To quote Gordon Newton Johnson, Cape Winemakers Guild Chair, in his foreword in the 2023 Auction Catalogue of this very successful annual wine auction. "The depth and integrity of South African fine wine is increasingly acclaimed throughout the world and the appetite for breaking glass ceilings seems boundless"
He was so right, this year's auction did break glass ceilings,
both in the prices many wines received and in the magnificent final total reached. It was also very exciting to watch
It was held for the second year at the Lord Charles Hotel Conference Centre in Somerset West
We arrived early so that we could retaste as many of the auction wines as possible before the auction
A superb breakfast was awaiting guests
Winemakers Abrie Beeslaar of Kanonkop, David Trafford of De Trafford and Pieter Ferreira of Graham Beck
A plethora of great Cap Classiques from members' farms awaited us
and for those who wanted to start drinking wine later, good orange juice
Fresh fruit
Absolutely divine smoked trout on cream cheese bagels
Tiny omelettes, mini sausages
We so enjoyed our time in the tasting room
because, not only were we re-acquainting ourselves with the wines coming up in the auction,
we were chatting to the pourers, who were either CWG Protégés or Students from Elsenburg
We love meeting the future of winemaking when they are young; they were all interesting and charming
and they know how to pour wine expertly; many also poured for the pre-auction tastings
Abrie Beeslaar and Pierre Wahl enjoying the morning
Mawande Sidula, final year Elsenburg student
First year student Tannah Caldwell
Final year student Quintin Coetzer
Duncan Savage, Sebastian Beaumont and Miles Mossop, the Lads!
with another, Niels Verburg
Too serious fellas!
Chefs in waiting, Yano Oosthuizen,
Delaire Graff Indochine Chef Reinhold Tromp and Sous Chef Ryan Zaayman
who would each be producing a dish for lunch
Bina Genovese, Managing Executive and Senior Auctioneer at Strauss & Co gets the auction started
Peter Moyo, Dr Shephard Maphisa and Danisa Zulu
Gordon and Nadia Newton Johnson sitting right at the back, where the winemakers tend to congregate and watch,
so that they can exit easily without disturbing proceedings
Francois Rautenbach of Singita Luxury African Safari Lodges & Wildlife Reserves
watching the prices climb as bids flood in, both in the room and rapidly on line
Mid-morning, some fresh oysters
and mini lamb burgers, in case you needed feeding up
These little peppery mouthfuls of tender beef were superb
Caprese with pesto
or, if you were really hungry, a chicken curry
Later on, around one o'clock, the chefs appeared with their very special dishes
and, of course, we were able to taste the wines to pair with the food from their farms
Executive Chef Virgil Kahn and Reinhold Tromp
A very Asian umami dish with many mixed textures and flavours of mushroom
This was superb, the cured trout melted in the mouth
Only regret? Lynne only managed one. This was very popular
A good well-flavoured, tender beef tartare
produced by Jessica van Dyk, former Head Chef at La Colombe in Constantia
who now has her own restaurant, Post & Pepper in Stellenbosch
Chef Marthinus always impresses. John was heard to say he would eat more pap if it always tasted like this
Lynne nearly fainted; he is not a fan
A crisp and creamy polenta ball, crisp, deep-fried kale (another veg we usually avoid) was superb
The raisins, seeds and capers added sweetness, acid and contrast
and there was a secret ingredient, a light dusting of fresh truffle. Knockout
Marthinus Ferreira, Cathy, Gary and Alex Jordan, the Jordan team
From the restaurant on Ernie Els
Wesley Aucamp with his tender Kudu, so popular you had to queue
Former Old Mutual CEO Peter Moyo, Bina Genovese, Dr Shephard Maphisa and Danisa Zulu
Roland Peens took his turn auctioning the wines
Duncan Savage auctioning Miles Mossop's wine by special arrangement; he generated good prices
Bantering with the audience to raise the price and keeping Miles amused and slightly nervous
At 2.30 dessert appeared; it was obviously very popular
When John went out at about 2.45, only these three samples of Chocolate mousse were left!
Richard and Mariette Kershaw
Dr Alistair Meredith was also one of the auctioneers
Samantha O'Keefe and Richard Kershaw
Frans Smit and David Nieuwoudt, happy with the prices
Susie Goodman, Executive Director of Strauss & Co
and worth waiting for... The record-breaking total achieved at this year's auction
The happy and hardworking Strauss & Co team with the Cape Winemakers Guild's Kate Jonker and Martie Nauschutz,
and wine producers Samantha O'Keefe and Gordon Newton Johnson
Sommelier Eric Welile Botha surprised us with a visit; he is now working in the Maldives
He has claimed us as parents; we have known Eric for many years and are very happy to add him to our family...
What a day, we so enjoyed the auction
and watching the winemakers, many of whom are our friends, achieve such great rewards for producing superb wines
All our stories can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right
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