Platter's Guide to South African Wines 2012 edition

Navigate the maze of over 7,000 South African wines with the new Platter’s Guide 2012

With the tally of South African wines now exceeding 7,000, the uniquely comprehensive Platter’s Wine Guide 2012 is the wine lover’s indispensable “sat-nav”, showing the way through the maze of available brands and pinpointing the best quality and value.

Published since 1980, Platter’s is the original and still favourite guide to who's who and what's what in South Africa’s winelands. The 32^nd edition, launched today (8 November), features more than 900 South African wine producers, merchants and brands, including 58 new ones, and over 7,000 locally produced wines.

The guide’s wine descriptions and star ratings, compiled in association with a team of leading wine experts, make it easy to find the right wine for any occasion, while the good-value indicators highlight those bottlings which are especially budget friendly across all quality levels.

Published in hardcopy and a variety of digital formats, Platter’s 2012 also packs extensive information on where to go and what to do in wine country. Dining, accommodation and cellardoor tasting options are covered in detail, along with many and diverse winery amenities, attractions and activities. GPS coordinates, easy-to-use maps and quick look-up tables provide invaluable aides for visitors planning their own wineland rambles, while for those in search of a guided experience, listings of specialised wine tour operators offer a variety of alternatives.

Fully updated notes on the major winegrowing regions, grape varieties, winemaking styles, winetasting terms, and the major wine competitions and awards, as well as listings of fine-wine stockists, wine shippers and wine educators country-wide round out the wide-ranging Platter’s offering.

The theme for this edition is Thinking Out Of The Box, with (among others) the full-colour Photo Gallery and many of the entries in the A-Z Directory focusing on organisations and individuals who innovatively employ ideas, techniques and technologies in viticulture, winemaking, packaging, wine tourism, social media, conservation, sustainability, matching wine and food, and creating new wine styles.

The insightful and thought-provoking Foreword is by Zelma Long, international winemaking consultant and winemaking partner at top-rated local winery Vilafonté.

A highlight of any new edition is the five star line-up – the exceptional bottlings which emerge from a second round of tasting with the judges’ highest rating on the Platter’s scale of 0 - 5 stars (“Somewhat less than ordinary” to “Superlative. A South African classic”). This edition 45 wines made the five star cut, and, remarkably, three producers – Boekenhoutskloof, Mullineux Family and Nederburg – each garnered 3 five star ratings and one – Graham Beck Wines – followed closely with 2. Eleven wineries received five star ratings for the first time, namely Badsberg, Colmant, Diemersfontein, Fable, Flagstone, Glenelly, Miles Mossop, Mont Destin, Oak Valley, Vins d’Orrance and Warwick. (The full list of five star wines appears below.)

Of the five star awarded wines, the red and white which receive the most votes from the judging panel are named Platter’s Wines of the Year. This time the Red Wine Of The Year is Chamonix Pinot Noir Reserve 2010, described in the guide as “plush and vibrant”, whilst the White Wine Of The Year is Badsberg Badslese 2009, a Natural Sweet dessert wine made from chenin blanc and a small portion of hanepoot (muscat d’Alexandrie), and noted as “outstanding, elegantly presented and decidedly moreish”.

In an ongoing focus on value for money, Platter's identifies a number of entry-level wines which are exceptionally drinkable and well priced. The best of these, like the five star candidates, go into a second round of “blind” tasting (without sight of the label) to select the Superquaffer of the Year. For the fifth consecutive year, the ultra-easy sipper of the year is a white wine. This time it’s The Wolftrap White 2010, Boekenhoutskloof Winery’s blend of viognier, chenin blanc and grenache blanc, noted in the guide as “delicious, and great value for money”.

The names of the 11 other top quaffers appear in the new guide under the heading “Wines of the Year”, along with the 45 five stars, 95 Highly Recommended wines (which missed five stars but are nonetheless extremely fine and collectable in their own right), and 116 reds and whites showing particular potential for cellaring. These ageworthy wines appear under the banner ‘Buy Now, Drink Later’.

Platter’s prestigious Winery of the Year award is the editor’s personal selection, after considering a variety of criteria, the aim being to showcase a producer who epitomises the best of South African winegrowing today. “The award is influenced by the results of the five star tasting,” says editor Philip van Zyl, “and the fact that this year three wineries each recorded a trio of five star ratings had the potential to make the decision more difficult. However, one of the contenders distinguished itself by also producing the Superquaffer of the Year. This, coupled to a remarkable track record of 14 five star ratings stretching back to the 2000 edition, plus an understated but highly influential role in placing South Africa on the international fine-wine map, made Boekenhoutskloof the obvious choice for 2012 Winery of the Year. On behalf of the guide, I’d like to congratulate Boekenhoutskloof’s cellarmaster, Marc Kent, his partners and team on an outstanding achievement.”

Platter’s 2012 print version is available from the second half of November at selected bookstores and retailers country-wide. The recommended retail price is R159.95. The book can also be ordered online from Kalahari.com (www.kalahari.com) and SA Wines Online (www.sawinesonline.co.uk). The web-based version of the guide launches today (8 November) at www.wineonaplatter.com, with the iPhone App®, in conjunction with Wine-Oh!, available for download from www.wine-oh.info in the next few weeks, and a version for Android smartphones, a mobi site and an e-book to follow.

The five star wines for 2012 are:

Cabernet Franc

• Warwick 2008

Cabernet Sauvignon

• Boekenhoutskloof 2009

• Graham Beck Chalkboard #3 2007

• Stark-Condé Three Pines 2009

Pinot Noir

• Chamonix Reserve 2010

• Newton Johnson Domaine 2010

• Oak Valley 2009

Shiraz/Syrah

• Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2009

• Fairview The Beacon 2008

• Mont Destin Destiny 2007

• Mullineux Syrah 2009

• Saxenburg Select 2007

Red Blends

• Bouchard Finlayson Hannibal 2010

• De Toren Fusion V 2009

• Glenelly Lady May 2009

• La Motte Pierneef Shiraz-Viognier 2009

• Meerlust Rubicon 2007

• Miles Mossop Max 2008

• Sadie Family Columella 2009

Chardonnay

• De Wetshof The Site 2009

• Jordan CWG Auction Reserve 2010

Chenin Blanc

• Beaumont Hope Marguerite 2010

• Diemersfontein Carpe Diem 2010

• Vins d’Orrance Kama 2010

Grenache Blanc

• KWV Mentors 2010

Sauvignon Blanc

• Graham Beck Pheasants’ Run 2011

• Hermanuspietersfontein No 5 2010

• Kleine Zalze Family Reserve 2010

• Steenberg CWG Auction Reserve The Magus 2010

• Strandveld 2010

White Blends

• Fable Jackal Bird 2010

• Flagstone CWG Auction Reserve Happy Hour 2009

• Mullineux White 2010

• Nederburg Ingenuity 2010

• Tokara Director’s Reserve 2010

Méthode Cap Classique

• Colmant Brut Chardonnay NV

• Topiary Blanc de Blancs Brut 2009

Natural Sweet

• Badsberg Badslese 2009

Dessert Wine Unfortified

• Boekenhoutskloof Noble Late Harvest 2008

• Fleur du Cap Noble Late Harvest 2010

• Mullineux Straw Wine 2010

• Nederburg Edelkeur 2010

• Nederburg Eminence 2010

Port

• Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve 2009

• De Krans Cape Vintage Reserve 2009

ENDS

9 November 2011

·       Published by: John Platter SA Wineguide (Pty) Ltd

·       Publisher: Andrew McDowall (andrew@wineonaplatter.com)

·       Editor: Philip van Zyl (philip@wineonaplatter.com)

·       Tasters for 2012: Michael Fridjhon, Angela Lloyd • Master of Wine Cathy van Zyl • Cape Wine Masters Winnie Bowman, Greg de Bruyn, Tim James, Christine Rudman, Meryl Weaver • David Biggs, Christian Eedes, Fiona McDonald, Ingrid Motteux, Jörg Pfützner, James Pietersen & Dave Swingler.

·       Pages: 620

·       ISBN: 978-0-9870046-0-4

·       Suggested retail price: R159.95

·       Website: www.wineonaplatter.com

Issued by: Andrew McDowall, publisher

Tel: +27 (0)28-316-3210

Fax: +27 (0)86-513-3908

Mobile phone: +27 (0)82-490-1820

Email: andrew@wineonaplatter.com

Distributed by: Posy & Jeremy Hazell · Public Relations & Wine Consultants

Email: jeremy@hazell.co.za

Tel: +27 (0) 21 851 1563

Cell: +27 (0) 082 377 3498

Fax: +27 (0) 21 851 3029

40th birthday dinner for Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel at The Vineyard

The menu

The Square's Matt Dietchmann 

and Afke van Bruenen

A sparkling occasion

with the Kaapse Vonkel story told by Simonsig co-owner Johan Malan

Apple & pear trifle well matched with Kaapse Vonkel 2002 from a magnum

Nicki Dumas with David Wibberley

James and Anita Timewell were engaging dinner companions

© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2011

KWV re-launch of Roodeberg and a new addition, Doctor Charles

The launch was at the KWV cellar in Paarl

 Lynne, Angela Lloyd and Juli Huisamen

Fiona McDonald and Christian Eedes (past editors of WINE magazine) with Lynne

Four vintages of Roodeberg on the tables with the new arrival under wraps 

 Welcoming speeches

Cathy Marston, hard at work, and Jonathan Snashall

Roodeberg 1077, 1999, 2009, 2010 and Doctor Charles ready for tasting

Cellarmaster Richard Rowe tells the Roodeberg story

with invited comments from Neil Ellis

David Biggs 

Dr Charles Niehaus, the new premium Roodeberg wine 

Ultra director, Mark Norrish

Delicious food was served by Dish Food & Social's attentive staff

Twitters

Cathy Marston 

Michael Bampfield- Duggan, Wine Concepts CEO

Lynne, Cathy Marston, Angela Lloyd and Juli Huisamen enjoying the food and the wine, especially the wonderful venison pie

Eating at Keenwa

The restaurant is lovely at night with pale blue walls and a couple which are chocolate brown, but with candlelight on the tables it has a very romantic atmosphere and all the customers, us included, were having a lot of fun.

 

Talk about eating outside of our experience! We had no idea what to expect when we were invited to try this Peruvian restaurant at 50 Waterkant Street in town. Lynne has cooked Quinoa once and obviously did not get it right, because we really didn’t like the rather crunchy grain that resulted. Now we know how, we can try again. What do we know about this country on the other side of South America? That it has a huge range of climates (23 of the worlds 24) and topography which starts at the sea, crosses a dry desert and ends in the Andes, an ancient history of Mayan culture. We did know that many of the foods we love to eat, like potatoes, sweet corn, peppers, avocado and squash originate there. We had been told by someone that this is not authentic Peruvian food but the owner German de la Melena, assured us that it is. It is not haut cuisine, just humble food which the locals love to eat out and at home. He has a couple of recipes his mum makes and they were delicious. This charming man is a widely travelled international model who lived in Europe for several years before settling in what he calls Paradise - Cape Town. (We agree.) His chef Fabricio Durand is from Cuzco in Peru and he certainly can cook. We started with two Pisco sours – Pisco is their local firewater made from grapes and German imports it for his restaurant. We absolutely loved these, enough to try to make a local version the next evening at home, but without the Pisco. They are expensive as cocktails go at R50 each, but are really worth trying, and we are not normally cocktail drinkers.

Not knowing what food to order, we placed ourselves completely in German’s hands and said “bring us what you think we should try”. And boy, did they! We had six starters and five main courses before we admitted defeat at the final fall with one dessert. Luckily these were small portions of the food and we shared them all.

The first dish was a fire seared piece of fillet on a skewer, tender and full of flavour, served with boiled new potatoes, a corn and pepper salsa and a creamy spicy sauce – worth returning for, all on it’s own.

Then a platter with four different starters: a cubed tuna ceviche, a Tiradito sliced fish in lime juice topped with crisp deep fried sweet potato chips; quinoa topped with cheese and a salad; sweet potato and baby corn salad.

Then a Trio de Causas (three salads on one platter) consisting of beetroot & tomato; tuna and egg in a spinach sauce; and chicken mayonnaise with turmeric. Most of these dishes were lovely and fresh covered in shredded vegetable and sweet potato and there are good vegetarian options. Nothing is searingly hot.

Our main courses were mashed potato with limes and avocado, shredded chicken and mayonnaise, Sliced rare beef with a gooseberry sauce;
rather dry ostrich fillets with fried banana,
huge unpeeled prawns on potato & butternut mash

and a rather strange speciality: a Chinese stir fry with beef in soy accompanied by chips and rice!
 We were told this is what the locals like to eat as there is a strong background of Asian food from its large Asian population – ergo Nobuyuki 'Nobu' Matsuhisa and their former President, Mr Fujimori.German twisted our arm with his favourite dessert and it was wonderful. Crisp yeast batter fritters,deep fried containing pieces of sweet potato and butternut, accompanied by a really dark delicious cane sugar syrup. You are not allowed to use cutlery, you push the crisp batter down into the syrup and then eat messily with your fingers.

We must mention our very special waiter, Cristian Patarroyo Buitrago from Colombia who is here for a short stay after university, where he graduated as a chemical engineer. He was absolutely wonderful, helpful and great entertainment.

Go, try them. 

111102 Main Ingredient's MENU - Keenwa, Elgin Gardens, pisco sour, e-marketing, product news, events & restaurant specials

MENU

Main Ingredient’s weekly E-Journal

Gourmet Foods, Ingredients & Fine Wines

Eat In Guide’s Outstanding Outlet Award Winner from 2006 to 2010

www.mainingredient.co.za

Click here to Subscribe to MENU or to contact us

Click on anything underlined and Green to open a link to pictures or more information

 A female sunbird on a salvia at Fresh Woods

Eating at Keenwa (The restaurant uses Quinoa’s phonetic spelling, as South Africans are not familiar with its pronunciation.) Talk about eating outside of our experience! We had no idea what to expect when we were invited to try this Peruvian restaurant at 50 Waterkant Street in town. Lynne has cooked Quinoa once and obviously did not get it right, because we really didn’t like the rather crunchy grain that resulted. Now we know how, we can try again. What do we know about this long thin country on the other side of South America? That it has a huge range of climates (23 of the worlds 24) and topography which starts at the sea, crosses a dry desert and ends in the Andes, an ancient history of Mayan culture. We did know that many of the foods we love to eat, like potatoes, sweet corn, peppers, avocado and squash originate there. We had been told by someone that this is not authentic Peruvian food but the owner German de la Melena, assured us that it is. It is not haut cuisine, just humble food which the locals love to eat out and at home. He has a couple of recipes his mum makes and they were delicious. This charming man is a widely travelled international model who lived in Europe for several years before settling in what he calls Paradise - Cape Town. (We agree.) His chef Fabricio Durand is from Cuzco in Peru and he certainly can cook. We started with two Pisco sours – Pisco is their local firewater made from grapes and German imports it for his restaurant. We absolutely loved these, enough to try to make a local version the next evening at home, but without the Pisco. They are expensive as cocktails go at R50 each, but are really worth trying, and we are not normally cocktail drinkers.

were told this is what the locals like to eat; there is a strong background of Asian food from its large Asian population – e.g. Nobuyuki 'Nobu' Matsuhisa and their former President, Alberto Fujimori.

Not knowing what food to order, we placed ourselves completely in German’s hands and said “bring us what you think we should try”. And boy, did they! We had six starters and five main courses before we admitted defeat at the final fall with one dessert. Luckily these were small portions of the food and we shared them all. The first dish was a fire seared piece of fillet on a skewer, tender and full of flavour, served with boiled new potatoes, a corn and pepper salsa and a creamy spicy sauce – worth returning for, all on its own. Then came a platter with four different starters: a cubed tuna ceviche, a Tiradito sliced fish in lime juice topped with crisp deep fried sweet potato chips, quinoa topped with cheese and a salad, sweet potato and baby corn salad  and mashed potato with limes and avocado. Then a Trio de Causas (three salads on one platter) consisting of beetroot & tomato; tuna and egg in a spinach sauce; and chicken mayonnaise with turmeric. Most of these dishes were lovely and fresh, covered in shredded vegetable and sweet potato and there are good vegetarian options. Nothing is searingly hot.

Our main courses were shredded chicken and mayonnaise (Aji de Gallina), Sliced rare beef with a gooseberry sauce; rather dry ostrich fillets with fried banana, huge unpeeled prawns on potato & butternut mash, and a rather strange speciality: a Chinese stir fry with beef in soy accompanied by chips and rice! We

German twisted our arm with his favourite dessert and it was wonderful. Crisp yeast batter fritters, deep fried containing pieces of sweet potato and butternut, accompanied by a really dark delicious cane sugar syrup. You are not allowed to use cutlery, you push the crisp batter down into the syrup and then eat messily with your fingers. Go try them.

We must make mention of our very special waiter, Cristian Patarroyo Buitrago from Colombia who is here for a short stay after university, where he graduated as a chemical engineer. He was absolutely wonderful, helpful and great entertainment.

The restaurant is lovely at night with pale blue walls and a couple which are chocolate brown, but with candlelight on the tables it has a very romantic atmosphere and all the customers, us included, were having a lot of fun. Pics of the restaurant and dishes are here.

Cooking Quinoa     German tells us you must boil it till the grain gets soft and milky and begins to get ‘wings’. Then you drain it quickly and wash with cold water to cool it down. If it cools slowly it gets sticky and is not nice to eat. It is used mainly in salads.

Breakfast at Wimpy     We just have to mention this seriously good value offer from a place where we don’t often eat. Lynne discovered it at the Wimpy in Long Beach Mall (but it is in all their stores), when she really needed some protein after a heavy night out. They are doing a breakfast which consists of two very fresh fried eggs, two rashers of bacon, a grilled tomato, two slices of rather flattened bread (we think they are ‘toasting’ in the sandwich press rather than under a grill) and a portion of chips. She could have done without the sad chips but, at R19.95, we feel they are really coming to the party in a recession. Lots and lots of people, including many pensioners, were taking advantage of this special. If you want to add a sausage at R5.99 and/or baked beans at R4 you can and a cup of coffee or tea is R10.95. Put this into context: most sandwiches sold elsewhere now cost approximately R24 each.

Glorious flowering Elgin      Everything blooms in the fruitful vale of Elgin as we discovered this last weekend when we went to the Elgin Open Gardens weekend. Great news for those of you who want to go, it continues this coming weekend. Sadly, the weather when we left Cape Town on Sunday morning was a full-on North Westerly storm and the motorway was not fun, but when we got there the weather, although cloudy, remained dry for the day, if a little chilly. Better weather is promised for this weekend. The roses growing everywhere are quite, quite amazing. From huge hedges to pergolas to individual beds and standards, we could not stop gasping at the glorious show of both old and new style roses. Don’t forget to smell the roses as some of the older varieties have sensational perfumes. We started at Fresh Woods, a garden we have delighted in before, where the show of different plants, both rare and local, and planted landscapes is amazing. Out came our cameras and we snapped away like crazy – you will be seeing lots of the results. Lynne’s favourite was seeing the very rare tulip tree from the USA in full bloom and because there were low flowering branches, she was able to see the ‘tulip’ flowers in detail. She has only ever seen this tree in Kew and the flowers there were high in the canopy. They have a lovely Japanese Acer garden being established and this has rather inspired us. Next we were off to Eikenhof for a bite of lunch – gammon and salad or quiche and salad and the most divine apple tart swimming in honey. Their formal gardens have a very English flavour – we just missed the bluebells - and is at its peak at the moment. There was an exhibition of stunning, detailed botanical art and it is selling very well. Don’t miss the birds everywhere and the bees building their nest in an oak tree. Then we went down to the opposite end of the valley to see the lovely water gardens at Lorraine, where we bought some real (organic) farm butter and some of the best fresh apple juice either of us have tasted. On to the nursery at Keurbos for a look at the plants and their very wild garden and then it was time to join our hosts for the weekend, the very hospitable Paul and Nicky Wallace of Elgin Vintners, at their house for a delicious dinner and probably far too much good wine, including Paul’s extremely dark and delicious licorice and mulberry Black Dog Malbec. Next morning, we were shown their farm from the bank of their hill top dam and John took lots of photos of their local blue cranes, our national bird. We then visited their friends at Duncan’s roses and picked up two pale cream climbing roses to put around our front door. Then on to our friends the Gowers on their farm, the Wallace’s friend Andrea Semple of Topiary Creations, who makes super décor items out of leaves and branches and then on to the Elgin Vintners tasting room for a tasting of the wines.

We tasted a lovely typical Elgin sauvignon blanc, crisp and clean with good fig leaf and gooseberry notes, followed by the very rich and lightly wooded Viognier. Then the summery merlot rosé and their fruity and silky Cabernet. The night before we arrived, they had just been awarded the SAA prize for their Shiraz, which is soft and velvety and absolutely deserving of the award. We bought some of the Cabernet and the Shiraz to take home before it all sells out, as it will. It was quite a “weekend” (our weekends are Sunday and Monday - we work on Saturday).

Attempting a Pisco Sour    We had very small limes which gave us just about 200ml of juice. Lynne made the sugar syrup by combining 4 T sugar with 50g water and stirring them together till the sugar melted, then boiled the syrup for 5 minutes. Boil quite hard but do not stir. If it starts to colour (you do NOT want caramel), remove it from the heat immediately and start again. We made the cocktail in the small blender container which comes with our stick blender. You can use a liquidizer or just whisk the egg white till stiff and add it to the other ingredients. This makes enough for two, served in whisky tumblers. You can add different alcohols like rum or whiskey if you like, but they give a different flavour.

Sour recipe

1 egg white, juice of 8 limes, 100ml sugar syrup, 2 tots of Cane Spirit or Vodka or Grappa

Blend the egg white till light and fluffy and just getting to peaks, add some of the sugar syrup and blend quickly, then add the lime juice and the alcohol. Taste and add more syrup to your taste if it is too sour.

Our diary for the next week is becoming hectic. We will be at the KWV’s launch of Doctor Charles and re-launch of Roodeberg tomorrow lunchtime, then off to the Vineyard for a dinner celebrating iconic Methode Cap Classique Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel’s 40th birthday. Friday and Saturday will see us at Long Beach and Biscuit Mill markets and we will be at Backsberg on Sunday for a friend’s special birthday. Monday will find us at Buitenverwachting for their trade wine tasting and on Tuesday we will be at the launch of the Platter Wine Guide for 2012. Some of you sometimes mention that you don’t know how we fit it in; sometimes, we don’t!

Our E-marketing     Listeners to Cape Talk on Monday morning may have heard us talking to Aden Thomas and a very clever man named Pavlo Phitidis in the Entrepreneurs SA slot about our need to improve our web-based activities. We need to create a better website and set up a proper online shop which will make it easier for you to order our special products, but we don’t have the expertise we need. Several people have contacted us and we are weighing up options, but this gives us an opportunity to spread the net a little wider. If you have any ideas or, more importantly, expertise we can use, please contact us by replying to this mail.

The Eat In DSTV Food Network Produce Awards aim to acknowledge and celebrate outstanding, independent South African producers for putting South Africa on the international food map with their integrity, care for the environment, passion and innovation. Of course, an outlet is a vital connection between the producers and public, which is why the awards also recognise the stores, shops and market for their vital role in the process. If you think that the bread from your local bakery or fresh veggies from your Saturday morning market is worthy of some praise, now's your chance to speak up! We are very proud of being winners in a few previous years. Nominate your favourite producer, product or outlet in this year's Eat In DSTV Food Network Produce Awards. Read more about it and submit your nomination at http://www.eat-in.co.za/Awards/Nominations

Our products.

We have a lot of fun putting MENU together each week and, of course, doing the things we write about, but making it possible for you to enjoy rare and wonderful gourmet foods is what drives our business. We stock a good range of ingredients and delicious ready-made gourmet foods. So, please have a look at our Product List and see what you need. You can contact us by email or phone, or through our website. We can send your requirements to you anywhere in South Africa.

Our market activities   You will find us at Long Beach Mall this Friday, 4th November from 09h00 to 16h00. Our other date at Long Beach for November is Friday, 18th November. We will be at The Place at Cavendish on Fridays 11th and 25th November. We will be at the Old Biscuit Mill’s brilliant, exciting and atmospheric Neighbourgoods Market, as always, this Saturday between 09h00 and 14h00. The Neighbourgoods market has been rearranged. The tables have been arranged at right angles to the way we are all used to, with all the aisles running straight down from the entrance, in order to improve the flow of visitors through the market. Lynne will be wearing a gold plastic crown in order to help you find us.

Food and wine (and a few other) events for you to enjoy

There is a huge variety of interesting things to occupy your leisure time here in the Western Cape. To help you choose an event to visit, we have taken our list of Interesting Food and Wine Events online. All the events are listed in date order and we already have exciting events to entertain you through into the new year. Click here to access the list. You will need to be connected to the internet.

Many of the specials in our list of restaurant special offers are continuing through summer and we have been told that there will be some new summer menus soon. Click here to access it. These Specials have been sent to us by the restaurants or their PR agencies. We have not personally tried all of them and their listing here should not always be taken as a recommendation from ourselves. If they don’t update us, we can’t be responsible for any inaccuracies in the list. When we have tried it, we’ve put in our observations. We have cut out the flowery adjectives etc. we’ve been sent, to give you the essentials. Click on the name to access the relevant website. All communication should be with the individual restaurants.

2nd November 2011

Remember - if you can’t find something, we’ll do our best to get it for you, and, if you’re in Cape Town or elsewhere in the country, we can send it to you! Check our product list for details and prices.

PS If a word or name is in bold type and underlined, click on it for more information

Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172 / 083 656 4169

Postal address: 60 Arthurs Rd, Sea Point 8005

Our Adamastor & Bacchus© tailor-made Wine, Food and Photo tours take small groups (up to 6) to specialist wine producers who make the best of South Africa’s wines. Have fun while you learn more about wine and how it is made! Tours can be conducted in English, German, Norwegian or Dutch flavoured Afrikaans.

Recommendations of products and outside events are not solicited or charged for, and are made at the authors’ pleasure. All photographs, recipes and text used in these newsletters are ©John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus. Our restaurant reviews are usually unsolicited. We prefer to pay for our meals and not be paid in any way by anyone. Whether we are invited or go independently, we don’t feel bad if we say we didn’t like it. Honesty is indeed our best policy. While every effort is made to avoid mistakes, we are human and they do creep in occasionally, for which we apologise. Our Avast! ^® Anti-Virus software is updated at least daily and our system is scanned continually for viruses.

This electronic journal has been sent to you because you have personally subscribed to it or because someone you know has asked us to send it to you or forwarded it to you themselves. Addresses given to us will not be divulged to any person or organisation. We collect them only for our own promotional purposes and keep our mailing list strictly confidential. If you wish to be added to our mailing list, please send us a message, inserting "subscribe" in the subject line. If you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please send us a message, inserting "remove" in the subject line