Friday, August 09, 2019

The 2019 Terroir Awards at Anura wine estate

On a beautiful, sunny, but fiercely cold winter’s day we arrived at Anura Farm for the 2019 Novare SA Terroir Awards
Held in The Cooperage, Anura’s new tasting room and impressive function venue
With its double vaulted ceiling
A good glass of Bon Courage MCC Blanc de Blanc to welcome us
Note the very clever and innovative tray which holds glasses so securely that serving staff are at no risk of spilling them
Come and taste!
The end window gives magnificent views of the Stellenbosch mountains over the vineyards
Try not to chop off your fingers with this biltong slicer
Who doesn’t love a table groaning with biltong and droëwors?
Bottles of wines that had been entered were arranged artfully on this display plant stand,
and many were later announced as winners
Clean, elegant modern architecture with local sandstone highlights
Wonton Basket filled with a salmon rose & avocado mousse, served with a yuzu mayonnaise
Chermoula chicken lollipops dipped in chimichurri 
Butternut and caramelised onion tartlets with pine nuts and sage oil
Seared fillet wrapped in wild rocket, with sweet home made mustard and a drizzle of chilli syrup
Blaauwklippen winemaker and competition judge Narina Cloete with Duimpie Bayly CWM
Duimpie Bayly and David Biggs enjoying the Bon Courage MCC Blanc de Blanc
For the alcohol averse
It is such an impressive venue, almost church like; you can see that weddings might be very popular here
Baleia winemaker Gunter Schultz and Jacus Marais of Nitída
Marie Louise and Newald Marais of Kranskop with Duimpie Bayly
Lynne attempted to taste through the wines on offer. It was clear very early on that these wines impressed people
A selection of the white wines, Mischa 2018 Roussanne, Lourensford Viognier 2018, Bartinney 2017 Chardonnay, Ghost Corner Semillon 2017 - already a 94 scoring wine, Doolhof Riviersteen Barrel Fermented Chenin 2017, Baleia Bay 2019 Sauvignon Blanc
Duimpie Bayly and Maryna Calow of WOSA having fun
Who sat where
Comedian Nik Rabinowitz tickled and teased outrageously and had us in hysterics
What a great MC he makes. He told us to #HouDuimpieVas at the #TerroirWineAwards
Journalist Marius Labuschagne, founder of the SA Terroir Wine Awards, thanked Novara, the sponsor, in his opening speech and said that they have played a major role in making this competition happen and be such a success. He also thanked the technical side. "The end is at the beginning, we see the terroir in the final wines; there IS a need for a competition to see which terroir is performing the best". He also recognised Elsabé Ferreira's contribution; things won't work without her organisation
Novare Deputy CEO Olaotse Leepile said it was an honour to be involved with the treasure we have in the Cape Winelands. He welcomed the judges, the winemakers, the media and colleagues at Novara. 2016 was his first year at Novara and he is enjoying being involved with the wines very much. Novara has been the sponsor of the Terroir Awards since 2008
The SA National Wine Show Association (SANWSA) runs the SA Young Wine Show, the Veritas Awards and the Novare SA Terroir Wine Awards. SANWSA chairman Dr Christo Pienaar spoke about how this competition began and said that it is clear that there was a need for it as it is different and unique. Terroir is the source of the natural characteristics of the wine, its soil, climate, minerals and shows what differences there are in wines from different areas. The voting panel included Convener Jeff Grier MW, Narina Cloete, Anton Swarts CWM, Sandile Mkhwanazi and David Biggs 
Bennie Howard CWM and Duimpie Bayly CWM presented the Awards
And this is the list:
Top Petit Verdot, 2013 Anura Petit Verdot Reserve
Top Sauvignon Blanc, 2019 Baleia Sauvignon Blanc
Top Chardonnay, 2017 Bartinney Chardonnay
Top Colombard, 2019 Bon Courage André's Fame Colombard
Top MCC, 2011 Bon Courage Jacques Bruére Blanc de Blanc Cap Classique
Top Rosé, 2019 Bon Courage Lady of the House Pinotage Rosé
Top Port, 2013 Boplaas Cape Vintage
Top Malbec, 2017 Bushmanspad Estate Malbec
Top Pinot Noir, 2017 Creation The Art of Pinot Noir
Top Touriga Nacional, 2017 De Krans Touriga Nacional
Top Chenin Blanc, 2017 Doolhof Riviersteen
Top Merlot, 2017 Doolhof Signature Single Vineyard Collection Merlot
Top White Blend, 2017 Flagstone Treaty Tree Reserve Sauvignon Blanc/Sémillon
Top Sémillon, 2017 Ghost Corner Sémillon
Top Cinsaut, 2018 Kaapzicht Skuinsberg Cinsaut
Top Tannat, 2017 Kranskop Tannat
Top Viognier, 2018 Lourensford Limited Release Viognier
Top Roussanne, 2018 Mischa Estate Roussanne
Top Gewurztraminer, 2019 Neethlingshof Estate Gewürztraminer
Top Noble Late Harvest,  2017 Neethlingshof Maria Weisser Riesling
Top Riesling, 2018 Nitida Riesling
Top Cabernet Sauvignon, 2016 Nuy Mastery Cabernet Sauvignon
Top Muskadel, 2006 Nuy Wit Muskadel
Top Grenache, 2016 Ondine Grenache
Top Shiraz, 2015 Ormonde Single Vineyard Chip off the Old Block Shiraz
Top Cabernet Franc, 2014 Rietvallei JMB Cabernet Franc
Top Natural Sweet, NV Slanghoek Vinay Vin Rosé
Top Red Blend, 2017 The Glen Carlou Collection Red Blend
Top Pinotage, 2016 Wildekrans Pinotage Barrel Select Reserve

Duimpie Bayly with Baleia's award for the Top Sauvignon Blanc
We had this wine with lunch and it was superb: Creation's The Art Of Pinot
Carolyn Martin of Creation in Hemel and Aarde accepts the award for the Top Pinot Noir for their Art of Pinot
Danie Steytler junior accepts the Award for the best Cinsault, Kaapzicht Skuinsberg
Newald Marais of Kranskop got the ward for the Top Tannat
Henriette Jansen of Nitída with their award for the Top Riesling
Elaine Conradie of Slanghoek accepts the Award for the Top Natural Sweet, Vinay Vin Rosé
Braam Gericke of Wildekrans accepts the award for the Top Pinotage
Aldert Nieuwoudt and Menno Schaafsma of Bushmanspad with their award for the top Malbec
Convener of the Judges, Jeff Grier of Villiera
De Wet Viljoen, Neethlingshof cellarmaster, accepts his awards for the Top Noble Late Harvest, Maria Weisser Riesling
and Top Gewürztraminer, Neethlingshof Estate Gewürztraminer 2019
Theo and Berinda Basson of Ormonde with their awards for Ondine, the Top Grenache
and Ormonde The Chip of the Old Block, the Top Shiraz
Bon Courage winemaker Philip Viljoen accepted the award for the Top MCC, Jacques Bruère Blanc de Blanc 2011
Jacques Bruwer of Bon Courage then accepted the award for the best overall producer
Overall winners Bon Courage with their trophy
The innovative menu
Lunch was served after all the awards and so was a little bit late. It was tender and falling apart;
slow roasted lamb with tomatoes, falafel balls, baby potatoes on a bed of vegetables with a rich Mediterranean tomato sauce
Dessert platters for two were served and had tiny choux buns filled with melktert custard,
chewy honeycomb, delicious small banana-filled spring rolls with a caramel sauce,
lemon curd tarts topped with tiny macarons and a fresh raspberry and a deconstructed Eton mess
Getting some sun on the deck in the afternoon
Newald Marais of Kranskop with the Trophy for the Top SA Wine Area, which this year went to Robertson.
All the winners
Stellenbosch winners
Robertson winners
Journalists Samantha van den Bergh, Sonja Smit, Suzaan Potgieter, Jonathan Snashall
and winemaker Elaine Conradie of Slanghoek
Posted by MENU at 10:42 am 0 comments

Winemag Signature Red Blend Report 2019 presentation at Guardian Peak, Stellenbosch

An invitation to cover the Winemag.co.za 4th Annual Signature Red Blends Awards at Guardian Peak this week had lots of winemakers present to see what their wines had scored. It's a reward for those who are prepared to try something different with their blends and anything goes, as long as its not the Bordeaux Blend covered in the Cape Bordeaux Blend awards held a few weeks ago. We tasted some phenomenal wines. It would seem that the recent plantings of these varietals have now come of age as they are patently producing superb wines
The welcome drink was a glass of Dainty Bess Rosé MCC,
made from Pinot Noir by Christian Eedes’ wife Jane and very delicious it is too
Jacqueline Lahoud, Business Director of WineMag.co.za, asked "Should SA be following the Bordeaux style with our red wines, given our climate and terroir? Rhône might be a better direction? After all, some of our most famous old classics like Rustenberg Red, Chateau Libertas and Oude Libertas were made with grapes like Cinsault and other varieties, not in the Bordeaux style, and have lasted very well. 58 entries were received from 42 producers and the average score was 89.8, compared to 68 entries from 54 producers and an average score of 89.25 in 2018. There were 32 wines which rated 90 or higher on the 100-point quality scale compared to 30 a year ago. so a very impressive result
The judges: Christian Eedes, James Pietersen and Roland Peens looked for complexity and balance
They were surprised at how many winemakers used their own instincts when making these blends
Listening to the awards presentation with anticipation
This year, the wines were so good that they have a Top 12
Christian Eedes hopes that the concept is catching on. He said that we must be careful about what we take to the rest of the world. In the past fabulous South African blends were not "in the box" and that is what we should be trying to do. No rules, no minimums or maximums in this class; that is unnecessarily complicated and we should be trying to recognise the SA Blends for what they are. Eben Sadie’s Columella is a case in point. There were some oldies in the competition which have scored well and there are some new wines. Anything goes; the judges found the top scoring wines seamless. Blending was confident and they are in balance. And they often not the most expensive wines. The average price is R200 a bottle (cf. R400 for the Bordeaux class.) different varietals are now making great wines but, sadly, we don’t have many of those vines yet. Cinsault makes up 1.8% of our 93021 ha of vines, Grenache only 0.4% and these two varieties are becoming quite influential in blends, making them fresher, fruitier and more complex. The report states that "Of the 58 entries, 23 carried the very broad designations of either “WO Western Cape”or “Coastal Region”, leading to the thought that many producers are compelled to search far and wide for the various components they need to bring a wine."  It looks as though we should be planting more of these interesting grapes which are showing so well
Winemaker Louis Strydom asked: What defined the top wines? Style? Elegance? Christian answered that one of the best wines was not identified by any of the judges and they said it was one of the best tasting of the year and was very enjoyable. He said that the 2016 and 2017 vintages were Cinsault driven. To see the final awards, go to https://winemag.co.za/signature-red-blend-report-2019-results/
All the award winners with their certificates
Donkiesbaai Rooiwijn 2017; 94, R300
From the West Coast, is a blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah
Rust en Vrede Estate 2016; 94, R400
A blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah
Fairview Extraño 2016, 93, R105
An interesting blend of Tempranillo, Grenache, Carignan
Vondeling Monsonia 2016; 93, R225
A blend of Shiraz, Mourvedre, Carignan and Grenache
Org de Rac Die Waghuis 2017; 93, R150
An unusual blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Verdelho
Plaisir De Merle Grand Plaisir 2014; 93, R430
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Shiraz 
Alto Rouge 2016; 92, R120
& Alto Rouge 2017; 92, R120
They are blends of Cabernet Franc, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot
DeMorgenzon Maestro Blue 2017
A blend of Syrah, Grenache Noir, Mourvedre and Petite Sirah
Ernie Els Big Easy Red Blend 2017; 92, R165
A blend of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, Grenache, Mourvedre and Viognier
Nederburg The Motorcycle Marvel 2017; 92, R205
A Rhône blend of Carignan, Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvèdre and Cinsault
Underworld Blend 3 2018 (Strange Kompanjie); 92, R90
from Wildeberg. A coastal blend of Rhône varietals: Grenache Noir, Durif, Carignan and Mourvèdre
Platters of very good canapés to stave off hunger. One comment to the chef
The small rounds of fillet steak coated in ground black pepper are perhaps not the wisest thing to serve during a wine tasting!
It does have the effect of completely blowing one's palate for an hour or so, nice as it is
Some shot glasses of cold soup
All content ©  John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus
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Thursday, August 08, 2019

Korean Seoul food in Sea Point

How to get to where you are going! We made a date with friends to meet at a local Chinese restaurant last week and, when we got there, found that they close every Tuesday (Lesson for the week: Always check!). So four of us drove up Sea Point Main Road in the rain looking for something that none of us had been to before. And we were all in an Asian mood. Suddenly, we saw Seoul Korean restaurant in Regent Road and agreed that we had been meaning to go there for ages, even though none of us has any experience of Korean food, other than second hand recommendations and warnings that the food was HOT and garlicky. Well, we all like a bit of heat and love garlic, so that was no deterrent
The menu has some very familiar starters and we were hungry, so we ordered three
On a return visit, we will try some of the unknown, interesting sounding dishes
But, probably, not the spring rolls, we find those rather boring
Very good Chicken sate, nicely glazed with marinade, and succulent. It comes with a classic peanut spicy sauce
We kept it on the table to enjoy with main courses
This was not quite what we were expecting to see when the Tempura vegetables arrived
Large handfuls of mixed veg had been dipped in batter and fried, so it was a bit greasy and gluey in the middle
And the vegetables were quite hard to recognise
Carrots yes, probably onion, but not sure about the others, possibly potato and red cabbage? 
10 juicy beef dumplings came with a dipping sauce which had a tiny bite of chilli, but not much
Very familiar and reminded us of Chinese dumplings
Four complimentary dishes come with the main course; clockwise from the top left
Shredded carrot, beansprout salad, kimchi and matchstick boiled potatoes
The Kimchi was very enjoyable; it's like a spicy sauerkraut and adds lots of flavour to other dishes. Not very hot either
We felt that they were being very careful with heat, even though we said we were all happy with medium heat dishes
This is the Korean style Chicken Hot Pot
Very succulent and flavourful chicken with some pickles and mild, very mild slices of green chillies
Definitely worth a revisit
Bulgogi (means fire meat). It is a shredded barbecue beef dish, recommended by our waiter
Rather grey and bland and a little disappointing, we were expecting some good fire!
From the internet, we learned that it "has a blend of soy sauce, brown sugar, Asian pear (or red apple),
garlic, ginger, ground black pepper and sesame oil
This gives a slightly salty, mildly sweet and nutty savoury flavour"
Because we all love prawns, we ordered the large portion of the Sweet and Creamy Prawns - Kanpung Saeu. And large it was, with big prawns. They had been fried in a crisp batter and then drizzled with the Sweet and Creamy sauce which was a blend of mayonnaise, sugar and rice vinegar. Doesn't sound great but, actually, it works very well. Again, no heat. So we realise that we have to order those dishes on the menu that have chilli symbols next to them. Next time
Innocent, our lovely, attentive waiter, was very helpful with our menu choices, explaining everything well
We also spoke to the owner, who said that he came here from Korea 10 years ago. Shame on us for not trying this sooner
and for refreshment at the end of the meal, some orange wedges
We took Perdeberg Courageous Dry Land barrel fermented Chenin Blanc 2017 and Quando Pinot Noir 2014 wines with us and were very happy to pay corkage although, on inspection, we see that they do have quite a good wine list, with some reasonable choices
The bill


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