Thursday, April 11, 2019

Thokozani Ovation launch at Diemersfontein, Wellington

A very special invitation from Diemersfontein in Wellington to a Private Party to officially launch their Ovation brand - hosted by Thokozani Wines at Diemersfontein Wine Estate. This was held last Friday night and we were offered accommodation on the farm so we didn't have to drive home

 Ovation is a wine label of Thokozani Wines, originally produced (exclusively) for Woolworths - but its fame has led to it now further spreading its wings in the market. We arrived as they were getting the venue ready just before 5
We and other members of the media were put up in the Guest House. A merry band
We had the bridal suite upstairs
Very comfortable and spacious with one of those huge football pitch beds, and lovely views of the farm
At the appointed time of 6 pm we all arrived at the party and our first drink was the new Ovations Spumante, a semi-sweet sparkle, served with a fresh strawberry. On the stand were canapés which had been paired with this wine. It is very reasonably priced at R69 a bottle. We drank this while all the speeches were in progress
A wrap filled with salad leaves, guacamole and cream cheese and topped with pineapple and a sprig of fresh coriander. It did partner well with the semi-sweet spumante
Or you could have hot (in two senses of the word) peppadews stuffed with cheese
And the bottles are colourful and would liven up any party
Members of media posing for the camera
Owners of Diemersfontein, David and Sue Sonnenberg. David Sonnenberg's background in clinical and industrial psychology has always meant that he cares very much about developing the potential of staff. When he and Sue returned from the UK to run the farm in 2000, they wanted not just to run Diemersfontein as a business, but as a community. In 2007, Diemersfontein launched its empowerment company, Thokozani, with 35 staff shareholders, including its white managers so as not to artificially split the workforce. This has been one empowerment project that worked. Several of the staff shareholders who began in quite menial positions, are now in senior Director positions and are helping to run Thokozani. They have been behind the launch of the Ovation wines. You can read all about this superb project here https://www.thokozani.co.za/about/. We were at the ceremony at which the first share certificates were presented to the original shareholders. It was a moving and inspiring event
Lucy is Sue's new dog; she charmed everyone at the party
The guests began to gather and the house was brightly lit
Denise Stubbs, Managing Director of Thokozani and HR Manager of Diemersfontein Wine and Country Estate, made the opening speech and told us what was happening with the Ovation wines. The Zulu word Thokozani means to rejoice or to celebrate and that was what we were there to do. Three wines are available in Woolworths, the Sauvignon Blanc, the Merlot and the Cabernet Merlot Red blend
She told us that she took her first sip of wine at 34. David is still mentoring her and still pushing her. She said "How can we change the lives of the community? The legacy in wine of just following what your parents and their parents did is not enough. You need to transform and grow. Look at where you started and where you are now". They are celebrating a brand that is working and we must spread the word. To get their brand into Woolworths, they had to go through the same rigorous specifications that everyone else does; they were not give a free pass or an open door. The wines have to sell
She called some of the staff who are shareholders up on stage and told us how their jobs had changed. They are all successes. Tamerin Crotz started as a receptionist and is now a Director and the Hospitality Manager; Aubern Williams was a team leader and is now the tasting room Sales and Brand manager; Cheslin Prince is now Guest House Manager; Hilary Brinkhuis manages Logistics for both and is a Director
Several staff members have won important singing contests and they now have their own group. They performed several songs for us and really delighted the audience. They are very, very good
A stand at which wine and canapés would be served after all the speeches
David Sonnenberg welcomed us all and spoke about the journey they have all been on, about the future and how rewarding it is to see people fulfilling their dreams and taking advantage of these opportunities and really growing. He told us that spending time on the farm as a young child really changed his life for the better because of the people he met and interacted with, especially one of the farm workers with whom he had a special relationship
Zinzi Golotela, Woolworths Corporate Affairs, said this is a beautiful empowerment story and journey; we need more in this country. And don’t be shy about who you are and what you have achieved
Beverley Ann Schäfer is currently Western Cape Provincial Minister of Economic Opportunities, Tourism and Agriculture in the Western Cape Provincial Legislature. She spoke about empowerment and the future of agriculture and development
Winemaker Francois Roode told us about the Ovation Wines. They have had some success recently. Tsogo Sun has taken the entire stock of Pinotage for their national hotels. And the Thokozani wines have won awards, a Platinum at Michelangelo in 2017 for the SMV
Time to taste the wines and eat some canapés for supper
The Sauvignon Blanc is crisp with tropical fruit and green pepper notes, with flavours of pineapple and summer fruit

Lemon smoked artichokes with mint and baby tomatoes
A Thai coriander curry with baby prawns on a spoon
Grilled courgette ribbons, topped with goats cheese and herbs on a stick
The Merlot is quite robust, with good red berry fruit, some earthy flavours with spice and oak
The Calzone more resembled Vetkoek with some bacon and a little cheese inside. We very much enjoyed the mini potato skins stuffed with shredded lamb
The Ovation Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot red blend is full of cassis, cherry and ripe plum flavours, with nice soft tannins on the end. Good with food! These pulled pork samoosas were very welcome
A tray of canapés; we think this might have been the chicken, but we didn’t taste it; it disappeared so fast
Melanzane dip made with aubergine and a red pepper dip to accompany slices of ciabatta bread
The Thokozani Shiraz Mourvedre Viognier always delights with its complexity of fruit and flavour
and if you were not drinking and driving or just thirsty...
The speeches ended and we could go and try the wines and the canapés for supper
They had a great band called Jerry and the Bandits and we all got up to dance and have some fun
Even the slightly older members of the group can shake a leg
Rob Gower, Wine Buyer for Woolworths, enjoying the evening
and even some langarm
At about 11, we were taken into the conference room for our surprise, which turned out to be a feast of desserts. A white chocolate Croquembouche made of choux pastry buns filled with custard cream
Ice Cream Lab were making ice cream on the spot with liquid nitrogen
Mini melkterts
A creamy sago pudding
Brightly coloured macarons
And the pièce de resistance, a many layered Dobos cake that comes from Hungary. Lynne tasted walnuts in it and it was as light as a feather with a lovely creamy filling. Luckily there were two because they both vanished
A joyful group picture of all the celebrants, except the photographer, of course; he is there, just there, in your mind
and we each received a present of the two new Ovation wines
Lucy liked John; she went to sleep on his feet, a sign of approval!
Back at the house, we were cheered when we came back as all the other (younger) media people were already home and many already in their PJ's. They did sing for a while before we all went to sleep
Breakfast was in the restaurant next morning
We all gathered at a long table which kept expanding
Everyone was served with a muesli, yogurt and fruit
Coffee or tea and David joined us for a chat
And a full cooked breakfast with toast, butter, cheese and jam
bacon, scrambled eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, and fried potatoes
Others sat outside and enjoyed the fresh air
These two ducks are a pair and are active all over the farm tiding up the snails and slugs
This beautiful large sculpture carved from a dead tree is still rooted into the ground. Time to head home. Thank you all at Diemersfontein and may your success continue with all the brands. We love and respect what you are doing and where your efforts are leading you
Posted by MENU at 11:12 pm 1 comments

On the MENU this week. Avgolemono Soup


Easter will be upon us very soon and some of us are making plans to have a family lunch. With the weather not too warm, we thought a soup might be a great dish to start the meal. We love this light lemony Chicken based soup which is often served at holidays or celebrations in Greece. It is not difficult to make
Using a whole fresh chicken makes all the difference. This makes 6 - 8 Servings
1 whole organic chicken, innards removed, 1.5 kg approx - water – 2 carrots, roughly chopped – 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped – 1 onion, roughly chopped – 2 bay leaves – 5 black peppercorns – 1 t salt – half a cup rice or orzo rice shaped pasta (optional) – 3 fresh eggs, at room temperature – juice of 2 lemons, strained – zest of one lemon – salt and freshly ground black pepper – chopped parsley or a herb of your choice
Trim all the excess fat off the chicken, put into a large pot with the vegetables and add enough water to cover the chicken by 5 cm. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1½ hours. Take out the chicken, remove the meat and set aside for use later. Strain the stock to remove the vegetables and skim off any fat
Add the rice or orzo pasta, if using, and cook until tender
While the rice or orzo is cooking, whisk the eggs in a separate bowl until very frothy, then add the lemon juice to the egg in a thin stream while you continue whisking
Put 2 ladlefuls of the hot soup stock into a separate bowl, then slowly add the egg and lemon mixture. This will help to prevent the soup curdling. (Do not add the hot soup to the eggs). Put the egg and lemon soup mixture back into the rest of the soup and heat gently. Do not boil once the egg has been added
Taste and adjust seasoning to your own taste, then sprinkle on the lemon zest and some parsley before you serve Traditionally, this soup is served without the chicken meat or vegetables. We like to add some of the chicken to each bowl. You can always use them in another recipe 
Traditionally, this soup is served without the chicken meat or vegetables. We like to add some of the chicken to each bowl. You can always use them in another recipe

Posted by MENU at 3:48 pm 1 comments

Jacaranda in Wellington, South Africa's smallest registered wine estate

While we were in Wellington, we were directed by Rene Reece, the Wellington Wine Route Liaison & PR, who asked if we would like to visit the smallest registered Wine Estate in South Africa. With only 4.5 hectares, of which only 3.2 are under vines, Jacaranda Farm is producing some interesting and beautiful wines. The farm is a riot of purple when the 90 year old Jacaranda trees are in bloom. They are open 10 to 4 Monday to Saturday, closed on Sunday. http://www.jacarandawines.co.za/en/
We were warmly welcomed by the owners Rene and Birgit Reiser who were both born and raised in wine growing areas of Switzerland and Germany. They bought the farm in 2009 after starting a wine export business to China, where they lived previously. They also did extensive renovations to the property and now have guest cottages on the farm, which you can book. Their big asset is the vineyard of 40 year old bush vine Chenin Blanc. They have also planted Shiraz, Mourvedre, Viognier and Chenin Blanc
We sat on the terrace and tasted through the wines. First came their 2016 MCC Blanc de Blanc, made from the aged Chenin Blanc vines. Golden in colour and in flavour, with herbal notes, it is clean and crisp with peach and honey on the end. It spends 25 months in bottle and has a dosage added. Their first vintage was 2013. They grow organically but are not yet certified, still awaiting confirmation
The farm has five cats, most of whom made our acquaintance, if from a distance
Next came the 2018 Sauvignon Blanc, . Wellington is a very warm area for Sauvignons, often producing quite tropical flavours. No acid is added to the wine and all are low sulphur. This has perfume and herbal hints on the nose, a round mouth feel from 9 months on the lees (unwooded); it is rich and tropical with guava, apricots, has nice length and good natural acidity. A food wine. Rene does whole bunch pressing and natural fermentation. Besides wine, they grow olives, guavas and pomegranates
The 2017 Chenin Blanc is crisp and full of minerality and not the usual tropical Wellington Chenin. Natural fermentation (as with all their wines), gives firm fruit acidity and good balance
The friendly ginger
Rene showing us his new range of labels, which we like very much
Incognito 2016 has one. It’s a blend of 51% Viognier and 49% Chenin and has peaches and Chanel perfume on the nose. On the palate, good fruit acidity to balance its richness, good peach and nectarine flavours; the wine is complex and very enjoyable
Admiring the new press in the wine cellar
They use 300 and 500 litre barrels
The perfect picture of contentment
The Jacaranda 2016 'Salt', an old vine Chenin Blanc, has vanilla honey richness on the nose from the touch of botrytis on the vines, a lovely crisp entry then vanilla oak, apple and quince fruit, with warmth, complexity, minerality and more of that honey on the end. Rene told us that Tim Atkin scored it 90 points last time and has just retasted and said that it deserves more. We agree
The Early Bird Mourvedre Rosé is a coppery golden pink and has come from a whole bunch press, fermented in wood. Vanilla and red fruit on the nose, with classic Mourvedre flavours of soft fruit, umami, and a little spice; it is crisp, very refreshing with vanilla on the end. Sushi and tuna tataki might be excellent with this wine. He sells a lot to the Japanese and Swiss markets
A great new label for the Silver Lining Sauvignon Blanc
Beautiful bright Bougainvillea
The Cuvée Rouge wowed us. It's a blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Petite Verdot and 28% Merlot. Dark garnet in colour, with incense wood, rich red berries and, of course, violets from the Petite Verdot. Lovely juicy fruit - raspberries, mulberries and the violets are on the palate too. Gentle licorice wood from the 9 months in oak with some warmth and some nice chewy tannins on the end. A wine you just want to keep on drinking with or without food. We would pair this with meat dishes and rich sauces. It is our Wine of the Week
We are all growing succulents; this is a novel way to do it
And then the 2017 Rebel. Shiraz co-fermented with 15% Viognier. Incense wood, coffee chocolate mocha, violets and black cherry on the nose. Freshness on the palate initially, juicy berry fruit, elderberry complexity with chalky tannins on the end. Tim Atkin 90 points
Which one? She poses so well, it just sells the wine
Jacaranda Shiraz No 47. They have planted 4 different clones of Shiraz, "just to see how they age", says Rene. Spicy with white pepper, cumin and cinnamon, smoky oak, a quite complex nose with Rumtopf berry fruit and some chocolate. On the palate, soft elderberry, black cherry sweet fruit, then good fruit acid balancing the sweetness; complexity, wood in the background, and a hint of violet macarons. A definite food wine. Will age well and last. Tim Atkin gave it 91 points
The Estate Reserve is a blend of 60% Cabernet and 40% Merlot. This is a classic Bordeaux blend, extremely sophisticated and with the 'right' notes of wood and fruit in perfect balance. The warm alcohol is all that indicates it is not French. Red and black cherries, elderberries and black plums, with some grippy tannins to follow. Will age well, but drinking very well now if you can’t wait
The wine list. We succumbed and bought some. We are so pleased we made this discovery of these wines and these very nice people who are, like us, passionate about what they do in the wine world

Posted by MENU at 3:12 pm 0 comments

MENU's Wine of the Week. Jacaranda Cuvée Rouge

This wine wowed us when we visited last weekend. Jacaranda is the smallest registered Wine Estate in South Africa

It's a blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Petit Verdot and 28% Merlot. Dark garnet in colour, with incense wood, rich red berries and of course violets from the Petit Verdot. Lovely juicy fruit - raspberries, mulberries and the violets are on the palate too. Gentle licorice wood from the 9 months in oak with some warmth and some nice chewy tannins on the end. A wine you just want to keep on drinking with or without food and with friends. We would pair this with meat dishes and rich sauces. R115 from the farm
Posted by MENU at 2:35 pm 0 comments
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