Tuesday, October 11, 2016

MENU. Wednesday, September 28, 2016. Nederburg Auction 2016, Amorim Cap Classique Challenge, 1821 Grand Constance comes home, Asian Style Beef salad, Durbanville Hills Rhinofields Sauvignon


A bee harvests the delights of an orange blossom
We wish all our Jewish readers Shanah Tovah and well over the Fast
Another great week of wine and some good food. Our car came back to us just in time for a period of intense travel. The festival season is beginning and we are having to visit Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, Durbanville, Darling and Robertson all in the next couple of weeks. Our petrol bill goes sky high and we really appreciate it when the event organisers arrange transport for us. This is the height of the media season and the diary is rather full so we will have lots to tell you about
We are having a problem sending MENU by email. When we called our service provider, MWeb, to ask why we could only send out to about 20 addresses per hour, we were told that they have a new policy which means that bulk mailing is no longer possible from any account and that this applies to all service providers. They said that the only way round it is to re-jig our mailing list of over 5000 addresses into groups of 20 instead of the 250 or so we've used up to now. Eveb that isn’t working, so we are looking at alternative ways of sending the email version to you
What we need to ask of all our subscribers is to follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Google+, so that all our stories and MENU can be accessed as they are published, so that we can all get round this obstacle
The Nederburg Auction 2016      This year's Nederburg Auction had 146 items, 1034 lots, 10 506 litres of wine to auction and made a final total of R7 593 200 with total sales increasing by 23% over last year, in spite of a slightly lower volume on sale of 4% from the 2015. Tsogo Sun was the top buyer for 2016, with a total of just over R1 million, followed by the SPAR group and the Singita group of luxury lodges. We attended on Saturday and had an interesting and enjoyable day. We didnt buy anything this year, the high prices were daunting
A total of 18 lots were sold at the exciting annual Nederburg Charity Auction taken by Roland Peens during lunch, which raised just over R500 000 for two community-based organisations, the Breytenbach Centre in Wellington and the Hope Through Action project in Paarl. The highest price achieved was R70,000 paid for a single 750ml bottle of Petrus, 1988, signed by Christian Moueix that was donated by auctioneer Anthony Barne MW. If you would like the see the results in details go here https://www.nederburgauction.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/2016-Results.pdf
A Historical “Home Coming” at Groot Constantia     Groot Constantia brought home an 1821 bottle of its famed Grand Constance. Groot Constantia was the successful bidder recently in an overseas auction for a 195 year old bottle of Grand Constance 1821, a wine that was produced in the Groot Constantia Cloete Cellar. They were so delighted at acquiring the wine and returning it to its origin that they invited a group of us to celebrate its return last week. They also promised a surprise event during the day
The 15th year of the Amorim Cap Classique Challenge     The awards ceremony for this prestigious competition, sponsored by Portuguese cork producer Amorim, was held last Wednesday at the Twelve Apostles Hotel. There were 113 entries for the four categories: Blanc de Blancs, Rosé, Blended Brut and a Museum Class for wines including and before the 2008 vintage. And there were a few surprises this year. The labels usually at the top were not up there and two producers both took home two top awards. The wines are tasted blind by a panel of experienced judges and this year there was a change in judging procedures in that categories were narrowed, with judging no longer being done separately on vintage and non-vintage wines. And to promote inclusivity among producers, entries were open to non-members of the Cap Classique Producers Association. The winners are: Best Brut and Overall Competition Winner: Anura Brut 2011; Best Rosé: J.C. Le Roux Pinot Noir Rosé 2010; Best Blanc de Blanc: Colmant Brut Chardonnay NV; Best Museum Class: J.C. Le Roux Scintilla Vintage Reserve 2008; Frans Malan Legacy Award: John and Erica Platter
On the Wine Menu this week: Durbanville Hills Rhinofields Sauvignon blanc 2013     Lees and pears on the nose complemented with vanilla. Layers of crisp clean fruit delight in their complexity. Pears, apricots, pineapple add to the tingle. Such a good wine to pair with food.
This is an easy to assemble salad using left over-beef. You can add lots of other different things like blanched mange tout peas, or thin beans, baby corn, bok choy, baby spinach, pea shoots, radishes or whatever edible items you have in the garden or in the fridge. Lynne used spekboom, nasturtium, and huge oxalis leaves
300g cooked beef from a roast, cut in thin slices - Sesame oil - Ponzu sauce - Tamari sauce - watercress - rocket - carrot strips - celery thinly sliced - one small bulb of fennel, thinly sliced - 8 baby tomatoes , sliced in half- herbs and assorted foraged leaves from your garden - basil leaves, torn - pumpkin seeds - sunflower seeds - black and white sesame seeds - light soy sauce - sweet chilli sauce - hot chilli sauce - soba noodles
Dress the beef with a dessert spoonful of both Ponzu and Tamari and set aside
Salad dressing
1T Ponzu - 1 T light soy sauce - 1 T sweet chilli sauce - 1t sesame oil - 1 t freshly grated ginger - 1 t hot chilli sauce
Cook the soba noodles, drain and while still hot pour over a teaspoonful of sesame oil, 1T sesame seeds - 1 T light soy. Allow to cool.
When the noodles are cool, put them into a wide dish. Mix up the salad ingredients and layer them on top of the noodles, arrange the beef slices on top and when ready to eat, pour over the dressing
1 T = 1 Tablespoon 1t = teaspoon





27th September 2016
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Record prices at the 2016 Cape Winemakers Guild Auction

This premier wine auction was held on Saturday, October 1st this year at Spier wine farm in Stellenbosch and broke all records. It is so heart-warming to sit watching the faces of the winemakers as their wines come under the gavel and get superb prices. Some were in wonderment, some astounded, some amazed, delighted , even surprised and very few were disappointed. It is open to the public as well as the wine industry. The CWG was formed 34 years ago as a forum for members to share knowledge, winemaking ideas and to taste the great wines of the world to benchmark and improve their own wines. Membership is by invitation, to winemakers recognised for their high standards of craftsmanship, who have been responsible for producing outstanding wines for a minimum of five years and are actively involved in operations in the cellar from harvest to bottling
Anyone can attend and if they want to, register to bid in the auction. If you are interested in what the auction results are, check this link http://www.capewinemakersguild.com/auctions/2016
If you are a bidder and arrive at 9am you can taste the wines on auction before it starts
Breakfast is provided: Tiny Danish pastries. And wine and finger food is provided in the members room throughout the day for the winemakers, bidders and media. There is also a constant supply of bubbly available for celebration and enjoyment
Egg and bacon quiches
Beef and horseradish mini croissants
Smoked salmon bagels. (Lynne didn't see those!). And some fruit sticks
The auction gets under way
Teddy Hall and his wife Doreen listening intently
Kimi Blackadder smiling at the prices
The very experienced auctioneer, Henré Hablutzel from Hofmeyr-Mills, always moves things along at a rapid pace, peppered with some amusement
Tulbagh watches. Pierre Wahl of Rijks and Dewald Heyns of Saronsberg
The winemakers always sit right at the back. Lots of discussion going on
Broadcaster Guy MacDonald and Bronwyn
Nail biting moments!
Stephanus Eksteen, National Wine Buyer at Shoprite Checkers Group, looking pensive
John Loubser of Silverthorn, waiting to hear the winning bid
Frans Smit of Spier wonders how that wine got such a high price?
Bruce Jack looks incredulous
and doubtful
Charles Hopkins of De Grendel is intent
No age limit for attending the auction, although there is possibly one on the bidding. CWG Chair Miles Mossop’s daughter Kika. His five star Chenin blanc dessert wine is named for her
She was there with her mother, Samantha
Judy Brower of wine.co.za, like us, was amazed
PRO Emile Joubert "Really? No! That much!"
Must be near the lunch break. The auction room was packed full, but mostly at the back
Time to hear about the 2016 Auction Charity Item, the proceeds of which go to the CWG Protégé Programme, with some of the beneficiaries on the stage. This year it was a selection of 40 magnum bottles from every Guild member, packed in crafted wooden boxes and sold as one lot. It sold for R150 000. A bargain at only R3 750 a magnum
PRO Gudrun Clark, one of the hard workers behind the organisation of the auction, was checking the social media coverage. The auction did trend
Michael Nel, GM of the Twelve Apostles Hotel, had some success in getting lots they bid on
Time to celebrate: Johan Malan of Simonsig looking delighted, appropriately with some bubbly. He got good prices for the Cuvée Chêne Chardonnay Blanc de Blanc 2007
Corlien Morris of Wine Menu in Johannesburg shows her paddle. She is sitting with Sue Proudfoot of Wine Concepts, Kloof Street, Cape Town
Yes, that lot is yours
Oh the suspense is just too much!
Linda Harding of Squashed Tomato checking the social media
Love those happy smiling faces. CWG Chairman Miles Mossop with David Finlayson both received great prices for their wines
Abrie Beeslaar of Kanonkop looking quizzically at John
The Le Riche family waiting for their lots to come up
Happy result!
This was the final total reached on the day
Miles Mossop makes the closing speech
Time to go and look at the lots in the Silent Auction, the only place we thought we might be able to afford something and where we could put something back into the industry that supports us. All the proceeds go to the CWG Protégé Programme. This is on a bottle donated by a creative winemaker, Bruce Jack
David Trafford (Sijnn wines)and his wife Rita discussing the auction with Carl Schulz of Hartenberg. Carl’s CWG Auction 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon went for up to R10 000 per lot, and David’s for up to R6 600
On the central table was one lot of a signed bottle of CWG Auction wine from every member
You wander around, find a wine you want to bid on and make the highest bid. It can be topped by someone else so you do have to be determined. A lot of bids happen right at the end of the auction
Lynne and others considering what to bid for. Not all the lots are wine, some offer meals and visits to the farms, with the wine
There were lots of very tempting lots and on some the bids were enormous
A glass of wine while you shop helps
Ta da! We managed to get 2 lots this year, both from the Hemel en Aarde. This one is a double magnum of Kevin Grant’s Ataraxia Pinot Noir. Just big enough for Lynne's big birthday next August, we think
And a magnum from another of our favourite winemakers, Gordon Newton Johnson; his Chardonnay in a magnum. SO happy
Beyers Truter, Abrie Beeslaar and our friend, Deon Oliver, having fun with mates at the end of the auction













© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016