Lunch at Steenberg on a lovely spring day

It was the most beautiful spring day on Tuesday, we even saw temperatures as high as 26º while in the car.  So what to do next? Well, a visit to Steenberg wine estate. They have a really good wine selection and also a very good Bistro restaurant. So we went and were given a very friendly welcome from Dunbar and a table on the terrace under an umbrella. It is always surprising how the weather can change so quickly from Winter to Spring

The fantastic mobile of glass grapes which hangs over the tasting centre

With weather like this, we wanted to sit on the terrace

They are carefully spaced apart and have lots of umbrellas for shade

The dishes of the day

We had only just sat down and were studying our menus and wine list when the manager arrived with two glasses of Steenberg MCC, a gift from Marketing Manager Heather Poulos who had spotted us arriving, masked and all!  She later came to say hello. Now we really felt welcome

Yes Lynne does wear latex gloves when out as she is very allergic to hand sanitisers. She does sanitise the gloves regularly

Lovely bread, oil, balsamic vinegar and olives appeared while we were deciding what to eat and drink

The menu is brief but perfectly formed and changes often, as seasonal food does. You can find it online

https://www.steenbergfarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Bistro-1682-Menus_21-August-2020.pdf

John had a huge open steak sandwich (medium rare as ordered) topped with a mound of crisp onion rings, Chimichurri Hollandaise, tender greens and sundried tomato pesto, and it comes with crisp chips. Definitely a place to chill out with great food

They allowed Lynne to have a starter doubled up as a main course, which was heavenly. She has been missing calamari very much during lock down and this was Cape Malay curried baby calamari perfectly cooked in a spiced tempura batter, crunchy crisp outside and meltingly tender inside.  It comes with a lovely umami soy glaze, sesame seeds and an avocado mousse.  And her two portions were in crisp filo pastry cups. Executive Chef, Kerry Kilpin is all about flavour

Lunch cost R400 with service

A great place to relax and chill at while enjoying lovely food

The wine cellar which is viewable from the entrance

We drove back the pretty way, through Constantia and over the neck, through Hout Bay which was deep in sea mist. The warm weather and the cold sea make lots of mist this time of the year which rolls in. And when we got onto the Atlantic coast it was out there at sea.  John got a good photo of it coming in at the end of Camps Bay and Clifton but when we got there it had dispersed

More days out are planned and we are off to Jordan for lunch on Saturday to use up one of our vouchers, at their prompting, but it didn't take much!  We love Chef George Jardine's food and are so happy they are now open

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

See John's photographs and follow us on YouPic

All content © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus

Seafood supper at Sea Breeze Fish and Shell

During lock down we were restricted to our homes and very few businesses could continue to work. The hospitality industry was hard hit and so was the wine industry. Jordan Wine Estate was the first to come up with a clever idea - buy a voucher now for a meal at a favourite restaurant for use in the future when we would be allowed to go out and they would contribute the same value in wine. We each bought one! Although many have been hard hit in the wallet, many of us wanted to help assist these industries and we were no exception. They have been our business focus for many years and there are many friends we want to support. The Restaurant Rescue, initiated by Alex Dale of Radford Dale, was another project in the same vein and we decided to buy a voucher for the restaurant we would have gone to for my birthday in August, SeaBreeze Fish & Shell in Bree Street, and celebrate later. This is one of the best fish/seafood restaurants in the Cape. Their focus is on sourcing local, sustainable seafood. We also got six bottles of wine from De Grendel as part of the voucher system. The voucher cost R1200 and we think this was extremely good value. Now that we are on Level 2, we may now eat out at restaurant and so we went there last Friday night. The first time we have ventured out to a restaurant at night in nearly 6 months

What felt so strange was getting dressed early evening to go out, and dressing smartly for the occasion. I put on makeup, eye shadow and lipstick (knowing that we would take our masks off while we were eating), and perfume. And had to find smart shoes that I could get my carpet slipper feet into again, they seem to have spread a bit. We left home at a quarter to six and arrived slightly early at Sea Breeze Fish and Shell restaurant, where we had made our reservation. They have seating outside and parking was easy

They obey all the necessary precautions and procedures and the tables are well spaced apart. This means fewer customers, but it was good to see that they were busy. We booked for 6 because of the curfew and asked if they would be able to "turn the table" at 8? No, because we were expecting a power cut at 8 so they had to close. Damn Eskom. They close on Sunday and Monday. Check out the website for opening hours,  http://www.seabreezecapetown.co.za/ They also have an on-line shop and do takeaways and deliveries

They take all your details at the door and there is hand sanitiser there and on every table. The staff are friendly and attentive, but not overly, thank heavens and we were served very quickly.. And they were nicely full, given that the numbers that they can now accommodate are reduced

It is a very efficient looking open kitchen. Those oysters looked really big and fresh

The menu is small but perfectly formed, featuring fish and seafood and there are vegetarian options. There is a very good range of prices and covers a wide range of tastes and desires. The menus are one time only photocopies which are destroyed once you have made your order; the wine list is laminated

The restaurant is run by husband-and-wife team Alex and Ruth Grahame, who just happen to be near neighbours of ours. Chef Alex came to welcome us and we had a chat about how hard Lock Down had been for the restaurants and the staff. They are so pleased to be back at work. We saw a few people whom we recognised eating there and had a chat to Dane Raath, an old friend in our wine world who, with his mother Kathy Raath, runs their successful beverage merchandising business, Raath Promotions. Another company that was badly hit by lock down, but is now doing lots of business and trying to catch up on the losses. He was there with his wife and young son, also enjoying being out

John's starter was a very fresh ceviche of Hake with a squid ink mayonnaise. The food may sound simple on the menu; it is not and when it arrives you can see the attention to detail and you know that the cooking is perfection, everything is done with such precision and flavour, the right way, as it should be. It was quite a heady feeling, eating top class food again, cooked by a chef who is expert at his craft. We liked the wine list; it is a very good selection and you can order all the wines by the glass, a 500ml carafe or by the bottle. As John was driving, we ordered one carafe and could not resist one of our favourite wines, Kevin Grant's Ataraxia Sauvignon Blanc from the Hemel and Aarde, a wine made to go with sea food

Lynne could not decide on whether she wanted prawns for main or starter - she finds good prawns hard to resist - and opted for the starter portion. Large, tender and tasting as they should, of the sea; they were just what she wanted. Served on an Asian salad of crunchy slivered vegetables, with a Sesame mayonnaise and crisp deep fried parsley 'seaweed'. You can order these as a main

John had the Cape Malay Seafood curry and no, it was not full of leftovers (as it can be and often is in restaurants), but with as good a selection of excellent fish and seafood as possible and loads of flavour. It came with coriander rice and rotis

Lynne was in raptures over my main course of fresh, moist and flaky Grilled Saldanha Bay Sea Trout with minted peas, beans and spring onions, herb oil, a lovely refreshing grapefruit mayonnaise and sliced radish. The flavours and textures really worked together so well. The wine sang with this dish

And we did crack and order some of Chef’s crisp chips as a side to share. We had these at a function we attended here last year and they are excellent

We shared the only dessert which was a generous slice of an apple crumble baked cheesecake. It comes with a wicked salted caramel sauce; scrumptious. Everything was delicious. . Perhaps the dessert was a step too far for us as we are not used to eating 3 courses anymore (we happily used to be able to do 5 or more at past functions. We will have to get back into practice - if there ever are such events again. We left rather full but very happy. Do try this restaurant, we do heartily recommend it. Our voucher covered the price of the meal with some left for the staff

We collected our case of De Grendel wine which was part of the voucher deal we had bought, departed just before 8 and arrived home just in time for the second power cut of the day. We lit a fire, lots of candles and Lynne collapsed on the sofa, John in his armchair, with our head torches and books. Some may even have had a tiny nap, it’s the full tums and the warmth and dark that does it. A lovely evening and so good to get out of the house

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

See John's photographs and follow us on YouPic

All content © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus

The Spring Flowers in the West Coast National Park at Postberg

Spring is around the corner and our magnificent spring flowers have begun to bloom up our West Coast. We haven't been for a couple of years and now that we have all the time in the world, we waited for the first sunny and headed off. 

It took us one hour and 8 minutes, leaving home at 8.30am to get to the gates of Postberg Nature Reserve up the R27. It is 88 kilometres from Cape Town. The road was remarkably free of traffic but, when we got there, there was a small queue. John had Googled the opening time which said 9, but it is actually 10 am. However, getting there before it opened meant that it was less crowded when we got in. If you go for the first time you need to know that once you have got through the gate and paid your entry fee, it is quite a long drive until you get into the actual park where the flowers are. Don’t give up! it does seem longer as you have to drive at 30 Km/h. There are not many flowers on the first stretch but, once you are in the park, they are everywhere. BUT the sun must be shining. They don’t open if it’s cloudy. There are dirt roads, but they are very well maintained. It will not damage your car. There were many SUVs, but we did see a couple of low-slung sports cars.

We had the perfect Spring day, very cold initially and by lunchtime it was 20ºC and warm. The flowers are totally magnificent. It was a crowd of mainly pensionable age, all enjoying the spectacle. We had our picnic lunch at Plankiesbaai sitting in front of our car on our camping chairs with some refreshment, enjoying the sea view. (see the video) Alcohol is not allowed in the park. We actually got hot and I needed my sunhat. The park closes at 4, so to avoid the rush, we left at just before 3 and drove to Darling. There is a small flower reserve called the Tienie Versfeld Reserve on that road which is enchanting, but it was still a little early in the season. If you go next week it might be better. We visited The Darling Wine Shop to see Charles Withington only to find that he was in Cape Town! So we headed off home via Malmesbury and did stop briefly at the Darling Cellars, had a very fast tasting and came home with some wines. Very reasonable prices and we were given a pensioner’s discount without asking. We bought a case each of their Reserve Arum Fields Chenin Blanc, the Reserve Bush Vine Sauvignon Blanc, and 12 bottles of their amusingly named Pyjama Bush Rosé, a blend of 96% Sauvignon Blanc, 4% Grenache; it is a lovely dry rosé, perfect for summer drinking on our deck with lovely salads and Mediterranean food. All were very reasonable at R50 a bottle. If you are feeling a bit flush, do try their Old Bush vine Cinsault and their other top wines. Worth heading that way folks. And if you want to try more wines of the area do go to the Darling Wine Shop, they have an on-con licence, a comprehensive selection of wines of the area and will be open on Saturdays.

Some scary driving on the the N1 on the way home in the evening. Totally mad and irresponsible taxi drivers trying to force people off the road and, just after the Visserhok turnoff where the N48 crosses the N7, we were horrified to see large trucks and vans crossing the motorway in front of us at speed, there are no traffic lights or traffic calming notices and there were near misses. It is a bad accident waiting to happen. 

Joining the short queue at the entrance to Postberg Nature Reserve. This is where you pay your entrance fee

https://www.sanparks.org/parks/west_coast/tourism/tariffs.php

The flowers carpet every spare bit of ground

And the white daisies look like drifts of snow

There are white, orange and yellow daisies ...

and in between many coloured vygies and other wild flowers, the real fynbos

The park is very large and has huge outcrops of weathered rocks. There is also some game to see and other wild life

John caught this cattle egret on camera just as it was about to take off

Another in a field of daisies

A view of Saldanah Bay from near the top look out 

Gazanias

Pink vygies - mesembryanthemum

A close up of the face of a white daisy shows the complexity.  The pink round the centre is a target for bees to aim for

Some of the smaller flowers hidden in the grass

A shell of an Angulate tortoise 

Fields of  wild blue flax heliophila-coronopifolia aka Sporries.  Often found on higher ground at Postberg

A small babiana that resembles a violet

A nice variety if you look closer

Lachenalia, the Cape Hyacinth which we used to call Ever Trevor when I lived in Llandudno in my youth. The smell of this lovely plant is sweet and floral and carries a long way

Pale blue Babiana flowers

Tiny daisies with the vygies

And a view up the coast looking towards Yserfontain.  On a very clear day you might see Table Mountain

Lynne made a short video at Plankiesbaai, where we stopped for lunch

This gull wanted some of our lunch. Do not feed them as if you do, you will suddenly be surrounded by many more

A Blesbok in the scrub

On our way to Darling there were lots of fields of acid yellow canola, a good money crop in the Cape and, in front of them on the road margins, a field of arums, more than we have ever seen together. Must be the result of the good rains this winter

Such a beautifully architectural plant

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

See John's photographs and follow us on YouPic

All content © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus

2020 Shiraz Challenge Results

BREAKING NEWS: SHIRAZ CHALLENGE ANNOUNCES 2020’S WINNERS

Despite lock down and all that it entailed, the judging for the 8th Shiraz Challenge went ahead with the top-scoring wines announced at an online awards function this week.Well-known and charming TV personality Marciel Hopkins acted as MC and announced the wines that came up trumps. 

Cultivar association Shiraz SA hosted the event to which producers, members of the media and consumers were invited to log in. “Sadly we could not go ahead with the traditional tasting of finalists, luncheon and announcement of the winners and the online affair was the best second place we could come up with” according to Edmund Terblanche, Chairman of Shiraz SA. 

And the 12 Shiraz champions for 2020are …

(in no particular order)

• Koelfontein Shiraz 2017 • Kunjani Shiraz 2015

• Benguela Cove Estate Syrah 2018 • Saronsberg Shiraz 2018

• Trizanne Reserve Syrah 2018 • Flagstone Dark Horse Shiraz 2016

• Babylonstoren Shiraz 2018 • Lomond Estate Syrah 2018

• De Grendel Elim Shiraz 2018

• Old Road Wine Co Pepper Wind Syrah 2018 • Wildeberg Red (Boutinot)

• Leeuwenkuil Family Vineyards Heritage Syrah

Runners-up in the category for Shiraz were: La Motte Pierneef Syrah Viognier 2017; Bloemendal Tierberg Syrah 2014; Rust en Vrede Estate Vineyards Syrah 2017; De Grendel Shiraz 2016; Alto Shiraz 2017; Rickety Bridge Shiraz 2017; Benguela Cove Lighthouse Syrah 2018 and Stellenview Cape Five Reserve Shiraz 2017. 

The winning Shiraz blendsare:

• Saronsberg Full Circle 2018

• Babylonstoren Babel 2018

• Strandveld The Navigator 2017

Lomond Belladonna SMV 2018; Idiom SMV 2015 and KWV Roodeberg Dr Charles Niehaus 2016 were  the finalists pipped at the post in the blend category. 

This year a new category for Shiraz Rosé was introduced and Stellenbosch Hills Polkadraai Rosé2020 was announced as the winning wine.

Zandvliet Shiraz Rosé 2020 joined KleinoodKatherien Rosé 2019 as runners-up in this category.

“Although the number of rosé wines entered was fairly low, we expect it to grow in the future as this is a style of wine that is fast gathering popularity the world over” said Chairman Edmund Terblanche.

Panel convenor and Cape Wine MasterDr Andy Roedigerremarked that the wines entered in this category were all dry and elegant with little variance in their light blush colour. Wines displayed subtle red fruits with slight spicy undertones and full of vibrant character.

"The Shiraz blends were very well harmonized and did not allow other varieties to dominate in character as sometimes in the past. In general the wines were well structured with good wood management. Surprisingly the older vintages took centre stage, showing Shiraz blends can also age gracefully” according to Roediger.  

Terblanche, also a member of the judging panel, said “The overall quality in the Shiraz category was extremely high and accommodated all the different styles such as pepper-dominated, fruit-driven or spicy. Here the younger vintages of 2017 to 2019 actually outclassed the much talked-about vintage of 2015.”

To that Roediger added “This category was by far the best that I have had in judging Shiraz over the past few years. It shows that South African Shiraz is on par with those of other countries in the world.”

The unique format for tasting that eliminates inter-session discussion of wines and requires each judge to follow his own specific tasting order, was once again utilised. 

“In order to adhere to the guidelines for Covid 19, the judging panel as well as the number of working personnel, had to be reduced and a number of measures put in place” explained Terblanche. “However, we were fortunate in that everything went smoothly and we managed to conclude the four-day judging without any hitches” he added.

This year the panel comprised a line-up of experienced tasters and assisting Dr Roediger were Shiraz SA chairperson and La Motte cellar master Edmund Terblanche; De Grendel cellar master Charles Hopkins; Anthony de Jager cellar master Fairview and owner/winemaker and Cape Wine Master from Eenzaamheid, Janno Briers-Louw.

The main sponsor for the 2020 Shiraz ChallengeisVinventions SA and the firm is proud to have been associated with this competition for eight years, according to Managing Director Johan Conradie. Other contributors wereNederburg, where judging traditionally takes place; supporting software provider and program developer Wine MS; and, the Exceed Group, which supervises judging and audits the results.

Shiraz SA, established in 2008, is currently the largest cultivar organisation with over 230 members. It represents producers of South African Shiraz andits aim is to create awareness of the superior and award-winning wines produced locally from this noble cultivar. 

- 

ENDS/

FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES: SANDRA LOTZ

082 924 7254

info@shirazsa.co.za

Website   www.ShirazSA.co.za.

Follow us on:  

Twitter @Shiraz_SA

Facebook (ShirazSouthAfrica).

Bellevue Reserve Collection Launch

We were invited to take part in this on-line Zoom tasting of Bellevue Wine Reserve Collection Estate wines which took place on Friday 31st July

We have had several invitations to take part in tastings like this, but with no wine. Doing those just makes us feel envious and bereft, so we don't do it. Bellevue got the wines to us in good time and it was extremely enjoyable seeing some of the usual suspects doing the tasting as well. These are the four wines we tasted from Bellevue, which is in the Bottelary area of Stellenbosch, renowned for its Pinotages and Cabernets

Dinah Dick led our Zoom meeting with other members of the wine trade and the media

Dirkie Morkel, who is the viticulturist on the farm, talked us through some of the history, especially of the Pinotage which was the first grown in the Cape and from which the first (Lanzerac branded) Pinotage was made. And which they still grow and make very successfully

Wilhelm Kritzinger, the Cellar Master, told us how he makes the wines and then took us through the tasting. We began with the 2019 Reserve Collection wooded Chardonnay. This is only the second vintage bottled and matured in blond 300 litre French oak barrels. Wilhelm revealed that they use a red wine yeast for this Chardonnay. R209 from the farm. Order now, it will be delivered when lock down is over. It has a classic, attractive Chardonnay character on the nose, buttery pastry, full and rich; wood does not dominate at all. This is repeated on the palate with caramel and buttered toast with lime and lemon. Long flavours, a good balance of acid, wood and fruit with some minerality. We were impressed

Michael Fridjhon was on line too for the tasting. The second wine from the Reserve Collection is the 2016 Bellevue Pinotage, R220. Wilhelm told us this wine ferments in a week on the skins and goes into spontaneous malolactic fermentation. They use French made American oak barrels. So you do get vanilla on the nose, with herbs, incense wood, minerality and sweet cherry jam, raspberry & mulberry fruit, with a hint of wildness. Tight chalky tannins grip the Cherry fruit. Then dark and milk chocolate, so you are reminded of a rich Black Forest cake. A hint of metal, good acidity and balance on second mouthful, then an end of salty minerality. A big wine, one to keep

Journalist and PRO Emile Joubert. The third wine was the Reserve Collection 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon R220. A classic, with cassis in bucketfuls, also blueberries, vanilla and incense wood. Quite ethereal at first, then an invitation to dive in please. Salty licorice, smooth with a chalky grip, then full on fruit fills the palate. We had the rest of this wine with our supper for two nights running and it just got better and better. An excellent food wine for drinking now. Buy some soon

Samarie Smith and Georgio Meletiou commenting on the wines.  The fourth wine was the flagship Reserve Collection 2018 Tumara, a five variety Bordeaux Blend. R235. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, then approx 10% each of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Malbec; the blend of these last four varies each year. Wood on the nose, then violets, then fruit, Richness and complexity, velvety notes of cassis, mulberry, rhubarb, pencil lead, a touch of wildness from the Malbec and ends with an attractive perfume. Rich red and black berry fruit, licorice and Cassis predominated, good acidity, some chalk, wood on the end with dark caramel, then a finish of fruit acidity, showing that it needs time

Wilhelm told us he studied Food Science and then winemaking pulled him down the rabbit hole. He did a harvest with Dirkie in 2002, has now been 19 years at Bellevue and has never looked back. They did run out of money for a while but the new owner, Marinus Neethling, who bought the farm in 2017, has now helped the farm to success. Wilhelm makes site specific wines, and with limited interference and says "if you don’t have the right soils, climate and cultivars you can’t succeed. " An impressive tasting and a lot of fun too. Thank you all at Bellevue for brightening up our Lock Down. May alcohol sales be allowed very soon

Lynne watching on her laptop, glasses at the ready. John sat next to her, so we could taste together and watched on his phone. All the photographs above were photographed off the phone's screen and the images come from a variety of laptop computers and other devices, so we take no responsibility for the quality. We tasted a little of each of the four wines with our supper of Goulash that night to see what they were like with food. All performed well

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

See John's photographs and follow us on YouPic

All content © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus