Thursday, November 01, 2018

Wade Bales Cap Classique and Gin Affair at Grand Africa Café & Beach

On one of the hottest days in October we ventured to the Waterfront by bus to attend Wade Bales Cap Classique and Gin Affair at the Grand in the Waterfront. There were over 60 of South Africa’s premium MCCs  and about 50 local craft and international gins to taste, with local producers present to share their knowledge. No one drives to an event like this

 The Sea Point Pavilion was full to bursting and people had their bright umbrellas up to protect them from the punishing sun
This week's headline photo. Kids at the seaside, drying off on the hot ground
Nothing changes, just what we did when we were this age
On arrival we collected our tasting glasses and headed to the area under a marquee where the bubbles were being served. First to Villiera winemaker Nathan Valentine for a taste of the wonderful Brut Monro. They also had their whole Tradition range of MCC wines
Something new. Astraeus Rose and Brut from Waterkloof. It has spent only 9 months on the lees
The Iceman cometh! Villiera’s Paul Kruger keeping up with the heat of the day
Two on offer from Steenberg, their Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc and their 1682 Chardonnay MCC
Lynne trying out the Stellenrust Clement de Lure MCC NV
The Grand is on the beach, hence the sea sand. And the heat had everyone in casual beach attire
Francois Jacques Malan on the Simonsig stand with some of our favourite bubbles
The selection
Lots of seating for people to sit and eat lunch and enjoy something to drink
John and Karin Loubser's daughter Fain showing off her family's Silverthorn bubbles
Yachts in the bay in the heat haze
This catamaran came close for a look at the show
Haute Cabrière winemaker Tim Hoek showing the Pierre Jourdan range
Enjoying the bubbles if not the heat!
Petra and Nico van der Merwe with their Nico van der Merwe Nicolas MCC NV
Nico van der Merwe. The face of the name on the bottle
Can I buy some please?
Studying the menu. It is quite eclectic with low, medium and very high prices, but something for everyone
Scotch? No, Gin... Kirsty’s Gin from Arbikie Highland Estate in Scotland
Media friends Jan Laubscher and Anel Grobler enjoying the day
Your entrance ticket got you six large oysters, which John enjoyed very much

For lunch we ordered the fish and chips which is a huge portion of two pieces of battered cod, with lovely crisp chips, mushy peas, a tartare sauce and lemon slices for R125. It was so large we ate one and took the other home for supper
It was much cooler inside the bar area
Deep South gin. They were very generous with the samples, Lynne enjoyed a classic gin and tonic and found it very good. It is quite a classic gin, thankfully not too many additions and no rooibos or coloured rose or pomegranate additions. The Fitch and Leeds tonic works well, not too sweet
A nicely mixed crowd of young and old
Ginologist gin
Finery Pink Gin with additions
Two pretty girls having fun
and Beefeater were there too
In the Gin Palace
Lots of gin fans in Cape Town, its the IN thing to drink at the moment
An array of glasses and samples on the grand piano. A fun Affair indeed. We took an Uber home
Johannesburg readers can enjoy the Wade Bales Cap Classique & Gin Affair 2018 
on 24th & 25th November at the Southern Sun Hyde Park Roof Top Terrace Bar
Limited Early Bird Tickets are available at R250 per person until Monday 5th November, thereafter Full Price Tickets will cost R350
Both sets of tickets include a Champagne glass, unlimited tastings of all bubbly and gin products showcased on the day, as well as 6 fresh oysters to round off the occasion
Additional food options will be on sale. It’s going to sell-out fast, so book your tickets today! 
Go to QUICKET
Posted by MENU at 7:29 am 0 comments

Tasting Paul John Indian whiskies at the Cape Grace

Another interesting invitation from Hector McBeth to taste Whisky; this time from Goa in India. We have tasted Japanese and Scotch whiskies with him on previous occasions. Held in the Bascule Lounge at the Cape Grace Hotel; where else? It has the best whisky collection in South Africa. We were to taste five whiskies from Paul John
We met Michael d’Souza, the Paul John master distiller. They introduced their whiskies in South Africa in 2017 and believe that there is a market for them here. They wanted to see what we and several other whisky lovers thought of them
The line up of whiskies. This is the number 1 Whisky brand in India. Three have not yet been bottled: numbers 1, 2 and 4. They wanted to know which were our favourites for this market. They were recently awarded a Trophy at the Michelangelo Awards for No. 5. The 6 row barley used (it is low in protein) is grown in the Himalayas and their water is rainwater, collected during the 4 month monsoon in Goa. It is free of magnesium salts. In their heat, they lose a very high share to the angels. The whisky is stored below ground, where it is cooler, darker and not humid. Their casks are imported from Cordoba in Spain and the whisky is in barrel for 8 and 6 years. Because of the temperature, 8 years is the equivalent of 20 years for Scotch whisky
The first was from a single cask of 8 year old, matured underground. 58%. It has caramel, roasted nuts, vanilla and tropical fruit notes on the nose; soft, then hot on the palate, reminiscent of hot chilli! Lots of perfume and vanilla. With a drop of water, it is softer, more perfumed like Chanel; floral, roses, gardenias, with vanillins from the wood, creamy and some smoke on the end. No. 2 was matured in Oloroso legacy oak, a Montilla cask. Nutty, almost a sherry nose, dark caramel, a very pretty, complex nose with Oloroso notes. Sweet and salty, with nuts, perfume; more complex than No. 1, more layered and at 55%. Fruit on the palate, raisins, sultanas, pineapple and maple syrup. With water, complex and layered richness, dry and crisp and fruity with roasted pineapple. Long flavours
Hector taking us through the tasting. Most people attending had taken a whisky course. No. 3 is the Christmas Limited Release, selling for R675 and only 500 cases made. Caramel, treacle, then interesting green notes; 46%. It is medicinal, almost pyrazine notes; nuts, apricots, caramel toffee and salt on the nose. Soft, sweet caramel nuts, treacle and orange rinds, nice and complex; the peat is shy on the palate. but adds something. Light smoke. The salt shows; with some water, the peat appears, treacle toffee, darker caramel, cooked apricots, and tart tatin apples, minerality too. It was a popular whisky at the tasting. No. 4 is a single cask 100% peated whisky at 60%. The peat is imported from Aberdeen, Islay and some from Ireland. Medicinal peat notes from Aberdeen, with honey and citrus under the peat, with leather & tobacco on the nose. A tiny sip and don’t light a match. Over peated for Lynne, the peat flavour stayed on her palate for too long. John loves this style, as did those who like peat, so it’s a personal choice
The final whisky was made in first and second fill American oak, and is 100% peated. A peat monster on the nose for those who love it, with smoky bacon wood, caramel and is bottled at 46%. Soft, sweet caramel on the palate, with a peat kiss on the end. Honey and nuts, and full in texture. With water, it changes: salty and smoky rather than peaty, silky on the palate; hiding the peat well, but it is present, as is the wood. Apricots and nuts with salty minerality on the end. Surprising and very well integrated. Also very popular and a surprise for those of us who don't like lots of peat
Michael d'Souza asking us which we preferred. They will make the most popular ones available locally. We were not the only group who were tasting these whiskies in Cape Town; they were also presented at the Whisky Live show in Johannesburg
Then some snacks were served and we relished them after the whisky
Some crisp meaty spring rolls with a dipping sauce
Roast beef on rosti
A rich creamy mushroom soup in demitasse coffee cups
Tiny salads with roasted butternut
A creamy snoek paté
Posted by MENU at 12:15 am 0 comments

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Launch of Roodeberg Rosé at Chart Farm

On a lovely summery day, we journeyed to the restaurant at Chart Farm in Wynberg for tea in the garden and the launch of KWV's new Roodeberg Rosé wine
Lots of beautiful roses from the farm surround a bowl of chilled bottles of Roodeberg Rosé
We sat under umbrellas and enjoyed the wine. It is made from Shiraz and Cabernet with a little Cinsault and Mourvedre added. It is made from free run juice and has brief skin contact, but not very much, as they need to keep the colour light pink. It is refreshing and is full of strawberry, raspberry and litchi notes on the nose and palate, with good fruit acidity
Lovely to just quaff, but a good food wine as well, especially for summer dishes. The alcohol is a low 12.5% and it retails for R85 a bottle. It was first made in 2014 when it was launched into the international market, where they sell 90% of the 100 000 litres they produce. Now, they are introducing it into the local market to grow the volumes. More and more of us, men and women, are enthusiastic about drinking good dry rosé wines
PRO Gudrun Clark dressed in the lovely rose colour
KWV Roodeberg Brand Manager Carli Jordaan told us about the wine
Next year, Roodeberg will celebrate its 70th birthday and they are planning celebrations
"This wine" she said "is a summer patio sharing wine"
Louwritz Louw of KWV is the wine maker
Nicely frosted bottle and a beautiful colour; we think that it will be very popular
Then it was time for tea and we could help ourselves to this amazing selection of cakes, quiches, tiny éclairs, scones, vol au vents, pasteis de nata, fruit kebabs and smoked salmon rolls. The quality of everything was superb. Well done Sandra Engelen, owner of the restaurant at Chart Farm, and her friendly staff. It was very hard to resist and not eat too much. The cakes, especially, were light as a feather and the quiches with their cheese pastry were really moreish
A savoury selection for those of us who do not have a very sweet tooth. Vol au vents at the top, smoked salmon rolls in the middle and egg mayonnaise rolls on the bottom layer. All went very well with the Rosé. We were allowed to pick a few of the beautiful roses to take home
Those fruit kebabs. Make time for a return visit to the Chart Farm restaurant now that summer is here. And thank you Roodeberg for a well matched and managed function

Posted by MENU at 11:38 pm 0 comments

MENU’s Wine of the Week. KWV Roodeberg 2018 Rosé

It is made from Shiraz and Cabernet with a little Cinsault and Mourvedre added. It is made from free run juice and has brief skin contact, but not very much, as they need to keep the colour light pink. It is refreshing and is full of strawberry, raspberry and litchi notes on the nose and palate, with good fruit acidity
Lovely to just quaff, but a good food wine as well, especially for summer dishes. The alcohol is a low 12.5% and it retails for R85 a bottle. It was first made in 2014 and was launched into the international market where they sell 90% of the 100 000 litres they produce. Now they are introducing it into the local market to grow the volumes. More and more of us, men and women, are enthusiastic about drinking good dry rosé wines. Available in supermarkets and wine outlets
Posted by MENU at 10:24 pm 0 comments

Thursday, October 25, 2018

This Week’s MENU. Prescient Chardonnay Report, Malanot wines at Table Seven, Stellenbosch Cabernet, 95 at Parks lunch, Lemon Chicken in Paprika, Thelema Cabernet


Weltevrede vineyards and the Breede River as it flows through Bonnievale
Summer has hit us with a bang. Not much more than a week ago, we were still lighting a fire in the living room’s little cast iron stove. Now we are sweltering in 36º heat and the weather gurus tell us that we ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. We will be visiting Robertson on Sunday through Tuesday to visit Wine on the River and a few farms and we’ve been told to expect 44ºC there. In the Cape, every year, with the heat comes fire and this week has seen a devastating wildfire at Vermaaklikheid in the Southern Cape, a fire in Khayelitsha which made several thousand people homeless and a catastrophic wine warehouse fire. In the latter, Nativo Wines lost all their stock, Kleine Zalze and Stellenbosch Vineyards suffered significant losses and Spier is waiting for an assessment of damage to some of their valuable collection of older wines. We were invited to a tasting of the Spier vintage wines which has now been postponed; a disappointment, but nothing compared to the loss experienced by many others. If you'd like to help the people who lost their homes in Khayelitsha, money donations can be made to the Mayoral Relief Fund as follows: Nedbank Account: 1158667043 Branch code: 198765 Ref: A009
On a much happier note, the finalists for this year’s Diners Club Winemaker of the Year Awards have been announced. The finalists are Arco Laarman (Laarman Cellar Services at Avondale Wines), Ronell Wiid (Bartinney Private Cellar), Clayton Reabow (Môreson), Andries Burger (Paul Cluver Estate), Carl van der Merwe (DeMorgenzon) and Murray Barlow (Rustenberg Wines). The Young Winemaker of the Year finalists are Bobby Wallace (Iona Vineyards), Juandré Bruwer (Diemersdal Estate), Philip Viljoen (Bon Courage Estate), Rudger van Wyk (Stark-Condé Wines) and Philip Theron (Glen Carlou). The winners will be announced at a gala dinner at La Residence in Franschhoek on November 24th

Prescient Chardonnay Report   
This year, the WineMag.co.za Prescient Chardonnay Awards presentation was held at the new Norval Art Gallery on Steenberg wine estate in Constantia. It was our first visit and we were very impressed and intend to visit again to see more of the gallery and eat in the restaurant which we hear is good. We gathered downstairs on the terrace with a glass of Steenberg MCC…

Malanot wines with lunch at Table Seven, Salt River   
Cape Wine Master Marius Malan makes his Malanot Wines on Summerhill estate in Stellenbosch from bought in grapes (he also makes their wine). We were given an opportunity to meet him and taste his wines this week at a very good venue in Salt River. Table Seven is not a conventional restaurant…

Stellenbosch Cabernet - 2017 Vintage Preview at Lanzerac 
An interesting invitation to this event, one we were keen to attend. The chance to taste and possibly future purchase En Primeur 2017 vintage Cabernet Sauvignons from 32 of the best producers in Stellenbosch. They group themselves under the title Stellenbosch Cabernet Collective. Wine Cellar was involved and you could place your orders with them. This is a varietal that Stellenbosch excels at and they produce wines that echo Bordeaux in style and weight even though our climates and terroir could not be more different….

Lunch at 95 at Parks, Wynberg     
A memorable lunch at 95 at Parks restaurant this week brought back lots of memories. It was where we had our first official date, on Lynne’s birthday 19 years ago. And, sadly, this was the first time we had been back. It was then under the expert hand of Michael Olivier. Now, the restaurant is ably run by Giorgio Nava who also has 95 Keerom, 95 at Morgenster and Carne. It has an Italian theme and Lynne had spotted a voucher on Hyperli for their current special, which prompted our long delayed visit. We love proper Italian food (and we don't mean pasta and pizza) and the menu had Lynne’s favourite dish, Fegato (liver), which the Italians do so well. The house has a large vegetable garden and the produce is used in the dishes. Inside, some large murals from the past…

On the MENU this week. Lemon Chicken in Paprika with Haricot beans
A simple and very aromatic supper dish for two. This would be good with crusty rolls or ciabatta bread to soak up the juices. And delicious served with a good Chenin Blanc. We enjoyed it with the Ormonde Chip off the Old Block Chenin from Darling

MENU’s Wine of the Week. Thelema 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon   
Tasted at the Cabernet Sauvignon Collective held at Lanzerac this week, we were so impressed with this wine. We were invited to a master class of some older wines paired with their current iterations. Put this wine into context: we tasted it with seven other wines, all of which were very noteworthy. The winemaker, Rudi Schultz, took us through the tasting…


25th October 2018
Follow us on Facebook


© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2018
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

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

Posted by MENU at 10:19 pm 0 comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)