Trees and a meadow silhouetted
against mountains and a cloudy sky
Idiom Wine estate, Somerset West
A week of more food and wine and, most especially,
the triennial Cape Wine exposition, which occupied half of our, and most of the
South African wine industry’s, week. Compared to the really big shows, like
Vinexpo, ProWein and the big London shows, it is quite small but, for our
industry, which is beginning to punch way bigger than its weight in
international wine circles, it is a huge window on South African wine for the international trade. It coincided with Tim Atkin, a
prominent wine critic, awarding unprecedented points to South African wines,
notably a 100 point score given to Kanonkop’s Paul Sauer, a score very rarely
given to any wine, regardless of its origin. We have divided our report into four
sections, so you can pick and choose, in accordance with your interests or
preferences. Enjoy…
To our distress, our favourite Sea Point
Chinese restaurant, Dynasty, has recently changed hands and has been re-named.
We were looking for an alternative. Lynne found an offer on Hyperli that was
hard to refuse, so we bought our coupon and headed to Fortune House for lunch
this week. It is on Main Road, near the corner with Hall Road, on the beach side of the road…
Chenin blanc Beach Party at Grand on the Beach, V&A
Waterfront
Now this is what you’d call a good party! Held
the day before Cape Wine 2018 began, the Chenin Blanc Association held their
party on "the Beach" at the Grand Cafe next to the V&A
Waterfront. We were invited to join the party, play and taste some of the best
Chenins in the land. We were instructed to wear suitable beach attire and, in
the grey and damp week leading up to the party, we wondered what woollen attire
would be suitable (long johns with a snorkel were mentioned). But the Cape
climate played ball and we had marvellous sunny and warm weather…
Cape Wine is held every three years and,
this time, Cape Wine 2018 was held at the CTICC again for three days in
September. We think that it was extremely professionally organised and there
was a lot of energy and enthusiasm from our wine industry and from the eager
buyers. Well done to Wines of South Africa (WOSA) for the very good organisation…
One of our preferred things to do at a
large wine Expo like Cape Wine or Vinexpo is to attend seminars. Just walking
around talking to people on stands is useful and sometimes informative, but can
be exhausting. And you always learn something at these seminars. There was a
good programme of them at this year's Cape Wine and we managed to attend a couple…
There was such energy and professionalism
at Cape Wine this year and. amongst a lot of serious marketing and promotion,
there was also some fun. We loved the approach made by the Bot River area
calling themselves the Botriviera! Read on…
This recipe uses a Natural Sweet white
wine. We used the natural Sweet White from the Four Cousins range made by Van
Loveren in Robertson. It is non vintage. You’ll find it in Checkers for R40. While we sometimes enjoy a sticky, sweet wine after dinner, we do like
cooking with it too. Lynne came up with the recipe for entertaining friends who
will be coming back to our house after a Chinese meal together. The quantity of
pears you use depends on two things: the size of the pears and how many people
you are serving. A bottle of wine is enough for six pears with some syrup over
for serving. See the recipe…
A classic Sauvignon blanc with green peppers, elderflower and some
passion fruit on the nose. Crisp and
tangy, the flavours echo what is on the nose with the addition of some
pineapple and litchi, cleansing the palate and adding enjoyment to food. Long flavours, this wine is forward and easy drinking…
21st September 2018
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2018
Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172 / 083 656 4169
Postal address: 60 Arthurs Rd, Sea Point 8005
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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