Brunch at Diemersdal
Twelve Characters working together towards a goal. This was the media launch of the Feast of the Grape festival which will be held this weekend, 27th & 28th February, at D'Aria in Durbanville (we will be there with friends on Sunday). We were invited to come and have brunch and taste the Durbanville 12, a wine made by using one ton of grapes from each of the 12 farms in Durbanville. Our expectation of brunch is not high and we were very pleasantly surprised; we had a slap-up lunch produced by talented chef Martin de Kock of the Diemersdal Pantry and the company of many of the winemakers of the area, for which we are very grateful. It is the busiest time of the year for them and they had to make time for us in their busy day. Programme link
Gathering in the vine-covered porch next
to the tasting room and restaurant for a cup of coffee
John Meinking sending his drone up for
photos from above LINK HERE
Freshly picked pears, also being
harvested now
In the cellar with Martin Moore of
Durbanville Hills, Etienne Louw of Altydgedacht and Bennie Howard of Meerendal
Table plan for the guests
Catching up with some MCCs from the valley
are Graham Howe, Martin Moore, David Biggs, Myrna Robins, Cathy Marston and Greg
Landman
Graham Howe had questions for Martin
Moore about the harvest
Lunch was at two long tables in the
cellar
Canapés of quail eggs, crisp bacon and
asparagus
Smoked salmon, quail eggs and hollandaise
Martin Moore with Diemersdal's winemaker
Thys Louw. Martin is now in his 18th season in the valley. He says the crop is
lower but it looks like a good vintage, "if we manage it ripe, it will be
good". Durbanville is an oasis, irrigated vineyards are a worry and might
suffer, unirrigated vineyards adapt and put down deep roots, they are still
finding water
Etienne Louw, president of the
Durbanville Wine Valley, telling us about the harvest, the coming festival and
the Durbanville 12 wine. So nice to see everyone working so well together in
the valley; it’s rare. They meet regularly and they help each other and share
information. Harvest is three weeks early this hot year
Cool T shirt John Meinking
So great to see a healthy David Biggs
Angela Fourie, PR manager of the Durbanville
Wine Valley has a lot on her plate organising the Feast of the Grape festival
Diemersdal's winemaker Thys Louw tells us
about the harvest and the production of the Durbanville 12 Sauvignon Blanc. We
drank the 2014 with lunch, the 2016 was picked just a few days ago
Grapes coming into the press as we
partied
We tasted some of the newly fermenting
Durbanville 12 Sauvignon Blanc. It is figgy and green on the nose, very sweet
fruit, as the alcohol has not fermented out the sugar yet, but lovely ripe sauvignon
fruit with a kick of Durbanville salt. It is fermenting at 16 to 18°C this
year, warmer than the usual 13 to 14°C . After a visit to New Zealand, they are
adopting this practice. It adds extra flavours. It will lie on the lees till
June and be bottled in July
Greg Landman of Country Life with David
Biggs
Charles Hopkins, cellarmaster of De Grendel
says that they are one month earlier than the inner valley
The Louw children with their buggy
Arno Smit has taken over as winemaker at
Hillcrest where he has been for the last 6 years; he replaces Graham Read, who
has now taken charge of the beer making
Freshly baked bread rolls and vetkoek, a
traditional deep fried savoury doughnut
Karin de Villiers of Klein Roosboom. Behind
her are Christian Eedes of winemag.co.za and Bernhard Veller of Nitida
The five sparkling wines from the valley,
MCCs from Durbanville Hills, Nitida and Altydgedacht. The Pop Song sparkling
Sauvignon Blanc is from D’Aria and the B'Loved is from Signal Gun
Durbanville 12 Sauvignon Blanc 2014. We
had a hand in picking a few of the grapes that went into this wine. The wine is
figgy and green on the nose, a classic Durbanville Sauvignon Banc with figs on
the palate, fresh crisp and refreshing
Chefs in the temporary kitchen, plating
up
It was a very enjoyable friendly lunch
The starter was a simple salad with mozzarella
cheese, garden vegetables and roasted baby tomatoes
Then a raw marinated scallop with dollops
of pea puree & baby beets served with a mussel and sweetcorn soup, and
topped croutons. The scallop was very delicate, but still tasting of the sea
and the dish had lots of texture from the toppings
Two main courses, served together. On the
left Duck three ways with grilled nectarines, a lovely combination with the
tart stone fruit. On the right a fillet steak with a herb and garlic chermoula
and a rich red wine and coffee sauce which contrasted well
Dessert was a granadilla parfait, rich and
creamy with notes of egg and condensed milk sweetness, with granadilla juice
and vanilla ice cream. If this is the sort of food Chef Martin de Kock serves
in the Pantry, we will definitely visit to try more of it. He is talented. And
the food is nicely presented
Birds have been attacking this small Granny
Smith apple ripening on a tree in the werf
©
John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus
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