Thursday, July 01, 2021

In MENU This Week. Old Mutual Trophy, Chenin Day, Allesverloren dinner, Nuy Merlot and a Rant

The heron is back, trying to catch our koi

We cannot be sure of when we will next publish MENU. For at least the next week, probably much longer, we are all in a severe state of lock down. Most importantly, the government has dealt the wine and hospitality industries another crippling, if not fatal, blow. So we celebrate a few excellent wines here and end with a rant about the damage done and what we believe to be the causes and effects.

The results of the 2021 Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show were announced on a special edition of Dan Really Likes Wine at midday on 30th June. Broadcast from The Houghton in Johannesburg, the live online event included the on-screen participation of the leading category winners as well as several of the judges.

Despite a lower medal count overall, there was a broad spread of trophy winners covering almost all of the major categories. It is clear that the industry has more or less recovered from the devastation of the drought years, though – with entries down 10% on 2020 - not from the 19 weeks of trading bans imposed during the first two waves of the pandemic. 

Read on...


Chenin Blanc Day - Two wonderful vintage Chenins

We have had some excellent wines this last week. We had two super choices for International Chenin Blanc day on Friday and it was very hard to choose. We were having them with quite plebeian food, such is life at the moment as we are not prepared to go out much and they made it taste superb. South African Chenin Blancs are magnificent, and we love it that they have such different styles. 
Read on...

Wine and Dine Evening with Allesverloren at The Peninsula

There is quite a struggle at the moment for us to decide whether or not to go if someone invites us to a function or just to supper. We were invited last week to this lovely Allesverloren wine paired dinner at the Peninsula Hotel’s Sunset Restaurant (on the beachfront in Sea Point and mainly a timeshare property) that we have been meaning to visit for a while. We said “yes, on condition that we would not at any time be standing about 'socialising'” and our hosts, Leigh Taberer and Francois Joubert, said that was what they were going to do. So we met sitting down, masked and after a welcome introductory drink there, went straight to our table. It was a very good experience, but what has happened since means it will probably be the last function we attend for a while. We are now in Stage 4 lockdown again because of the fast spread of the Delta variant of Covid
Read on...

Nuy Merlot

A delivery of two samples of Nuy Inspiration Merlot did take us a while to try, but we were very glad we did. It’s a new addition to the wines from the Nuy winery, in the valley between Worcester and Robertson, best known for many awards for their White and Red muscadels. We buy them and let them mature in our cellar; they really benefit from a few years maturation

A Rant

Despair. There are families all over this country for whom this is a reality. We’ve been down this road before, last year. But this idiotic, corrupt government does not learn. Last year, they banned sales of alcoholic drinks and, just as in Prohibition USA, the illicit traders filled their pockets, while the country’s revenues suffered as they lost income from excise duties, VAT and other tax sources. Now, they have put their spear through the heart of so many producers, retailers, restaurateurs, hoteliers and all the people whom they employ
Read on...






1st July 2021

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Posted by MENU at 2:54 pm 0 comments

A Rant

Taken a year ago when restaurants held a protest

Despair. There are families all over this country for whom this is a reality. We’ve been down this road before, last year. But this idiotic, corrupt government does not learn. Last year, they banned sales of alcoholic drinks and, just as in Prohibition USA, the illicit traders filled their pockets, while the country’s revenues suffered as they lost income from excise duties, VAT and other tax sources. Now, they have put their spear through the heart of so many producers, retailers, restaurateurs, hoteliers and all the people whom they employ.

Many of these people and businesses were at the brink, tottering on the edge of a cliff. They had mortgaged their houses, borrowed money to keep their doors open and their people employed. Now they are paying for the money stolen by Zuma, the Gupta brothers, Ace Magashule, Zweli Mkhize and a long list of others. We expect that many of them will not survive this final, cruel and wicked blow.

Why are we in this position? Not because of the victims of this draconic ban. It is because the ANC government is hopelessly incompetent and is stuck in the past with their stubborn adherence to failed philosophies that their mentors abandoned after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. They have failed to plan; politicians have stolen money that should have been used to build facilities and buy vaccines – indeed, in the early days of this crisis, they failed to get the orders in to secure the vaccines. We could have had a large number of active members of our work force vaccinated by now if they had allowed the private sector, which is good at management, to participate and use their facilities and expertise to do the jab. But state control is their abiding principle. The President asked us in his latest TV appearance to be careful about spreading bad, negative news but, sometimes, these things need to be said.

So the biggest hospital in Gauteng is out of commission after a fire, probably caused by poor maintenance, damaged a part of it, after which dithering and incompetent politicians failed to get it fixed. And then facilities erected in the first stages of the crisis were dismantled and not put back when news of a new variant of the virus broke a couple of months ago. And because Gauteng, the most populous province, is in such a mess, the rest of the country is being devastated by the consequent shock wave.

People will become ill and some will die because we are in this “third wave” of the virus; more will die because of starvation, suicide and other tragic after effects of this gross incompetence and criminality. More people than ever are voicing their anger at the corruption which has enriched a few politicians – and some immigrants from India – at the expense of the majority of our citizens. There is an election coming… Let’s hope that old, misplaced loyalties will be put aside. The challenge is to decide who will be best to fill the void.

But we do have good news. The architect of much of the evil which has blighted our lives for the last ten or so years, Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, the man who sold our country down the river to the Guptas, has been made to answer for a small amount of the damage he has done. A small smack on the wrist, perhaps, with a 15 month jail sentence for contempt of court. Al Capone was toppled for tax evasion, a minor crime compared to all his others. 

Zuma still has to answer for his contempt of our nation; there are numerous cases waiting for him in the courts. He has been dodging these serious accusations and court appearances for years. Maybe this is the key to the door which will see him and his cohorts being made to pay for all their other crimes. Whether we will ever recover from the damage he has done is another question which must still be answered. Maybe the political body in whose name the evil was done will suffer irreparable damage. It is dominated by two factions with a strong possibility that they will split. Sidelining Zuma's faction will be of enormous benefit to the country. We live in hope.

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Posted by MENU at 1:35 pm 0 comments

Nuy Merlot


A delivery of two samples of Nuy Inspiration Merlot did take us a while to try, but we were very glad we did. It’s a new addition to the wines from the Nuy winery, in the valley between Worcester and Robertson, best known for many awards for their White and Red muscadels. We buy them and let them mature in our cellar; they really benefit from a few years maturation.

Merlot has traditionally not done well in the valley but, with careful vineyard management, it looks as though they are succeeding

We had this with a Father’s Day braai and later with a comforting lamb casserole. The second bottle was taken to a neighbour who’d invited us for Sunday lunch a week later, where we enjoyed it with her beef olives. Covid news and lockdown have rather interfered with our wine drinking and writing.

The wine has incense wood, black cherries, cassis, red plums and violets on the nose. Tight tannins on the palate do open up as the wine breathes. Juicy cherry berry, plum and some cranberry fruit with some minerality and licorice wood on the end. The wine is juicy, approachable and warm with 14.5% alcohol. And it is very good with meat dishes.

A good deal at R432 for 6 (R72 a bottle) from the farm, when we can buy again. http://www.nuywinery.co.za/

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Posted by MENU at 1:15 pm 0 comments

Chenin Blanc Day - Two wonderful vintage Chenins

We have had some excellent wines this last week. We had two super barrel-fermented choices from our cellar for International Chenin Blanc day on Friday and it was very hard to choose. We were having them with quite plebeian food, such is life at the moment, as we are not prepared to go out much and they made it taste superb. South African Chenin Blancs are magnificent, and we love it that they have such different styles

Hope Marguerite 2014 from Beaumont. It is complex, rich and golden on the nose showing its maturity with cooked apple and peach aromas and a little spice. So satisfying on the lovely palate, it was as fresh as a daisy with layer upon layer of crisp fruit: limes, peach, granny smith apple, so clean with length and depth. We had it with spicy Mexican Nachos and it stood up well and enhanced the food

On Sunday, for Father’s Day, we had a small traditional braai as John’s daughter was able to come to us. We had steak, lamb and boerewors with salads. The 2014 De Morgenzon Reserve was golden with age and had a whiff of the oak, apples both cooked and fresh, with the perfume of ripe golden delicious. Silky on the palate then stars of brightness lit up the palate with zingy and full ripe quince, pineapple, gooseberry and yellow peach. There were layers of flavour and a mellow oak flavour on the end 


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Posted by MENU at 11:53 am 0 comments

Wine and Dine Evening with Allesverloren at The Peninsula

There is quite a struggle at the moment for us to decide whether or not to go if someone invites us to a function or just to supper. We were invited last week to this lovely Allesverloren wine paired dinner at the Peninsula Hotel’s Sunset Restaurant (on the beachfront in Sea Point and mainly a timeshare property) that we have been meaning to visit for a while. We said “yes, on condition that we would not at any time be standing about 'socialising'” and our hosts, Leigh Taberer and Francois Joubert, said that was what they were going to do. So we met sitting down, masked and. after a welcome introductory drink there, went straight to our table. It was a very good experience, but what has happened since means it will probably be the last function we attend for a while. We are now in Stage 4 lockdown again because of the fast spread of the Delta variant of Covid

The welcome drink was enjoyed sitting down in the very comfortable foyer area. On offer was a glass of the Allesverloren sweet Red Muscadel, which John tried, or a cocktail of gin, red muscadel and tonic, which we enjoyed very much; it was dry and rather quaffable, almost as good as the Port and tonic at The Yeatman Hotel in Porto. Allesverloren wine estate, owned by the Malan family, is in Riebeek Kasteel in the Swartland and produces wines from port varietals as well as good port and muscadel

There is parking for guests and it is close to the entrance




The sunset restaurant is open to the public and is alongside the pool. These Wine and Dine evenings were regularly held events and were usually booked out. Very good value for a three course meal paired with wine at R375 per person. Sadly, this was the last one for a while because of lockdown

The winemaker at Allesverloren is Wilhelm de Vries, who has been there since the 2016 vintage. He spoke interestingly about his training at Stellenbosch, the farm, the grapes and the wines we tasted. He told us that as Port is not so popular in South Africa anymore. They use the port varietal grapes to make dry red wines, which are very successful. We personally would love to see Port go through a revival, it is so good to drink

We apologise for the poor focus - we don't like using flash in restaurants and the shutter speed was slow


The menu

The starter was a very spicy lamb and barley soup, perfect and warming for the chilly wet evening, but it was a bit challenging for those who are not fans of hot (chilli) food. It was topped with a pretty lattice of cheese pastry decorated with edible flowers. Lynne never eats them; she says they are too pretty to eat!



The soup was perfectly paired with the 2018 Allesverloren Tinta Barocca. A classic Tinta, the nose does remind one of vintage port, earthy and rich, spicy notes and good wood. Black and red fruit that is enticing. Silky soft on the palate; then lots of dark berry fruit, which comes in layers with chalky tannins and ends with savoury notes. Big enough to stand up well to spicy food. Tinta Barocca is their biggest seller, especially in their export markets

To calm the palate, we were served with a small glass of kiwi and mint sorbet, which worked a treat

The main course was thick slices of Fynbos smoked fillet of beef - you could taste the rooibos - with a biltong crust. Delicious, light as air, round blue cheese & potato croquettes, and baby beetroots, served on a bed of roast vegetables , accompanied by a rich red wine sauce

The dish was paired with Allesverloren’s 2017 Shiraz. Earthy with mushrooms, violets, green leaves and dark mulberries on the nose. Clean, grippy red berry flavours with good acidity, dark wood on the end, definitely a wine to pair with food

Dessert was very exciting, especially if you have had something like this before. A sphere of milk chocolate - it had the texture of good Lindt - topped with a sheet of pistachio dusted brittle. We had to stop everyone from smashing their spheres and pour over the hot chocolate sauce which collapses it and reveals the contents of thick whipped cream, spiced cherries and blueberries. Even for those who do not normally enjoy dessert, this is divine. Very rich and hard to finish, but one did wish for a doggie bag for the remains ...

É voila, the delicious contents are revealed

Another great match, the Allesverloren 2014 Fine Old Vintage Port reminds one just how excellent a good aged port can be

We do look forward to attending the next Wine and Dine dinner, whenever that may be planned
Life is difficult to plan this year

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Posted by MENU at 11:37 am 0 comments
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