte d'Or Noble Late Harvest wine, was a mini cheesecake topped with macadamia brittle. Brilliant pairing. Of special mention was the new Demi Sec (slightly sweet) Chenin Blanc they showed, served in a magnum bottle; also a good match for desserts, and we suspect, warmer spicy foods, because of its great sugar/fruit acid balance

Thank you Beaumonts and the Raaths for a super tasting of great wines and food. No one wanted to leave

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015

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Cape Winemakers Guild tutored tasting at The Taj, Cape Town

Tasting great CWG Auction wines.

It began with possibly the best tasting of the year, to which we always feel privileged to be invited, the Cape Winemakers Guild guided tasting. Held this year at the Taj hotel, we speed tasted through 50 of the auction wines, with another 15 (hence all the auction wines) on a table afterwards. It is going to be a superb auction, and sadly with the current dramatic fall of the Rand, probably great for overseas buyers which will mean a lot of the wine going overseas.

The tasting is fast and furious. You have two glasses in front of you, one wine is poured, the winemaker takes the stand, talks briefly about the wine (usually only a minute or two) while you taste, spit and write your notes about the wine. While this happens the next wine is being poured. You have to keep on your toes to have an empty glass ready for the next wine. This goes on, usually quite amusingly, for about two and a half hours. There are individual spittoons, water and crackers on the table. This tasting is for the trade, the media and some potential buyers. There are public tastings of the wines before the auction, so you too can get an opportunity to taste the wines. www.capewinemakersguild.com/auction

It was held at The Reserve, the old Board of Executors banking hall that is now part of the Taj Hotel property

The 2015 Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Auction, the Guild’s 31st, will take place at Spier, Stellenbosch on Saturday 3rd October from 09h00

Pre-registration for the 2015 Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Auction is essential and all registrations must be received by the Cape Winemakers Guild no later than Friday 25th September 2015

John Loubser and Jeff Grier bottle tasting sparkling wines before the session begins to avoid bad bottles being poured

And in the front row ... are many of the media and trade

CWG Chair Andries Burger opened the tasting

Swirl, nose, taste, spit, write. Move on

The winemakers were seated down the side of the room allowing them easy access to the podium

Christine Andrews of De Trafford and Marine Point of Cape Point Vineyards were part of the team pouring the wines 

Jeff Grier opened with his Villiera 2008 Meteor MCC and then went on to present Peter Ferreira's Graham Beck 2010 Non Plus MCC as Pieter is currently on a promotional tour in the USA. Both are brilliant wines

We loved the Nitida Barrel 28 Sauvignon Blanc by Bernhard Veller. It shows all the best characteristics of the great noble grape, with a lovely full palate, crisp white fruits, even a hint of white fleshed cherries and some gentle hints of the new wood

Duncan Savage talks about his Cape Point 2014 Auction White. Seaweed iodine, soft, long loquat and lime fruit. Needs time but a cracker of a wine

Kevin Grant on form! Talking about his Ataraxia 2014 Under the Gavel Chardonnay, Lynne's favourite wine of the evening, perhaps predictably. Sophisticated and elegant, it is a golden wine, in colour, aroma and completely coats the palate with golden apple fruit with a zesty kick of lime. Food wine par excellence

Another wonderful Chardonnay was made by Andries Burger of Paul Cluver; The Wagon Trail 2014. Slightly smoky, rich depth on nose; limes, lemons, citrus, another Cluver gem, ready to drink now

Jeremy Walker presented his Akayla 2009 Bordeaux blend named for his Akayla at Cubs way back when. Incense, violets and cassis cherry rich and elegant with some chalky tannins to last

Gary Jordan presented his Bordeaux blend, Sophia 2012 with its intriguing nose, minerality, perfume and gently silky fruit, a classic wine

Etienne le Riche is a master of red wines and his 2011 Auction Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon did not disappoint. Intense cassis fruit, nutmeg, mint, cherries, strawberries and rhubarb with some spice

Andrea Mullineux presented her Trifecta 2013 Chenin Blanc and a layered Swartland The Gris Semillon 2004 made from 54 year old vines, but is here tasting one of the red wines on show

At the later evening tasting, David Nieuwoudt presented his Cederberg 2013 Teen Die Hoog Shiraz

The silent auction table at the public tasting in the CTICC. Lynne bid on a few wines but only got one, De Grendel’s excellent 2015 wooded Chenin Blanc, made by Charles Hopkins

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015

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