Friday, November 30, 2018

The Magic of Bubbles. Wine Concepts' Champagne Festival at The Vineyard

Oh joy, it was time to taste real French Champagne this year at Wine Concepts' "Finer Things in Life” International Sparkling Wine & Champagne Affair Celebration at the Vineyard Hotel last Friday night.
No driving long distances into the winelands for 10 coupons, only to find that it will cost you five of them if you want a small taste of real Champagne, but the chance locally to taste all of the 34 different French champagnes and a few Cavas and Proseccos. And all this for a R500 ticket, which includes canapés and a champagne glass. Oh, and a free raffle based on the number on your ticket. You can take an Uber home without bankrupting yourself or, if you are feeling celebratory, take the Vineyards special offer of a room, dinner and breakfast.. 
Maryna Calow was having fun with her friend

First in the room, Bianca Brand showed us the Billecart-Salmon Champagne, imported by Ken Forrester. There were three to taste, all excellent. We had just had a licorice chocolate from the stand next door and are surprised and please to let you know that the Brut Rosé pairs very well with liquorice. Who knew?!

A very bling Italian Prosecco from Bottega. Matching glasses too

Have you tried Drappier Champagne?

A selection of marques from Reciprocal Trading, Champagnes Forget-Brimont and Jacquinot
and their Riedel wine glasses

Yes please! Lynne’s favourite of the evening

Lots of lovely Mumm Champagne, the Brut, the Cordon Rouge, the Rosé and the Demi-Sec. It seems that the younger generation loves semi-sweet bubbles. We grew up with them and are less keen. We had too many bottles of semi-sweet “Grandma's Socks” (a play on the name of inexpensive SA sparkler, Grand Mousseux) at every birthday, christening, bar mitzvah, wedding, anniversary or any excuse for a celebration. Give us lovely, dry and crisp bottle-fermented bubblies

Broadcaster at Magic AM, Guy McDonald was the MC for the evening

JP Colmant and Marina Synnott on the Champagne Tribaut table

Therèse and Alan Mullins (Woolworths wine buyer) and their driver getting some details about Lanson

Photographer Gavin Withers brought his own Riedel glass

Nice to see Piper Heidsieck this year. Their bubbly had quite a woody note,
not what one expects, but there are fans

 On the Lanson table, you could taste...

the Brut, the White label demi sec (they tell us it is drier than some Bruts!?)
as well Louis Bouillot,a Brut Crémant from Burgundy

Mike Bampfield Duggan of Wine Concepts with Sarah Revell Marillier on the Vinimark table,
where she and Tracy James-Elphick showed Bollinger and Nicolas Feuillatte

Mike and his wife Renée

The Veuve Clicquot. Go big! It is always rather good

Guy McDonald ran the raffle while Maryna Calow drew the tickets

The oyster table was very popular. There were also two chocolate tables for tasting and purchasing

And a chance in the raffle to win a drive in one of these two beauties:

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Posted by MENU at 12:12 pm 0 comments

'SA launch' wine & food-pairing dinner of Aristea wines at the Alphen Hotel, Constantia

An invitation from Matthew Krone to join him and taste the new release of his Aristea wines over dinner at the Alphen in Constantia. Aristea is a partnership of three friends who each already have their own wine brands/wine ventures and many years of accumulated winemaking experience. Their aim was to make exceptional South African wines that would reflect each of their individual identities and passion for wine, Matthew, a 12th generation winemaker from South Africa who sources the grapes and makes the wine, Martin Krajewski who is British and owns Clos Cantenac in St Emilion and in 2016 bought Château Séraphine in Pomerol and Frenchman Florent Dumeau, a renowned Burgundian winemaker, who has extensive experience of winemaking and vineyard management, as well as considerable expertise in France, Italy, Greece, Hungary, South Africa, Turkey, China and Serbia. Together, they strive to produce exceptional wines in the Cape that encapsulate the wild spirit and raw beauty of this wonderful land and that make people smile. For the full story, go to https://www.aristeawines.com/
We began the evening with the Aristea Méthode Cap Classique Blanc 2015,
a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes
It has sophistication with brioche on the nose and some perfume, salty citrus with clean and fresh long flavours, with some minerality and a good mousse. It spends 3 years on the lees. A small portion of the Chardonnay spends some time in wood
Antique buildings in the The Alphen complex as the evening shadows lengthen at sunset
The restaurant is in this superb old Cape Dutch mansion
It is called blanko
Canapés of oysters were served with the bubbly. They came topped with red pepper, croutes
and gazpacho and, sadly, chopped raw onion, which masks the delicate flavour of the oyster
Matthew’s father, Nicky Krone, joined us for dinner. His father, NC Krone, made a very important contribution to the international wine industry, being the first winemaker in the world to implement cold, low temperature fermentation in his wine tanks. This revolutionised white wine production worldwide, and made it possible to make fresh-tasting, reductive white wines
Chatting in the lounge before dinner
Two squirrels on the wall outside surveying their territory!
Matthew tells us more about this vintage release. The wines are sold on allocation locally and in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. They only make small quantities of each wine, 6 000 bottles of each. Only a small portion (10%) of total production is kept back every year for sale in SA
Listening to the Aristea story
The Aristea wines
The menu was paired with the wines. We were very pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food, they must have a new chef. We have not always had great food at Blanko
We were in one of the small private dining rooms
The first wine was the White blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Matthew told us that some of the wine comes from part of a block rather than the whole block; they pay the best for the best fruit. The wine made such an impression on us that we made it our wine of the week in MENU last week. We can pay no better compliment to this wine than to say that, at the table, one person compared it to a Graves, another to a Haut Brion. It certainly is quite French in character, and very impressive. The grapes are from Elgin and they pay the best price for the best fruit. It isn’t a wine you want to pull apart and analyse; it is a full, well balanced, well integrated and layered wine, with beautiful golden stone fruit, good minerality, deliciousness and staying power. It is aged in wood for 10 months and the wood supports, not dominates.75% Sauvignon Blanc, 25% Semillon
It came with the amuse bouche of a perfectly grilled sweet but a little sandy, scallop topped with a pancetta crumb, with a pea purée and a lemon burnt butter. Wonderful pairing
With the starter, we had the Aristea Chardonnay. Beautiful fruit on the nose: golden loquats and greengage plums, whiffs of wood smoke and vanilla oak, sweet, spicy and well balanced with golden fruit on the long, long palate. This went amazingly well with the starter of beetroot carpaccio, dried beetroot chips, and baby beets topped with a creamy and delicate goat’s cheese mousse and killer candied walnuts which were an inspired addition. Neither of us is a fan of beetroot, but we can unreservedly say that this was the best we have ever eaten, and we were not alone around the table. The walnuts brought everything together
Next was the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon from four Stellenbosch producers in the Golden Triangle of Cabernet. Tension is the buzz word in red wines at the moment and this certainly has it. Rich cassis berries and cherries on the nose and palate with liquorice wood, perfume and incense. It needs time to settle and the good fruit acids will carry it forward for many a year. We had it with herb and crumb crusted lamb chops, fondant potato, and an 'exotic' mushroom and rich lamb jus
Dessert was difficult to photograph, as it was rather phallic in shape! A melting mascarpone Semi Freddo, filled with a raspberry gel, on a cocoa nib soil, with fresh strawberry slices and basil. Not the best course, but it went so well with the wonderfully fruity, candy pink Aristea Rosé MCC. It has whiffs of smoke and is full of lively strawberry and red berry flavours. 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir left longer on the skins and this shows on the long flavours which delight. To enjoy all summer long. Thank you Matthew for sharing these lovely wines
Posted by MENU at 11:04 am 0 comments

StreetSmart hands over R1 million in aid of Cape Town’s vulnerable children

Time for the Annual StreetSmart Cape Town Handover Event with Thank Yous to the restaurants, accommodation venues and wine tasting venues in the Western Cape, Garden Route, Gauteng and KZN, the volunteers, workers and the many other people who have contributed to the R1.7 million rand raised nationally this year. It is an amazing amount, raised by just adding R5 to your bill so, if you contribute, the Thank You is also for you. StreetSmart ensures that every cent donated by you goes towards social and educational upliftment projects for street children, helping them to rebuild their lives. StreetSmart raises its own funds for administration
Melanie Burke the Chairman of StreetSmart SA, which is a Non Profit organisation, told us that they are able to continue to expand their national footprint. R1.05 million was handed over to the Cape Town beneficiaries at this event raised by the 33 local establishments. And they will be disbursing over R1 million to beneficiaries nationally enabling them to support 35 programmes. And all from donations of R5 a time. She extended invitations to other restaurants, accommodation establishments and wine tasting venues to join StreetSmart in their local areas and become part of this great initiative. For information on how to make a donation or join the programme by emailing to  info@streetsmartsa.org.za or visit ing www.streetsmartsa.org.za
Keynote speaker of the evening was broadcaster Africa Melane, whom many will know from Cape Talk and Radio 702. He was delighted to announce that he is committed to the work of StreetSmart and will be joining StreetSmart on their Board. He reminded us that President Mandela said that Street children are a testimony to an unfinished job. He said we have the best constitution and the best laws, but we are just not implementing them. Why are 100 000 of our children not going to school when we have compulsory education? Lots of money is spent on them later in life at higher education, but we need to spend it early, while they are young, to give them a future
Certificates are awarded to the top restaurants and venues. StreetSmart Cape Town has selected the following beneficiaries for 2019: Cape Town Multi Service Centre, Home from Home (Masiphumulele, Ocean View and Westlake), Learn to Live, Ons Plek, School of Hope, The Homestead, TLC Outreach Projects and Zip Zap Circus
and to volunteers for the work they have done
and to the staff
Retiring members of the Board were also given recognition and certificates. Margi Biggs on the Left is the founder of StreetSmart. It was set up by a group of concerned Capetonians under the patronage of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu in 2005. Similar StreetSmart organisations also run independently in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the Netherlands. She retires from the Board this year as does Leonard Hersch. They were thanked for their invaluable contribution
And we heard from some of the children who have been helped by one of the organisations supported by StreetSmart. Their lives have been changed and improved by the work the organisations are doing
Angelo Casu, owner of Grand Dédale Country House and keen cyclist, has raised R30 000 with his partner by getting people to sponsor them riding the Cape Epic and other endurance races
Richard Chamberlain of Out of this Planet Catering donates the canapés to the event
and they were very good.  Steak with spicy aioli on a crisp biscuit base
Vietnamese rice paper rolls with a noc nam dipping sauce
presented by willing and smiling servers
Wellington Wines had donated wine for the event and there were also soft drinks
Asian style spring rolls
Devils on Horseback, bacon wrapped prunes
and small crisp croquettes
Mini pies
                    with thanks to
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