Monday, September 05, 2016

A visit to Ridgeback Wines

We hadn't visited Ridgeback since 2013 and they invited us to return and taste their wines recently, so we decided to combine the visit with a trip to see the Spring flowers up the West Coast last Saturday, which was a lovely sunny day. The tasting was followed by lunch on the deck and then a chat with the owner Vernon Cole and his daughter. They are originally from Zimbabwe where the Ridgeback dog is famous.. It was a very friendly tasting and we were ably led through the wines, which are made by Toit Wessels, by Pieter van Straaten. Then we motored off through the Malmesbury and Darling countryside to spot the daisies
The rustic tasting room. They have about 14 wines on their current list, we tasted many of these. We bought a box of the good Lion Hound 2015 White for drinking this summer, it was on special at R300 for 12. It is a blend of their rather tropical Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier - crisp, clean full of peaches and limes so refreshing. We also rated the Ridgeback 2015 Chenin R80 and the Ridgeback 2014 Viognier 2014 quite highly. Both are well made and drink well. the Viognier is wooded but this has softened with age. Both are 4 star Platter wines, as are the 2 reds below.
We sat inside as it was a bit windy on the deck initially. Then it was time to taste the reds. The well wooded 2013 Cabernet Franc, R110, impressed with lots of savoury umami, red fruit and black olive notes with plums and rhubarb. A food wine. The His Master's Choice 2013 R150. a blend of Shiraz, Mourvèdre and Grenache also had us talking: Rich intense fruit with cherries, pomegranate and cassis and salty savoury liquorice from the Mourvedre, this Rhône blend finishes with white pepper on the end. We also liked the spicy Shiraz 2013, R110
The restaurant and tasting room are built on stilts over a huge pond filled with water birds and koi fish
Just one duck awake
An unusual duck. There are also white swans and a pair of New Zealand black swans
Lots of huge koi carp, in gleaming colours
They all look the same size but apparently the smaller ones swim deep
The wind had dropped, so we moved outside for lunch on the deck under the trees
Owner Vernon Cole and his daughter Vanessa
Pieter chose this sweet and sour pork dish for his lunch
Lynne had two starters instead of a main: Calamari was on special and the other was spicy Thai fish cakes with a sweet chilli sauce. The portions are very generous.
John chose the rump steak with a Teriyaki dressing, pepper cream sauce and chips. We had no room for dessert and finished with coffees. Thank you all at Ridgeback 
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016

Wine Concepts Seductive Sauvignons at The Vineyard

This annual opportunity to taste some of the best newly released Sauvignons Blanc and the current vintages of the Cabernet Sauvignons was hosted last Friday by Mike Bampfield Duggan of Wine Concepts at the Vineyard Hotel. It always is a serious and fun tasting. We attempt to taste as many as we can on the evening, but there are many new wines to taste and, even if we did speed tasting (which we don’t), there are lots of questions one wants to ask the winemakers 
There were many interesting wines; we're not sure if some of the newly released Sauvignon Blancs are showing their best frocks at the moment. Many are shy and retiring, one or two were a bit flat and bottle shocked, but we wait to try them later next year. Those we expected to be good, are. It was a difficult harvest with the drought. The few Reds we tasted were superb. Also included this year were some Bubblies, Rose’s and Dessert wines and a couple of older vintages which impressed
GM of the Vineyard Hotel, Roy Davies enjoying the evening
The Bloemendal crew: Etienne le Roux, cellar door manager, and Michelle Moller
Thinus Botha of Buitenverwachting
On the Cape Point stand, we found winemaker Riandri Visser, Jeanne Roosendaal, Jenna Bruwer of Springfield and Charles Pohl of Rust en Vrede
Sue Proudfoot of Wine Concepts, Kloof Street converses with Ian Corder from Corder wines in Elgin
Old friends Anne and Kevin Gleeson chat to Mark Lester of Tokara
Two fun wine people: John Collins, who represents several good wine farms, but was showing Springfield wines on this occasion, with Sarah Revell of Vinimark
Klein Constantia wines on offer. Winemaker Matthew Day has just been recognised by international wine writer Tim Atkin MW as his choice of Young Winemaker of the Year
At last a great picture of my old man, instead of him always being behind the camera. With Sarah Revell. You rock John Ford

Friday, September 02, 2016

This Week's MENU. CWG Auction tasting, Bottling Vineyard Hotel wines, Pruning vines at the Vineyard, Young Wine Awards, Smak, Chenin Blanc Top Ten, Vinimark Trade Tasting, Catherine Marshall Pinot, butter

Ducks on the dam at Waterford Wine Estate, Stellenbosch
Last week was extremely busy, as you will see below, and we faced a few challenges. We still don't have our car back, it's been more than a month but are eternally grateful for friends Pamela and James who have lent us a car while James is travelling. The rand is again in freefall due to bad judgement and management by our Government and we see inflation knocking at the door, with recession threatening soon after, if something is not done to stem the flow. Lynne popped into Shoprite this week to buy two things: 500 g of ordinary local butter and 3 cloves of garlic. She came out reeling, they cost R75. So if you add a good loaf of bread, garlic bread for dinner will now cost you R100. WHAT! Garlic bread a luxury? We will be planting some garlic this week. Now, are milk cows allowed in city gardens?
Last week was extremely busy, as you will see below, and we faced a few challenges. We still don't have our car back, it's been more than a month but are eternally grateful for friends Pamela and James who have lent us a car while James is travelling. The rand is again in freefall due to bad judgement and management by our Government and we see inflation knocking at the door, with recession threatening soon after, if something is not done to stem the flow. Lynne popped into Shoprite this week to buy two things : 500 g of ordinary local butter and 3 cloves of garlic. She came out reeling, they cost R75 rand. So if you add a good loaf of bread, garlic bread for dinner will now cost you R100. WHAT! Garlic bread a luxury? We will be planting some garlic this week. Now, are milk cows allowed in city gardens?
2016 Cape Winemakers Guild tutored tasting and Auction Showcase     This is, without doubt, always our best wine tasting experience of the year. We had the opportunity to taste 38 of the 54 Guild 2016 Auction wines and one brandy, at speed, hear what each winemaker has to say about the wine he or she is entering in the auction, make notes, empty a glass for the next wine and move on quickly. Some winemakers are great and talk up their wines giving the tasters time to do all the above. Others just say the name of their wines and move off at speed, which adds to the frisson of the event, but leaves us breathless
The wines are extraordinary. If you love and buy wine, register now to attend this year's auction which will be on the 1st of October at Spier. It is open to the public. Registration for the Auction and sales of VIP Lounge tickets will close on Wednesday, 16 September 2016. Contact CWG for details. http://www.capewinemakersguild.com/auction We will see you there
Bottling the Vineyard Hotel wines and tasting four vintages with lunch at Waterford     This year, we were also invited to Waterford wine estate for a tasting of the last four years of the wines that have been made. Waterford, who are one of the four wine farms which sponsor a row of vines, vinified the 2015 vintage. We were to taste the wines and have lunch together
Pruning the vines at the Vineyard Hotel      Once a year, we are invited by the management of The Vineyard Hotel to join them and help prune the vines in the small vineyard on the side of the Liesbeek river in the gardens of the hotel. They have, kindly, made us custodians of one vine. As some of the other people who have been granted a vine are unable to come, we often find that we do a good part of a row, which we enjoy immensely
It is great to be taught a little more technique on pruning methods each year by a different winemaker or viticulturist ,although some do differ widely in their methods. Last year, after we had pruned, one the viticulturists came and did a really hard prune back which may have resulted in the smaller crop in 2016. This year, we were told that the intention was to be not quite so rigorous
The South African Young Wine Awards at The CTICC     Why do we love going to this awards presentation? It's not really to taste the young wines; they are still very young and need to develop their spurs but at these occasions we get to meet the young winemakers who are involved in making these wines and they are the future of the wine industry.
A birthday breakfast at Smak     We don't often get out for breakfast, much as we would like to. Mornings at home are precious, especially after a long week of work, and some late nights. But last week a dear friend had a birthday and we decided to take her out for breakfast to celebrate. She chose to introduce us her favourite breakfast restaurant, SMAK in Bree Street. A first for us; she and her husband have grown fond of this newish venue, opened by two young entrepreneurial chefs Devin Hogan and Katia Scherf in February 2016
They bill themselves as a delicatessen, patisserie, restaurant and coffee bar. It’s light, modern and open six days a week for breakfasts and lunch and take-aways. They are closed on Sundays
Chenin Blanc Top Ten Challenge Awards at Delaire Graff     This annual awards ceremony was held at Delaire Graff this year. We always know that we are going to taste some amazing Chenins with lunch and what a good lunch it was. If you want to see who is in the top 10 this year, click on this link www.chenin.co.za. This is the third year in which the awards have been held and seven of this year's winners have previously been winners, showing how consistent some of these farms are at producing superb Chenin Blanc
Vinimark Trade Tasting     Back in the Ballroom at the CTICC for the third time in a week, this huge trade tasting is overwhelming in its depth, variety and scope of the wines available to taste. There is no way you can consciously even contemplate tasting all of the wines, we usually manage a wine or two at about a third to half of the farms. And it is a very social evening as they also invite some of their customers and we know many of them.

This gentle fruity Pinot has evolved into one of the most delicious Pinot Noirs currently available. It was the talk of two recent trade wine tastings we attended and we so agree. It is Cathy in a glass, friendly, complex, strong, independent but wonderfully feminine. Drink now or squirrel away for special occasions. About R210 at good wine outlets. or direct from Cathy http://cmwines.co.za/range/

Yes, we are serious.
2 cups (500 ml ) double cream will make one cup of butter, leaving you with 1 cup of buttermilk. You need cream with a butterfat of at least 35 %. Chill a sieve in the fridge.
Put the cream into a food processor and blend. You need to continue until you have overbeaten the cream and keep going. The cream will start to clump and give off some liquid. That's the buttermilk. When the cream clumps together in one mass, turn off the processor and using the cold sieve drain off the liquid. Keep it, you can use buttermilk in your cooking. What remains in butter.
Now wash the butter in cold water until it runs clear. Transfer it from the sieve into a bowl and using cold hands (run them under a cold tap) or a spatula, knead it to remove any water. Pour that off and add a little salt, this helps to preserve the butter. You only need about a quarter to half a teaspoon, according to your taste. Form into a roll and wrap in parchment paper. Store in the fridge. You can of course add flavours like herbs, paprika, garlic or lemon if serving with food or bread.
1st September 2016
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What's on the Menu this week? How to make your own butter:

Yes, we are serious.
2 cups (500 ml ) double cream will make one cup of butter, leaving you with 1 cup of buttermilk. You need cream with a butterfat of at least 35 %. Chill a sieve in the fridge.
Put the cream into a food processor and blend. You need to continue until you have overbeaten the cream and keep going. The cream will start to clump and give off some liquid. That's the buttermilk. When the cream clumps together in one mass, turn off the processor and using the cold sieve drain off the liquid. Keep it, you can use buttermilk in your cooking. What remains in butter.

Now wash the butter in cold water until it runs clear. Transfer it from the sieve into a bowl and using cold hands (run them under a cold tap) or a spatula, knead it to remove any water. Pour that off and add a little salt, this helps to preserve the butter. You only need about a quarter to half a teaspoon, according to your taste. Form into a roll and wrap in parchment paper. Store in the fridge. You can of course add flavours like herbs, paprika, garlic or lemon if serving with food or bread.
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016

On the Wine Menu this week: Catherine Marshall’s 2013 Pinot Noir on Clay soil

This gentle fruity Pinot has evolved into one of the most delicious Pinot Noirs currently available
It was the talk of two recent trade wine tastings we attended and we so agree. It is Cathy in a glass, friendly, complex, strong, independent but wonderfully feminine. Drink now or squirrel away for special occasions. About R210 at good wine outlets. or direct from Cathy http://cmwines.co.za/range/
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016

Thursday, September 01, 2016

Chenin Blanc Top Ten Challenge Awards at Delaire Graff

This annual awards ceremony was held at Delaire Graff this year. We always know that we are going to taste some amazing Chenins with lunch and what a good lunch it was. If you want to see who is in the top 10 this year, click on this link www.chenin.co.za. This is the third year in which the awards have been held and seven of this year's winners have previously been winners, showing how consistent some of these farms are at producing superb Chenin Blanc
Delaire Graff has one of the most amazing outlooks in the winelands and when you arrive on a spring day like this, it is sensational. We were met with glasses of two MCC bubblies made from Chenin Blanc, Ken Forrester's SparkleHorse and Perdeberg. A welcome too from Hanneke Botha, winemaker at De Morgenzon
Good canapés were served while we waited for the awards lunch to begin. These were sweetcorn croquettes with a tomato chakalaka
Very fresh slivers of raw yellowtail with bean sprouts, pea shoots and wasabi mayo
Large pearly oysters with caviar
It is always a very social occasion
Ken Forrester, Chairman of the Chenin Blanc Association with Darius Rasool, Marketing Manager, Business Banking at sponsor Standard Bank
There were 124 entries this year, all of which were tasted blind by a five-person panel with no indication of vintage, cellar treatment or technical analysis. In his opening speech Ken Forrester said: “The overall quality is proof that Chenin is going places. Across the board the wines are world class. This is the most excited I’ve ever been for Chenin in South Africa”
Rapt attention
“We are proud to be associated with South African Chenin Blanc and the wine industry as a whole, said Craig Polkinghorne, Head of Commercial and Business Banking at Standard Bank. “By giving recognition to this grape variety we form part of a better wine industry for all. As indicated by the Top 10 winners, all of them are donating their prize money to various charities and worthy courses in and among their areas including Sunfield Home, the Du Toitskloof DGB Mobile Library, the Anna Foundation, Kusasa, The Agroecology Academy and crèches in Mbekweni and at Allée Bleue. And so we pay it forward
The judging panel this year was made up of Christian Eedes, one of South Africa’s most respected wine judges as chairperson of the judging panel, Jamie Goode, a London-based wine writer and currently wine columnist at UK national newspaper The Sunday Express, Higgo Jacobs, certified with the Court of Master Sommeliers and wine judge, Cathy van Zyl, Master of Wine, regular judge and associate editor of Platter’s South African Wine Guide, as well as wine writer and certified wine judge Samarie Smith and Tinashe Nyamudoka, sommelier at the well-known Test Kitchen, South Africa’s number one restaurant
Head Judge Christian Eedes commented that “Chenin Blanc is such a complicated category to judge, because of the diversity of styles. And this year was no exception. The competition received entries with a wide diversity of styles – from clean and fresh fruit to oxidative ones – and they all worked. There really is a style for every consumer out there. This category seems to go from strength to strength. We could see and taste that there is a general confidence among South African winemakers when they are working with this grape and a real conviction of what they want to do with this grape. It was a really great year for Chenin”
Niel Groenewald, head winemaker and brand manager of Bellingham
Johann Laubscher, General Manager of Delaire Graff, Willie du Plessis, Head: Business Banking Western Cape at Standard Bank Group, Craig Polkinghorne and Kobus Basson, owner of Kleine Zalze
Five of the top 10 winners, in no particular order: They are L to R : Allée Bleue 2015. Price: R65 93% Chenin Blanc, 7% Viognier from Franschhoek and Walker Bay vineyards; Bellingham The Bernard Series Old Vine 2015 Price: R160 From Agter-Paarl, Bottelary and Durbanville vineyards, with an average vine age of 45 years; Boschendal Sommelier Selection 2015 Price: R85 From old Agter Paarl, Bottelary and Somerset West vineyards. Largely unwooded, 15% fermented in oak; DeMorgenzon Reserve 2015 Price: R225 From Stellenbosch vines planted in 1972. Matured for 11 months in French oak, 25% new. The first of two for Kleine Zalze, the Family Reserve 2015 Price: R160 From three different wards of Stellenbosch, vineyards approximately 35 years in age. Matured for eight months in old 400-litre French oak barrels
The other five top 10 winners, in no particular order: They are L to R : the second winner from Kleine Zalze, the Vineyard Selection Barrel Fermented 2015 Price: R80 From Stellenbosch vineyards ranging from 25 to 40 years old. Matured for six months in old 400-litre French oak barrels; Leopard’s Leap Culinaria Collection 2015 Price: R80 From Voor-Paardeberg vineyards with an average age of 20 years. Matured in 500-litre French oak barrels, none new; Perdeberg The Dry Land Collection Barrel Fermented 2015 Price: R77 From two vineyards in the Agter Paarl area, one 26 years old and the other 32. Matured for 10 months in 500-litre French oak barrels, 20% new; Rijk’s Private Cellar Barrel Fermented 2013 Price: R140 WO Tulbagh. Grapes from 17-year-old trellised vines and seven-year-old bush vines. 20% fermented in tank, 80% fermented and matured for 11 months in 300-litre French and Hungarian oak, 40% of which was new; Spier 21 Gables 2015 Price: R150. From Tygerberg vineyards with an average age of 43 years. Matured for 14 months in a combination of 300, 400, 500 and 2500  litre French oak barrels, 60% new
Time for lunch and a chance to taste some of the winners with it. The menu
The first Intermediate course was a savoury butternut velouté topped with a great Cape Malay curry foam. The soup contained a rather large and weighty duck and pear filled ravioli. This was served with the Leopards Leap Culinaria, full of smoky melon apple and grass notes and the perfumed Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection is full, golden citrus and apple with good minerality
The second intermediate course was rather fatty salted Pork Belly, popcorn crackling, parsnip and honey puree, a thyme jus with mebos dots. The Spier 21 Gables served with it was lean and clean citrus with a touch of marmalade. A great match for this rich dish. The Kleine Zalze Family Reserve is in your face Chenin, the nose is green, the palate tropical, enjoyable
All the winners with their certificates. In front of spring vineyards bursting with buds on the slopes of the Simonsberg mountain
Main course was almost a step too far, this was a fourth course. It was Rolbaken chicken breasts with a carrot puree, coal roasted cauliflower, gem squash and a Cointreau jus. The Perdeberg Dry Land Chenin was rounder than expected, with limes and lemons and a clean minerality on the end. The other wine was De Morgenzon's Reserve, full with wood layered fruit, a sparkle of acid, lemons limes almost a mojito character, delicious
Nontokozo Madonsela, Craig Polkinghorne and Willie du Plessis
Vine pruning with the Simonsberg mountain majestic as the backdrop
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

A birthday breakfast at Smak

We don't often get out for breakfast, much as we would like to. Mornings at home are precious, especially after a long week of work, and some late nights. But last week a dear friend had a birthday and we decided to take her out for breakfast to celebrate. She chose to introduce us her favourite breakfast restaurant, SMAK in Bree Street. A first for us; she and her husband have grown fond of this newish venue which was opened by two young entrepreneurial chefs, Devin Hogan and Katia Scherf, in February 2016
They bill themselves as a delicatessen, patisserie, restaurant and coffee bar. It’s light, modern and open six days a week for breakfasts and lunch and take-aways. They are closed on Sundays
Plenty of seating just after 9 on Saturday morning, with lots of regulars
We began with a bottle of Colmant Brut Rosé which we had taken with us. They do not have a licence yet
It's an open kitchen
An Americano coffee with a small fennel and almond biscuit fits the bill
Chef Devin on the pass preparing a dish. Both chefs are graduates of Prue Leith’s Academy
They make their own pasta; we hear it is excellent
The good ol’ scramble with cream cheese, balsamic caramelised onions, scrambled eggs, pan-fried mushrooms & parmesan served on toasted ciabatta
A fluffy omelette for John with bacon and cheese, made to order
Lynne had the interesting take on an Arnold Bennett omelette. It comes in a cocotte, has scrambled eggs on the base, smoked haddock is substituted with smoked trout and it is topped with both béchamel and hollandaise sauces, quite rich, a scattering of parmesan and flashed under the salamander grill. Served with toasted ciabatta. Not for take away, it says on the menu
The Birthday girl had the smashed avocado on toast, topped with lemon juice and poached eggs. She said the eggs were perfect. Neither of us is able to reproduce these at home, much as we try all the different methods. Probably because the supermarket eggs we get are not fresh enough, is the theory
Prices are very reasonable, we felt very comfortable and relaxed and the Deli counter is full of lots of different temptations, including good looking gateaux. They also sell some good Italian ingredients
For once, we left the Nikon at home. The photographs were taken with John's Nokia Windows phone
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016