A gull flies into
the sunset, taking the last of summer
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Another
busy week, not helped by John developing a painful abscess in his lower jaw
over the weekend, which knocked him out for the first couple of days. Now on a
fierce antibiotic which fights with wine, so he has to be teetotal through this
weekend. A dash of verjuice makes the water a bit more interesting. Now we have
long awaited rain, signaling the start of winter, so it’s water that we really
need to end the awful drought.
Our Jewish friends will celebrate Passover this weekend and we
wish you all Chag Sameach. We hope that you will have a wonderful weekend with
your families.
Lismore Wines Did you know that
wine is grown in Greyton and that it may turn into another wine area if more
winemakers and farm owners move there and plant some grapes? There are now 3
cellars growing and making wine in Greyton: Lismore, Andy Mitchell Wines &
Swallow Hill. Certainly tasting some of Samantha O'Keefe's wines (launched in
2003) which she has produced there, point to it being a good terroir for
complex layered white wines. We met her last week at a tasting of four of her
wines at Kyoto Gardens Sushi restaurant in Kloof Nek Road and were very
impressed.
Read On.....
Veritas Wines dinner at Southern Sun Cullinan Hotel Top Veritas Award
winning wines are hard to come by unless you are determined and buy them
immediately after the awards (which are held in September each year) when 1600
bottles of each must be available to the public. Veritas is the oldest wine
competition in South Africa. Last week we were invited by Veritas
vice-chairperson and Cape Wine Master, Bennie Howard to taste some of these
wines, perfectly aged, at a dinner where they were paired with food produced by
Executive Chef Henrico Grobbelaar who has moved to the Cullinan from the 12
Apostles Hotel. It was an excellent dinner. Read On.....
A Mad Hatter evening at A Touch of Madness, Observatory You can't say we are not game for a fun event. We got
dressed up in eccentric garb on Friday night as we were invited to the
'relaunch' of this pub/restaurant in Observatory. Walking through those rather
dodgy streets in weird clothing needs bravado. It is now under the ownership of
locals Richard Andrew and Olivia Andrews. Read On.....
Biltong loves Pinotage Sunday broke fair
and fine and off we went to L'Avenier to the Biltong and Pinotage Festival
sponsored by Joubert and Monte Biltong. Lots of the South African Pinotages
from top producers could be tasted and many farms brought along a couple of
other wines. There were two wineries to each stand and they shared a biltong
pairing. You were given a card on entry and, after you had tasted the main
pinotage or the biltong pairing, the card was stamped to show you had done so.
But any extra wines could be tasted free. We had a lot of fun. Read on.....
Backsberg Celebrates 100 years of making wine The rags to
riches story of the Back family is inspiring. The original Charles Back arrived
as a penniless refugee from Lithuania in 1902 and worked his way up from
bicycle delivery 'boy' to owning his own butchery. He and his wife were offered
the farm Klein Babylonstoren on the Paarl-facing slopes of the Simonsberg
mountain in 1916 and jumped at it. They sold the butchery and became farmers. They
farmed some grain, some live stock, some fruit and in time, some wine grapes.
The farm was renamed Backsberg. Charles Back also bought the farm Fairview in
Agter Paarl and he left a farm to each of his sons, Sidney (Backsberg) and
Cyril (Fairview). Today cousins Michael and Charles Back own these two farms.
After years of the hard work of four generations, the Back family have grown
very successful and produce wines of good reputations that sell. This week, current
CEO Simon Back (son of Michael) invited some media and wine trade to a lunch to
celebrate the end of harvest in Backsberg's new restaurant. This was to mark
the 100th Anniversary of the Back family making wine at Backsberg and taste
some of the newly released wines with lunch. Read on.....
Foodfact:
Did you know that you should never store
potatoes in a fridge? The cold converts the starch in the potatoes to sugar
giving them a sickly sweet taste and making them discolour. Never wash them
before storing them in a dark, well ventilated space, they will go mouldy. Do
it just before you use them.
Wine of the Week Ken Forrester's Dirty Little Secret totally natural Chenin Blanc. Can you afford it? R1000 a
bottle. Very limited quantities available. We will tell you all about the
launch of this spectacular wine next week. And yes, it is from the Swartland.
The experienced winemakers do know how. See it here
It is a very quick recipe to make once you
have assembled all the ingredients as they all go into your blender. Then you
shape the small fishcakes and quickly fry them. It makes a lovely starter to a
meal, or you could serve them as canapés. You need to serve a sweet chilli or
other Thai dipping sauce of your choice.
500g fresh hake (or other white fish) - 5 red peppadews,
chopped - 1 or 2 red chillies, according to your heat tolerance - 2 Tbsps fresh
coriander, roots and all - 3 whole spring onions, finely chopped - 2 cloves of
garlic, chopped - 1 or 2 stalks of lemongrass, tender part only, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce - 1 Tbsp red Thai curry paste - 125 ml coconut milk or
cream - 1 whole egg - 125g fresh green beans - canola or coconut oil
Cut the fish up into 4 cm pieces, place it
with the peppadews, chilli, coriander, spring onions, garlic, lemongrass, fish
sauce and curry paste into the blender with the egg and the coconut milk. Blend
well to a smooth paste. Remove and place in a mixing bowl.
Top and tail the green beans then slice them
finely into 3mm slices and stir into the fish paste. Chill in the fridge for at
least 2 hours or overnight to let the flavours develop.
Shape the mixture
into small patties, approx 4 or 5 cm across. Heat a large frying pan and add a
good coating of oil. Fry in batches till they are crisp and golden brown,
turning once or twice. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Keep them warm until
you have finished the whole batch then serve with a sweet chilli dipping sauce.
Serves six as a starter. Dress with more fresh coriander, finely sliced chilli
or Vietnamese mint
SEE YOU THERE? We will end the month at Elgin’s Cool Wine & Country Food
Festival. It will take place on
the weekend, the 30th of April and 1st May, in the lovely Elgin Valley. See it
below.
Other events this month:
Friday, 22nd
April, 18h30
for 19h00 AN ULTIMATE FOOD AND WINE PAIRING
EVENING LE FRANSCHHOEK The Le Franschhoek Hotel & Spa invites you to the ultimate
food & wine tasting experience. Enjoy a gourmet meal paired with a wide
range of carefully selected wines from Quando Vineyards and Winery. R595 per
person Wine & Dinner Only ENQUIRE
TO BOOK. R2695 EAT & STAY per couple Includes: Dinner, room and
breakfast. ENQUIRE
TO BOOK. Booking is essential. Please provide your payment upfront to
secure your booking because seating is limited.
Sunday, 24th
April (10h00 to
15h00) GROOTE POST APRIL COUNTRY MARKET. Groote Post wine estate, near
Darling, brimming with delicious and beautiful country offerings. Guests can
expect artisan foods, arts and crafts, home-ware and décor, and Groote Post
wines will be available for tasting and purchase by the glass, bottle or case,
including the Groote Post Rosé which is made exclusively for the monthly
markets. Local is lekker with locals presenting a selection of Darling gourmet
produce including organic mushrooms, Weskus Worswa, divine breads, Udderly
Delicious cheese, charcuterie, olive oils, pomegranate products and juice,
organic preservative free chilli sauces,
delicious handmade toffees from Darling Sweet, popular craft beers from
Darling Brew and much more.
Please note that although pets are welcome
– all dogs must be on a leash at all times.
Visitors arriving without their dogs on a leash will be given an option
to buy one from the SPCA stall or hire one at the Information stall. The Groote Post Country Market is assisting
the West Coast Way Twitter Blanket Drive - now in its second year - by inviting
people to donate a blanket to this worthy cause. The Groote Post Country Market will be a
drop-off point for blankets – there be a crate at the entrance to the market
for all blankets donated. Last year 500
blankets were collected and this year they are aiming for 750. The West Coast
Way Twitter Blanket Drive runs from Monday 4 April until Saturday 21 May. For
further information on the Groote Post Country Market, contact Eldré Strydom:
082 877 6677 or eldre@iloveyzer.co.za Website: www.grootepostcountrymarket.co.za.
Groote Post’s award-winning restaurant, Hilda’s Kitchen, will be open as usual
– however, booking is essential. And please bring a blanket to donate to the
West Coast Way Twitter Blanket Drive for charity. Directions: Follow the R27,
the West Coast Road towards Langebaan. Turn right onto the Darling Hills Road
opposite Grotto Bay turnoff. After 10 km, turn right to the Groote Post cellar.
Alternatively, take the R307 out of Darling towards Cape Town and turn off at
the Darling Hills Road. After 7km turn left to the Groote Post Cellar.
Saturday, 30th
April & Sunday, 1st May Elgin Cool Wine & Country Food
Festival. Full
details can be seen at http://ecwcf.elginwine.co.za/index.php?page=programme-and-map. Early bird entry tickets to
the festival cost R120 per person (over 18's) and can be bought online from
www.webtickets.co.za and include your festival tasting glass, festival
programme, access to participating farms, live entertainment and wine tasting
of a selection of three (3) wines of your choice at any of the participating
wine estates. Tickets may be purchased on the day at the Elgin Cool Wine &
Country Food festival office at the Peregrine Farm Stall – these tickets are
priced at R140 per person. Tasting glasses and guest passes must be collected
at the festival office at Peregrine Farm Stall prior to visiting any of the
farms. Please note: All children younger than 18 and accompanied by an adult
may enter for free. Guests are advised to pre-book activities and meals as
space is limited and payable separately. Wines will be available for sale at
each farm, both by the glass and by the bottle. Wineries reserve the right to
refuse service if deemed necessary.
The Wolftrap Steakhouse Championships During
the month of April anyone can vote for their favourite steakhouse, via Facebook
and SMS, and stand a chance to win fabulous prizes of The Wolftrap wines.
So please cast YOUR vote, and please spread the news
to get the public voting like crazy, via www.facebook.com/SteakHunter
and SMS 32845
21st April 2016
PS If a word or name is in bold type and underlined,
click on it for more information
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
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 didn’t like it. Honesty is indeed
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