An owl in a
Buitenverwachting oak
It has been a week of great wines. The launch of a
new international venture, lunch with the new vintage on an historic estate
and, one of the big events of the year, revealing the 2018 edition of South
Africa's iconic wine guide. Please read on....
- An Adventure with Friends, the launch of Aristea Wines
- Lunch at Buitenverwachting with Lars Maack
- Launch of the 2018 edition of Platter's South African Wine Guide
- Wine Concepts International Champagne and Sparkling Wine Affair
- What's on the MENU this week: Greek Lamb Marinade
- MENU’s Wine of the Week
An Adventure with Friends, the launch of Aristea Wines
Matthew
Krone has been beavering away for the last few years making his own wines. We
were invited with other members of the media and the wine industry, to the
launch to taste two of them and to meet his partners in this venture called
Aristea at Welgemeend Manor House in Gardens, Cape Town
The partners are Martin Krajewski (wine industry
legend from the UK, who also owns vineyards in St Emilion and Pomerol) and Florent
Dumeau (renowned Bordeaux winemaker and wine consultant). He told us that they are
'three wine friends' from the UK, France and South Africa, who each already
have their own wine brands / wine ventures and many years of accumulated
winemaking experience. When he discovered that both partners were going to be
in South Africa at the same time, he decided that this was the perfect time to
launch two of the wines here. To learn more about the partners and the wines visit
https://www.aristeawines.com/. Welgemeend, whose name means.....
Lunch at Buitenverwachting with Lars Maack
We know that we are very privileged indeed to be
able to do what we do. This would not be possible without invitations from the
industry in which we work and we do appreciate it. So it was great to have
lunch this week in the newly refurbished restaurant on the estate with GM Lars
Maack, Sandy Bailey who looks after PR for the farm, and one other member of the
media, journalist Graham Howe
There was a huge early winter storm in the Cape
while we were travelling in Europe in May and during that storm the roof of
Buitenverwachting's restaurant blew off. (We were following it on the Net from
our laptops as we travelled) This has been replaced and necessitated a
refurbishment of the venue. And what an impressive job they have done, with
such smart design. The windows look larger and wider, the restaurant is lighter
and fresher, the wood that has been used everywhere is so natural and modern
and green. At one end of the restaurant.....
Launch of the 2018 edition of Platter's South African
Wine Guide
It is that time of the year again, so eagerly awaited by most of the wine world; the launch of the New Platter's Wine Guide 2018. This is its 38th year of publication. Publisher JP Rossouw told us that the awards would have a different sequence this year, shortening the ceremony. First the four Highline awards: the Wines of the Year. It has been a year of great quality vintages, both 2015 and 2017 stand out. “Do hold prices”, he said; “stand firm with these wines of international quality”. A five star winner means it scored 95 points or more. The wines nominated by the tasters for 5 stars are tasted blind by a panel which also includes people from outside the team. There is always a huge audience....
Wine Concepts International Champagne and Sparkling Wine
Affair
Join Wine Concepts in celebrating their
sixteenth year of staging this prestigious event at the Vineyard Hotel in
Newlands, Cape Town, on 17th November from 18h00 to 21h00. Porsche has come on
board as a sponsor this year and will be showcasing a couple of their luxury
vehicles at the event. Numerous cuvées will be there for tasting from premium
and boutique Champagne Houses of France, and, for the first time, we will also
have a selection of sparkling wines from other international producers
including Spain, Italy and the UK to tantalize your taste buds. You can expect names such as Taittinger, Billecart-Salmon.....
What's on the MENU this week: Greek Lamb Marinade Summer is breaking out and we are starting
to think of outdoor eating and braais (barbeques.) This is the classic way the
Greeks have of cooking their lamb. The marinade will help to tenderise and adds
lovely flavour too.
Juice
of large 2 lemons - 1/4 cup/60 ml extra virgin olive oil - 2-3 cloves garlic,
grated or minced - 2 tablespoons/30 ml fresh oregano leaves, finely chopped (or
2 or 3 teaspoons dried oregano) - 1 teaspoon/5 ml fresh thyme leaves - 1
teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped - 1 whole bay leaf - 1 teaspoon/5 ml
sea salt - 1/4 teaspoon/1.25 ml freshly ground black pepper
Mix
well to emulsify and marinate the lamb for 4 to 5 hours if chops or shanks and 8
to 24 hours for a 2 kilo joint of lamb
Roast
or grill the lamb using the marinade as a basting sauce. You can double up the
recipe for larger joints of lamb
I
used two leg chops and put them under the grill, then sliced them. I served
them on some orzo pasta with some of the red peppers and tomato mix from last
week's recipe, to which I added some sliced black olives
This
week we have two. The first is a beautiful wine, but expensive and only made in
small quantities. The second you will find easy to source and is much more
affordable. Both would go well with the Greek Lamb.
First
- Aristea Chardonnay
It is very Burgundian in style, with a little African sun
added. Light wood is present but will soften , a subtle nose with a little
stone fruit. The wine has a lovely silky mouth feel and flavours of limes,
white peaches, butter and toast with a touch marmalade on the finish. So good
to drink. 2016 vintage: R290 a bottle from Matthew Krone
Second
and more affordable:
De Wet Chenin Blanc 2016. R35 from the cellar. This
perfumed wine must have a little Muscat somewhere as the nose is so floral,
perhaps it's a different clone of Chenin Blanc. So fresh and racy on the
palate, full of tropical notes with guava and peach, perfect for Mediterranean
foods or just for quaffing with friends
The
2017 has just been released. Collect some next time you drive through Worcester.
The cellar is on the northern side of the town, next to the N1
In next week’s MENU: Bellevue restaurant, Ocean Basket Mediterranean, Groote Post Seasalter, White blends
9th November 2017
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172 / 083 656 4169
Postal address: 60 Arthurs Rd, Sea Point 8005
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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 didn’t like it. Honesty is indeed our best policy. While every effort is made to avoid mistakes, we are human and they do creep in occasionally, for which we apologise. This electronic journal has been sent to you because you have personally subscribed to it or because someone you know has asked us to send it to you or forwarded it to you themselves. Addresses given to us will not be divulged to any person or organisation. We collect them only for our own promotional purposes. If you wish to be added to our mailing list, please click here to send us a message and if you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please click here to send us a message.
