This
very popular bubbly festival is always held in what seems to be the hottest
time of the year so we were relieved to find the temperature still in the 20's
on Sunday. The theme this year was Black and White with a touch of
"Bling!" and we must say people did dress accordingly with some very
smart attire. They had moved the stage back and there were thankfully lots more
tables and umbrellas. We tasted many new releases and a couple of very different
Methode Cap Classique bubbles and a couple of classic French champagnes as
well
The first glass is always the best
The festival is held on the lawns next
to the Huguenot monument
The MasterCard jugglers. Slight irony
there! Lots of us do it. They were the sponsors
Greta Fox puring on the Charles Fox stand (Elgin), tasting his lovely Blanc de Blanc and his new release
The lovely Kathy van Niekerk on the
Boschendal stand had just the right amount of bling and some excellent Brut Rosé MCC
As well as the impressive Jean de Long
MCC
Bartho and Suné Eksteen having fun
with Henk and Monica van Niekerk of Paul René
There is always a huge and eager crowd
at the Colmant stand
A classic champagne fountain on the Pongracz
stand. The best use for that style of champagne glass!
Raymond Ndlovu, who is a partner at
Black Elephant wines, pours us a taster of their MCC. They were all kitted out
in their bike racing gear, very chic
Lots of tables and umbrellas, everyone
was seeking a bit of shade
The girls on the Genevieve stand – Owner/winemaker
Melissa Nelsen and Colleen Cook
Great packaging for Christmas, already
gift wrapped
Looking oh so cool on the Steenberg
stand were Caroline van Schalkwyk and her team
Our great lunch came from the Cabrière
stand and was called the Combo. One roll with smoked salmon and horseradish
cream, the other with rare roast beef and a garlicky Hollandaise sauce
The Piper-Heidsieck stand was also
extremely popular as people vied to taste the real French champagne
And next door on the Lanson stand, Karin
Visser was also offering Louis Bouillot Crémant de Bourgogne alongside the
Lanson Black Label
"What am I doing here?"
Another lovely French champagne to
taste was the Billecart-Salmon, served by an elegant Adri Roux with great
panache and bling
Angels on sticks, not horseback
A happy Bennie Stipp of De Wetshof and
assistant winemaker Jamie Luckhoff with their delightful Pinot Noir 2008 Brut
MCC
Kerryn Lancaster, Marketing Manager:
Wines at KWV, showed us a brand new limited release offering from Laborie,
launched for the first time at this festival, a top of the range MCC Brut, The
Jean Taillefert Prestige Cuvee Pinot Noir - crisp creamy and floral with lovely
dry fruit and a good mousse
Served with a silver and gold macaron.
How is this for bling!
The Silverthorn team with Karen and
Tivon Loubser, Khuselo Mputa of Grande Provence and Faine Loubser
Lynne having fun with Paul Kruger of
Villiera and Hannes Meyer of Simonsig on the Simonsig stand
A desert rose
The Malan family of Simonsig, Michael, Diane and Johan
with the triple magnum of Kaapse Vonkel MCC, the first MCC to be produced in
South Africa. We absolutely loved their Brut Royale
It’s always good to see Zahra Manji, a
Main Ingredient customer from our early days
Tasting Claudia MCC on the Domaine des
Dieux stand with Megan Parnell and Shayne Mullis
A novel way to use your bubbly corks!
With Domaine des Dieux
Jean-Philippe Colmant and Alison
Some girls having fun with Jenny Prinsloo,
CEO
of the Franschhoek Wine Valley and lots of Veuve Clicquot
Wine people having a party. Theo
Basson of Ormonde, Suné and Bartho Eksteen, Alan and Therese Mullins and Berinda
Basson
Some more corks for John’s muselet
collection to go up on the wall in our wine cellar. The only rule is that we have to
have tasted the bubbly
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015
