Fishing on the rocks near Gansbaai, Western Cape
This is wine country and the harvest is near its end. We hear that the quality is generally good because we have had a long, cool ripening time, but we are still in the middle of a drought and the volume of the harvest is quite low. The weather experts are predicting another winter of low rainfall, so don’t think that, because the dams are at about 75% of capacity, we have enough water. Brace yourself for another season of water restrictions along with the promise of more “load-shedding” as people switch on their electric heaters. We have just ordered a truck load of firewood to fuel the little wood-burning stove which warms our house. The carbon emission from that is much less than all the partially operative power stations working with poor quality coal to try and keep up with demand for power. So do your best to conserve energy, water and all the necessary resources, but, Importantly, do your best to have fun, eat well and drink the good stuff. Enjoy the weekend, support your local wine merchant and bistro. They need you
The need for regular intake of Sushi is compelling, so this week we tried a new place in town called Active Sushi. They must have the worst signage we have ever seen - or not seen as you can see from this photo. Yes that white haze is the name in neon. It is in a cursive script that is almost impossible to read from the street when you are driving slowly past. They are in the Portside Building, 4 Bree Street. The wind was howling and we found parking very easily at 7 pm
We received an invitation to visit Ken Forrester Wines in Stellenbosch to see the new tasting facility, taste the Chenin Blancs and then have lunch at 96 Winery Road. A lovely welcome was a glass of their Sparkle Horse Chenin Blanc bubbly, poured for us by Roxanne Martin…
On the MENU This Week. Banoffee Pie
It is frustrating when, after a good restaurant meal, you simply have no room for dessert and you see one of your favourites on the menu. This happened to Lynne recently and it doesn’t happen often, as she rarely orders dessert, unless it’s an old favourite like this. We know you all do a lot of entertaining in summer, despite the hot weather. Lynne thought she would give you a simple but delicious recipe which takes very little time or effort to make, as many of the ingredients could come from your store cupboard or a quick trip to a local supermarket. Might work well at the coming public holidays. And NO, it is not slimming or Banting
MENU’s Wines of the Week. Kleinood 2018 Viognier.
and a wine we wish you could taste is
and a wine we wish you could taste is
Ken Forrester 2007 Old Vines Chenin
The Kleinood Viognier, we think, is one of the top three wines from that varietal produced in South Africa at the moment. It is hand-picked on different dates to ensure that the wine reflects the full flavour spectrum of the grape. It is wood fermented and now has 11% Roussane added. It is full of peaches and apricots, with perfume and incense from the wood on the nose. Crisp and fruity with some complexity, the Roussanne shows as an added component and is discernible. There is just a golden touch of oak; peaches and cream remain on the palate. Delicious. Definitely a wine for spicy, complex food and with seafood. R156 per bottle or R936 per case of 6 from the estate
At Ken Forrester, we had a huge treat. A bottle of the 2007 Old Vine Reserve Chenin Blanc was opened to see how well it ages. It was very impressive; we were encouraging Shawn Mathyse, the Cellar Controller, to enter this into major competitions that have vintage awards. We wish you could taste it. It was so good. A nose of golden fruit and golden oak with hints of Riesling and some of Chardonnay. On the palate, richness in spades, truly amazing deep flavours of cooked apple and quince, long and in balance, it is so memorable. We predict it will win new awards and demonstrates how well our white wines can age. Do try the current vintage, it is also a great wine.
29th March 2019
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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2019
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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 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.
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