Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Cape Wine 2022

The Cape Wine Expo is held every four years and is a very large and important event for the South African wine industry
as many overseas buyers, representatives and media are invited to come to this superb showcase of South African wines
It was held in the Cape Town International Convention Centre on 5-7th October
Organised by Wines of South Africa (WOSA), it was a very successful show this year
We heard that there were visitors from over 60 countries

Comments that we heard from several different foreign visitors were
that the quality of South African wine continues to improve while value for money is a given;
the reputation for value should be stressed less than the overall reputation for producing excellent wines
The cohesiveness of the industry was also noticed, with the importance of co-operation between producers being noted
Our winemakers appear more inclined than those elsewhere to talk to each other and share knowledge
This is exemplified by the existence of industry associations
such as the Chenin blanc,  Pinotage, and Sauvignon blanc associations
and groups such as the Cape Winemakers Guild and Piwosa

The check in was very well organised

Margaux Nel and Leon Coetzee representing The Fledge and Boplaas wines from "SA Port capital" Calitzdorp
Boplaas makes a huge range of wines, but is internationally respected for their Port style wines
Margaux is Boplaas winemaker;
she and her husband Leon buy in grapes from many different areas and make excellent wines under their own label

Wine producer Neil Ellis shares a joke with Martin Moore, cellarmaster of Durbanville Hills

Amorim Cork CEO António Rios de Amorim with Portuguese Consul-General Jorge Teixeira de Sampayo,
Joaquim de Sa, CEO of Amorim Cork South Africa and Heidi Duminy CWM, Principal of the Cape Wine Academy

The Amorim Speakers Corner housed a series of tastings, open to all, but it was first come, first served

Bernard Dewey head of Sales and Marketing at Chamonix Estate in Franschhoek with Neil Bruwer, the winemaker

Wine promoter Thomas Mills with a magnum of naturally fermented Filia sparkling wine

Christa von la Chevallerie showing her wines from the Swartland on a stand featuring prominent women winemakers

Lomond winemaker Hannes Meyer with Korean visitors
Lomond is in the cool climate Agulhas Triangle, our most southerly wine region

Andre Morgenthal and Nadia Hefer of the Old Vines Project with eminent viticulturist Rosa Kruger,
who was recently the recipient of a very special award from Decanter magazine
She is their 2022 addition to Decanter's Hall of Fame

Mariette and Richard Kershaw MW with the excellent Richard Kershaw wines from Elgin

John Collins, Johan and Sofie Kruger showing the Kruger Family wines

The horrendous queue for lunch. The Catering staff at the Convention Centre had forgotten everything they ever knew
about dealing with large numbers of people who want, nay need lunch
Lynne had to queue for over 40 minutes and when she reached the front was told, "sorry,
only hamburgers or chicken burgers are being served"
She had wanted a simple sandwich or a smoked salmon bagel
She sat waiting at a small table for another 20 minutes until she was served. It was chaotic

and this finally arrived. Undercooked cold chips were not the only crime

The burger was still frozen in the middle and completely raw, so inedible
There were very angry people and from then on most of us brought in food from home
It is not as if there are many other venues or choices near the Convention Centre and,
having walked miles each day at the exhibition, no one was keen to walk another mile or two
to get something to eat and drink
Surely they could have provided pre-prepared packs of sandwiches 
to have available for the crowds of visitors and stand holders
One good thing was that some of the experienced staff, and there were not many among the surly unwilling faces,
did try very hard to help and they must be commended

A topographical map produced by Douglas Green Bellingham (DGB),
showing the Cape Winelands’ different temperature zones and elevations

Liza Goodwin GM and winemaker at Fryer's Cove on the Cape West Coast with Stephan Joubert of DGB



The stand  of the avante garde group of young winemakers who call themselves the Zoo Cru was very popular

Thinus Krüger, CEO & President, Winemaker, Grape crusher and Sole employee of Fram Wines
(as described on his web site) was on the Zoo Cru stand

as was Trizanne Barnard with her Trizanne wines

Thank you De Krans; besides making excellent wines and ports,
they have now produced a White Port and Tonic mix to enjoy
One of our favourite ways to enjoy port as a sundowner before a meal

De Krans owner Boets Nel talking to a visitor about his wines

Kathy Jordan with the new Jordan Assyrtiko, the first of that varietal planted in South Africa
The Jordans are planting grapes which are suited to a warmer climate because of the global warming threat
Assyrtiko is originally from the Greek island Santorini

and they showed Jordan's Mousehall Gin from their property in Sussex
It is not yet available in South Africa as they do not have the required 750ml bottles
Spirits are marketed in 700ml bottles in Britain

Kathy Jordan, Thea van der Merwe and Gary Jordan manned the Jordan sector of the Piwosa exhibit

Ken Forrester with Leonette Laubscher, promoting his Stellenbosch wines with his engaging smile

and his superb range of Chenins

Andries Burger, Paul Cluver cellarmaster and Sebastian Beaumont, owner/winemaker at Beaumont in Bot River

Beautifully designed export labels from Almenkerk wines, with a nod to their Flemish heritage,
tempting you to buy their excellent wines from Elgin

Melissa Nelsen showed her popular Genevieve Cap Classiques from Bot River

Arco Laarman showed his wines. We particularly liked his Chenin blanc

Feathered ladies promoting the historic Constantia Valley

Klein Constantia showed their Sauvignon blanc and Cap Classique
and, of course, the iconic Vin de Constance dessert wine

Roger Burton, Constantia Royale winemaker, showed his Sauvignon blancs from this boutique Constantia farm

Dan Nicholl of the Dan Really Likes Wine online show
with Roger Burton, Siobhan Thompson CEO of WOSA and Dan’s assistant



The Accolade Wines stand appeared to be a popular venue

 Charne van Tonder of Ayama showed their wines, including their Vermentino
Ayama planted South Africa’s first Vermentino vineyard

Elfie Davie and Bruwer Raats showing the superb Raats Family range of wines

including his excellent Chenins

Johnathan Grieve of Avondale with Johan Joubert and Frans Smit of Spier

Nicky Pentz and Lukas Wentzel with Isabeau Botha and Yolandi de Wet showed their Groote Post wines from Darling,
including their superb SeaSalter, a Sauvignon blanc with a dash of Semillon

Suné and Bartho Eksteen visited the Groote Post stand from their Hemel en Aarde wine estate

The day's mad outfit for Zoo Cru member, rockstar winemaker Duncan Savage
with his very special Follow the Line Cinsault with a dash of Shiraz
Well, dressing up certainly got them noticed

That says it all Tiger!

Jacqueline Lahoud and Christian Eedes of Winemag with winemaker Nic van Aarde of Oldenburg

Luke O'Cuinnegan and Laura Sullivan of Vergelegen. Luke very recently moved to Vergelegen from Glenelly

Cellarmaster Alastair Rimmer and owner Wendy Appelbaum of De Morgenzon

Christo, Etienne and Yvonne le Riche with their family’s highly regarded Stellenbosch red wines

John attended one seminar entitled 2022 Perold Cape Blend Winners,
presented by Anri and Beyers Truter of Beyerskloof




A Cape Blend should comprise between ±30% and ±70% Pinotage

Rob, Sam and Chris Boustred of Remhoogte in Stellenbosch

Remhoogte's range is primarily composed of very good red wines
Their premium white, Honeybunch Chenin blanc has been a favourite of ours for many years

Two Kevins, Arnold and Grant. Kevin Arnold, having left Waterford is now busy with new projects of his own
 Kevin Grant produces some of the best Chardonnays and Pinot noirs at Ataraxia in the Hemel en Aarde

Kevin Grant with Swedish writer Madeleine Stenwreth MW

Attie Louw of Opstal Estate in the Slanghoek Valley
We were very impressed with his limited edition Semillon and have always been fans of his Carl Everson Chenin blanc

Harald Bresselschmidt, Chef Patron of Aubergine restaurant with Werner Muller and Andrew Gunn of Iona

Wendy Appelbaum, owner of De Morgenzon in Stellenboschkloof

and her cellarmaster Alastair Rimmer showed their range of excellent wines

Henk van Niekerk and his wife Monica produce Paul René Cap Classiques between Robertson and MacGregor

Like several other prominent producers, JP Colmant and Paul Gerber of Colmant Cap Classique
didn’t have an exhibit, but were there to talk
The event was oversubscribed and we learned from one of the organisers
that the cost of hiring space for the 30 or so producers who missed the cut
was too far in excess of the additional revenue that would have been provided by their fees

Welgegund Winemaker Friedrich Kühne and Sales and marketing manager Emy Mathews

Hill & Dale GM and Winemaker Guy Webber and Katja Ruppel, Marketing Controller at Iwayini Pty Ltd

Singita Premier Wine Direct General Manager Francois Rautenbach
with Dawid Nieuwoudt and Angela Fourie on the Cederberg Wines stand
Congratulations to Angela who produced a baby a few days after the show closed

Heinrich Bothman of De Wetshof with Stephan Joubert of DGB

Winemaker Werner Muller with owners Rozie and Andrew Gunn of Elgin estate Iona

Nicky Versveld was there to show his wines. We love his Sauvignon blanc and Semillon

Ina Smith, Manager of the Chenin Blanc Association manned their exhibit

Owners Gavin and Ewan Wilson, showed their Lothian Wines made for them in Elgin by Richard Kershaw

Hannes Storm, owner/winemaker of Storm Wines in the Hemel en Aarde Valley with Karen Visser CWM

Gordon and Bevan Newton Johnson, producers of the highly acclaimed Newton Johnson wines in the Hemel en Aarde
Gordon is the current chair of the Cape Winemakers Guild

Craig Wessels owner/winemaker of Restless River, a small but hugely respected producer of Hemel en Aarde wines

And what a joyous end to the show
Villiera director Cathy Grier Brewer CWM celebrating with young people who'd admired her shoes

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Posted by MENU at 4:31 pm 0 comments

Restaurant Week lunch at Fyn

Fyn is the top scoring African restaurant in the Top 50 World Restaurants, coming in at No 37. We have been several times before and really love the food that Peter Tempelhoff and his team produce. They title it “A Neoteric Japanese African Experience” and invite one to "Check your assumptions with your coats and join us on a journey of flavour discovery". A chance to go on that journey again came this month in Restaurant Week (which was actually running for the whole of October) which offers very good value special menus, so we decided to splurge and take up that exciting invitation again



Well located in Parliament Street in the centre of Cape Town,
located on top of a building that has great views of Table Mountain and of Church Square below
Paid parking is available in a garage opposite, but must be booked 

The first thing we noticed is that the wooden partition screens
which were there to sensibly separate diners during Covid are gone
and the restaurant gains so much from the spaciousness which has returned

Great to see Chef Patron Peter Tempelhoff, who insisted that we have a picture together

We chatted for a while and he told us that there is something new and exciting
being constructed on the ground floor of the building they are in, which will open soon
They will open a Japanese Ramen restaurant serving different Ramen dishes and some gyozo dumplings
 The restaurant will not require bookings

The open kitchen allows one to see the calm procedure of preparing the excellent food

The menu we were to be served. Fyn does have several different menu options for lunch and dinner
You can click on this link to see them all
They change seasonally. https://fynrestaurant.com/menu/

The wine list is very comprehensive
You can order a selection of wines by the glass or opt to do the wine pairing selected for each menu

See the wine list here

We chose two white wines to take us through the lunch
The 2020 Pilgrim Chenin Blanc from Voor Paardeberg grapes, which they tried as an experiment
Earning 4½ stars in Platter, the wine was matured in older oak which does show on the nose,
with warm summer stone fruit, guava, spice and herbs on the nose;
the palate is woody at first then opens up with apricot, nectarine and peach
The second wine is a favourite and proved to be the most versatile,
as it consistently complimented every course with which it was paired - Newton Johnson 2021 Southend Chardonnay,
grown on cool climate mountain vineyards next door to the farm and awarded five stars in Platter
A hint of smoke from the barrel fermentation and maturation, floral notes, then a hint of the valley's sea mist and kelp
Crisp and lively on the palate with lime and lemon with some tension and minerality

The table setting is simple and elegant

You begin with three canapés, to which you could add a 2g spoonful of white sturgeon caviar for R150

Crisp and light as air rice flour Tempura Dune spinach, foraged by the chefs in Muizenberg,
with fresh daikon radish shavings and a Tentsuya dipping sauce melted in the mouth

Ostrich egg chawanmushi, a lightly set savoury custard that slips down so easily
Finely chopped chives were then sprinkled on the top

A guinea fowl wonton in a tori paitan chicken broth with sea lettuce
The wonton was superb; moist, flavourful and perfectly cooked. We are dumpling fans. The broth was life changing
Chef Peter told us that they take chicken carcasses and cook them for more than 8 hours
to get this thick broth of joyousness;
the epitome of the perfect concentrated chicken flavour. The bones are soft enough to liquidise
One to try at home soon in our Instant pot pressure cooker

General manager Jennifer Hugé gave us a very warm welcome
and said she had something special she wanted us to taste

and, indeed, it was special. Mooiplaas 2011 Bush Vine Chenin Blanc has always been one of the top Chenins
and the 2011 has lasted so well
Hints of incense wood and honey, green herbs with apricot and nectarine on the nose
Those same flavours follow through and are long and deep with some quince on the end

Next the Hokkaido tender milk bun which comes with a burnt caramel sugar
covering a rich concentrated mushroom custard
The combination resembles a crème brulée but is more savoury
The wine sang with this dish

We arrived at 12 and, suddenly, the restaurant started to fill up with lunchtime workers and visitors
The service is impeccable, informed, friendly and prompt. The staff are aware of your every need and want

Sashimi is a cross roads for many; raw fish stops people in their tracks,
we race right across the intersection as we absolutely love it - as long as it is as fresh as it can be
And this line caught game fish sashimi was right in every way
Yellowfin tuna, pink and rosy and so full of the flavours of the deep,
yellowtail, which has to be fresher than fresh, was;
and then something we have never had as sashimi but love when briefly seared,
was the swordfish which is rather bland, but takes on flavour well
The perfect sushi rice came with a curl of nori for you to make your own wrap, so clever
A dot of fiery wasabi, sancho pepper, fresh daikon, Japanese soy, known as Shoyu and Kosho, tiny slices of avocado,
a fermented citrus chilli paste were all there as accompaniments to make this the best possible experience
and the quality of the fish outshone it all

Pouring the Shoya sauce for dipping

There was also a raw Vannemei prawn on the plate


which was just seared for half a minute on the tabletop Shichirin Konro grill

The tiny dipping dish we thought so beautiful with its cherry blossom pattern
After the sashimi you are given a hot hand towel before the next course

And then after all these delights, it was time for the main course. There was a choice
Lynne chose the generous portion of Pan Fried Sea Bream on tender dashi leeks, with a rich sake enoki mushroom sauce,
a crayfish tail and maltase walnuts which added a lovely malty taste and a good crunch to the dish
The fish was seared well and was very moist, flaky and filling

John chose the Iberico Chashu pork, beautifully tender,
with well crisped crackling, hakurei turnips, an apple miso purée which added great contrast and tonkotsu sauce
which translates as pig bone stock, very flavoursome and deep
The fatty rind was well seared too and much enjoyed by Lynne as John doesn't do fat

Sommelier Dan did bring us small tastes of some lovely wines which he thought we would like as pairings with the food
The Vuurberg white blend is led by Chenin and you can taste the peachy viognier and Roussanne on the dry palate
It has wood on the nose, and is complex
The Thorne and Daughters is an interesting novel blend of Syrah and Cinsault
The Kaapzicht Cinsault is complex with long flavours of ripe berry fruit and needs time


The glasses are very good to drink from; they give the wines lots of space to develop and are very elegant too,
with those cobweb thin stems. These almost identical glasses come from Spiegelau and another

Time for dessert which was a Robata (grill) seared slice of ripe pineapple with a good acidity,
in a ginger syrup and dusted with a chilli Shichimi togarashi spice, with a rocher of creamy rice ice cream
with powdered dehydrated yogurt below it

Pouring on the ginger syrup. Luckily, a small portion as we had eaten extremely well

Watching happy Isaac making the perfect sushi rice which requires lots of stirring and fanning, it is an art
and the rice we had was perfect, with separate pearly grains with good flavour from the mirin

We were fascinated by this apparatus that appeared on several tables
and were told it is a bit of kelp in which they ferment a sauce to be served at the table
We must confess that from a distance we thought it might be a dried bull’s penis,
but not sure the Japanese use those...... giggle....

Dan serving a customer with another gem of a sauce

Our bill

And finally... two petit fours: fluffy Yuzu marshmallows and kelp fudge, which we must admit is something we might not ask for again, does good fudge need a beached seaweed flavour?

A tiny Bonsai spekboom on each table
A wonderful experience, we are saving for the next one and for the Ramen bar

All our stories can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right

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