Thursday, January 16, 2020

This Week’s MENU. Franskraal summer, Cape Agulhas, Marietjie’s, Strandveld Wines, Tuna pepper pasta, De Morgenzon Chenin

Cormorant squadron, Cape Agulhas

So here we are again in another new year, the last of the second decade of the 21st Century and so happy to be back with you all. We expect some argument about the decade but nothing starts with nought, unless it’s nothing. A child is one year old at the end of its first year and ten at the end of its tenth, its first decade. Moving on... 

 At a time like this one is very thankful that we are no longer a retail trader. The challenges for small high street businesses are immense – on-line trading, government imposed obstacles, and a declining economy. To all of you in your own businesses, we wish you well. You are the best vehicle for bringing our economy back into shape, while big business is retrenching staff everywhere. We need you.

 To everyone else, wherever you are, we wish you a happy, blessed and prosperous 2020. Thank you for your support; it is more valuable to us than you could ever know. For all the challenges we and other parts of the world are facing, we are blessed to live in a wonderful country. Let’s have a wonderful year


We long for the end of the year, so we can stop work and take a real break, one without deadlines and late nights, to breathe deep, sleep and rest. We live by the sea and we love to holiday by the sea. Over the last few years, we have headed up the beautiful West Coast, mainly because we found the prices better than on the South Coast. This year, Lynne went on line and searched the coast from Mossel Bay to Stanford to find us the perfect summer place. Read on…
Discussing where to get fresh fish locally with the owners of our AirBnB, they invited us to join them on the first Friday night at Marietjie’s in Baardskeerdersbos, which they said was one of the best, and they had booked a table. It was a lovely warm evening, so we sat outside. It is a very unpretentious place that locals and visitors alike love and support…

On another perfect summer’s day we headed due South to visit the southernmost tip of Africa, Cape Agulhas.  It was about an hour and half from Franskraal. There is a quicker route via a 35 km dirt road but we decided we had all the time in the world and didn't fancy a dusty ride. Read on…
A visit to Strandveld Vineyards, Elim

While we were on holiday in the area, we wanted to go to Strandveld wines and taste their new wines and we had an absolutely wonderful time. And, of course, bought lots of wine. We so recommend that you go to this winery if you are in the area. They have had a great year with much international acclaim, and British wine writer/judge Tim Atkin MW scoring the wines that he tasted very highly, in fact their 2018 First Sighting Sauvignon Blanc scored the highest that any Sauvignon Blanc world-wide has ever achieved in the Decanter annual awards. Read on…
On the MENU This Week, Red Pepper Tuna Pasta with Lemon

If you want a quick and easy supper that is delicious try this one, it is fresh and piquant. It is easy to prepare all the ingredients in advance and then , make the sauce as the pasta is cooking. You can use any pasta you like, we love using Fusillata Casareccia as we find it holds sauces really well, but spaghetti, shells, penne; all would work. Read on…

Richness and a hint of honey on the nose, with peach, pear drops and apple notes. Fresh lemon & lime flavours initially on the palate excite, then nectarine and pear develop in complexity & in layers. Lees and some light wood show on the end. Read on…

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Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172 / 083 656 4169
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Posted by MENU at 11:29 pm 0 comments

On the MENU This Week. Red Pepper Tuna Pasta with Lemon


If you want a quick and easy supper that is delicious try this one, it is fresh and piquant. It is easy to prepare all the ingredients in advance and then , make the sauce as the pasta is cooking. You can use any pasta you like, we love using Fusillata Casareccia as we find it holds sauces really well, but spaghetti, shells, penne; all would work
2 T olive oil – 1 small red pepper, sliced - 2 large cloves of garlic, grated – 1 tin of tuna –the grated zest of 1 lemon – 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice – salt and freshly ground black pepper – 1 T fresh Italian parsley chopped - 115 gm pasta
Optional: a teaspoon of chilli flakes OR several shakes of Tabasco Chipotle sauce for a little heat. Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Before you start the pasta, fry the pepper in the olive oil until it is softening and just beginning to caramelise; this adds sweetness to the dish. Set aside until you are ready to complete the dish. Boil a pot of really well salted water for your pasta and cook till al dente. Grate your garlic, zest your lemon and squeeze one teaspoon of the juice. When the pasta is nearly ready, reheat the pan with the red pepper, add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the tuna, lemon juice and let it heat through. Add a couple of tablespoons of the pasta water to make a sauce. At this point, add the chilli flakes or Tabasco if you like it a bit spicy. Drain the pasta and add the sauce. Stir in the fresh parsley and the cheese, if adding, and serve. Good with a French salad and some great Chenin Blanc like our wine of the week
Posted by MENU at 7:11 pm 0 comments

MENU's Wine of the Week. De Morgenzon Chenin blanc 2016

Richness and a hint of honey on the nose, with peach, pear drops and apple notes
Fresh lemon & lime flavours excite initially on the palate, then nectarine and pear develop in complexity in layers
Lees and some light wood show on the end.
The wine is from old bush vines and has been matured on the lees in both stainless steel tanks and old oak barrels for a short time. Two years maturity has made this wine so complex and versatile. The current vintage is 2018
It was the perfect match with this week’s recipe of Red Pepper Tuna Pasta with Lemon
Posted by MENU at 7:07 pm 0 comments

A visit to Strandveld Vineyards, Elim

While we were on holiday in the area, we wanted to go to Strandveld wines and taste their new wines and we had an absolutely wonderful time. And, of course, bought lots of wine. We so recommend that you go to this winery if you are in the area. They have had a great year with much international acclaim, and British wine writer/judge Tim Atkin MW scoring the wines that he tasted very highly; in fact, their 2017 and 2018 "entry level" First Sighting Sauvignon Blanc scored the highest that any Sauvignon Blanc world wide has ever achieved in the Decanter annual awards in 2018 and 2019
This is their wine cellar
We went to the Tasting room and were so well looked after by Otillia Jansen van Rensburg
It was a warm day, so we sat on the verandah in the shade
One of the other buildings on the farm, which is now accommodation
This is where we had a private tasting with our Wine Club two years ago when we stayed in Stanford
If you have a wine group, we do recommend bringing your club here for a tasting, or just come on your own
Swallows and sparrows were all around us and nesting in the roof trusses
Strandveld have won some very special awards and international recognition with high scoring wines
We began with the 2019 First Sighting Sauvignon Blanc; full elderflower, fig leaf and capsicum
Tropical at first, then the greener flavours appear
Crisp with good acidity, will open up more during the year. A steal at R85, such quality
The 2017 and 2018 won Platinum Medals (97 points) in the Decanter World Wine Awards 2018 and 2019
The garden is well planted for their dry conditions
The Poffadderbos Sauvignon Blanc 2018 is grown on Koffieklip soil. Elegance on the nose with capsicum,
full on the palate with crisp limes, lemon and elderflower. Very enjoyable 17/20
The 2017 Poffadderbos shows just what a little age on these wines can do. Tim Atkin scored this 93 points
Loquat, granadilla, dusty elderflower, minerality and elegance on the nose
On the palate, smooth & crisp with granadilla and lime, with long enticing flavours,
it leaves a little chalky tannin on the roof of your mouth. 18/20
A tiny sparrow was hoping we would leave some crumbs, but we were not eating
Adamastor 2017 - also 93 points from Tim Atkin. A blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon
Clean elegant, flinty minerality, a hint of toast, shy fruit with a hint of unripe fig
Smooth and crisp lemon, lime, wood, mutton fat, long flavours, warmth of alcohol, minerality and wood on the end. 18½/20
The Strandveld Viognier was only made in very small quantities
We loved this wine so much and we were relieved to find that we were still able to buy six
"Please make more, Konrad", we begged
Vanilla oak, floral perfume then fynbos on the restrained nose. Honey, peaches, nectarines, fresh fruit, long flavours,
wood in the background. Almonds appear and the wine is round on the palate, coating it in a semillon-like way
Absolutely delicious and seldom have we encountered one as good as this 19/20
The First Sighting Rosé had vanilla, roses, watermelon and raspberries on the nose
Mulberry and pomegranate on the palate with a little watermelon on the end
Rose pink and so good with summer food
The 2018 First Sighting Shiraz has incense wood, cherries on the nose. Full of wood and fruit
Dark, salty and long with cherries, mulberries and cassis
The 2017 Syrah has smoky bacon on the nose, salty cherry fruit, friendly and quaffable
So fresh and young. This will age well
The Navigator 2016 is an excellent blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache and Viognier
Expensive wood, spice, smoke, coriander seed, cassis and cherry. Silky soft on the palate
Umami with soy and full berry fruit, very delicious with long flavours and chalky minerality, with wood on the end
How could one resist this beautiful wine? 19/20
Another with 93 points from Tim Atkin
The 2018 Grenache has smoke, vanilla, rhubarb and cherry on the nose
Round dark fruit, with some soy salt, long flavours and some expected wildness. Delicious
Talented, down to earth winemaker Konrad Vlok has a lifetime of experience which shows in the great wines he makes
We are huge fans and it shows in the quantity of wine we buy whenever we visit the farm
Sadly the last Pinot Noir they will make, the vineyard has been pulled up
It is a classic expression of what the grape can do given the right terroir and climate
Perfumed with cherry and raspberry, and full of serious fruit in layers
Good wood, lots of elegance, with minerality and charm, this wine is very French in style with a hint of salt on the end palate
There are only a few Pinots like this in SA and we hope for more. It reminded us of Newton Johnson
And a gift for us to take home, Konrad's Stamboom (Family Tree), an interesting blend of Pinot Noir, Cinsaut and Pinotage
As we drove through the vineyards, a herd of Grey Rhebok (Pelea capreolus) ran past
The athletic Rhebok gave its name to the Reebok sports shoe brand
This is the soil, no, rocky ground that the vines grow in
Some koffieklip and lots of sandstone
Farming organically with as little interference as possible
Berries just reaching veraison
Healthy vines
New plantings
Guinea fools (Lynne's name for them) get a great view of the surroundings from atop a mound of koffieklip boulders
So great to see a wild hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus)
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Posted by MENU at 6:52 pm 0 comments
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