An invitation from Andre Morgenthal of the Old Vines Project to De Warenmarkt in the centre of Stellenbosch to come and taste some of the excellent wines made from vineyards that are registered with the Old Vines Project. And we certainly did taste some really fine wines as we wandered around the different stalls
It is a fascinating place and a different concept; we were very impressed
They had taken over the whole venue for the evening
Different stands with food and drink and you can pick and choose what you want
Michela Dalpiaz, whom we know from Ayama. She is now at Nomoya Wines in Paarl
Some clever cards with whiche you could download the wine details to your phone
Very valuable for the foreign wine visitors who had come for Cape Wine
Haute Cabrière winemaker Tim Hoek
Bellevue winemaker Wilhelm Kritzinger and Francois Rautenbach of Singita
Then canapes began to appear, these were mini Caesar salads
Caprese salad on a stick drizzled with good Balsamic
Nicole Kilian, Keermont sales manager, with some of the old vine wines for tasting
Oysters with a beetroot dressing
Great Boerewors
There were many international wine industry and wine media visitors enjoying the tasting of these excellent wines;
they were here for Cape Wine which began on the 5th October and lasted for 3 days
Mushroom cappelletti, they did need a sauce of some kind
Rosa Kruger with Ina Smith of the Chenin Blanc Association
Andre Morgenthal and Nadia Hefer of the Old Vines Project
We loved the slightly off the wall story of the names of these Fuselage wines;
the winemaker is fascinated with flying and planes as well as wines
Welgegund Heritage Wines in Wellington was founded in the 18th Century
Daniel Kriel, owner of De Warenmarkt introduced us to the place he has created
and said that he hoped we would come back another time
He hoped that we were enjoying the food they were producing for us to taste, and everyone concurred
and now primed to hear to the major announcement of the evening
Nadia Hefer introduced ....
.... Tina Gellie, content creator for Decanter Magazine, who had flown in from London to present the award
She was there to present Rosa Kruger, the creator of the Old Vines Project, which has been funded by Johan Rupert,
with a very special Award from Decanter magazine. Once a year, they add one person to their Hall of Fame
and this year the award is given to Rosa Kruger for the devotion and dedication she has given to the Old Vine Project
She is the first South African and the first viticulturist to receive this prestigious Decanter award
Rosa said that 25 years ago, when she began the journey, she knew nothing about it, travelling, tasting and reading
She has worked and walked in some of the most amazing vineyards in the world
In 2013, at the 60th anniversary of the Masters of Wine, they did the first tasting of the SA old vines wines
They shone! And, in the same year, Jancis Robinson wrote the first article in the London Times about the wines
Andre has been urging her on, and building relationships with wines, vineyards, vines and terroir
They spend 8 to 9 hours a day in the field and their efforts are being noticed and appreciated
Take life at a steady pace, never stop trying to do better and never give up the fight
A very delighted and proud Rosa with Tina Gellie and the Decanter article
All our stories can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right
If you do not wish to receive e-mails from us, please email menucape@gmail.com with the word 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in your email
Click here to follow our blogs
Follow us on Facebook
If you would like to purchase a signed print of one of our photographs, please click here
All content in this article is © John & Lynne Ford, MENU
Follow us on Instagram
