‘Under the Radar’ Wine Tasting at French Toast

WEDNESDAY 20th JUNE 2012 at 18h00. An interactive wine tasting experience with an opportunity to meet these passionate young wine makers: David Sadie from Lemberg Wine Estate, Rikus Neethling from Bizoe Wines & Lourens van der Westhuizen from Arendsig Hand Crafted Wines.

The long tasting table upstairs at French Toast, the tasting is about to begin

The wines we tasted that evening

Lourens van der Westhuizen owner/cellar master of Arendsig in Bonnievale tells us about his Blanc de Noir wine made from Shiraz

Colyn Truter, who organised this tasting and who represents Arendsig and several other good wineries

David Sadie in full flight about  his marvellous Pinot Noir. Some of the tasters are also pairing the good tapas available at French Toast

Rikus Neethling of Bizou wines explaining his philosophy

David and Rikus taking questions at the end of the tasting

all these photographs are ©John Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus cc, 2012

Pairing Japanese food with wine at Kyoto Garden

Kathy Raath, who represents an excellent portfolio of wines and also Brewers & Union beers, organised a tasting of Japanese food with Brewers & Union Step Weiss beer and Bouchard Finlayson and Sterhuis wines at Kyoto Garden restaurant in Kloof Nek Road . Scott, the American owner of Kyoto Garden is fanatical about quality and his presentation is very creative. Lynne was not well and I went on my own.

I started with a delicious, plump West coast oyster which had been dressed with a tiny dash of Ponzu soy sauce and matched it with a taste of Bouchard Finlayson Blanc de Mer - one of those ideal marriages. A selection of small dishes followed, too numerous to mention in detail, but photographs of a few follow:

Crisp raw edamame beans

Lightly seared tuna with sesame seeds, ponzu, beans and asparagus, well matched with the red wines

Miso with noodles and enoki mushrooms

Tempura prawns in a ponzu sauce, soft and succulent with a delicate crispness

A happy gathering with wonderful food and wine

A selection of Sterhuis: Sauvignon, chardonnay, merlot & cabernet sauvignon

Sushi, sashimi and similar Japanese dishes' suitability as food to pair with white wines can pretty well be taken for granted. The Bouchard Finlayson and Sterhuis sauvignons and chardonnays and the Blanc de Mer were all good matches for the food. I expected a bigger challenge for the reds. We had Galpin Peak pinot noir and the Hannibal red blend from Bouchard Finlayson and merlot and cabernet sauvignon from Sterhuis. I tried these with the tuna and some of the sushi. The Hannibal was probably the toughest match. It is such a deep rich wine, but the licorice notes helped it to match the soy/ponzu sauce in most of the dishes. The supple, ripe fruit in the Galpin Peak and the two Sterhuis reds helped them  to pair easily with any of the darker and richer sauces. Beer and Asian food tend to match each other very well and the German weissbier was a refreshing complement to the food.

All these photographs are ©John Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus cc, 2012

Photographed with Nokia N8

Lunch on the terrace at Haute Cabrière

Two views of the inside of the elegant restaurant

The reception area with comfy sofas 

Studying the menu with Alton van Biljon, the restaurant manager

The menu of the day four courses for R150; with a glass of wine paired with each course R250. Available at lunch only on Tuesday to Friday

Starters  and mains on their normal menu.

More mains and desserts

Enjoying the view and a glass of Pierre Jourdan bubbly

So smooth parsnip and cumin soup with aubergine pickle beneath and crispy apple slices as garnish, We had this with a glass of Haute  Cabrière Chardonnay Pinot Noir 2011.

Pumpkin and Lemongrass risotto with a marvellous walnut and crème fraiche mousse melting on top and highlighted with nice crisp pumpkin seeds which went beautifully with the unwooded Pinot Noir 2011.

Off the main menu: Slow roasted chilli and black bean pork belly with red pepper and cashew pomme puree and a new one on us, pickled tomatillos.  This contrasted well with another of Achim von Arnim’s excellent Pinot Noirs.

Braised beef shin, garlic mash, caramelised shallots and a root vegetable ragout on a beetroot reduction.

Bacon wrapped organic beef fillet on a butternut puree with bacon and pine nut salad and a bucchu jus. On the normal menu.

Dessert was a walnut and prune pudding with tarragon icecream and a gingerbread sauce. And this came with Pierre Jourdan Ratafia, that compliments any dessert it is paired with.

Chef Ryan Shell and Ingrid Petersen

The entrance to the Haute  Cabrière Cellar Restauant

The glorious view from the Terrace

All these photographs were made with a Nokia N8 smartphone and are ©John Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2012

Villiera's new tasting room

The counter in the Villiera Tasting room

Megaflash the tasting room cat, melting on a chic velvet chair that matches his fur,  in front of his fire

The wonderful selection of bottles of wine and bubbly that Villiera produces, here and in France

Lynne making notes as she tastes the rose and the white wines

And then the reds... The Monro and the Domaine Grier are really special.

Staff are recycling newspaper to make the very attractive gift bags, a really great project. Villiera is a very "green" farm, recycling everything they can and producing their own electricity from photovoltaic panels on the farm's roofs.

Jeff Grier, Cape Wine Master and owner/winemaker of Villiera at the counter in front of his wines

Ancient and modern mix well in the tasting room. The chandelier is an award winning design, ditto the very basic solid wood table and benches, do not jar with the magnificent old heritage Jonkmanskas linen press

These images were made with a Nokia N8 smartphone and are ©John Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus cc, 2012

Dinner at the Mount Nelson's Planet restaurant

Executive Chef Rudi Liebenberg accepting his limited edition photograph in the Planet Bar at  the Mount Nelson

The Journey Menu we ate. R330 for five courses. Recommended wines are extra. This menu is for the whole table only.

From the Earth vegetarian menu at R300 per person

Main á la Carte Menu – Starters

Salads and Soups

Main Courses. There is a separate dessert menu.

Our circular table at the Planet Restaurant before it filled up.

A nice touch, everyone gets a small table for their handbag, camera, etc next to their chair

An Amuse Bouche of tiny lamb kibbeh with tsatziki, vegetable spring rolls and crisp fish parcels

Executive Chef Rudi Lieberberg with Gaby Palmer Bolton Regional PRO of the hotel and Orient Express group

Sommelier Carl Habel joins us at the table

Our first starter: Spiced cured salmon Trout on cauliflower crème

From the main menu: Tomato soup, smoked mussels, and a tomato tart

From the main menu: 5 Oysters with horseradish

Rijks marvellous Semillon

Our second course, delicious layered Duck terrine with prune puree and pickled quince salad

From the main menu: Black pepper & coriander cured springbok carpaccio, with smoked aubergine, cracked chick pea salad

Our next course: a soft and smooth and crunchy Jerusalem artichoke risotto. So nice to see this rarely served vegetable used to its fullest potential

A mixed vegetable salad

Some of the marvellous wines we drank

Our main course of slow cooked pork belly with apple, onion and sprouts

From the main menu:  The magnificent mushroom risotto

Another main course from the menu: Grilled Lamb loin, spiced lamb neck, pumpkin on cous cous

Gaby had slow cooked pasture reared herbed chicken on tortellini with baby root vegetables, and a velouté 

De Wetshof Edeloes Noble Late Harvest dessert wine 2000

Our dessert: the Hazelnut tart with a crème fraiche “sorbet”, crisp squares of caramel and some fruit and nut crumble. Just the right amount and a perfect counterpoint to the dessert wine

All these photographs are ©John Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2012