A misty spring
day near Stellenbosch
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A Vintage day at the 330th Anniversary
of Boschendal Vines were first planted in the Cape in
1655 by Jan van Riebeek. Boschendal in the Franschhoek valley was established
thirty years later in 1685. They invited us to join them in commemorating 330
years of wine at Boschendal last week. There was a special gala dinner on
Wednesday 12th of August; we were invited, with other media, to a celebration
lunch on Thursday 13th of August.
We don't mind dressing up for an event but when you
get an invitation to a 330 year anniversary lunch and the invitation says
"Dress: Vintage" we did have a few anxious moments wondering what we
were going to wear. Especially as we were being collected at 10h45 from the
Waterfront. To wear Jacobean dress? Would we fit in the bus? To go as peasant
farmers of one of the periods since wine was planted in the Cape? We certainly
didn't have anything suitable in our cupboards. Lynne slept on the problem and
came up with the solution. We have our own vintages and so we dressed
accordingly. It was a marvellous celebration. Read on…..
Vrede and Lust show us their wines Back again to Franschhoek on Friday for a
tasting of some new wines and a vertical tasting of one of Vrede and Lust's two
flagship wines, The Boet Erasmus (Simonsberg-Paarl): a Bordeaux style blend of
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. This was followed by a
light lunch in Lust restaurant. This is one of the most energy efficient green
farms in the Cape. The vineyards vie for space with solar panels. Read on…..
Planting a new vineyard at the Vineyard
Hotel Twice a year, or more, we are invited to
come and tend the vine of which we have been made custodians in the Vineyard
Hotel’s small vineyard. This is the time of year when we go to prune our vine
(and others whose owners cannot attend) and each year we learn a little more of
this art from very skilled people. Last Saturday, we pruned and then we were
delighted to help them plant up a new small vineyard of Chardonnay, on a newly
acquired property alongside the current vineyard. We were rewarded with a really
lovely lunch and some special wines made by the vineyards that sponsor the vine
rows. Read on…..
The Big Bottle Affair And
what a social affair this festival was. Held at The Cape Town Club in Queen
Victoria Street, it is a chance to taste wines matured in big bottles from
magnum size(contains 2 bottles) and upwards. You may not know that wine matures
much better in a bigger bottle and of course they are very useful for parties
and large dinners. The wine farms taking part had tables on both floors in all
the available rooms and some of the top chefs from those wine farms prepared
food to complement the wines. It was incredibly well attended, so it was a
little crowded and, because we had a fantastic warm Spring day, it was rather
hot. Air conditioning is needed. The wines were magnificent. Read on…..
Thelema & Sutherland Trade tasting
at Auslese The Webb family own both these brands, the
Thelema wines are grown on the property at the top of Helshoogte pass in
Stellenbosch and the Sutherland wines are grown in Elgin. This was a chance to
taste the newly released or soon to be released wines and some of the older
wines. Chef Harold Bresselschmidt, the owner of Auslese and Aubergine
restaurant supplied some small dishes to pair with 6 of the wines. Read on…..
This week's easy recipe is Pork Fillet
with Bacon Jam We were given a jar of Bacon Jam with
brandy as a gift when we visited Lush Bistro and Bakery at Vrede and Lust wine
farm near Franschhoek and Lynne wanted to use it in a dish. This is remarkably
easy, but first source your Bacon Jam. Other people do make this interesting
condiment. It’s a rendering down of finely chopped crisp bacon, bacon fat, a
kick of brandy and some slight sticky sweetness. Marvellous on eggs, or
sandwiches or used as a relish with food.
Pork Fillet stuffed with
Bacon Jam
1 fresh pork fillet, approx 200g - 1 jar of
bacon Jam - 2 t canola or olive oil - 5 large cloves - salt and pepper
Using a sharp knife, remove any fat or silver skin from
the surface of the fillet. Cut a small pocket in the fillet, but leave the ends
closed. Season it inside and out. Put a generous amount of Bacon jam inside the
pocket and seal up the loin with a skewer. Briefly brown the outside of the fillet
in some oil or butter in a small pan. Cool slightly, then rub some more Bacon
Jam on the outside and stick the five cloves into the top of the loin. Put the
pan with the fillet in the oven for 10 minutes to roast; remove, cover with
foil and rest for another 10 minutes. Remove the cloves and the skewer, slice
thickly and serve. This goes well with baked potatoes, or try sweet potato,
celeriac or butternut mash. Add lots of steamed vegetables and you have a very
quick and easy meal with lots of flavour. You could add a simple meaty or wine
gravy made from the pan juices and a spoonful or 2 more of the jam. Serves two.
Coming Events:
AUGUST
Friday, 28th August The Vineyard Hotel Tastes of 2015 continues
with their series of fine Wine Dinners. This dinner will focus on a selection
of the 2015 SA Shiraz Challenge Winners. This experience includes a five course
dinner paired with a selection of fine wines from these premium Shiraz
producers. The cost is R370.00 per person, which includes all wines and dinner.
For bookings and more information please call reservations on 021 657 4500 or email eat@vineyard.co.za
Friday, 28th & Saturday, 30th August Franschhoek
Wine & Dine (Johannesburg) For more information and accommodation bookings, please
call 021 876 2861 or visit www.franschhoek.org.za
Saturday, 29th August Pinotage On Tap (Jhb) will take place at Val Bonne Estate, Modderfontein. For those of
you who already have your tickets - we look forward to having an awesome
festival with you! And for those who have not yet got their tickets.... What
are you waiting for?! For more information, and details on Cape Town and Durban
events, please visit our website at www.diemersfontein.co.za. Tickets available at Computicket
Sunday, 30th August from 10h00 to
15h00 Groote Post’s Country Market.
Celebrate The Change Of Season with 1st September around the corner and the
spring flowers beginning to bloom. Head out to the Darling Hills, for their
first monthly market of the new season. Guests can expect artisan foods, arts
and crafts, home-ware and décor, and Groote Post wines. Look out for their 2015
wines as this harvest is reputed to be one of the best ever. Must-haves will be
the Groote Post Sauvignon Blanc 2015 and the Groote Post Rosé 2015, made
exclusively for the monthly markets. An exciting line-up of entertainment will
be on offer. Local band Klassik will be performing live, delighting all with
their Swartland Shuffle. “Augustus”, a highly-acclaimed short play by a
visiting Dutch theatre group at 11h30. Tickets cost R30 per person and booking
is essential as seats are limited. To book, call 022 451 2202 or email eldre@iloveyzer.co.za. Entry is free of
charge. For further information contact Eldré Strydom 082 877 6677
or eldre@iloveyzer.co.za www.grootepostcountrymarket.co.za · Facebook.com/GrootePostCountryMarket · @GPCountryMarket.
Directions: Follow the R27 West Coast Road towards Langebaan. Turn right onto
the Darling Hills Road opposite Grotto Bay turnoff. After 10 km, turn right to
the Groote Post cellar. Or take the R307 out of Darling towards Cape Town and
turn off at the Darling Hills Road. After 7km turn left to the Groote Post
Cellar. GPS Coordinates: S 33° 29’ 0.5” E 018° 24’ 35.0
Monday, 31st August, 18h00 to 19h00 Sip and Sample at The
Vineyard Hotel with Oneiric Wines. Bordered by the iconic
Kogelberg Biosphere, a world heritage site and home to the greatest variety of
plant species in the world, ‘oneiric’ translates into “what dreams are
made of”. This farm produces Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz and their
‘Cousin Jack’. A representative from the estate will host the hour-long tasting
from 18h00. The tasting is free of charge. For more information, please call
021 657 4500 or alternatively visit www.vineyard.co.za.
Learn about wine and cooking We receive a lot of enquiries from
people who want to learn more about wine. Cathy
Marston and The Cape
Wine Academy both run wine education courses, some very
serious and others more geared to fun. You can see details of Cathy’s WSET and other courses here and here and the CWA courses here. Karen Glanfield has taken
over the UnWined
wine appreciation courses from Cathy. See the details here
The Hurst Campus, an accredited school for people who want to become
professional chefs, has a variety of courses. See the details here
In addition to his
Sense
of Taste Culinary Arts School, Chef Peter Ayub runs a
four module course for keen home cooks at his Maitland complex. Details
here
Nadège Lepoittevin-Dasse has French cooking classes in Noordhoek
and conducts cooking tours to Normandy. You can see
more details here
Emma Freddi runs
the Enrica Rocca cooking courses at her
home in Constantia
Nicolette van
Niekerk runs baking courses at La Petite Patisserie in Montague
Gardens
George Jardine
will be running a series of winter cooking courses and other activities at
Jordan. Details here
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
Our Adamastor
& Bacchus© tailor-made Wine, Food and Photo tours take
small groups (up to 6) to specialist wine producers who make the best of South
Africa’s wines. Have fun while you learn more about wine and how it is made!
Tours can be conducted in English, German, Norwegian and standard or Dutch-flavoured
Afrikaans.
If you like the photographs you see in our publications,
please look at our Adamastor
Photo website for our
rate card and samples from our portfolio
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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 these
newsletters and our blogs are © John & Lynne Ford,
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