We met in front of the
wine cellar at Klein Roosboom and had a welcoming glass of their bubbly
An innovative flower
arrangement
Petal strewn pathway
into the cellar
We sit to hear about the
Durbanville Season of Sauvignon which will be held on Saturday and Sunday 5th and 6th October
Winemaker Thys Louw of Diemersdal
tells us how we will taste the wines
with the food pairings in the cellar. There was lots to taste. It was a very
good way to experience the wine as well as sample some dishes from four of the
local Durbanville wine farm restaurants.
Karin de Villiers, owner
an winemaker of Klein Roosboom tells us about her wines
While the media listens,
makes notes, takes photos and tweets
Smoked trout, orange
segments, lime, ricotta cheese with mixed baby leaves and vanilla to match the
De Grendel Sauvignon Blanc 2013. A
wonderful match by Chef Ian Bergh of De Grendel echoing the wines flavours and
complexity perfectly
From Chef Louisa Greeff
of Durbanville Hills, Smoked snoek pate topped with cape gooseberry jelly and a
bread stick. Good but rather difficult
to eat, we had to resort to the back of a fork!
Paired with Hillcrest’s passion fruit and lime dominated Sauvignon
This is her menu and
wine pairing
Chef Barend Gouws at
Cassia’s (on Nitida) menu and the wines they were paired with
Daring colour
combinations from him with his smoked west coast sea salt marinated gravadlax,
cooked beetroot a poached quails egg topped with a little under-seasoned
Maltaise sauce. This went well with all three wines. He also did a small double baked camembert
soufflé with a parmesan crisp, blue cheese mousse and green fig preserve we
enjoyed.
Chef Barend Gouws with
his dish
Someone has been burning
the candles in the cellar while writing in a ledger. Very Edgar Allan Poe
Chef Ian Bergh of De
Grendel’s menu with his wine pairings. Lynne found the Spanspek Gazpacho very
challenging as it contained two of her most disliked ingredients: fresh
cucumber and fresh coriander but the sweet melon helped a lot and it did indeed
match the wine extremely well. His Granadilla
parfait with a cold savoury marscapone ice cream, a tuille and fresh granadilla
was an absolutely beautiful dish, possibly one to try to recreate at home.
Chefs preparing the
salmon salad in one of the wine kuipe – old concrete wine tanks which still
have wine residue on their surfaces
The menu of Chef Nic van
Wyk from Diemersdal was judged the most innovative and delicious of the day by
many of us. His simple green apple panna
cotta was soft, creamy and perfectly wobbly, such a good counterpoint to the
crisp apple and gooseberry in the wines.
His Waldorf like salad with the best local smoked chicken we have tasted
so far was inspiring. Then came his apple marinated slices of pork belly charcuterie
with a green apple dressing which brought out minerality from the wines.
Norman McFarlane
Lynne talking to Nic van Wyk
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2013