Friday, November 29, 2019

This Week's MENU. DC Winemaker of the Year, Angala, Vrede en Lust, UK Adventure at Mousehall, Empire sushi, Wine & recipe of the Week

Summer wheatfields near Bredasdorp, Southern Cape

A week of celebrations, as we prepare for all the usual jollies which this time of the year brings. Too many to fit them all in this week, despite good intentions, and the best of them will be part of next week’s story. Lovely sunny weather, but a little rain would be a huge treat. One day, we may have a garden again. As we start to wind down, this will be the second last MENU of the year, as we prepare to take a holiday – not an extended road trip, but a quiet time by the sea on the Southern Cape coast. As the parties start, we wish you all safe driving, with good food and wine, but with necessary moderation. Have fun and be safe!


Diners Club Winemaker and Young Winemaker of the Year presentation at La Residence, Franschhoek

The 2019 Diners Club Winemaker of the Year (and the Young Winemaker of the year) Awards dinner was held last Saturday night at La Residence in Franschhoek. The event began at 6 pm. It is always a Black Tie event. As no accommodation or transport was provided for media this year, we were lucky enough to be able to arrange to stay over near Franschhoek at Angala Boutique Hotel. Driving home from a late event involving wine is something we do not do. Read on...

An Overnight stay at Angala Boutique Hotel, Franschhoek

We were invited to cover a prestigious black tie award ceremony in Franschhoek last weekend, but no transport or overnight accommodation was to be provided. Our friends at Angala were very generous and allowed us to have a suite for the night, which meant that John could enjoy a glass or two of the two winners’ wines and we didn’t have to drive all the way back home at midnight on the motorway, which would have taken us at least an hour and a half. We are extremely grateful. It is one of our favourite places to stay and we wanted to show you just how beautiful and peaceful it is. It is located 2.4 kilometres up the mountain approach from Vrede en Lust wine estate, with marvellous views of Franschhoek and Paarl, and is an easy 20 Km drive before Franschhoek. Read on...

Tasting at Vrede en Lust wine estate, Simondium

While we were staying at Angala Boutique Hotel, we were given a voucher for a free tasting for two at their neighbouring wine farm, Vrede and Lust (which you drive through to reach Angala). We have been meaning to re-visit the estate and taste their wines for a long time and have received invitations from co-owners Etienne and Dana Buys. So this seemed like a great thing to do on Sunday morning after breakfast, before we drove home. Vrede and Lust was one of the first wine farms to invest in solar electricity generation. It is part of their commitment to being environmentally conscious and active. They have installed huge swathes of solar panels here on the main building and also in the vineyards. Read on...

A South African owned vineyard in Sussex. The Jordans at Mousehall

When Gary and Kathy Jordan, owners of Jordan wine estate in Stellenbosch, heard that we would be in England in September, they invited us to visit them on their farm, Mousehall in East Sussex. They told us that it is a very pretty and historic area and if we wanted to stop and see a classic country town, we should stop in Mayfield, which is just a few miles from them. We happened to arrive there at lunch time and it was indeed worth exploring. Read on...


Sushi lunch at Empire Asian restaurant, Sea Point

Since our favourite Chinese restaurant, Dynasty, closed and another which has no attraction for us opened in its place, we have been trying out different restaurants for our essential monthly dose of sushi. This restaurant is at the beginning of Main Road, Sea Point and its name seems to be the large signage above its door. But, if you look at the menu and the small sign on the left, it is called the Empire Asian Restaurant. Read on...

On the MENU this week. Mediterranean Celebration Salad
At this time of year, we give you some ideas for Christmas food. If you are doing a cold Christmas lunch here is a very easy salad to add to the celebration table. It looks wonderful and takes moments to prepare. Everyone can help themselves to their favourites. You could add sliced avocado, briefly steamed green beans or any favourite cold vegetable. Read on...

a classic barrel aged blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. All the grapes are from Elgin. Biscuit lees character shows on the nose and at first it is quite shy. Then greengage, fig leaf and English gooseberry aromas appear. It has a very good smooth mouth feel from the Semillon, with good green flavours of fig, greengage and gooseberry and some green pepper on the end. Read on...


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