Thursday, August 15, 2019

Elgin Winter Festival Wine Fair at the Elgin Railway Market

We were off to the Elgin Railway Market last Friday night to celebrate Winter, Wine and Words
with the Elgin Valley and Elgin Grabouw Tourism
We are only sorry that we could not stay longer to enjoy the rest of the weekend, but work called
We got there at 6 just as things were beginning
Nicky and Paul Wallace had very kindly agreed to put us up for the night on their farm, Wallovale
and we were able to taste all their wines plus something new that they have produced
Bobby, Nicky and Mark Wallace
Both sons are winemakers, Bobby at Iona and Mark at Oneiric
Inga Malan of Thelema Sutherland. When Lynne tasted their Pinot Noir, it set her off to taste all of the Pinots on the evening
And how well does Elgin do Pinot Noir!
The evening soon filled up with visitors keen to taste and interact with the wine farms
Two beauties on the Oak Valley table
IDUN is a new wine from Elgin, made from bought in grapes
Owner Michael White and award winning winemaker Vanessa Simkiss on the Highlands Road stand.
We rather like this lively Belle Ami rosé from Elgin Vintners.  Great packaging too and a name that will get lots of sales
Iona's Sauvignon Blanc is crisp and impressive and their Chardonnay is always one of our favourites
Natalie Opstaele of Almenkerk and Songvej Cluver
Dr Paul Cluver, Natalie Opstaele, Songvej Cluver, Liesel Cluver-Rust and Linda Potgieter
A new wine from the Wallaces, Off the Record, their first Elgin Chenin Blanc
Some of the food stalls had stayed open for the evening. You could order Pizza
or German food like Eisbein, Schnitzel or Currywurst and waffles for dessert
This is Lynne's Eisbein on a huge roll.  She was only able to eat half, the other half was lunch the next day! Good crisp crackling
John ordered a Flying Scotsman burger and chips from the Station Grill
Also very large and it came with good crisp chips which we shared
Francois-Jacques Malan of Simonsig visiting Ewen Wilson of Lothian
Someone is rather tired out!
The successful wine festival closed at 9 and we went back to Wallovale for a lovely rest in one of their cottages
Posted by MENU at 12:16 pm 0 comments

2019 ABSA Top 10 Pinotage Finalists Blind Tasting

This story was delayed until after the presentation of the Awards, because we were asked not to reveal the finalists' names

We were invited to Meerendal for the 2019 ABSA Top 10 Pinotage Finalists Blind Tasting event. We were invited to review 20 wines that the selection panel had judged to the best 20 Pinotages of the year. We were to taste and decide which wines we thought should be on this year’s Top 10 Pinotage list. These wines would then be judged for the awards by the judging panel…
A very necessary warming cup of coffee or tea on an icy wet morning in Durbanville
and, thankfully, some filled croissants to line the stomach
Pouring the first blind flight 
This is what they mean by a blind tasting - you can't identify the wines as the bottles are covered
I think we are ready to start?
Chatting about the wines are Greg Landman Country Living, Michael Malan, winemaker at Simonsig,
Clayton Reabow, Môreson winemaker, Christian Eedes, Editor of WineMag.co.za and Andre Morgenthal, Old Vines Project
Convener of the tasting was Johan Schwartz, Marketing Manager of the Pinotage Association
Nose deep in glass and lots of contemplation on our side by Mike Bampfield-Duggan of Wine Concepts,
Judy Brower of Wine.co.za and Matthew Copeland, winemaker at Vondeling
Johan Schwartz and Judge Winnie Bowman CWM
Bennie Howard with Lisa Goodwin, Meerendal's winemaker since 1998
The line up of the four flights we tasted. Flight 1
Flight 2
Flight 3
Flight 4
Beyers Truter was also a judge. Did he recognise his own wine?
The lunch menu. The dishes were served in dessert bowls
The koeksisters were crisp and very sweet, as expected, and much enjoyed.
Pancetta and white bean soup was warming, filling and flavourful
And why NOT a Biltong risotto? It worked well, the rice was good and the biltong added the meaty umami flavours
Eland ragu on mash
And now to await the Awards Ceremony and hear which wines are the Top 10
All content ©  John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus
Posted by MENU at 11:29 am 0 comments

A comfortable overnight at Wallovale in Elgin

Nicky and Paul Wallace very kindly put us up in one of their beautiful cottages on Wallovale in Elgin for the night
after the Winter Wine Festival on Friday.  Icy cold outside, warm and comfortable inside. This is a view of their tasting room
We were given a warm welcome by Benjie the spaniel
He loves people and gets lots of attention
The cottage has a good kitchen. They have four cottages available for hire
A comfortable sitting area
And two spacious bedrooms
We chose the Blue one with its football pitch sized bed
And the bathroom has a water wise rain shower
An early morning view over the dam; a crisp sparkling champagne day in Elgin
A huge tree in the grounds
Cattle on the frosted grass. We had a lovely breakfast on the Wallaces' stoep, before heading back to Cape Town and work
A shot from the summer when everyone, including us, loves to visit the farm
and sample the excellent Paul Wallace wines and the great hospitality
Thank you so much Nicky and Paul
The cottages are available for short term hire
Contact Nicky Wallace at nicky@paulwallacewines.co.za or by phone at +27 21 848 9744 or +27 83 255 1884
All content ©  John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus

Posted by MENU at 10:17 am 0 comments
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