Friday, July 26, 2019

Raath Promotions Trade Show

This year's Raath Trade Show was held at The Athletic Club and Social on Buitengracht in Cape Town
They took over the entire place
Didn’t see a single item of gym equipment thankfully; we were worried that we would have to work out
Johan and Sofie Kruger of Kruger Family Wines
Marika Donohoe, PA and Office Manager at Raats Family Wines
Jaap-Henk Koelewijn of Tokara Restaurant in serious conversation with Gavin Bruwer of B Vintners
Enthusiastic Amoré van Zyl with Bouchard Finlayson wines
Amoré van Zyl and Danél Theron with Bouchard Finlayson wines, pouring for Faye of UnWined
Van Zyl du Toit, Allée Bleue winemaker
A canapé of, we think, duck. John went to the kitchen to photograph them coming out
A tray full of them was snaffled very quickly
Crostini
The chef was kept very busy as the venue was filled to the gunnels with trade
Brian Smith of Raath Promotions and a surprised looking woman...
And a wave in the distance 
Sebastian Beaumont pours for Keize of Grub & Vine and Aimee Beaumont (no relation) of The Wine Cellar
Lynne spent the evening ducking and diving through the crowd and managed to taste one wine from a few of the stands
Being small does not help in a scrum so she decided to concentrate on the spirits upstairs. No, not in heaven
Sebastian Beaumont with Chef Alex and Ruth Grahame of SeaBreeze restaurant
Karin Loubser of Silverthorn welcomed us with a lovely glass of The Genie
Upstairs to explore the spirits. Lynne asked some questions of the gin makers about what the base spirit of each gin was and got some strange answers: vodka, cane or a white spirit (no, not the stuff that removes paint). She was told that one had been made from a batch of beer that gone wrong and had then been fermented and turned into gin. It did have notes of beer in the gin, which was quite sharp. Lynne tastes a splash gin neat and then with a block of ice and then with a dash of tonic. But only a tiny sip.  And many people are adding liquid extracts after fermentation to flavour the gin. Not the traditional way
Kobá and Jan Solms of Muti Gin
Storm trying to read the back label on the Knut Hansen gin bottle. It is from Hope on Hopkins
And it tastes of cucumber and mint, so reminds one of a good Pimms. Cant wait to try it in summer as a long drink. 
Bonita Malherbe, of Van Loveren with their range of alcohol free wines
There is a growing market for these wines, especially among Millenials
Although not for us, it did give Lynne something to drink in a Spritzer during her dry January
Calmness on the balcony
Some beer as well, from Franschhoek Beer Company
We tried the Pale Ale and enjoyed the flavour with that hint of orange
Heike Victor and Olaf Morgenroth, Franschhoek Beer Company
James Copeland and winemaker Adi Badenhorst on James’ stand. We really, really enjoyed James' Rum and Pisco. Made with skill, we think these are going to be big sellers in the SA market. And hopefully, eventually, abroad
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