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MENU's Wine of the Week is Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon

Lovely mulberry fruit on the rich nose. Silky soft on the palate, with layers of cassis, cherry and mulberry fruit; very soft chalky tannins, freshness and good wood support. This wine is already very accessible and will continue to impress and improve with age

All content © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus

On the MENU this week. Greek Spanakopita Spinach Pie

Image result for Spinach and feta Spanakopita pie

Image from The Dinner Ladies by Sophie Giliatt and Katherine Westwood (Murdoch Books)

750 grams fresh spinach (bagged prewashed is easier) - 20 grams fresh mint - 15 grams fresh dill - 4 or 5 spring onions - 200 grams feta cheese - 3 eggs - 250 grams filo pastry - olive oil - Sesame seeds

Heat your oven to 175°C

Microwave or steam the spinach until it is limp (3 minutes per bag). Allow to drain in a colander and when cooled, press out as much water as possible. Chop the spinach and put it into a large mixing bowl.
Chop the mint, dill and spring onions and add to the spinach. Crumble the feta cheese and add it. Crack the eggs into the mixture and stir everything together with a spoon until just combined.

Brush a 9x13 cm square pan or a similar sized round one with olive oil. Layer half the packet of filo pastry in the pan, turning each one about 30 degrees from the last one, brushing each layer lightly with olive oil on one surface.

Spread on the spinach mixture evenly and then fold the sides in to the centre. Brush each layer of the remaining filo with olive oil and slightly scrunch them up as you layer them on top of the spinach mixture, so you have no overhanging pieces of filo. Sprinkle with sesame seeds

Bake in the oven for about 35-45 minutes until the top is golden brown and crisp all over. Cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting into serving-sized pieces. Serve with thick full fat plain Greek yoghurt

All content © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus

Thursday, May 02, 2019

Elgin Cool Wine Festival - Iona

We were beginning to run out of steam, but were determined to get to the last farm on our list, one we put high on the list of essential places to visit in Elgin; Iona, 420m high on its ridge at the other end of the valley from the N2, and overlooking the Atlantic Ocean

People were enjoying the wine in the garden in the late afternoon, while the chickens pecked the ground around them

At one point, we thought we had a layer!

In the tasting room with the Cellarmaster, Werner Muller, tasting the 2018 Sauvignon Blanc

Classic Iona Sauvignon, full of green pepper, granadilla, long complex flavours and crispness

A tasting room or a garage. Andrew Gunn's latest acquisition: an immaculate 1958 Austin-Healey 100-6,

accompanied by his first car, a Porsche 356, also in immaculate condition

Lots of car envy from the visitors. He also keeps his Porsche in the tasting room

Not on view is his new Porsche 911 GT3, the ultimate performance car

Cellarmaster Werner Muller in conversation with Manny of Manny's Kitchen in Bot River

Manny's lads were serving prego rolls, calamari and huge prawns

good prices too

Next, the 2017 Chardonnay with its nice hint of wood, mellow yellow fruits, a zing of citrus acidity, peach and pear

and a finish of more lime and lemon. This has just enough soft, dusty chalk

Andrew Gunn brought out a special treat, an Iona 2006 Sauvignon blanc....

We were bowled over by how well this has lasted on both the nose and palate

It has almost a semillon note, a tiny spritzy tingle with figs; fig leaves on the nose and palate and was amazingly long and crisp

The 2016 Solace Syrah has perfume, toast and spice with dark berry fruit on the nose. Black plum fruit with cassis and black pepper; exciting to see this age. The 2015 Pinot Noir has smoky wood
and pretty rose petals on the nose. Raspberry fruit with long elegant flavours and a touch of liquorice on the end. They say comparisons are odious, but we found that the lovely 2013 One Man Band, a blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Mourvedre and Viognier. rather reminded us of Full Stop Rock from Newton Johnson, despite having completely different grapes. It's a big, bold wine. It has a complex nose of all the varietals, with violets, cassis, pepper and peach notes. Bright sweet berry fruit, a lovely melange; also with liquorice notes, chewy tannins, a seriously good wine, with a little fun added

Andrew, very kindly, fetched another, older, wine for us to taste, the 2004 Iona Merlot Cabernet. So many spoils in one day!

Brick edges, there is good fruit on the nose with incense wood

Velvety on the palate, great fruit, black and red currants and cherries, nice chalky tannins; this has lasted well

There is a touch of salt on the end

The back label of the bottle

Rozie Gunn with Solace, the Shiraz grown on her property in the valley

We were treated to some of these gigantic prawns. So special with that Chardonnay

General Manager Brad Gold's gorgeous son chewing, as you do in Elgin, on an Apple..... He is teething. Tooth no. 2

There is an amazing view from the top of the ridge over the Elgin valley

and this was what it looked like, late afternoon as we headed home

A close up of golden vines, with at least 8 ridges of mountain tops in the misty haze

A picture we would love on our wall at home. Dreamy autumn afternoon after a lovely weekend festival

Thank you to all at Iona and everyone in Elgin who showed us such kindness in your wonderful valley..

All content © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus

Brad Gold's gorgeous son chewing, as you do in Elgin, on an Apple..... He is teething. Tooth no. 2.

There is an amazing view from the top of the ridge over the Elgin valley and this was what it looked like late afternoon as we headed home.

A close up of golden vines, with at least 8 ridges or mountain tops in the misty haze. A picture we would love on our wall at home. Dreamy autumn afternoon after a lovely weekend festival. Thank you all at Iona and all in Elgin who showed us such kindness in your wonderful valley..

Wednesday, May 01, 2019

Elgin Cool Wine Festival - Almenkerk

Next down the road to Almenkerk, who also have superb views of the valley from their position, high on a hill

The main building, designed by Derick Henstra, which houses the wine cellar and tasting room, has won architectural awards

Derick Henstra also designed, more recently, the Norval Foundation building in Constantia

and the gardens are planted with sustainable local fynbos with a few Mediterranean additions like lavender and rosemary

We always enjoy meeting Natalie Opstaele. She and her husband Joris van Almenkerk bought an apple farm in 2002

and transformed it into a successful award winning wine farm with vines, and apples and pears

They were very busy... here greeting David Brown, an American visitor, who was also at the Mount Bullet tasting at Shannon

... but we managed to steal a picture of them together, looking very happy. Quite an achievement after a very hectic weekend

Off to the tasting counter to try some of the wines. Their Sauvignon Blanc was the best of the weekend for us, Capsicum and granadilla (for us, an Elgin signature), very drinkable on its own and a lovely crisp wine to go with food. Rock on Almenkerk and Elgin! The Chardonnay is clean and crisp with limes and citrus, full on the palate with some wood support. The 2014 Syrah is perfumed, with good fruit, sweet and sour freshness with a long end. And the 2015 Merlot has beautiful fruit on the nose, soft cherry berry flavours, outstanding with chalky soft tannins and fresh fruit acidity

Elgin Cool Wine Festival - Lothian

A Kokerboom aloe tree, also known as the Quiver tree from the San peoples’ practice

of hollowing out the tubular branches of Aloidendron dichotomum to form quivers for their arrows

The front of the house is covered in the most exquisite green wall we have ever seen

It is planted with different coloured Streptocarpus plants, ferns and some succulents

A view of the autumnal vines over the lake

and the pool. Lothian has luxury accommodation and some festival goers were staying there

A warm welcome awaited us from Ewen Wilson at the tasting room area, despite the early hour. We were their first customers of the day

The line-up of wines for tasting

We loved the 2018 Isobel Mourvedre Rosé. The wine is fruity, refreshing and crisp and identifiably Mourvedre

Made one think of lunch in Southern France. So we bought some

We also thought that the 2017 Chardonnay was superb

Lightly toasted Burgundy barrels impart just enough elegance to the wine;

there is a beautiful balance of fruit and wood, layers of exciting flavours of citrus, lime, butter and pineapple

So we bought some of that too

The 2017 Pinot Noir is also a well made classic from Richard Kershaw and speaks of the good valley fruit

Sadly, our budget did not quite stretch that far. Another time perhaps. These wines have come on so well