Thursday, June 27, 2019

This Week’s MENU. Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show, He Sheng Chinese, Delheim Jazz ‘n Fondue. Smoked Haddock Chowder, Leopard’s Leap Grand Vin

A gull and a winter sea


Anyone who pooh-poohs the concept of Global warming needs to take another look at this lovely planet. Europe is experiencing its hottest weather in recorded history, while still only in June, and we are in a cold winter which should give us copious amounts of rain but, apart from a few sporadic wet days, we – here in Sea Point – have had only 60% of the rain we’d had at the same time last year, and that was also a dry year. It is frustrating, we see the dark clouds on the horizon and rain falling on the sea, but nothing reaches land.  We are encouraged by the many people we meet who take our water situation seriously, but we should all continue to beat this drum until everyone follows suit

Every year, after the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Competition, comes the Trophy Wine Show, which is held in Cape Town and Johannesburg and, at last, we had a chance to taste the Silver, Gold and Trophy winners, and see why the Trophy wines won their class. If you want to see this year’s results: Click on this link : https://www.trophywineshow.co.za/2019-results/. Of course it is not possible to taste all of the wines. We do try to get around to taste the Trophy wines and there were some really outstanding wines this year, as expected as the bar has been pushed high…

He Sheng restaurant on Sea Point Main Road near Pick n Pay has been sold since we last visited and has new owners, It has also moved across the road. We haven't been for years because the last time we went the previous owners put so much MSG in the food that we had bad reactions. We read some good reviews on a Facebook page we follow: Restaurants the Good, the Bad and the Nasty and as we love Dim Sum decided to venture forth with a couple of like minded friends, for lunch last Friday…

We were invited to the first of Delheim’s popular Jazz & Fondue events held every Sunday until 25 August and headed off, on one of our rare but lovely sunny winter days, to this farm high in the Stellenbosch foothills. This week, the band was a group who came together while at the South African College of Music at UCT. Held in the cellar tasting room, we were shown to a table in the back corner…

We know that we don’t eat enough fish. We love it but, where we live, our only local source is supermarkets, where the fresh fish looks days old and is very unappealing. Ridiculous, one thinks, in a city by the sea. Or from frozen food cabinets and we do tend to pass them by, except for frozen vegetables like peas. The ‘haddock’ (actually smoked hake in South Africa) came from one of those…

We tasted this at the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show Public Tasting in Cape Town this week and were so impressed. Leopards Leap won the most fragile trophy, the Riedel Trophy for Best Bordeaux-Style Red Blend for this wine. The trophy is a large Riedel wine glass that has the capacity for a whole bottle of wine...


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On the MENU this week. Smoked Haddock and Sweet Corn Chowder

We know that we don’t eat enough fish. We love it but, where we live, our only local source is supermarkets, where the fresh fish looks days old and is very unappealing. Ridiculous, one thinks, in a city by the sea.  Or from frozen food cabinets and we do tend to pass them by, except for frozen vegetables like peas. The ‘haddock’ (actually smoked hake in South Africa) came from one of those. And now there is a shadow over our fresh fish. Lynne used fresh corn which she took off the cob for this recipe and it does have a different fresh flavour. This is a relatively simple dish to make and it is very satisfying and filling

1 T butter - 2 rashers of streaky bacon, chopped into 2 cm pieces - 1 onion, finely chopped - 500ml milk - 2 medium potatoes cut into small cubes – a good grating of nutmeg - 300g Smoked haddock fillets - 140g fresh or frozen sweet corn - 1 teaspoon of lemon juice - salt and freshly ground black pepper - 1 T chopped parsley

Heat the butter in a large saucepan. Tip in the bacon, then cook until starting to brown. Add the onion, cook until soft, then pour over the milk and stir through the potatoes. Add a grating of nutmet. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes

Add the haddock, then leave to cook gently for another few minutes until you can break it into large chunks. Stir through the sweet corn, then simmer until everything is cooked. Add a good grinding or two of black pepper. Taste and add salt if necessary. Scatter over parsley, if using. Serve with plenty of crusty bread and a good crisp white wine like a Sauvignon Blanc or a white blend of Sauvignon and Semillon
All content ©  John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus

The 2019 Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show at the CTICC

Every year, after the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Competition, comes the Trophy Wine Show, which is held in Cape Town and Johannesburg and, at last, we had a chance to taste some of the Silver, Gold and, especially, the  Trophy winners, and see why the Trophy wines won their classes
If you want to see this year’s results, Click on this link: https://www.trophywineshow.co.za/2019-results/
Of course it is not possible to taste all of the wines. We do try to get around to taste the Trophy wines and there were some really outstanding wines this year, as expected, as the bar has been pushed high. Mulderbosch won three trophies: The Harold Eedes Trophy for Best Chenin Blanc, Old Mutual International Judges’ Trophy and Old Mutual Trophy for Best White Wine Overall with Mulderbosch Single Vineyard Chenin Blanc Block A 2017. And wow, this wine is spectacular. Perfumed with integrated apple & citrus fruit, with lees character from its natural fermentation in old barriques, some salty minerality on the end
Keelyn Gibbons was at their stand to show the wines
Wade Roger-Lund, Young Winemaker of the Year 2017, and his colleague Dennis showed the Jordan Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2018, which won the Miele Trophy for Best Chardonnay. Already a 5 Star in Platter, this wooded Chardonnay charms and shows how judicious use of oak can enhance and enrich a good Chardonnay without ever overwhelming the good citrus fruit. Fermented 'sur lie' for 9 months
Jeremy Borg of Painted Wolf Wines with their three trophies: Old Mutual Trophy for Most Successful Producer Overall, for his many medals. But, almost more importantly, he won both the Trophy for Best Niche White Variety with Painted Wolf Roussanne 2018 and the Trophy for Best Niche Red Variety with his Painted Wolf Black Pack Mourvèdre 2017
Viticulturist Marco Ventrella and his colleagues were on the KWV stand with their two: Trophy for Best Museum Class Semillon, awarded to KWV The Mentors Semillon 2012 and the Trophy for Best Museum Class Fortified Wine, KWV Ruby Port 1949
They also won a Gold for KWV The Mentors Semillon 2015 (from Darling grapes). This was a classic Semillon, crisp with a dusty nose, beautiful on the palate. The Mentors Semillon 2012 was racy and full of life. Sadly the 1949 Port had all gone by the time we got to the table, but the vestige of wine left in the bottle smelled amazing
Nederburg won the Old Mutual Trophy for Best Dessert Wine (Unfortified), Nederburg The Winemasters Noble Late Harvest 2018
Having fun with Martelize Brink of the SABC’s Radio Sonder Grense on the Leopards Leap Table
They won the most fragile trophy, the Riedel Trophy for Best Bordeaux-Style Red Blend, Leopard's Leap Culinaria Collection Grand Vin 2017. The Trophy is  a large Riedel wine glass which has the capacity for a whole bottle of wine. The Grand Vin 2017 is spicy and fruity, a beautiful wine with such depth and maturity that tastes as though it might have been from the 2007 vintage. Definitely the red wine of the night. And many in the room agreed. It is our Wine of the Week
Reino Kruger of Stellenview was awarded the American Express Trophy for Best Cabernet Sauvignon
and the Old Mutual Trophy for Best Red Wine Overall for the Kruger Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
More fun on the Mulderbosch stand with their three trophies. Harold Eedes Trophy for Best Chenin Blanc, Old Mutual International Judges’ Trophy and Old Mutual Trophy for Best White Wine Overall, Mulderbosch Single Vineyard Chenin Blanc Block A 2017
Sean Griffiths  having fun with Michelle Stewart and Caroline van Schalkwyk
Delaire Graff are very happy about their award, the Tony Mossop Trophy for Best Cape Port,
the Delaire Graff Cape Vintage 2017 which was shown by Maggie Marais 
And D'Aria won the Trophy for Best Museum Class Sauvignon Blanc D'Aria The Songbird Sauvignon Blanc 2014. We learned something from this wine. We need to keep D'Aria Sauvignons Blanc for a few years in the cellar. Wow, this was impressive. We confess we do find their current vintages rather too fresh for us; now we have the solution
Ghost Corner deservedly won the Nestlé Pure Life Trophy for Best Sauvignon Blanc Ghost Corner Sauvignon Blanc 2018. It is so good to see a Sauvignon Blanc of this depth and quality come to the fore. It is a classic green and herbal, quite intense, layered Sauvignon, with not a hint of any tropical flavours, and a benchmark for its terroir. The style we Sauvignonophiles absolutely love to drink and buy. Well done David Nieuwoudt. Perhaps this will start a trend back to how Sauvignon should be. And those who prefer more tropical flavours can start to drink more South African Chenin Blanc, which is also fantastic.
There were many other superb wines to taste but, sadly, they were beyond our capacity. The evening as always, was very social; we do enjoy meeting MENU readers. This is definitely one of the best wine shows of the year; there is quality and variety to taste and admire

MENU’s Wine of the Week, Leopard's Leap Culinaria Collection Grand Vin 2017


We tasted this at the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show Public Tasting in Cape Town this week and were so impressed. Leopards Leap won the most fragile trophy, the Riedel Trophy for Best Bordeaux-Style Red Blend for this wine. The trophy is a large Riedel wine glass that has the capacity for a whole bottle of wine

The Grand Vin 2077 is a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (46%), Merlot (36%), Malbec (12%) and Petit Verdot (6%).  With aromas of black current and blackberry, spicy and fruity, a beautiful wine that fills the mouth with ripe succulent fruit. There is a background of soft oak and soft tannins. The wine has such depth and maturity that tastes like it might have been from the 2007 vintage. Definitely the red wine of the night. And many in the room agreed.
Price: R121.00 from the farm
All content ©  John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Jazz and Fondue Sundays at Delheim, Stellenbosch

We were invited to the first of Delheim’s popular Jazz & Fondue events, which will be held every Sunday until 25th August
and headed off, on one of our rare but lovely sunny winter days, to this farm high in the Stellenbosch Simonsberg foothills
We received a very friendly welcome
This week, the band was a group who came together while at the South African College of Music at UCT
Held in the cellar tasting room, we were shown to a table in the back corner
Our lovely waitress Isipho explained the menu and what we could have
Our fondue and a bottle of wine were complimentary, as we were reviewing the event
The "wine bottle" on the table is a pepper grinder, made to look like Delheim's first wine, Spatzendreck. Michael "Spatz" Sperling came to the Cape from Germany in 1951. He joined his uncle Hans Hoheisen and his aunt Del on the Delheim (Del's home) farm, where he started to experiment with wine making, eventually adding to his knowledge by consulting with established winemakers. His first wine Spatzendreck, a natural sweet, was tasted by a friend who pronounced it “dreck”. He bottled it with a picture of a sparrow relieving itself on the label and it has been a favourite dessert wine for many aficionados ever since. Sperling is the German word for Sparrow and Spatz is the colloquial equivalent. Spatz died in 2017. We published an obituary. Delheim is run by his son and daughter, Victor and Nora
First came the two complimentary glasses of glühwein, nice and hot, sweet and rich with the flavours of cloves and other spices
John said he thought it might have apple juice in it as well
The Menu and the Wine List. Tickets cost R350 per person. Entry includes glühwein on arrival, the musical entertainment (band cover charge) and the fondue (with bread and vegetables). Note that all starters, meats and desserts will be charged extra. Wines will be on sale by the bottle or glass. Each lunchtime show runs from noon to 15:00.
The band which was playing on Sunday. They played lots of African jazz and some classics, which we enjoyed
The cellar is quite small and so we don’t think the bands need amplifiers as the sound can amplify in the space all on its own
It was sometimes rather hard to hear the waitress or each other
The timetable. Be there by 12 noon. And you must book beforehand
Isipho opening our wine
We were given a bottle of the Delheim 2016 Sur Lie Chardonnay, which went perfectly with the rich cheese fondue
It is full of toasted brioche, citrus and peach with long flavours, a good zing of acidity and some good salty minerality
We could have had the Shiraz, but prefer a white wine with cheese fondue
Our neighbours on our table ordered the soup for their starter, which was Butternut
We shared the Cape Malay Platter at R70 and, compliments to the chef, it was totally delicious, all of it
Two sensational mince samoosas with bubble crisp pastry and that was only one layer thick. Applause
Tiny, crisp and light as air chilli bites - we could have eaten a plate full
Two spring rolls, again with crisp pastry, filled to the brim with soft and tender shredded roast meat
Not sure if it was lamb or beef, but they were moist and moreish
It was in a very interesting sauce which tasted of sesame or nuts, a little like a sate sauce without the spice
Don’t hesitate, have this when you go. The whole vegetable pickle in the middle reminded us of Piccalilli
Then the cheese fondue. They gave us the vegetables first which was very good strategy and very good for us,
as one normally eats too much of the bread, which came later. The texture of the fondue is perfect;
it coats each mouthful with a thick coating of what tasted like good cheddar cheese fondue
Cauliflower works so well
Broccoli too. And it stops dripping almost immediately
We and the other couple did order the Sirloin to accompany the meal, but it didn't arrive
Not too much of a problem, we had so much fondue and dipping accompaniments to eat
The Sirloin apparently comes sliced and ready cooked, so you don’t dip it in the cheese
And we could not resist sharing a slice of the German cooked cheesecake, not something you see often,
so light and very satisfying, drizzled with a thick syrup, and went well with the coffee served at the end of the meal
Our bill for the extras: the starter platter, one dessert and two coffees came to R200 including a tip
Oops, weren't those coffees supposed to be complimentary?
Thank you Delheim for a lovely event

Lunch at He Sheng Chinese restaurant, Sea Point

He Sheng restaurant on Sea Point Main Road, near Pick n Pay, has been sold since we last visited and has new owners. It has also moved across the road. We haven't been for years because, the last time we went, the previous owners put so much MSG in the food that we had bad reactions. We read some good reviews on a Facebook page we follow: Restaurants the Good, the Bad and the Nasty and, as we love Dim Sum, decided to venture forth, with a couple of like minded friends, for lunch last Friday
It, strangely, looks better in the photograph than in reality!
Chinese people were eating there, which is always a good sign of authentic food
We did take some wine and pay corkage. Always happy to do so if we have good wine that needs drinking
Not sure about the Whisky though. How much can you drink with a meal?
The menu
Second page
Our friends ordered the vegetarian steamed dumplings and enjoyed them very much
Apologies, this is only one third of the seaweed salad, which is a large portion. John remembered just in time to take a photo
The seaweed is fresh and crisp, but it is rather vinegary and not umami enough. We added soy
We saw garlic, but didn’t taste much
The Eggplant in Brown Gravy was delectable
Soft, sweet, well flavoured pieces of aubergine with lots of other crisp vegetables in a good, lightly chillied sauce
We had a little of this - it was our friends' main course, but we will definitely return for more
We can imagine that the Eggplant in Chilli sauce must be quite hot
We ordered the Pot sticker (steamed then fried) dumplings, filled with Pork and Prawns
Nicely crisp on one side and full of flavour, but more meat than prawns
Good dipping sauce provided and they disappeared in an instant
Our main course was rather bland and not something we would order again. Soup noodles with what looks like pork or beef?
Dressed with spring onion and lots of fresh coriander. The soup was very bland, the noodles slippery and the meat a little absent
Mama making dumplings next to us
You can see the proportion of the prawns to the pork and herb filling
And our waitress helped to make the next batch. It's a skilled job
Our bill. R260 per couple including corkage on two bottles of wine (one was only a half bottle) and a tip
Next time more Dim Sum. And we did not have any reaction to MSG
All content ©  John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus