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Monday, March 13, 2017

Robertson Wine Valley's Hands on Harvest - Saturday

Robertson beckoned and we responded. We saw details of the festival on the internet and, as we haven't been to their Harvest Festival for many years, we decided to take our Dutch friends. Lynne managed to find reasonable accommodation on Bookings.com. Each farm does its own thing during this festival and some need booking so we made some, helped by Mira Weiner of Hot Oven Marketing and had a great weekend with our friends

Our friends like to stop off for coffee at 10 in the morning, so we left Cape Town at 8.30

and took them to the Nuy restaurant on the hill, just after Worcester Perfect timing

On offer were amazing looking cakes. A baked lemon cheesecake topped with marshmallow

A berry fridge cheesecake, lighter in texture

A caramel baked cheesecake. Slices of all were enjoyed with a perk-us-up coffee

We were warned about the roadworks on the way to Bonnievale, but arrived in plenty of time for our first appointment: a tasting of Weltevrede wines in the candlelit cellar. It was hot; the car’s instrument panel said that the outside temperature was 41⁰C in the sun

They have made a cave cellar using the old cement kuipe or wine fermentation tanks, where the wines were fermented in years gone by. Steyn Fullard, Weltevrede's Marketing Manager, took us through the tasting

He showed us how they remove the lees from the bubbly by the traditional method of riddling the bottles till the lees are in the neck and can be removed by freezing

The crown cap is removed and the frozen plug of ice and lees flies out. Dosage is added and the bottle is then corked in the traditional manner

A tunnel through the kuipe

There are seats in one of the kuipe and we started the tasting by candlelight

First some of their MCC bubbly

The first one was the Ring, their Blanc de Blanc MCC, 100% Chardonnay. Crisp and elegant and full of citrus and butter

Learning about the process

Very romantic

An enthusiastic imbiber .... of Weltevrede's non alcoholic fizzy grape juice

The wines we tasted

We then needed some sustenance and off we went to Esona just down the road for some light lunch

It was too hot to do another tasting and the tasting room upstairs was full anyway, we were told. So we sat downstairs on the terrace with welcome water misters and ordered a bottle of the 2015 Sauvignon Blanc and some sandwiches. Lovely views

Mountains and vines

Our wine in the cooler - very clever, a stainless steel bucket set into the top of an old barrel

Their shop

Upstairs under the roof

The upstairs tasting area

Wine on special - they have several older vintages on sale

Tables in the cellar, also in carved out old kuipe

Ham, cheese and tomato toasties with chips and a chilli jam dip. Just right

The back label tells all

More of those lovely views

Then off to Ashton Cellars to taste some of their wines, but by now the extreme heat was getting to us

So we went into town to pick up the keys and then headed out on Paul Kruger St into the countryside to our accommodation at Vredevallei, in the Keurkloof. It is on a dirt road for the last five or so minutes. You can see more of it in John's Early Morning Ramble

We had a nice nap, and then headed off to McGregor for our evening booking - dinner at Bemind, a garagiste wine cellar we were keen to visit. It was one of the few places hosting an evening event and we were grateful not to have to cook. Sadly, the area is not overburdened with good restaurants and in festival time they are usually full

Winemaker Ilse Schutte, originally from Potchefstroom, trained at Stellenbosch university and worked at Lords Winery in McGregor before going out on her own. She does not have any vineyards and buys in all her grapes. They are made on this property, really a garage adapted into a small town centre winery. Bemind means Beloved, as she says she makes wine from the heart

First we did a tour and watched the punch down of the Cinsault grapes. Six 750 litre plastic tanks filed with crushed grapes picked a few days ago, busy fermenting

Ilse cools the fermentation down by adding frozen plastic water bottles

Bubbles of CO2 are given off during fermentation

Punching down the grapes happens three or four times a day and it is not a job for sissies; it takes a huge amount of arm strength, the cap of grapes that forms is heavy and it has to be circulated in the wine to extract flavour, colour and tannin

Ilse tells us how she makes the wine. Her first vintage was 2015 and she makes four wines, an MCC from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, now sold out; a Sauvignon Blanc, Cinsault and a Shiraz

The barrel cellar is also the wine shop. All her barrels are second and third fill

Her four wines.We were able to taste them all as she very kindly opened a bottle of the still fermenting MCC; it’s very lively. She adds no dosage, so it will be a Brut Sauvage when it is ready, but it needs lots more time to ferment and settle on the lees in the bottle. We like the pink spotted collar

An interesting display stand

Tables were set out in the courtyard and in the garage. We began supper with this Green Gazpacho which the chef Corlea (a relative of Ilse) told us she had adapted from a Yottam Ottolenghi recipe. Quite delicious and cooling, we detected avocado, yoghurt, baby spinach, parsley, basil, celery, almonds, herbs and a little cucumber. Lynne wants to make it before summer ends. It was served with crisp ciabatta drenched in what tasted like beef dripping and garlic, yum. We had this with a bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc. The grapes are sourced from Robertson and Bonnievale. Ilse doesn't like tropical flavours in Sauvignon Blanc and looks for nice clean pyrazine flavours like green peppers and herbal on the palate

Peter looking well satisfied (wel tevrede)

The food was being prepared in the kitchen behind that lit window

Ilse's husband opens the bubbly and has to cap it with his thumb as it tries to escape

Tastings poured, It is obviously very yeasty and bready and quite crisp and dry, with some light raspberry hints of the Pinot. When it settled it showed those buttery chardonnay characteristics

Twilight supper

The wine we really liked and ordered for supper was the Cinsault. It is jewel bright almandine garnet. At first dusty musty on the nose then boysenberries arrive, fruity sweetness the nose and ripe berries on the palate. It’s gentle and wild at the same time with some prune plum flavours on the end. So nice to see such a good expression of a much neglected grape. One to watch

The main course was served family style for us to help ourselves: Turkish Carrot humus with pickled carrot ribbons. Pepper and coriander seed encrusted ostrich steak with a Cinsault sauce wowed us, an olive, courgette and tomato frittata, tempura cauliflower, sirloin with chimichanga sauce, and rather dry chicken roulade stuffed with tomato, mozzarella and basil

Tired child, Loving, patient father

The chef Corlea comes to tell us about what she cooked for the event

Dessert was shortcrust pastry grape tarts on crème patissière, dark chocolate truffles flavoured with the Shiraz and white condensed milk chocolate truffles flavoured with the MCC. We are so glad we went, we feel we have made friends with someone who is passionate about her wine and a family that loves good food

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A day in Durbanville

We wanted to take our Dutch friends on a local wine tour and Durbanville is very close to town. The weather was perfect and we began at Bloemendal, had lunch at Diemersdal (Lynne had heard very good things about the restaurant and we knew the wine was superb) and finished the day with at last sigh at the view from De Grendel

We began at Bloemendal, which we haven't visited for a while. This is the restaurant, but we wanted the tasting room. Bloemendal grow possibly the best Sauvignon Blanc grapes in Durbanville, on the legendary Suider Terras vineyard

We were directed to "cross the bridge" over there (it was on the other side!) and had a lengthy walk around the farm until we found the outdoor tasting centre at the back of the farm, near the stables which are now guest accommodation. We don't know why they have hidden it. Surely they are proud of the wines? We were warmly welcomed by Etienne le Roux, the Tasting room manager

Tables are under a white marquee, rather wedding-like. We enjoyed some of their wines, starting with their second label Waterlily Sauvignon Blanc at R70. This is the Suider Terras, made in tanks. The Limited Edition is sold out. And then the 2015 Kanonberg Limited Edition SB full of grass, asparagus, green peppers on the nose. This has 30% Semillon added and is made from bush vines. Dry minerality, round mouth, white peaches, pear and granadilla.

We loved the 2014 Semillon, a very limited release as only 1000 bottles were made. It is slightly smoky with groendruif minerality and vanilla, with greengage flavours, mutton fat and crisp acidity, but a sweeter end

The best, the 2014 Chardonnay has vanilla oak limoncello nose; citrus full and round with lemons and limes, very satisfying. Both sell for R175 These wines were all made by consultant Francois Haasbroek

We tasted the 2013 Tierberg Shiraz which is lactic with vanilla ice cream on the nose; a blockbuster red, full of dark berries and spice and black pepper and a bit of brettanomyces character, so it will last

And then we then tasted all the Waterlily reds. The Pinotage shows its soft, perfumed Pinot parent with some leather, very satisfying with a peppery end. The Waterlily merlot was much enjoyed and scored very highly. Loads of cassis and cherries, sweet fruit, dark wood, and milk chocolate rounds it off, with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. No greenness and no mint detected. Thank you Etienne

Then we were off down the valley to Diemersdal, famous for their Sauvignon Blancs. Lynne had heard rumours that the restaurant was doing wonderful things. Indeed it was. We have since discovered that the Royal Portfolio has put it at #5 on their Favourite Restaurants in the Cape Winelands list http://www.theroyalportfolio.com/our-stories/top-10-restaurants-in-the-cape-winelands/

'Twas a hot summer midday with the cicadas singing - we call them Christmas beetles

We chose to sit outside under an umbrella rather than eat in the restaurant

and ordered a bottle of the 8 Rows Sauvignon Blanc, our favourite, but we do like all of their Sauvignons

A lovely lady having lunch with her family

We were in for a treat. Our expectation was usual farm restaurant fare. Two of us chose the tapas menu, the choices sounded interesting

And this is what arrived. Wow. Chef Martin de Kok trained at the Greenhouse and at Jordan under George Jardine. His focus is on locally grown, regionally sourced ingredients. From top left: a deep fried fish ball in a green mustard sauce; Not ground down left over fish, great texture and flavour. Then a lamb confit in a white bean purée - sweet lamb so soft it was in shreds, with a rich bean paste, very French in style. Slices of perfectly rare and pink sirloin steak in a classic Béarnaise sauce (yes with tarragon) and Moutard Moût de Raisin, a French mustard made with grape must. A fresh chilled Asparagus and pea soup which was superb. It still had some texture and was dressed with good olive oil and herbs. And finally a small Barley risotto with dark mushrooms, topped with celeriac puree. Great flavours and texture. Definitely going back for more.

The lads opted for the sirloin steak, rare with the Béarnaise sauce, baked onions, and crisp chips which they loved. Enjoyed with a glass of the Estate Red

The tapas also comes with a dessert, a rather cheffy bread and butter pudding with figs, crème Anglaise and dots of sharp berry jam. Taste and texture more like cake than bread

Owner Tienie Louw in the tasting room

We also made a turn at Altydgedacht, one of the oldest wine farms in the Cape, owned for five generations by the Parker family. We had a quick tasting of the beautiful bone dry, litchi and rose perfumed Gewürztraminer, the excellent smoky Pinotage and the classic dark fruit Barbera as we wanted to introduce them to our friends. Sadly no The Ollo to taste, all sold out until the new vintage is released later in the year. It's a great blend of 35% Semillon, 31% Chardonnay, 23% Viognier, and 11% Chenin blanc. Behind the counter was Robyn, the lovely daughter of viticulturalist John Parker

And with just half an hour before they closed we had to visit de Grendel for the beautiful views and to taste their Sauvignon Blanc

We sat on the cool enclosed terrace

This lovely, polite young man really looked after us, giving us the three wines we asked to taste: Koetshuis 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, classic green pea, elderflower with a mineral note and a hint of wood and a touch of Durbanville salt on the finish; Winifred white blend of Semillon, Viognier and Chardonnay, a complex food wine and 2014 Rubaiyat, a Bordeaux style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, showing classic Cabernet characteristics, good now, but needs at least five years to show its true worth. The Rubaiyat was named after Omar Khayyam’s poems, much loved by the late Sir David Graaff

It was a hot day and we were offered a taste of their new Obex apple cider which impressed Lynne so much, she bought six. It is a proper dry cider, not sweet apple juice turned into alcohol

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MENU, our weekly email newsletter, started as an advertising medium for Main Ingredient, our specialist retail grocery business. We opened our Sea Point shop in December 2002 because realised that there was a place in South Africa for a grocer catering to people with sophisticated tastes and needs. We moved the shop on line in 2010, but discontinued it in 2015, having decided that it is time to “retire” and concentrate on our writing, photography and tour guiding. MENU has a wide circulation and is read nationally and internationally.

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