Thursday, July 18, 2019

A Riebeeck Valley weekend. 1. Swartland Winery, The Riebeek Valley Hotel, Riebeeck tasting, Old Dalby Restaurant

Once a year, Lynne organises a trip for our wine club to a different wine district. The criteria are always the same. The accommodation must all be together, couples and singles want their own rooms en suite but it must not be too costly. This sadly cuts out several wine areas where the accommodation is sparse. There must be good wine farms and restaurants in the area and the hotel needs to offer us a good breakfast. We have been to Wellington, Robertson, Botrivier and Paarl in recent years and this year we were headed to Riebeek West and Riebeek Kasteel

 We set out after lunch and travelled up the very pleasant R302 country road from Durbanville, a good alternative to the N7 Malmesbury road with its many road works. On the way, we decided to stop off and see what Swartland winery was up to; it had been a while since we last called in there
We had a quick tasting as they close at 4 and so enjoyed talking to their tasting room manager
She very generously gave us three bottles of 1999 Shiraz to taste with our wine club members
We had them at dinner on the second night at Mama Cucina
We checked into our hotel, which is now known as the Riebeek Valley Retreat
It reminds one of the hotels of yesteryear and scenes in Agatha Christie novels. Slightly faded in some areas, it once was,
and could be again a 5 star property, if some minor smartening up and a bit of modernising could be applied
The hotel restaurant is now closed, but they do serve good breakfasts
The imposing entrance with its large front door and stoep. The gardens are huge and well planted,
but could do with a bit of weeding and sorting out
We were shown to Suite 3 in the main house with its lovely high four poster bed, comfy seating area and nice view of the garden
The rooms vary in size, luxury and facilities; you can find them on line. They are running a winter special at the moment
They have an indoor pool so take your bathing costume if you go
The weather was very chilly, the pool room was not cold
One of the smaller dining rooms with an open fire, which they lit for us
We had arranged for Riebeek Cellars to come at 6 pm and do a tasting of their wines for the wine club
They have a bar and a lovely roaring fire which was very welcome with the cold weather
There is a large TV and many people were watching Wimbledon at certain times
Lucille from Riebeek and her staff helping set up the tasting
and we began with bottles of their Pieter Cruythoff Brut, a Charmat blend of 66% Chardonnay & 34% Pinot Noir
Biscuity on the nose and dry and crisp on the palate, very refreshing
Lots of discussion while we tasted the wines, They were very generous and brought a large selection for us to taste, all of which was much enjoyed. We especially liked their 2017 Shiraz with their new label, its has sweet fruit in abundance on the nose and palate with smoke hints and chocolate and spice on the berry palate. We also tasted an older Shiraz which really impressed us with its quality. and lovely spicy peppery fruit with a long after taste, a good food wine. If you want to experience the Riebeek Cellars Collection do visit their new Wine Shop on the Square in Riebeek Kasteel.
Time for supper and Lynne had organised a local restaurant, just a few hundred meters from the hotel
and recommended to us by many; Old Dalby restaurant. This is their entrance
They had put us at two long tables in a separate room
After we had ordered, this lovely plate of dark malty bread and potato skins arrived
As we were rather hungry after the wine tasting, this was very welcome
Serving dinner to 17 souls can take a while, especially if you have a popular and busy restaurant on a Friday night
One of the popular starters was breadcrumbed and deep fried camembert with a rooibos and mulberry jam
which came with bread and a small leaf salad
Crisp on the outside, melting cheese inside and a lovely contrast with the berry jam
Luckily, no taste of rooibos was discernible! R48
Lynne was the only one to have fish and this is her Kingklip Washington with Prawn meat and Mushroom Sauce, R 145-00
The fish was fresh, an enormous portion, with lots of good pink prawns; the mushroom sauce had cheese in it and was delicious
Served with crisp chips and lemon wedges
Most people ordered the Old Dalby Fillet, 250g beef fillet, topped with avocado, bacon and blue cheese sauce, R155-00
This comes with vegetables and chips and it was much enjoyed
No one had  room for dessert; it was only afterwards that we found out that Old Dalby is known for unusual ice cream flavours
We tried to come back for them the following night, but were too late after our super somewhere else
Breakfast at our hotel the next morning had cereals, juice, muesli, yoghurt, toast, cheese, ham and salami 
You could order a cooked breakfast from the kitchen: eggs done the way you like them, with bacon and tomato
The chef also provides very good cakes and muffins for breakfast,
particularly popular was his lemon drizzle cake and these egg, bacon and pepper tartlets
Trust a cat to find a sunbeam on a cold winter’s morning
And Fat Cat, the hotel cat is indeed that. We were off to our first winery
Posted by MENU at 4:06 pm 0 comments

The Tops at Spar wine show at GrandWest Casino & Entertainment World

An invitation to attend the Annual Tops at Spar Wine Festival, held at the GrandWest Casino in Goodwood, was tempting. We set out at 4 to get there for the opening on Thursday and, sadly, the Cape Town traffic had us crawling very slowly and we only got there at just before 6. The 650 metres from Strand Street to the flyover took us more than half an hour due to gridlock. It is a daunting challenge to get to any event that requires central city and motorway driving nowadays to get out of town in the late afternoon and early evening

 Certified Sommelier Neil Tabraham, a partner in the Sommeliers Academy, with Roxan Waldeck and Jean Vincent Ridon on the South African Wine Tasting Competition stand, where the search for the Super Taster was taking place. The final team to go overseas should be announced this week. This was the last chance to enter
Lots of staff support! …and fun
We heard from Neil that Bloemendal had their Suider Terrace 2019 Sauvignon Blanc for tasting
and this is the vineyard in Durbanville that most winemakers would love to turn into wine
The wine does indeed live up to its reputation, even though it is very young and newly released
The Bloemendal wines. The Sauvignon Blanc has always garnered lots of awards in the past
Guy Webber of Hill & Dale has produced two Spumante type bubblies in the style of Prosecco
Winemaker JD Rossouw & Marketing Manager Fanie Fourie of Wildeberg Wines. We have just heard that their Chenin was one of the top five in the Winemag.co.za inaugural Best Value Chenin Blanc Tastings 2019. Well deserved
Jon Meinking invited us to take part in his annual SA Wine Showcase, where he gives us 8 wines to taste and we then have to come to a conclusion as to what they are. Jon is adept at choosing good wines that taste very little like their expected varietals. Well, we do so badly at these tastings, that is our conclusion! Lovely wines. all available to taste on the stands at the show, if you had time beforehand. It is a great fun tasting and confounded many people. We think that the highest correct score at our tasting was 2! And that was scored by a well-respected winemaker
Gotcha again! "No, not a Pinot Noir, but a 2016 Malbec from Bloemendal. Lynne, who was in love with the wine, scored it very highly - pale in colour, soft and perfumed and gentle with strawberries and raspberries - like Malbec often isn’t...
OK who can tell me what #4 is? Chocolate and nut nougat, very sweet on the nose, crisp on the oxidised palate. The nearest we came was a Muscat or a Bukettraube. It was a Skin Contact 2018 blend of Chenin blanc and Hanepoot from Daschbosch
Eugene Kinghorn, Marketing Manager of Koelenhof with their rip roaring 1679 Chenin Blanc
Not a wildly busy evening for a Thursday and then suddenly it was time to eat something
With our VIP tickets, we had been invited to a food and wine pairing at the VIP enclosure
Sadly, when we got there at 7.30, it was all over
The dishes in the pairing were: 
Southern Fried Chicken with Ranch Dressing
Mosbolletjie Bagel with Pickled Beetroot, Goats Cheese Mousse
Cape Malay Pickled Fish with Curry Emulsion
Smoked Lamb Rib Roulade with Rosemary Jus
Chorizo and Blue Cheese Arancini
These were the paired wines
Chef Beau du Toit of Goose Roasters, who were doing the catering, made a plan and found us some of the dishes and some of the wines
Southern Fried Chicken with Ranch Dressing
Mosbolletjie Bagel with Pickled Beetroot, Goats Cheese Mousse, Cape Malay Pickled Fish with Curry Emulsion
All delicious and the pickled fish was a complete revelation to us
We both hate it normally, but this was not a heavy sour pickle, more spicy and Indian in flavour and spice, and the fish was perfectly cooked
The perfect match to the Pickled Fish. The Goose wines are an appropriate label for The Goose Roasters caterers. Goose Wines belongs to golfer Retief Goosen, who won his first tournament in the PGA Circuit Senior Players’ Championship that weekend 
Chef Beau du Toit of Goose Roasters
Smoked Lamb Rib Roulade with Rosemary Jus was really tender and full of flavour
Chorizo and Blue Cheese Arancini
Both wines were good; the Cape Ruby port was sensational
Frank Meaker, GM & Winemaker, Org de Rac was our final tasting before heading home at 9
Posted by MENU at 2:52 pm 0 comments

Friday, July 12, 2019

This Week’s MENU. WineMag Top Bordeaux blends, Elunda Basson welcome to Steenberg, Parmigiana di Melanzane, Groot Constantia Pinotage


This was a week which started out quite slowly and then became a rush at the end. Which is not altogether bad, it gave us time to relax, take a walk on a stormy beach, and catch up on things that have had to go onto the back burner; all these in addition to trying to chase our insurers and various contractors because a storm more than three weeks ago damaged some of our 95 year old roof tiles, which let the rain into the attic, which took out most of the ceiling lights. After many emails and telephone calls, and visits from a couple of roof repair companies and electricians, we are still without the lights or the tiles and the insurers will get another call in the morning. Next week will be very busy…
This year’s Winemag.co.za Cape Bordeaux Red Blend Report 2019 awards were presented at Morgenster Wine Estate in the Helderberg ward of Stellenbosch. We were reminded that in the past this was known as the Red Hot Wine Awards but this new title does explain the category a little more clearly. Morgenster's Prosecco style bubbly, made from Cabernet Franc was a good crisp start to the afternoon. The awards ceremony was held on a lovely sunny day, so welcome after a cold wet week…

An invitation this week to a function at Steenberg, welcoming their new Cellarmaster (mistress?), Elunda Basson. In what seems like the perfect fit, Elunda comes from her successful career at JC Le Roux to fill the place left by JD Pretorius after his move to Warwick. After studying viticulture and oenology at the University of Stellenbosch and completing her Diploma in Cellar Technology at Elsenburg Agricultural College, Elunda spent a harvest at Dry Creek Vineyards in Sonoma County in California. She has had an illustrious career spanning over two decades, making still and sparkling wines for industry leaders including Nederburg, Pongrácz and J.C le Roux…
This cool climate 2017 Pinotage came as a huge revelation when we tasted it with cellarmaster Boela Gerber last week. We absolutely loved it and that is not something you hear from Lynne when she tastes young Pinotage…
(Baked Aubergine with Tomato, Parmesan and Mozzarella)
Image result for parmigiana di melanzane
This is the sort of classic Italian dish that Lynne serves when she feels we need to eat vegetarian, which we do frequently…


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

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 our website and ancillary works are © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus. Our restaurant reviews are often 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.

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Posted by MENU at 12:37 am 0 comments

Thursday, July 11, 2019

On the MENU this week. Parmigiana di Melanzane



(Baked Aubergine with Tomato, Parmesan and Mozzarella)
Image result for parmigiana di melanzane
Image © custonaci web
This is the sort of classic Italian dish that Lynne serves when she feels we need to eat vegetarian, which we do frequently
2 or 3 large Aubergines - salt - 250g good quality Mozzarella – 3 T olive oil - 100g grated Parmesan - fresh Basil leaves
For the Tomato sauce:
1 onion, finely chopped - 2 cloves garlic, sliced - 1 tablespoon parsley with stalks, chopped - 1 T dried oregano - 2 tablespoons olive oil- 450g tin of tomatoes or 500 ml tomato passata – a grating of nutmeg - 1 tablespoon tomato puree - ½ teaspoon sugar – salt and freshly ground black pepper
Slice the aubergines thickly, salt the slices on both sides and leave them to sweat for about ¾ hour. Cook the onion, garlic, parsley and oregano gently in oil, without browning, until they are tender and sweet. Add the other sauce ingredients and boil the mixture until it has thickened, with no trace of wateriness. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Slice or dice the mozzarella
Remove the excess salt from the aubergine and rinse and pat dry. Paint each side with the olive oil. In a large frying pan, gently fry the aubergine on both sides until it is going golden brown and is becoming soft inside. Do not let it break up. Add more oil to the pan if necessary.
Use a large ovenproof baking dish. Turn your oven on to 180°C
Oil the dish and lay the aubergine in layers, cover with foil and bake for ½ hour. Remove the foil and spread over the sauce (You should use it all). Top with the mozzarella and drizzle with a generous tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle the parmesan over the top. Bake it uncovered for a further 15 minutes. Serve garnished with a basil leaves. Serves 4 as a main course or more as an antipasti
A tip: Aubergines are notorious for soaking up oil. If you don’t want this to happen, put the slices in the microwave for 5 to 6 minutes, this will not only speed up the cooking but will stop them taking up so much oil
Serve with a good robust red wine like our wine of the week, Groot Constantia Pinotage or a Nebbiolo, e.g. Steenberg or Du Toitskloof, which goes so well with tomato dishes

All content is ©  John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus
Posted by MENU at 11:38 pm 1 comments

MENU's Wine of the Week. Groot Constantia Pinotage 2017

This cool climate 2017 Pinotage came as a huge revelation when we tasted it with cellarmaster Boela Gerber last week. We absolutely loved it and that is not something you hear from Lynne when she tastes young Pinotage

Pretty and perfumed on the nose with hints of raspberry aromatics from its Pinot parent, with some spice. On the palate, cherry and caramel, soft tannins, more plum fruit, soft and silky; good acid balance and, on the end, the Cinsault parent is visible. R280 on the farm. 19/20
All content ©  John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus
Posted by MENU at 3:48 pm 0 comments

Welcoming function for new Steenberg Cellar Master Elunda Basson

An invitation this week to a function at Steenberg, welcoming their new Cellarmaster (mistress), Elunda Basson. In what seems like the perfect fit, Elunda comes from her successful career at JC Le Roux to fill the place left by JD Pretorius after his move to Warwick. After studying viticulture and oenology at the University of Stellenbosch and completing her Diploma in Cellar Technology at Elsenburg Agricultural College, Elunda spent a harvest at Dry Creek Vineyards in Sonoma County in California. She has had an illustrious career spanning over two decades, making still and sparkling wines for industry leaders including Nederburg, Pongrácz and J.C le Roux. She began at Rickety Bridge in Franschhoek, followed by a seven year stint at Nederburg. During the past 12 years, she has excelled as one of the country’s MCC specialists and has been richly rewarded with a slew of awards. Her crowning glory was the 2018 Vertex award for Pongrácz Blanc de Blancs, as the overall champion wine at Veritas and she has won the World’s Best Shiraz trophy at the International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) and made the cut in the Top 10 Sparkling Wines of the World at Effervescent du Monde. Her J.C. le Roux Scintilla Vintage Reserve 2008 was adjudged the Best Museum Class entry in the 2016 Amorim Cap Classique Challenge. She is also a sought-after wine judge, serving on panels for the IWSC, Veritas and Cap Classique Challenge
“While Méthode Cap Classique (MCC) will always be my passion, I look forward to making still wines again,
especially Sauvignon Blanc from Steenberg’s exceptional cool climate terroir”, she says
And, of course, we were poured glasses of Steenberg’s 1682 Chardonnay MCC Brut from Franschhoek
Web broadcaster Jon Meinking and Klein Constantia winemaker Matthew Day with Ndaba Dube,
who tells us he has been selected for an exciting new position, beginning in September
Chef Kerry Gilpin served us some really good canapés. Calamari in a good tartar sauce on the  left,
tomato, herb and olive bruschetta on the right
Tiny warm cheese croquettes with a good sauce
Siobhan Thompson of WOSA and Pieter "Bubbles" Ferreira of Graham Beck
Wine ambassadors on the tasting room counter Zelda and Bhewe are both so good at their jobs and very helpful and friendly
They were tasked with keeping the room's wine glasses filled with the Flagship Black Swan Sauvignon Blanc
or the Steenberg Catharina, a blend of Merlot, Syrah and Petit Verdot
Winnie Bowman CWM, Elunda Basson and Gus Allen of Constantia Glen
Chris du Toit - CEO - Graham Beck Enterprises Pty Ltd told us about the search for someone to replace JD Pretorius, who had been with them for almost two decades. And how delighted they were when, after a long search, they discovered that Elunda might be and was available. “We are excited to follow Elunda on a new winemaking journey. With her depth of experience and prowess as a winemaker of both still and sparkling wines, as well as her astute leadership capabilities, energy and passion for the industry as a whole, we know our Steenberg wines will be in good hands”
Pieter "Bubbles" Ferreira and Elunda Basson, with Rob Gower of Woolworths in the background. Elunda and Pieter have known each other for several years and as Elunda is been vice-chairperson of the Cap Classique Association for the past 3 years,
she has worked closely with chairman Pieter Ferreira of Graham Beck, promoting the standing of MCC here and abroad
She told us that the appointment had come at just the right time in her career and she was so happy to be at Steenberg
where she is busy building relationships with all the staff and making plans with them for the direction they will take in the future
She will be managing the entire winemaking operation at Steenberg
Having a laugh with Pieter Ferreira!
Slivers of duck with a truffle oil were excellent
The dessert canapés looked delicious
Gus Allen of Constantia Glen, Christian Eedes editor of Winemag.co.za and Tony da Costa of Liquor City, Claremont
Siobhan Thompson  of WOSA, Greg Sherwood MW, Winnie Bowman CWM, Pieter Ferreira of Graham Beck,
Journalist and wine judge Fiona McDonald and PRO Gudrun Clark
Pearl Oliver, Sommelier at the One and Only Hotel and Steenberg Wine Ambassador Bhewe
We first met Pearl here about twelve years ago at the beginning of her successful career and she has climbed the ladder
and worked as a top Sommelier at some of our best Cape hotels
All content ©  John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus
Posted by MENU at 3:38 pm 0 comments
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