.

Thursday, April 04, 2013

The launch of the Graham Beck The Game Reserve wine portfolio

Arrival at the Camps Bay Retreat and Nature Reserve in the Glen in Camps Bay, a magnificent old house now part of the Village and Life Group, built in 1908 overlooking the bay, welcomed with Graham Beck Blanc de Blancs 2008 and some good canapés

The small dining room for guests

The table under the pergola all set up for the Graham Beck The Game Reserve wine tasting and then lunch

Very good smoked salmon and caper berries, served with the Graham Beck 2008 Blanc de Blancs Cap Classique

Fresh oysters with Cape gooseberries and ginger

Old friends catching up, some of us from a function just the previous day

The delightful golden retriever in residence kept us all amused and wanted to play

CEO of Graham Beck wines, Chris du Toit, gets proceedings started by introducing the concept of the Nature reserve and The Game Reserve wines

The Camps Bay Retreat is a very elegant building built in 1908 in what Lynne terms “Early Cape Tuscan” style. Our small Sea Point house built in 1924 has some of the same features but this is a very grand and stately lady.

Nicolette Waterford, whose Public Relations Company so ably organised the function for Graham Beck

Wine Merchant Mike Bampfield Duggan, Managing director of Wine Concepts in Newlands and, recently, in Johannesburg

Mossie Basson, formerly of the Department of Conservation and, currently, Graham Beck Wines’ conservation manager tells us about the Graham Beck Reserve

Graham Beck’s award winning Cellarmaster, Erika Obermeyer, tells us about The Game Reserve wines

Marketing Manager Etienne Heyns

It was a perfect late summer’s day.

Allan Mullins of Woolworths Wines enjoys the view from the terrace

The lunch menu

Crisp breaded baby squid stuffed with herbed cream cheese and served with a fennel and tomato concasse. This was served with the Cape Eagle Owl Chardonnay and/or the Honey Badger Viognier

The most fantastically tender slow-cooked rack of lamb with rosemary jus, pomme dauphine – crisp potato mixed with choux pastry and then deep fried - and perfectly cooked mini seasonal vegetables

Wines served with this course were the Cape Clawless Otter Merlot or the Eland Shiraz

Dessert was a Chocolate Delice (tart) with a puff cereal crust, on chocolate soil with a dark chocolate sorbet and a hazelnut tuile and raspberries. Wine served was the Leopard Cabernet Sauvignon

And there were yet more delights on a plate of Petits Fours: a smooth and deliciously dark chocolate shard with pistachio nuts, homemade toffee and coconut ice followed by coffee or tea

Bees buzzing in the lavender

Luan Nel's exhibition at Everard Read

The exhibition was in two rooms with an installation upstairs

The picture many people like is entitled Migration

Two of Luan Nel’s sky pictures, He is very good at capturing the Cape’s moody and spectacular skies. The bottom one is entitled Arrivals

Seagulls in flight

A skein of ducks in flight

Drinks in the courtyard

Four in a row

The picture that speaks to Lynne called Carmine Bee eater. The veld, after a fire has just swept through

Naughty thief

Journalist Neil Pendock with Jonathan Steyn

The artist with his pictures

James Cunningham and Lynne discuss art, life and writing novels

The exhibition was very well attended...

...and several pictures have been sold already

James Cunningham admires Luan’s moving art installation Swallow on the first floor of the gallery

The Everard Read Gallery on Portswood Road at the V&A Waterfront

New autumn menu at La Mouette, Sea Point

The menu

Starter of Sweet potato soup with harissa, yogurt and lavoche bread accompanied by our favourite crisp truffle and cheese croquettes

Second course was a large butternut and fontina cheese stuffed ravioli, with puy lentils, butternut puree, pickled apple and a sage beurre noisette The pasta was perfect and very thin

We all chose the pan-fried Hake (Hake is not a line fish) with a fricassee of tiny fried gnocchi and a crisp braised beef croquette. This was quite a meaty dish and the very so fresh hake fell apart into moist flakes.

John’s dish of simply cooked Roasted chicken with caramelized onions, wild garlic, mashed potato and a thyme jus

William and Lynne had the Mushroom risotto with a smoked onion puree, parmesan cream, mushroom “caviar”, and on the side, crispy battered mushrooms which were divine

Chef Henry’s modern take on a Waldorf Salad with gorgonzola, celeriac puree, green apple jelly, candied walnuts and grapes

The launch of the Terra del Capo and Anthonij Rupert Wines Tasting Rooms

Welcome drink in the entrance to the Terra del Capo Tasting room was the newly released L’Ormarins Brut Classique which will retail at R110

The tasting room bar

Journalist Melvin Minnaar chats to Gary Baumgarten, Managing Director of Anthonij Rupert Wines

The restaurant area, where you can sit and watch the whole bottling line process through the glass wall

Fiona MacDonald, editor of Whisky Magazine, inspects the new decor done by interior designer, Francois du Plessis Interiors

Andrew Harris, the Brand Manager, tells us the background of the wines as we begin the tasting

The line up of glasses ready for the first round of tasting: from the left – L’Ormarins Brut Classique non vintage; Terra del Capo Pinot Grigio 2012; Protea Sauvignon Blanc 2012 and Protea Chardonnay 2010

Gidi Caetano, the hospitality manager, pours the wines for us

L’Ormarins Brut Cap Classique with good mousse

First flight

Gary Baumgarten telling us about the grapes, the vineyards and the wines

The knowledgeable serving staff behind the bar

There are always a lot of notes to take during a media wine tasting

The second flight of wines: Terra del Capo Sangiovese 2010 – our favourite; Protea Reserve 2011 and Terra del Capo Arne 2008

Great colour concentration on all the red wines

Our delicious and fresh lunch menu. All the antipasti vegetables are local as are the cheeses, the charcuterie is imported from Italy as they have not yet found a local supplier with the quality they are seeking.

Parma ham and melon

Caprese salad

The marinated artichokes were very special and a marvellous match with the Pinot Grigio

A beautiful plate of roasted vegetables, part of the Antipasti lunch, featured sundried tomatoes, grilled courgettes, chilli butternut slices, braised onions, quails eggs, cheese stuffed peppadews, chargrilled aubergine slices and mange tout.

The view from the Manor House; home to the Cape of Good Hope and Anthonij Rupert Wine ranges, features beautiful wooden beam ceilings, yellow wood floors and spacious areas for entertaining, furnished throughout in the style of the mid-nineteenth century in the Cape. Well-known interior designer Graham Viney was commissioned for this project as he is renowned for favouring the Cape Heritage style.

This is one of the oldest buildings in the area and was the Cape home of the late Graham Beck

Three of the vintage cars from the Rupert Collection Motor Museum at L’Ormarins

A magnificent feature bath in one of the guest rooms

The bedroom, full of soft comfortable furnishings and a four poster bed

The comfortable four poster bed, period chandelier, and antique mirror above the Victorian fireplace

Tasting our way through the Anthonij Rupert and Cape of Good Hope wines

The four beautiful Antonij Rupert reds. From the left: Anthonij Rupert 2009 Optima red blend of Cabernet, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and a little Cinsault (R120); Anthonij Rupert Blend 2007 Cabernet, Cabernet Franc and Merlot (R750) (the first SA wine to score 95 points in Wine Spectator); Anthonij Rupert Merlot 2007 (R410); Anthonij Rupert Syrah 2007 (R420)

The line-up of the wines we tasted in the afternoon

Very talented winemaker Dawie Botha, who guided us through the tasting, seated next to Fiona MacDonald

The scrumptious tea laid on for us after the tasting

A view of the garden through the magnificent front doors

A view of the Franschhoek mountains behind the farm

The Manor House shop carries all the wines and produce made on the farm. They have honey, olives, olive oil, spice rubs, small gifts and other offerings. These are also available from the shop at the Terra del Cape tasting centre

Bottles of the delicious Anthonij Rupert Syrah 2007

The Cape of Good Hope wine selection

Good advice...