A walk in the country
We ended last week in Robertson and we’ll end this
one there too, but more about that next week. We had a wonderful three days in
that hospitable valley and came home to busy wine and dining activity in Cape
Town. It has been a bit hectic. We’ll give you a small taste of one of those
events here, the launch of the 2019 Platter wine guide, but the main story about
that will be published next week. And we have a very special appeal.. An on
line auction is being held for our friend Allan Mullins, to help with his huge
medical expenses. Please click on the link below and look at the wonderful
items being auctioned. It ends on the 11th, so you’ll need to hurry.
We admit that we had been warned about the
weather all week long, before we ventured to Robertson for the last day of Wine
on The River, one of our favourite wine festivals. And boy, was it hot! At
midday, it reached 42 degrees. Everyone was having a great time. First, we
called in at the Robertson Wine Valley desk to get our media passes from
Beatrix; also glasses, some vouchers, a lovely bottle of De Wetshof Finesse
Chardonnay to drink with our lunch and some more of the very useful necklace
wine glass holders, which allow us to control cameras and notebooks and keep
our wine glasses hanging safely on our chests. You can see the heat in the photos…
We had an
invitation from Aldert Nieuwoudt, Cellarmaster at Bushmanspad, to stay at their
cottages and taste their wines. We were able to stay for two nights and could
then go to Wine on the River and also visit some wine farms in the area that we
have not been to before, including Bushmanspad. The farm is nestled up against
the Langeberg Mountains on the R60 between Ashton and Swellendam. It is owned
by Dutchman Menno Schaafsma, who had the vision to build the five self catering
guest cottages high on a ridge with spectacular views of the farm and the
countryside beyond. There is a trail on the farm near the dam and the kloof
which shows evidence of where Bushman travelled over the mountain to trade or hunt in the valley…
Robertson is full of some really kind and
hospitable people in the wine industry, as we found on our most recent stay
there. Although we had previously met the owners of Kleinhoekkloof, Theunis de
Jongh, his wife Ronelle and daughter Danielle, who makes the wine with her
father, we had never visited them on the farm and what a delightful visit it turned out to be…
We began our third day in Robertson at
Springfield, where we tasted some of the new vintages in the tasting room,
specifically the Life from Stone and Special Cuvée Sauvignons Blanc, and could
not resist buying six of each. These wonderful wines are distinctly different
from each other, change during the year and vie for first position. Abrie Bruwer's daughter Jenna gave us an informative
cellar tour…
The Twelve Apostles Hotel at Oudekraal now
has a sushi menu and we were invited to have lunch and enjoy some of the sushi
last week. It is in the lovely, summery Café Grill restaurant on the second floor…
Beautiful late afternoon light on the
vines at Wade Bales’ Cellar in Constantia. Wade is a wine merchant (or, in
French, a Negociant). We were there for the launch of a wine commissioned by
and made especially for Wade; the first in his pioneering Wade Bales Regional
Series: The Constantia White, a blend of 67% Sauvignon Blanc and 33% Semillon -
as Wade says, the two hero varietals of the region. This is the outcome of a
collaboration combining the talents of seven of Constantia’s top wine farms.
Each winemaker selected a component of Sauvignon Blanc and/or Semillon from
their best vineyards, tanks and barrels. All seven then participated in the
rigorous tasting and blending process, hand crafting the best wine that represents Constantia…
The 2019 Platter Wine Guide by Diners Club
was released this week at the Table Bay Hotel. Here, Publisher Jean-Pierre
Rossouw holds up the new guide in its colour called Amphora, a mutable peachy
pink that seems to change colour according to the light in which you view it. The On Line version is also available for purchase…
Our friend, Cape Wine Master Allan Mullins
has had a huge impact on the South African wine scene, especially in his
capacity as Wine Selector for Woolworths. He has done this despite having to
live with a severe disability since he broke his spine in a diving accident at
the age of 23. He has been in a wheelchair since then. He celebrated his 70th
birthday last month. Living with such a severe disability presents severe
medical challenges, especially as one reaches an advanced age, and this becomes
very expensive. A group of Allan’s friends and family has put together an On Line auction of Special Vintage Wines, Unique Experiences, Art and Accommodation to
boost his Medical Fund. The success of the auction rests on getting the word
out to as many people as possible, so please go to the auction website in order to participate
at auction.allanmullins.co.za
is one of the
highest scoring Wines of the Year in the just released 2019 Platter SA Wine
Guide. An unusual varietal that we believe has never before won 5 stars, we
have enjoyed it many times in a wine from the same wine Estate, blended with
Cabernet Sauvignon. Read on…
8th November 2018
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2018
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
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 our website and ancillary works are © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus. Our restaurant reviews are often 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
