Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Chenin blanc Summer Showcase

Arriving at Meloncino, we were presented with a glass of Ken Forrester's Sparklehorse Chenin Blanc MCC



The wines we tasted and enjoyed with lunch
With everyone seated, Jeff Grier starts the tasting

Bruwer Raats talks about his wine
Ina Smith, the power of the Chenin Blanc Association
Leon Coetzee, The Fledge winemaker
Winemakers Margaux Nel of Boplaas and The Fledge with Hannes Meyer of Simonsig

Bruschetta con rucola, tonno scottato e aceto invecchiato
Seared, sesame encrusted yellowfin tuna served on top of a arugula salad and bruschetta, finished off with a 12 year balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil
Burrata di mozzarella con prosciutto e fichi
A fan of sliced Israeli figs topped with Puglia burrata cheese wrapped in Parma ham, served with a 15 year balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil
Insalata di rucola con aragosta, finocchio e salsa di tartufo
A West Coast red-rock lobster served on a bed of arugula salad, sliced fennel and exotic cherry tomatoes in a delicate truffle oil dressing
Panna cotta al limoncello e vaniglia con salsa di fragole
Home-made panna cotta infused with vanilla and Italian limoncello liqueur. Served with a rich strawberry confit
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014
http://www.adamastorphotos.com/our-rates.php

Durbanville Season of Sauvignon

We really wanted to go and see what everyone had planned. We must admit that the programme this year didn’t exactly grab our attention, but we love the area and its wines, so off we went and had a great time in lovely sunshine. We started at Durbanville Hills and found it pumping and full of people enjoying themselves. And it was the same at all the farms. There was live music, lots of food for sale, things to keep children happy, wine tastings not only of their own wines, but Sauvignons from all the other 11 farms involved in the Season of Sauvignon and “The Twelve”, the bottle containing grapes from all 12 farms. We managed to squeeze in four more farms before wending our way home at 4.30

Warmly welcomed by Cellarmaster Martin Moore. A lovely place to sit under the trees.... Martelize Brink with Martin Moore and Lynne
.. listening to the music at the entrance
Inside the tasting room, it was buzzing
And we bumped into Shan Pascall, Head of Operations & Marketing at Oneiric Wine Farm in Elgin, visiting Durbanville with a friend and also enjoying the festival. She is looking forward to the Elgin Open Gardens over the next two weekends.
The girls at the tasting centre in their spring green t-shirts were very busy. We liked their newly released blend of Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc
Winemaker Gunther Kellermann and Marketing manager Kate Jackson on the table at which you could taste all the 12 Sauvignon blancs of the valley
The restaurant menu
We found a table and waited patiently for our lunch...
...which was a platter of charcuterie and cheese with olives nuts and pickles and a bottle of Durbanville Hills Sauvignon Blanc. Thank you Durbanville Hills
Back to the car, we noticed how green the vineyards are, looking towards our next stop, Klein Roosboom
And off across the road to Klein Roosboom, who were having a French Market and had gone to great lengths to get into the spirit
The Hencoop pub!
Live music entertaining the very large crowd
Lots of seating in the marquee
Bianca Coleman was certainly enjoying the vibe
Owner of Klein Roosboom, Karin de Villiers with her daughter Marné, who is visiting from Amsterdam
Space on the hay bales. We didn’t risk it
Clever use of Bashews boxes as food trays
The French food market
Not quite our idea of a croque monsieur - needs lots more cheese inside and out and more toasting. But they were busy. The meat platter looks interesting
What was on offer
Lovely view looking back towards Durbanville Hills winery and Table Mountain
Oh those damned quarries do spoil the beautiful countryside. Will there be hills left for our next generations? Can’t we stop this desecration of the countryside?
The music at Altydgedacht was folk when we got there
The tasting room, where we bought a box of their superbly floral and bone dry GewĂ¼rztraminer, the best in the Cape
Larger bottles of the 2014 Durbanville Twelve wine made from 1 ton of Sauvignon Blanc grapes grown on each of 12 farms this year and vinified together to make an elegant and very drinkable wine
Then it was off to Nitida, which was winding down for the day
Cellar door and tasting room
This is their barrel cellar
They had their Sauvignon Blanc on special, so we bought a case for drinking later in the year. Nitida’s sauvignon really improves with age
The lily pond and, in the distance, their Montessori farm pre-school, for workers
A view of the cellars
And our last port of call was Hillcrest where we bought not wine, but a huge bucket of olives for R80
Wines for tasting, including their new Atlantic Slope single vineyard sauvignon, which was released at the Festival
The tasting room counter
And how a few people were feeling, but hopefully NOT driving
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014
http://www.adamastorphotos.com/our-rates.php