David and Sue Sonnenberg invited us to the launch of their new Diemersfontein 2021 Old Vine Chenin Blanc, called The Clockmaker. The name tells a wonderful story from some of the farm’s history. In 1942, South Africa and Italy were at war. Italy was aligned with Hitler and Nazi Germany. Italians saw action in Albania, Greece and Yugoslavia and in Libya, an Italian colony since 1911, which was where Italian troops encountered the South African forces in the Western Desert. A young Italian man, Cesare Zanardi, was taken prisoner, brought to South Africa and sent to Zonderwater prison camp and then, with two other prisoners, to work on Diemersfontein, which had been bought by Max and Lillie Sonnenberg in 1942. Cesare worked tending the farm’s dairy herd and working in the apricot orchards and fruit drying business. He endeared himself to the Sonnenberg family and, later, he told his family that he had many good and warm memories of his years at Diemersfontein. He returned to Italy in 1945 and opened a shop in Bolzano with his siblings. He named it after 13th Century German composer Walter von der Vogelweide and they made and sold clocks. It became a very successful business using the trade name WALT for clocks and La Marine for watches. In the late 1950's Richard and Celia (parents of David Sonnenberg, the 3rd generation on the farm) visited Bolzano after an invitation from Cesare. To read the full story click on this link https://www.diemersfontein.co.za/the-clockmaker
We were invited to stay overnight in one of the cottages behind the Manor House, set in lovely wild gardens
We sat on the stoep and enjoyed the late afternoon
Beautifully appointed and very comfortable
It has a seating area in the bedroom and a good bathroom
You, too, can book to stay in one of these comfortable cottages
or in the modern guesthouse on this tranquil and beautiful wine estate in Wellington
The sweet smell of the Jacaranda trees above, filled with birds and bees
You follow a small path down to the swimming pool which is there for the use of the guests
Sadly, we did not have time for a dip
Bougainvillea twining in the trees
At 6, we were summoned to the terrace of the manor house for the beginning of the event,
where we would enjoy our first taste of The Clockmaker Old Vine Chenin Blanc
The historic house was built, we understand, in the 1920s
A warm welcome from Marketing Manager Hannelize Louw and Jennifer Koegelenberg with a chilled glass of Chenin Blanc
The bottles of The Clockmaker have a picture of Cesare Zanardi in his uniform, as a tribute to him
Maestro Angelo Gobbato, now retired, was enjoying the sunshine on the stoep
He has given Cape Town opera lovers such joy with the many grand operas he produced over the years
Some Italian themed canapes: Arancini balls with mushrooms and roasted garlic mayonnaise
Ciabatta bread with olive tapenade
Deep fried pasta filled with cheese on a bed of spanspek melon
Aubergine Arancini balls with a ricotta and tomato dip
Gorgonzola cheese balls with rocket and sundried tomatoes, wrapped in grilled courgette strips
and a selection of excellent Italian charcuterie, including Parma ham and salami
It is a great place for conversations while tasting the new Chenin
David Sonnenberg welcomed us and briefly told us the story of The Clockmaker
surrounded by his great staff who were so friendly and helpful
Sue Sonnenberg told us that we would be hearing some very special opera music now and the next day
We then all moved into the large lounge and David continued the story of Cesare
and his successful career in Bolzano as a clockmaker
Sadly, Cesare had died in 2011, aged 94, after a good, long happy life
He was married at 43 to Tina "the love of his life” and had two children, Piero (Pierpaolo) and Arabella
When they decided to tell the story of Cesare the Clockmaker, David found Piero (and Tina and Arabella) on Facebook
They had lots of conversations on line and asked if they could tell the story
The family said they would be honoured, so David and Sue went to Bolzano to meet them when they were next in Europe
and now we have the wine
The Italian Consul, Emanuele Pollio, made a short speech about the wine and the connection with Italy
and then they introduced Piero, who spoke about his father, the connection with Diemersfontein
and his enjoyable visit here for the celebration and launch of The Clockmaker
We had sat on our terrace and chatted to Piero that afternoon as there was a synergy
His father Cesare was a prisoner of war in South Africa while John's father was captured at Tobruk
and spent some of his war in Italy as a prisoner of war and as an escapee living with the partisans
Then we were given a huge treat - some opera duets by two very talented singers, Zizipo Ponzo and Luvo Maranti
accompanied by Matthew Wild, Artistic Director of Cape Town Opera
They would also entertain us after dinner and during the following day at the public launch of the wine
The Italian prisoners of war working on Diemersfontein had the habit of singing Opera every Saturday night
and they performed at the wedding of David Sonnenberg’s Aunt Peggy
They opened the recital with Verdi's Drinking song "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" from La Traviata,
then Luvo sang a modern Italian song Idiale
This was followed by Oh mio babbina caro from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi beautifully sung by Zizepo
Luvo gave us a resounding version of Giuseppe Verdi's La donna e Mobile, from Rigoletto
and, finally, they sang the duet from La Traviata, the first meeting "Un dì, felice, eterea"
and there were many more delights to come with dinner
The family dogs, Lucy and Sweetie Pie also kept us company
and then, as the sun was sinking, we moved on to the restaurant terrace for dinner
The menu
The primo course was the canapés on the terrace before the concert
The Secondo course of Spaghetti with small tender pieces of squid, tomato, olive oil, a touch of chilli and fresh basil,
which tasted very like good Spaghetti Vongole, a favourite of ours
The Terzo main course of a classic rich beef Ragout on a polenta square
was accompanied by delicious caramelized pumpkin and seared spinach
and the excellent recital continued while we ate dinner. They sang "Va, Pensiero," the Hebrew Slaves Chorus from Nabucco
and we were all encoraged to sing along; it is known as the second Italian anthem!
Then Muzetta's Waltz from Puccini's La Bohème "Quando m'en vo" sung by Zizipo
and, to finish, Luvo gave us a superb rendition of Nessun Dorma by Puccini
We know we are going to hear much more of these two talented singers
A happy snap of David and Piero, who is a physiotherapist
David and Sue wanted to finish the evening with some thanks
especially to their staff for helping to organize this great event and weekend:
Denise Stubbs, Hannelize Louw and Jennifer Koegelenberg
with winemaker Lauren Hulsman and Cellarmaster Francois Roode
Francois told us about the wine
The Chenin Blanc grapes were planted behind the manor house by David's father in 1985, and are now 47 years old
The vineyard measures 1.7 hectares
They had considered cutting them down, as they were so old and overgrown but, thankfully, they didn't
They were tidied up and Rosa Kruger of the Old Vine Project helped
The wine, which is now registered on the Project, was barrel fermented in the cellar for 10 months
Rosa Kruger of the Old Vine Project told us more about the project
In 2012 she presented wines made from old South African vines to the Winemasters convention in London
And they were instantly converted and the wines proclaimed as excellent
We were introduced to the two chefs. David is helped by Chef Dylan Smith, who has a well known restaurant in KZN,
as he needed help with outsourcing for the Diemersfontein restaurant
and he has now brought his restaurant here too
David Fouche is the resident chef in Cape Town
The final Quattro course was a vanilla bean gelato atop a seriously wonderful polenta lemon cake,
with a perfectly wobbly panna cotta, roasted nuts, a lemon gel and vanilla custard
Everyone raved about it and wanted more. A wonderful evening and a great meal and entertainment
and all accompanied by The Clockmaker Chenin,
the Diemersfontein Malbec: soft, fruity, and hot and spicy with lovely savouriness on the end
and the Spicy 2020 Shiraz with full, sweet berry fruit and pepper and spice notes, which paired so well with all the courses
We sat and chatted and then it was time to retire, to get ready for the next day of fun on the farm
