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Thursday, August 15, 2013

Schultz Brothers wines dinner at Aubergine

Roland Peens of the Wine Cellar with Christian Eedes

Getting to know each other, drinking Hartenberg chardonnay and Sutherland sauvignon blanc . Joanne Gibson talks to Rudi Schultz

Chef/owner of Aubergine Harald Bresselschmidt talks to Lynne about flu

The menu

Canapés of tiny warm Fishcakes and Aubergine and goats cheese pralines.

and more of Quail Eggs Benedict

Tables all set for the dinner and the wine tasting

Two ladies with Roland Peens

We introduce ourselves to our table companions

Harald welcomes us to the event

Carl Schultz of Hartenberg tells us about his wines

Our first course of a delicious creamy mussel broth, packed with flavor which matched the 2012 Kleinood Viognier perfectly

The next course was a Game fish tataki with wasabi mayonnaise, a daikon and cucumber roll with wakame seaweed and a ginger dressing. Paired with the gentle Hartenberg 2010 Riesling

One of the best wines of the evening, Hartenberg’s Gravel Hill Shiraz

There were two main courses to go with four red wines. First a veal brisket with morel mushrooms, redcurrant sauce and a savoy cabbage parcel filled with meat to match the flinty and intensely fruity 2005 Hartenberg Gravel Hill Shiraz which is drinking absolutely perfectly at the moment and the Kleinood 2008 Tamboerskloof Shiraz which is soft and full of fruit and spice.

Rudi Schultz of Thelema and Sutherland tells us about his wines

And his brother Werner the Thelema viticulturalist tells us some family history and how he got involved.

Three of the brothers: Gunter, Carl and Werner. In the background is Nils Hecksher, General Manager of Winchester Mansions hotel in Sea Point.

John struck up a good friendship with the sommelier, Khuselo Mputa

After a nice pause and a prize giving, we had the second main of Braised lamb shank with waterblommetjes and pumpkin couscous cakes. This was served with Thelema’s sultry and spicy 2005 Shiraz and Rudi Shultz Syrah 2009, also intense and full of deep dark fruit.

Lucky numbers meant winning some wine or a meal at Aubergine.

Journalist Joanne Gibson won a bottle of Gravel Hill

The four Schultz brothers together: Rudi, Werner, Gunter and Carl

taking photos of the event

A surprise birthday plate for Lynne with a slice of iced seed cake.

Dessert was a goats milk cheesecake with kumquats and a crisp three cheese pirogen with a Riesling poached pear which had a delicious syrupy sauce. Paired with the Thelema 2009 NLH Riesling and the Hartenberg 2012 Occasional Riesling

And then there were plates of wickedly wonderful friandise to go with coffee

The four Schultz sons with their parents. You can see where they got their good looks

Proud parents Mrs and Mr Schultz senior

Al fresco lunch at Dunes

This is, almost unbelievably, a mid-winter day on the 9^th of August 2013, Woman’s Day public holiday at Hout Bay beach. It was glorious to feel some warm sun in the middle of what has been a very wet winter. Sadly there were no whales in the bay that day.

Fishcakes with chips and a tartar sauce for Lolly. The fishcakes had lots of mixed smoked and plain fish and were a little unexpected. Someone had put English mustard in the tartare sauce. Not great

Lynne’s dish of light and crisp battered very tender calamari strips and far too many chips with the same strange tartar sauce.

John’s excellent beer battered fish and chips

Ronnie’s rather dry fried angelfish and chips. All these dishes would have been improved by a little salad.

Monday 2 for 1 burgers at Gibson's

The harbour at the V & A Waterfront

The front of Victoria Wharf shopping centre from the amphitheatre on a wet wintry night

Gibson’s Burgers and Ribs is just inside the Victoria Wharf shopping centre

Lots of choice if you want a burger or ribs, with some vegetarian options too

They are running two special offers in August. We came on a Monday.

Windhoek lagers after an intense Vinimark trade wine tasting are always refreshing

John chose a Wisconsin burger with crisp chips and a blue cheese sauce

Lynne had an avocado and bacon burger with a baked potato with sour cream (which didn't get touched!)

Both burgers were well cooked, well seasoned, moist and beefy.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Food and wine pairing for the Vineyard's Strandveld dinner

The tasting was held on the upper level above the main restaurant

The lineup of Strandveld and their second label First Sighting wines, which we were pairing with the food

Whites and a rosé cooling in the ice bucket

The judging panel assembled. Clockwise from the left: Strandveld’s sales representative Caroline van Schalkwyk, PR principal Wendy Masters, Food and Beverage manager Matt Dietchmann, Chef Chris Law, F&B Duty Manager David Wibberley, Winemaker Conrad Vlok from Strandveld, Roy Davies General Manager of the Vineyard, David Paterson and Lynne

We chose from a selection of foods, cooked and raw, vegetables, sauces fruits cheeses nuts pickles

Chef prepares several of his standard dishes. Here is duck – roast in an orange sauce and smoked, fillet and sirloin steak, game, braised Moroccan lamb, potatoes done different ways, sauces and vegetables.

which we put on our plates and then taste in combination with the wines. Anything goes until we find that perfect match and unconventional is better than predictable.

Strandveld The Navigator, a blend of Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre

It is a lot of fun and very interesting seeing what goes and what doesn’t from the selection on your plate.

And of course we have to have many wines on the table at any one time as everyone comes up with different combinations that we all have to try

A beautiful wintry view of the side of Table Mountain and Devils Peak from the Vineyard Hotel. Van Hunks is smoking his pipe while sitting in the kloof!

The winter gardens are lush and green from all the rain, even without leaves on the trees.

Wednesday, August 07, 2013

Mint at the Taj - First Friday of the month "Taste" dinner

The wines we were tasting were Bartinney’s Sauvignon Blanc BWI, Avondale Cyclus Blend BWI, Waverley Hills organic Shiraz Rose, and their Shiraz and Boekenhoutskloof Wolftrap Red, Boplaas Muscadel

At the monthly dinner you can enjoy a free tasting of selected wines before dinner and then you can pay for a glass of one you like

Lynne chats to Beverage Manager Tatiana Marcetteau and the sommelier

First ‘course’ good bread and olive tapenade

Their modern version of a Caprese salad. Restaurant-made mozzarella ‘string’ cheese with tomato chips, basil jelly and rocket

Soup comes in two parts. First you have the roughly puréed artichoke quenelle.

Then they add the thick and really smooth Jerusalem artichoke soup. Delicious. It had an earthy taste from some celeriac which the chef added.

Restaurant manager Ansolette Andov and Director of Food and Beverage Willem du Toit discuss the concept with Lynne

Next were spicy calamari polpetti with lemon pepper dressing

The restaurant has a very comfortable, modern and leisurely feel. The wine tasting was happening in front of the glassed in kitchen.

The barbecue option. Beef Spare ribs in a sweet and sticky vanilla and sesame sauce. The chicken wings have Asian notes and a nice heat. Served with a cooling dipping sauce

Light as a feather gnocchi in a three cheese sauce. We will be back for more of these. Reminiscent of the wonderful light gnocchi they used to serve at L’Aperitivo before it closed

We chat with the chef Lyall Abrahams

Grilled Franschhoek trout served with soft and creamy griddled polenta and mange tout

Starting to flag a little! Soft as butter and perfectly pink ostrich fillet Bordelaise with spinach, calvados apples and a tart tatin of artichokes. Marvellous wine sauce with a lovely level of pepper crusting.

A citrus Assiette: a rich creamy Orange parfait with strips of candied peel, carbonated lemon sorbet on a mango pure and a lime cloud in a tiny cup which was sharp and fluffy. This was perfectly matched with the Boplaas muscadel.