Franschhoek Media and Trade day at the L'Ormarins Motor Museum

Monday saw us drive to Franschhoek for the Media and Trade tasting of Franschhoek wines, held in the L’Ormarins Motor Museum

The entrance to the tasting room and the Motor Museum

27 producers had stands, with about 6 wines each, and we tasted as many wines as we could manage during the very limited 2 hour tasting. We would have liked it to be longer; it is a long way to drive for a short tasting of so many wines and it seems not a great many of the trade or media did so. There is always a lot of networking at these tastings. As there was no catalogue, Lynne decided to taste random varietals and wines that appealed to her, so she tasted mainly Semillons, Chardonnays and white blends. Then she managed to taste a few of the red wines from specific farms. La Couronnne have a good 2012 Malbec which is a food wine. Holden Manz Cabernet 2010 is a cassis bomb, followed by cherries and spice. She liked the Babylonstoren 2012 Chardonnay with butterscotch and vanilla and citrus. Rickety Bridge The Foundation Stone White 2013 could become a favourite. Black Elephant have an interesting Sauvignon Blanc called Two Dogs, a Peacock and a Horse. Grande Provence Shiraz is a wine to go well with game. John circulated and tasted a varied selection, while taking photos and chatting.

Winemaker Dawie Botha and a colleague on the Anthonij Rupert table. They have a really great elegant Laing 2012 Semillon under the Cape of Good Hope label, we also like the Serruria Chardonnay, and the good, crisp L’Ormarins Brut Classique MCC

The tasting hall mid-afternoon. The tasting was from 3 to 5

A singer set among vintage cars, well protected from the wine trade. Most of the cars from this hall had been moved into the other three halls of the museum. Heaven forfend that anyone should try to climb into a beautiful 1927 Cadillac Phaeton with a glass of wine in hand

So good to see Irene Waller looking so well behind the La Bri table. This is definitely a farm to watch. The wines we tasted are all reaching their peak. A very friendly and elegant chardonnay, full of lemon-limes with a hint of almond, and a lovely crisp, lightly wooded apricot and apple 2013 Viognier. The Merlot 2012 has great fruit expression and Lynne’s comment is BUY!. The Shiraz 2012 is full of coffee chocolate and cherries and the Affinity Bordeaux blend 2012 has perfume, wood and fruit with long, long flavours of superbness. The Petit Verdot in it adds such elegance

Takuan von Arnim pouring some of Cabrière’s delicious Pinot Noir. Their MCC’s are always near the top of our league

Time to head home to the early evening city traffic

Beautiful winter sunset over Franschhoek

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014

Shiraz SA Wine Challenge Awards Lunch and tasting at The Vineyard

Friday saw us at the Vineyard Hotel for this event, now in its second year. First, we were able to taste some of the shirazes which had entered the competition. The standard is amazingly high and we need to start taking bows for the quality and range of styles we are able to produce now. Overseas wine media and buyers are starting to see how good the wines are that we make from this grape. There were also several Shiraz blends to taste and the grape certainly brings a lot to these blends, softening edges and making more complete wines that can last or be enjoyed young and fruity

You too can taste these wines at the Shiraz Showcase, to be held at the Vineyard hotel on August 1st. The Hotel will be running a very good special with the tasting, dinner and a room afterwards with breakfast. Check out their web site www.vineyard.co.za.

Lynne talking to JC Martin of Creation

Reenen Borman of Boschkloof who had two absolutely amazing shirazes to taste: Boschkloof Louis 57 Syrah 2012 & Boschkloof Syrah 2012. Both deservedly won awards later

Tamsin (Tammy) Jaftha from Hartenberg, Sjaak Nelson from Jordan with their award winning shiraz The Prospector 2012, Louwritz Louw of KWV, and Raymond Noppé CWM of Oldenburg Vineyards

Kloovenberg produced a Brut Rosé sparkling from Shiraz

Johan Jordaan of Spier, Carolyn and JC Martin from Creation

Time to sit down for the awards. Master of Ceremonies was Steven von Schlicht of Orange River Cellars. That very nice new French oak barrel presented by the main event sponsor , French cooperage Berthomieu and was won, by lucky draw at the end of the evening, by Boschendal.

Roy Davies, General Manager of the Vineyard Hotel, who were also sponsors, tells us of the Shiraz Showcase to be held at the hotel on August 1st

The seated throng awaiting the awards

MC Steven von Schlicht announces the winners Click here to go to the awards list

Edmund Terblanche, Cellarmaster at La Motte and Shiraz SA chairman, asks why Shiraz is the most important Red variety in SA? Because it is the fastest planted red grape at the moment

The line up of glass trophies - Riedel decanters

Juvenal Cork SA CEO Johan Conradie, who represents the French cooperage company Tonnelerie Berthomieu Ermitage, sponsor of the competition

Cape Wine Master Dr Andy Rudiger - chairman of the judges

Sophia Warner of the Pebbles Project tells us about the important work done by this charity

Eikendal's Carisma gets a shiraz blend award

Riedel sponsored the beautiful Crystal Trophies (Not the glasses used at the tasting or dinner, which were not the shape or quality the industry is accustomed to using for tasting or drinking wine)

The winners line up for congratulations and a photograph

Boschendal take home the barrel

The formal award photograph

The lunch menu

The Moroccan beef fillet was topped with some rather sweet tomato jam

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014

Kaapzicht celebrates 30 years with a special dinner

Kaapzicht – Celebrating 30 years of Winemaking

Friday was another of those days with two events; luckily the timing didn’t clash and we wouldn’t have missed the Kaapzicht Celebration in Bottelary for all the tea in China. We got to know the Steytler family when we were studying wine in the 1990s and have developed a fondness for them and a love for their wine ever since. We sold it in our shop and continue to buy and drink it as often as we can. Major David Charles Steytler bought the farm after the war in 1946, when it was called Rosendal. There have been four generations farming since then, at first mixed farming, and then they changed to grapes. They bottled their first wine in 1984, when the farm was renamed Kaapzicht (transl. Sight of the Cape). They have a beautiful view of Table Mountain from the farm, hence the name

Danie’s wife Yngvild handles the export market and visits at least 20 countries over 13 weeks each year. Now winemaker Danie Junior has the energy and new ideas to improve the wines. He and his wife Karen (who handles the sales) are preparing a new vintage, which will turn their parents into grandparents. Danie senior says winemaking is for young people, not for grandfathers, so the farm is on loan to them. The 5th generation is scheduled to arrive in October. They had a slideshow running, showing us the history of Kaapzicht in pictures. Over the years, Kaapzicht has won many awards for their wines, mostly Pinotage and Bordeaux blends, and we were very lucky to be able to taste these with dinner. This was prepared by Chef Etienne Bonthuys and all the food was cooked on coals of wingerd stokkies (vine prunings). As he produced some salmon soufflé dumplings, we were seriously in awe. Pots of boiling water were spotted on the fire for these. Very brave and it worked very well.

George Steytler welcomed us with a glass of Kaapzicht Celebration bubbly

So new, the corks haven’t gone in yet

Our pathway through barrels and crates into the cellar. Romantic candle light guided us

Long U shaped table for all the invited guests and family

Danie Junior spent days rearranging all the crates to make the cellar more cozy. It will take more days to put it all back. John asked what would happen if any of the labels became detached!

Friends, neighbours and family. Mrs and Johan Malan from Simonsig, Mrs van der Merwe, Danie Steytler, Mr van der Merwe of FNB and Louis Roos from Mooiplaas, the farm next door

Danie Junior, his mother Yngvild, Danie Steytler telling us the farm’s history and his mother, who still lives on the farm

The cellar had such a warm atmosphere with all the lights and candlelight – and not forgetting the heaters

Danie Junior explains what he plans to do to carry on the family farming tradition

The menu

Our wine to accompany the starter was a Markus Schneider Steinberg Riesling 2013 from Germany. Markus Schneider is Kaapzicht’s German agent and he had 1000 bottles made for Danie. It was a beautiful expression of what a Pfalz Steinberg Durkeim Qualitätswein should be. No turpenes, a nice grapey nose and crisp acidity on top of nice fruit

It went so well with the starter of grilled prawns, calamari and soufflé of salmon dumplings with a divine crayfish sauce

The Steytler family enjoying the evening

The 1947 Old Steen (chenin blanc) 2013, for all of us baby boomers, made from vines planted in 1947. It has a nice richness, sweet fruit balanced beneath the acidity and some slight charred wood notes on the end

It was served with Veal sweetbreads with the Kaapzicht Chenin Blanc-based saffron sauce. Perhaps a little adventurous for some palates. We did see rather a lot returned to the kitchen. It was topped with raw salmon sashimi and some creamy chicken liver and fruit accompanied it

Louis Roos in discussion with Danie Junior and his mother

Chef Etienne Bonthuys doing all the cooking on the open fires outside the cellar

Sous chefs assisting; a few watchers enjoying a glass of Kaapzicht

The Chef searing some spring onions

Lots of good organisation

Then it was time for a treat: Magnums of Cape Winemakers Guild Auction wine - Kaapzicht 2001 Auction Reserve. Incense, perfume and violets on the nose, with some herbal balsamic notes. Jammy Cabernet flavours of deeply intense dark berries and some more violets

This and the Steytler 2010 Vision Cape blend were served with the main course of an Ostrich eye fillet with a Kaapzicht Pinotage reduction, topped with tagliolini of pasta and courgette and rich bone marrow

The Vision 2010 Cape Blend had an intense nose, sweet and sour fruit which is layered with some chalk. Pinotage is definitely present in this wine! It won four and half stars in Platter. The Kaapzicht Cabernet 2008 won a Veritas gold

Sadly, no picture of the lovely dessert, but lots of fun was being had by all at the end of the evening. Shante Hutton of Wine.co.za, sommelier Higgo Jacobs, Danie Steytler Jnr and Annareth Bolton, CEO of the Stellenbosch Wine Route - This big?

Something we did not know was that Higgo and Annareth are brother and sister. We know them both well in the wine industry - we were in the same CWA Diploma class as Annareth - but had never met them together. No, this big...

Damn, she is already married

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014