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Thursday, February 01, 2018

Tasting at Nitida with winemaker Danie Keulder

A special tasting with the Nitída winemaker

Harvest is close and we are very grateful to winemaker Danie Keulder for guiding us through many of the excellent Nitída wines including one new one just about to be released. There are some new developments about to take place at Nitída which we hope we can reveal soon

We began at the restaurant on the terrace where we wanted to see if we could see any dragonflies on the dam, which is sadly depleted. We chatted to Nitída owner/cellarmaster Bernhard Veller and to Cassia Restaurant owner Warren Swaffield about the drought and the harvest

Then we went up to the Tasting room where there is a series of small ponds and spotted a mating pair of dragonflies on a reed and a few others

Lynne saw this large dragonfly suddenly career into the pond like a downed Boeing and flounder about, sinking

So we rescued it and are now trying to identify this suicidal specimen

Time to get out of the sun and taste some wine in the cellar

Danie joined us there and we sat down to enjoy the Nitída 2017 Sauvignon Blanc, tropical, sunny, clean and crisp with a little petillance

Next the Golden Orb unwooded Sauvignon Blanc. This is leesy with asparagus, green capsicum notes, very like a Sancerre in its clean minerality and sophistication. From a single vineyard. Their Sauvignons Blanc have always been on our best list, Lynne insisted that we served it at our wedding 15 years ago

The Wild Child Sauvignon Blanc, which is green, peppery and aromatic, 7% Semillon is added and this nicely softens it a little. A classic

The Nitída Semillon has the expected mutton fat and lime on the nose, with spice and Chanel perfume. A lovely rounded mouth feel; it is crisp and long and a little savoury

The 2015 Coronata Integration is 60% Semillon, 40% Sauvignon Blanc with classic flavours of gooseberry and elderflower on the nose and palate, with a hint of mutton fat. Delicious, crisp and clean, with some wood on the end from the Semillon which is fermented in new Sylvan oak

Danie loves to tinker with grapes, those from Nitída and some sourced from other farms

So he has made his own 'brand' called The Tinkery. This year it is a Viognier which is full of ripe apricots rather than peaches, clean, fresh, crisp and crunchy. Nice lime flavours add some refreshing acidity. This is a food wine. It has spent 10 months in wood which is almost invisible, just supporting. Yum

The 2017 Riesling is pretty and surprised us as it is showing no terpenes (a relief to Lynne) at the moment, although Daniel says it will with age. Jasmine and rose water on the nose, classic Riesling flavours, with good acidity and sugar balance, the residual sugar is 12gm/litre, so there is a hint of honeysuckle on the palate

A relaxed and smiling winemaker just gearing up for Harvest, when he will be working from dusk to dawn and beyond getting this year's harvest into the tanks and barrels as quickly as possible. Most people have no idea of what it takes out of them. They often don't have time to sleep, eat, or shave as the grapes come in and they have to be dealt with immediately. And it can go on for a couple of weeks

The barrel cellar

Danie went off to get us a barrel sample of the Pinot Noir 2017. A classic floral nose with roses and red cherries and a whiff of naartjie. On the palate it fresh cherry berry with softness, some lactic flavours, quite lovely. We will have to wait to see how it develops when its bottled

Then we tasted the current vintage of Pinot Noir 2015. It is mature with soft brandy notes on bruléed cherries, nice fresh acidity, long flavours ending with violets. Nice legs too!

The 2016 Merlot is spicy with black cherries, rounded sweet fruit, soft on the palate and warm. No faults, wood supporting and some minerality on end. Not a sign of greenness. Photographed with a wall of the dark clay soil in which it is grown in the background

2014 Calligraphy came next, a Bordeaux blend of Merlot (54%), Cabernet Franc (21%), Cabernet Sauvignon (17%) and Petit Verdot (4%). A blockbuster nose with tomato leaf, some faint volatility, loads of berry fruit. On the palate soft fruit, with fresh acidity, lighter in weight than expected, some chalky tannins, drink now

Then a preview of the 'just about to be released' Calligraphy 2015. "Made in the vineyard" says the winemaker. Again green leaves from the Cabernets, a red velvet mouth feel, soft and chalky tannins, black and red berries, mulberries and stewed red plums. The wood is showing well and there are good soft chalky tannins. We were given the bottle to take home and had it with dinner. Wow. Such a good pairing with food, but drinking so well on its own, fruity and elegant and full. Sommeliers out there, you need to taste this wine soon and order. It's a 92 plus wine

The tasting room is also the barrel cellar

The Tinkery, where Danie makes his music. Thank you so much Bernhard and Danie for your time and knowledge and for hosting us

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Thursday, January 25, 2018

This Week’s MENU. Dining with Friends, Indian supper, Cape Point Vineyards lunch, Beau Constantia, Broccoli with ginger, Avondale Syrah

Sea Point sunset with boats

Our year is slowly waking up and, in between working on more water-saving strategies, we are doing interesting things. Water, of course, is the biggest topic of conversation, even trumping the chickens coming home to roost with politicians and parastatal directors having to answer for their corrupt activities. Our regional government is trying to get the central government to see that we have a problem and take steps to help us and our local politicians are indulging in in-fighting and blame games while they should be planning how they should avert a catastrophe. We had a practice run at life with minimal water this week when mains collapsed in High Level Road and we were cut off for two days without any warning. This is going to need quite a lot of planning. Life goes on….

Dining with Friends. Old and new

We were invited last week to dinner at Suzette and Peter James's wonderful Japanese House in Claremont. Peter James, who was the Director of Communications, was Lynne's boss when she worked in Safmarine’s PR department and Suzette is a renowned cook. They regularly entertain travellers from aboard at their house and this time it was four interesting Americans

Dinner at Ninety One, an Indian Restaurant

We have been coming to Indian restaurants at this address for years and they have varied in ownership, decor, food and service. It is at 91 Main Road, Sea Point, just around the corner from Firmount Road, where we used to live. Some of the best ones lasted a while and we lament their departure, the bad ones disappeared quite quickly, for which we were thankful. The sign above the entrance still has the original Kabab Mahal sign. Sea Point is fussy when it comes to authentic Indian food - and we don't mean local or Durban Indian. Many locals have lived and travelled overseas and experienced authentic Indian or Pakistani food from the subcontinent. We had not even been aware that this latest iteration had opened, so when our friend Terry suggested we go, we went. Terry (British) lives in an area of Greece where there are no Indian restaurants, so he was keen to go and sample the food

To Beau Constantia

We have lots of overseas and local friends visiting at this time of the year and took our friend Terry on a trip to Constantia last Saturday. We also took local friends along. with whom we wanted to visit a couple of nursery and garden pot shops on the way. Beau Constantia is a wine farm at the very top of Constantia Nek with amazing views. We were there for a wine tasting and to check out the Chefs Warehouse restaurant, which is in the stable of Liam Tomlin, SA's top chef this year, as we want to eat there soon. We know and like his food and have heard such good things about this particular restaurant. The chef running this restaurant is Ivor Jones and it has a sophisticated tapas menu for one price and several courses that change regularly. www.beauconstantia.com/eat/

Off to lunch at Cape Point Vineyards

We thought we would have an informal lunch on the terrace but, having not been there for a while, we hadn't realised that the restaurant has turned into something much more formal. We didn't have a booking and they were very full, but luckily they do have lots of space and a table on the terrace was found for us. NO-ONE wanted to eat inside on a day like this. You can, of course, still do the picnics on the lawn. We didn't have a wine tasting on this visit. http://cpv.co.za/restaurant-noordhoek/. Spectacular views, good wines....

What’s on the MENU this week. BROCCOLI WITH GINGER AND GARLIC We know we need to eat more broccoli, but it can get a bit boring. This is a version you may like, with a lot of added flavour. We are braaiing steak tonight and this will be one of our accompanying vegetables

400G Broccoli – 1 T light soya sauce – 1 t chopped garlic – 1 t chopped or grated fresh peeled ginger

Break up the broccoli into bite sized pieces then wash it. Put it into a microwave container, add the soy, the garlic and the ginger and stir. Microwave at the last minute for 2 to 3 minutes on full power (depends on your microwave) then serve.

If you don't have fresh ginger use about a tablespoon of pink sushi ginger, chopped. It works very well.

MENU’s Wine of the Week: Avondale Samsara Syrah 2009

Warm and spicy on the nose at first, then incense wood and minerality appear. Full of red plums and mulberries, soft chalky tannins and long flavours with white pepper, cumin and a little clove. A wine of quality, aging well and drinking well now but years to go. We had this with Sirloin steak char-grilled on the braai

Lynne likes the meat rare but the fat well-done, hence the separation

25th January 2018

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Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172 / 083 656 4169

Postal address: 60 Arthurs Rd, Sea Point 8005

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, Adamastor & Bacchus. Our restaurant reviews are usually unsolicited. We prefer to pay for our meals and not be paid in any way by anyone. Whether we are invited or go independently, we don’t feel bad if we say we didn’t like it. Honesty is indeed our best policy. While every effort is made to avoid mistakes, we are human and they do creep in occasionally, for which we apologise. This electronic journal has been sent to you because you have personally subscribed to it or because someone you know has asked us to send it to you or forwarded it to you themselves. Addresses given to us will not be divulged to any person or organisation. We collect them only for our own promotional purposes. If you wish to be added to our mailing list, please click here to send us a message and if you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please click here to send us a message.

What’s on the MENU this week. Broccoli with Ginger and Garlic

We know we need to eat more broccoli, but it can get a bit boring. This is a version you may like, with a lot of added flavour. We are braaiing steak tonight and this will be one of our accompanying vegetables

400G Broccoli – 1 T light soya sauce – 1 t chopped garlic – 1 t chopped or grated fresh peeled ginger

If you don't have fresh ginger use about a tablespoon of pink sushi ginger, chopped. It works very well

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MENU's Wine of the Week. Avondale Samsara Syrah 2009

Warm and spicy on the nose at first, then incense wood and minerality appear. Full of red plums and mulberries, soft chalky tannins and long flavours with white pepper, cumin and a little clove

A wine of quality, aging well and drinking well now but years to go. We had this with Sirloin steak char-grilled on the braai.

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Wine tasting at Beau Constantia

Those views. You can see Constantia Glen and Eagles Nest wineries on the hill to the right

Helpful staff in the tasting room. We were a bit alarmed when we arrived to be asked if we had made a booking, as never before have we had to book at a wine tasting centre on a wine farm. However, they did find us an inside table quickly. It was a bit windy outside. Tastings cost R50 per person for 4 of their wines. The staff are enthusistic but still need abit of training, e.g. when asked if the MCC was a Blanc de blanc, the reply was, "No. it's made from Chardonnay"

It is views all round in the glass box

The wines are made by Justin van Wyk, who is also the winemaker at Constantia Glen next door. We began with the entry level Pas de Nom White blend of 97% Sauvignon Blanc and 3% Viognier. R99 a bottle. The little Viognier certainly shows itself large, as the wine is full of ripe peaches and limes with a full round mouth feel

Next wine was the Pas de Nom entry level Red wine, a blend of Cab Franc, Malbec and Shiraz which is what we were told. On checking their website they have only the 2015 which contains Merlot, Cab Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon so we are a little confused. It began soft and juicy with the Malbec showing well and has a nice kick of acid on the marmite end. R125. This was followed by the just released 2014 Lucca a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Violets on the nose and palate its soft and silky with lovely cherries and berries, layers of savoury and sweet. Needs time and is a bit tinny on the end from the tannins

Lots of young people meet there. The final wine was the 2014 Aiden, a blend of Shiraz, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon Full of spice, cinnamon, black pepper with some green leaves, dark berries and plums R245. And then, as a small surprise, they gave us a taste of their Pas de Nom MCC Blanc de Blanc. R195. Nice and crisp and dry with typical chardonnay characteristics of limes and lemons and minerality. Will sell

LIKE the sign below!

And the friendly reception at the entrance to Chefs Warehouse below the wine tasting centre. It was very busy and weekends seem to be the busiest at the moment, so we may come back during the week. You can order some of the food to be served upstairs in the Tasting room

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Lunch at Cape Point Vineyards

Ethereal foam flowers on each table. We drank two bottles of Splattered Toad Sauvignon blanc and were charged for three! Lynne noticed when she was paying the bill and was refunded. We had coffees and 2 bottles of mineral water. The bill came to R1 220 with service, less the R80 refund.

The shade was necessary ....

.... and the views are superb, looking over their dam to the long Noordhoek beach and Kommetjie

Being served, but oh wait, those shoestring chips are actually someone else's order! Actually all the food, although most dishes were the same as ours, was for another table. Ooops, we had to wait a bit longer.

Darn those looked good. Not an option to order though, they go with the Seafood Platter

The menu is quite comprehensive, if a little shy on vegetarian dishes; only one starter and one main. The prices are high, averaging R205 for main courses. This was our friend Ronnie's main course of a Baked Provençal vegetable tart with herbed cream cheese and Romesco sauce and toasted almonds. R95. Nice pastry, and good variety, he enjoyed it

Terry and Lynne (who was feeling a bit off colour after Friday’s Indian) wanted something light and simple, so went for the Pan fried Norwegian Salmon, spiced Thai vegetable and rice noodle salad, ginger, garlic, lemon grass and chilli sauce, shaved coconut and fresh lime. R195. The fish was perfectly cooked, flaky and moist within and the glaze was hot, sweet and savoury & nicely sticky. Sadly, the noodles and coleslaw were completely tasteless; they also need a dressing or some soy. You had to spread the glaze a bit

The line fish of the day, seared Yellowtail, was described on the menu as Lemon ash Cape sea line fish, lemon and chive risotto, charred leeks, spring onion and lemon crème fraiche. R195.

Lorraine ordered this starter of Roast butternut, feta, pumpkin seed and onion marmalade, mesclun salad and a verjuice honey dressing R65 as her main course

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Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Indian supper at Kabab Mahal, Sea Point

Dinner at Ninety One, an Indian Restaurant

It was not crowded at 7 pm and we like the modern decor and clean look. So much better than the flocked wall paper, chairs and tables made from logs, brass lamps and cliché pictures of the Taj Mahal, which it had in its previous existence

We had brought along a bottle of a great Gewürztraminer from our Cellar, the Paul Cluver Ferricrete 2015, which goes very well with this style of food, being robust enough to stand up to the heat and yet delicate and perfumed enough to compliment it. The corkage charge is R50 a bottle

We did not spot pappadums on the menu, but on request they brought two servings with an accompanying green coconut chutney, sadly lacking in much favour. And the good pappadums spiced with cumin seeds seemed to have been briefly microwaved rather than deep fried, so were crisp but chalky

Lemon Rice and John's Beef Madras curry, good sauce, good meat and authentic flavours. Not too fiery either. The portion of rice is very large and was ample for the two men with a spoonful donated to Lynne

She prefers to order a Naan and the one on the right is her garlic Naan. Terry ordered a Keema Naan, which has mince meat incorporated into the dough

Lynne spotted the Lamb Methi on the menu. It is one of her favourites, made with fresh fenugreek leaves and not found very often in the Cape, so she ordered it and enjoyed it very much. Not sure if it was lamb or even mutton, it tasted much more like goat, but we are fine with that; it happens often in South Africa. The sauces on all the curries are plentiful and so is the meat. Sadly, next day, she did have a rather bad stomach. The others were not affected

Terry ordered the most popular dish in the UK, the Tandoori Butter Chicken which he enjoyed. Lynne found it had a bit too much tomato, but tastes differ. You will have to go and try the food for yourself

We also took a bottle of the De Grendel Rosé, a great palate cooler made from Pinotage and also robust enough to work with curry

Sadly at about 9.30 a busload of Indian tourists arrived for their supper, which was served to them as a buffet at the back of the restaurant. They were extremely noisy, wandering around and shouting loudly at each other across the restaurant, so we and other patrons fled quickly. So we recommend an early meal if you like peace and quiet while you dine. Or phone first to see if another bus is expected

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About us

MENU, our weekly email newsletter, started as an advertising medium for Main Ingredient, our specialist retail grocery business. We opened our Sea Point shop in December 2002 because realised that there was a place in South Africa for a grocer catering to people with sophisticated tastes and needs. We moved the shop on line in 2010, but discontinued it in 2015, having decided that it is time to “retire” and concentrate on our writing, photography and tour guiding. MENU has a wide circulation and is read nationally and internationally.

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