Thursday, August 16, 2018

This Week’s MENU. Mensa wine launch, Kanonkop, Diemersdal Sauvignons. Jenny Morris’ Yumcious restaurant, Venison sausages, KWV Mentors Shiraz

It never rains but it pours, and we’re not talking about the weather – we wish we were. A few weeks ago, it was a very quiet time and we were wondering how we would have enough stories to tell. Suddenly, there are almost too many events on our calendar. We have tasted some magnificent wines, with more to come and enjoyed some wonderful food. Some of it is in this week’s issue, more will follow in the next few weeks. We hope you’ll enjoy seeing them

An invitation from Overhex wines to taste and experience their new range of wines called Mensa. A first in South Africa is the interactive labels. Scan them with your phone and the secret story of the wine is revealed. And there is no barcode in sight. The wine is named after grandmother Emmarentia Cornelia, whose nickname it was, and it has no connection to the organisation for high IQ people. The launch was held at The Library in Kloof Street

Who could refuse an invitation to taste a range of current and vintage wines at Kanonkop? This high flying cellar has always produced classy wines, wines that sell, wines that are respected and wines that win international and local awards. They wanted to give us an opportunity to taste older vintages so we could understand the style of wines they produce, how they age and understand why they make and stay with these styles. They are always questioning how to stay relevant in such a changing climate

An invitation to Diemersdal to taste their newly released Sauvignons Blanc. Cellarmaster Thys Louw (a confessed Sauvignon Blanc addict) now has 10 Sauvignon Blancs in his range, all different and good. First was the new 2018 Winter Ferment Sauvignon Blanc

TV and Radio chef and big personality, Jenny Morris is famous for her good cooking, her ebullient nature and sense of fun. Durbanville is in for a treat; she has now opened a second branch of her restaurant Yumcious (the first is in the Cape Quarter in Cape Town) in the De Ville shopping centre on the corner of Main and Wellington roads. We were invited to come for lunch on Sunday with some other media and bloggersIt was a lovely way to spend a Sunday having lunch.


Venison or game meat like springbok is relatively inexpensive in the winter when it is in season and the sausages are very reasonable. This lovely one pot dish is easy to make, does not take long and tastes delicious. You could spice it up with a little chilli if you want to, we added a splash or two of Tabasco. If you don’t have the redcurrant or cranberry jellies, add a spoonful of honey. You need the sweetness. This feeds four. Click here or on the title to see the whole recipe


It was from our cellar, but Lynne spoke to Izelle van Blerk, the winemaker, and it is still available from the KWV Emporium

Light smoky oak, ripe cherries and berries, incense and minerality with pepper and cinnamon spice on the nose. Silky on the rich palate, complex with beautify bruléed fruit, black pepper warmth, some herbal notes and a long finish with a dark coffee wood on the end. All the grapes are from Paarl and the wine spent 18 months in oak. A classy wine perfect for venison and other rich spicy dishes. Delicious


16th August 2018

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2018
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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

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