Thursday, February 17, 2022

Wine Tasting at Darling Cellars and Groote Post

On our way back from our stay at Yzerfontein, we made a stop at Darling Cellars. They have a huge range of wines available for tasting and purchase, and the prices are very reasonable considering the very good quality. We often buy them for our everyday wine, especially their whites and rosés. We opted for the eight wines tasting and shared it. You can choose which eight wines you want to taste. We especially like the presentation, with an informative label on the base of each glass

The wines we chose to sample were the Reserve Arum Fields Chenin Blanc, R55, which is full-bodied and from hot vineyards, with a candy floss nose, no faults. The Reserve Bush Vine Sauvignon Blanc, R55 (also in a 2 litre box at R110) which is more tropical. The Quercus Gold Chardonnay, slightly pétillant, with lovely fruit, wooded from added oak, R55. We have previously bought the Pyjama Bush Rosé for summer drinking; it's a dry rosé, from a blend of Sauvignon Blanc with a touch of Grenache to add colour. Still excellent and rather Southern Rhône tasting, at R55 and also in a 2 litre box at R110. And then we tasted the Darling Cellars Merlot Rosé, another dry rosé, with a beautiful, pretty, perfumed red wine nose and everything you want from a summer Rosé at R44. This had to come home with us

There were two wines we wanted to compare: The Darling Cellars Chenin/Sauvignon Blanc which has a good nose, almost toffee in richness, round and pleasant on the palate and very good value at R44. We followed this with the Winemaker's selection Sauvignon Blanc/Chenin and were impressed with this excellent blend, R75. So we bought some of each. The Darling Gustus Chenin Blanc is always good; it has a big nose, wood showing on the palate with lighter fruit than previously. It is a wine that gets better with keeping, R95.

Then two reds: Because it has just won major Kudos overseas, we tasted the Chocoholic Pinotage, which is certainly full of coffee mocca chocolate. It has nice sweet fruit with soft tannins and dark chocolate coffee on the end, for those who love the style. We spotted the Capeman Red, a blend we love of Shiraz, Mourvedre, Grenache and love its flavours and complexity. It has good wood and tannin structures so we have put six bottles away for a couple of years to see where it goes. A steal at R55

All the wines can be seen and purchased online at https://shop.darlingcellars.co.za/index.php?route=product/catalog

This is the tasting room; you can also sit on their terrace outside
We each had a toasted cheese and chutney sandwich for lunch

On our way home, we went via one of our favourite West Coast wineries, Groote Post, and had a glass of their newly released MCC in the tasting room with Peter Pentz. Wow, really impressed by this classic dry wine, brioche on the nose, beautiful crisp, fine mousse, full of pear and lime flavours; very sophisticated and satisfying

It was a very, very hot day, you could see the heat coming off the ground

and every living thing was resting and quiet in the shade

We were not able to see winemaker Lukas Wentzel, who was out, bringing in the harvest,
but we did have a chat with his charming dog

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Posted by MENU at 2:33 pm 0 comments

Jordan Launches Old Vines Timepiece wine range

In 1985 the owner of Jordan Wine Estate, Ted Jordan, father of Gary Jordan, planted three vineyards
and they are still producing great grapes and wine
 These vineyards have just become part of the Old Vine Project
and we were excited to receive this presentation box containing two single vineyard 'Timepiece' white wines,
the 2019 Chenin Blanc and 2020 Sauvignon Blanc, and a pair of elegant Bormioli glasses in which to taste them
We can't wait

Inside the lid of the box is the story behind the wines, signed by three generations of Jordan men, Ted, Gary and Alex

If you would like to try them, the wines are available from the Jordan cellar at R360 each

The Timepiece range will grow and be made from maturing vineyards which have already been identified on Jordan Wine Estate. Vineyards will include, but are not limited to: Riesling, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon alongside the first release of Chenin Blanc & Sauvignon Blanc.

“Much of my life has been spent nurturing these gnarly old vines planted by my Dad, Ted, many decades ago
I am confident that my son, Alex, will continue to cherish them too
These limited-release, heritage-certified, single-vineyard wines ensure
that our guests and customers are able to collect and enjoy our life’s work from our special estate in Stellenbosch”
– Gary Jordan

If you want to know more about these wines, click on this link to  the Jordan website

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Posted by MENU at 12:42 pm 0 comments

A holiday break in Yzerfontein

At the end of January, we went on another Great Escape, this time a return to lovely Yzerfontein, by the sea up our West Coast, for 10 days. We enjoyed our Karoo/Garden route trip in October so much that we had been longing to get away, but had to wait until the Omicron variant of Covid had abated. As you will see from the photographs, the surf was up – it is only 79 kilometres away, you Cape surfers. And there is lots of accommodation available at reasonable prices. We are so pleased to see some new restaurants and many food trucks, which may well belong to people who are  pivoting to survive. Yzerfontein has a permanent population of 3000, which swells to 30000 at peak season, which is why we like the off-peak times

We found a superb apartment on AirBnB at a rate we thought was very reasonable. On Upper Street, which a friend says is THE place to be, it has superb views of the north beach and the town and it more than lived up to expectations. Lynne is very picky and spends a long time on all the platforms until she finds the perfect fit. It must be spacious, have our own entrance, have a view and somewhere to sit outside, good free WiFi, off road parking, and must, of course, be comfortable. A good TV is a bonus, but we take our computers so we can watch Britbox on them. John's has a 24" screen, better for editing photographs - and watching TV. We like a good kitchen, as Lynne likes to cook, and John likes a braai. Modern requirements nowadays are lots of plugs and a table and chairs where we can work and play on our computers at night. Oh, and hooks in the bathroom to hang clothes while you shower. So few places have got there yet, but they will. This place was a very good fit. Just a few steps into the apartment

A large and very comfortable bedroom with an en suite shower bathroom

It is down three steps from the main room and there was ample storage space

The small balcony was a dream to sit out on, as it is completely sheltered from the South Easter
which can plague the south beach

And this is the view. We loved the different moods of the sea and its lovely wave sounds, especially late at night
Those aloes and trees in front are bursting with bird life

The main room with a large dining/work table and the Binnebraai (inside barbeque and fireplace). A welcome fan and tiled floor throughout

A gas stove top, a microwave and all the other implements you need for two people

Looking back up the hill from the beach, you can see our house,
in front of the palm, top right, with two white towels on our balcony
The large house below our apartment is also available for rent
You can walk down to the beach quite quickly, but Lynne can’t climb hills well with her hip problem, so we drove

It’s a spectacular beach and very popular, not only with swimmers, but kite and surf skiers, bodyboarders,
stand up paddleboarders and, especially, surfers on the side nearest our place

Three boys on Yzerfontein beach, trying to move a heavy rock to build a fort

Waves advancing on Yzerfontein beach, good for surfing

We spent a very pleasant evening with Charles and Janet Withington at their home
and drank this excellent 2013 Chardonnay, made by Charles
He  wishes he had kept more, as we do. NBC stands for Nothing But Chardonnay
It was layered and full of all the lovely golden fruit flavours one expects
with good acidity and complexity and it has lasted so well

and another excellent wine, made by Anthony de Jager at Fairview for Charles Back, from the Drie Papenfontein vineyard
A superb 2016 Darling Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Blend

Charles has also made a Brandy under his Withington brand called Voorkamer
(Afrikaans for the front room, especially of a Cape Dutch house or farmhouse)
which was enjoyed very much. Just the right thing to end the evening with, after some lovely food
We had Spar’s new pork, sage and apple sausages, expertly cooked by Charles on the braai

Early next morning the surfers were out

Good long waves, not too high

On another evening, we lit our Binnebraai and cooked over the coals; a deboned leg of lamb
which we had brought with us, from Woolworths. It was pre-marinated in red wine, herbs and garlic, Greek style


We had also brought a large aubergine from our garden and that went on the braai too and cooked perfectly

Aubergine, crisp skin and gooey inside; tender and medium rare lamb

One of the lovely sunsets

The perfect match for the lamb was a bottle of Haskell Aeon Stellenbosch 2013 Syrah,
made by talented winemaker and member of the Cape Winemakers Guild, Rianie Strydom
Spiced cherry on the fragrant nose, it is light in texture, but not in flavour,
with cherry, raspberry and rhubarb in layers on the fruity palate
Spice and black pepper with still a few grippy but supple chalky tannins, showing it has more to give in future
Lovely with the Mediterranean style lamb and aubergine

We had a lazy day the next day and a walk on the beach at the end of it
We had a little cloud and some rain mid week but it just gave us the excuse to put up our feet and relax
- and wash our dirty car in the rain water

Die Groot Klip (The Big Stone) is a small rocky island in the bay at Yzerfontein

Most of the weekenders leave, so not many people on the beach

Walking on Yzerfontein beach at high tide another day

A middle aged bearded man, wearing a wet suit and a hat, surfing off the beach at Yzerfontein, late afternoon

It becomes a daily necessity, if the weather holds, to go for a walk
We prefer the evening, but many locals were out from very early
One day, Lynne woke before 5 and watched the sun come up. And then went back to bed!

Children, people and Hartlaub's gulls on Yzerfontein beach, early evening

Lovely soft evening light on wet sand

A group of women and children celebrating a 40th birthday

Serious swimmers and 'dippers'

A Kite surfer in a strong wind on another day

The wind was very strong, so they retreated after being blown quite far down the bay

Some great waves to fly over

Experts, needing no assistance getting out to sea

Good Night!


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Posted by MENU at 11:06 am 0 comments

Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Fish and Chips at Skafti, Yzerfontein

Lynne was just not up to cooking on our first night in Yzerfontein, so we decided to try out one of the restaurants;
Skafti, which is just at the beginning of town opposite the great Spar supermarket, is known for its seafood
We chatted to a couple from Johannesburg at the next table, who had ordered a huge mixed seafood platter to share,
and some oysters, and it all looked very good
They were enjoying a bottle of Sea Salter from Groote Post, which the restaurant manager told us is extremely popular
It is one of our favourite Sauvignons and we know that it goes so well with this sort of food
Skafti has a very good wine list of local wines
The Darling wine farms are all close enough for visits and the wines are worth taking home

Another family having a long dinner with many wines and lots of good food

We ordered the Hake and Chips and they were sensational
A good-sized portion of VERY fresh fish,
pearly and flaking in a very crisp, but not greasy, batter and super crisp and crunchy chips
It’s served with a lemon butter sauce

A strange piece of art on their wall

John took this picture through their window, looking down the hill at the road into Yzerfontein from the R27
It was Friday evening and many weekenders were streaming in

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Posted by MENU at 6:06 pm 0 comments
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