A Cape white-eye (Zosterops virens) in a white
strelitzia in our garden
Off to the country It
has been another rollicking week in the media. It has been a very long and busy
media season this year, starting in May and now continuing into December, with
a flurry of end of year events. So many, too many to contemplate, stretching
time to include in our diary but some just have to be given priority. So it was
this last weekend. We had been invited to lunch at Glenelly's new Bistro in
Stellenbosch on Friday. We had also committed to attending the Diners Club
Winemaker of the Year in Franschhoek. And then we were invited to the Hemel and
Aarde Valley's Celebration of Chardonnay, also on Saturday, but during the day
in Voëlklip near Hermanus. Could we do it all? Was travelling those quite large
distances to fit it all in even possible? Well, you know we are a little crazy,
so we did it. It took careful planning, two AirBnB bookings and a mad last
minute dash from Hermanus to Paarl on Saturday, so please read on... or click any of the following links to look at a story
Lunch at Glenelly's new Bistro "The Vine" with
a tasting of the wines Christophe
Dehosse has recently opened his Bistro at Glenelly and we were invited for
lunch to see what he is doing, sample the food and taste the Glenelly wines
with Cellarmaster Luke O'Cuinneagain. Glenelly is owned by Lady May-Éliane de
Lencquesaing who fell in love with South Africa on a visit and subsequently
bought the farm. She wanted to start from scratch and aims to make the best
wines the land can produce, using only grapes grown on Glenelly. She was
previously the owner and manager of the esteemed 2nd growth Wine estate Chateau
Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande in Pauillac in Bordeaux, which was sold
in 2004 to Louis Roederer. She trained in Oenology at the age of 35. She is now
91 and amazing for her age. She is one of our icons
A Celebration of Chardonnay from the Hemel and Aarde
Valley
South African Chardonnay has been
though ups and downs in popularity and quality over the last 20 years and, thankfully,
now seems to be firmly entrenched as one of our best producing noble varieties,
as long as wood is used judiciously. But is it better grown in some areas of
the Cape than others? We were invited to this Celebration last weekend and
certainly is does shine in the Hemel and Aarde Valley with quality, great
purity of fruit and finesse. Regardless of which part of the valley it is grown
in, it thrives and produces great wines if handled correctly and this the
valley is doing
Diners Club 2016 Winemaker of the Year Awards Diners
Club is the sponsor of this prestigious annual event and each year they set the
categories of wine to be entered for the Young Winemaker of the Year and the
Winemaker of the Year. This year, they asked for a red blend from the Young
Winemaker of the year (under 30 years of age) and a Chenin for the Winemaker of
the Year. The gala dinner and awards ceremony was held, again, at La Residence
in Franschhoek. It was a sparkling evening full of anticipation, joy and
celebration
AirBnB in Voëlklip and then a mad dash to Paarl and our
overnight accommodation there Lynne didn't want John to have to get up at
the crack of dawn to drive to Voëlklip for the Celebration of Chardonnay at 10
am and then have to drive to Franschhoek, so we booked a tiny room in Voëlklip
for Friday night. The drive there after lunch in Ida's Valley was lovely, we
stopped off at the magnificent Woolworths Waterstone Mall in Somerset West and
bought some picnic snacks. Then, to avoid the Friday night traffic, we drove
along the coastal route to Hermanus, passing Gordon's Bay, Rooi Els, Pringle
Bay, Bot River and onwards. Hardly any traffic and such a lovely road. And a
simple picnic by the sea for supper. OK, the wind was blowing, so we did sit in
the car, admiring the surfing and the view before an early night
You
can never time the end of an event, especially if it is enjoyable, they
continue and it is very hard to drag oneself away. We meant to leave the
Celebration of Chardonnay at 3, after lunch; we finally hit the road at 3.30. We
had booked another AirBnB in Paarl, which was affordable at R580 for the night.
There was nothing in Franschhoek under R2 500 a night, so on our pensioners
budget, Paarl was the best option. But the drive there is long and winding and
takes you around the woefully empty Theewaterskloof Dam near Villiersdorp and,
following the trail the elephants took centuries ago, up and over the
magnificent mountain pass to Franschhoek. We were very stressed when we arrived
in Paarl at 5.35 and had 10 minutes to shower and change (it was Black Tie
formal) and then get back in the car to return to Franschhoek for the event at
6. We arrived there at 6.15
Wine of the week - Landskroon Shiraz We have had some really amazing wines this
week, not all of them are still available and some are rather pricy. This is one
that impressed us a lot - we buy it and keep it for a couple of years as it
improves wonderfully and is very reasonable. While we are enjoying the 2010
from our cellar, the current vintage is 2014. From the farm R62 a bottle. It is
friendly, soft and spicy, full of good sweet, dark berries and goes so well
with this week's recipe
The MENU Recipe of the Week: Pepper Steak Pie Something traditional this week. This is
our choice of pie flavour when we are out and about and need a quick lunch “on
the hoof”. But Lynne decided to see if she could make a large one for supper during
the week. Serves 4
1
kg beef steak, cubed - 1 T plain flour - 1 t flaked salt - 1 t ground black
pepper - 1 large onion, chopped - 1 peeled carrot, chopped into 1/2 cm dice -
1T coconut or canola oil for frying - 3 T brandy - 1 cup red wine - 1 cup of
good beef stock - Freshly ground black pepper to taste - 1 t fresh thyme leaves
- a roll of flaky pastry - 1 egg yolk
Mix
the flour with the salt and pepper and toss the meat in it to cover well. Brown
the meat in the oil, then set aside. Add the onion and a little more oil if
necessary and cook slowly with a little salt until it is beginning to
caramelise. Put back the beef with any juices and deglaze the pan with the
brandy, then add the wine stock, the carrot, seasoning and thyme. Add some
black pepper, about a teaspoon, cook, simmer covered on the top of the stove
for half an hour and then add more to your taste, some might like it more
peppery than others. Turn your oven on to 220⁰C. Roll out the cold pastry into a
circle. Spoon filling into a 20 to 22cm deep pie dish, grease or butter the
rim. Cover the pie with the pastry. Cut a cross in the centre to let the steam
escape, use a pie funnel if you have one. Crimp the edges of the pastry on the
edge and decorate the top if you want to. Lightly whip the egg yolk and brush
the pastry with it. Put into the oven to bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or
until the pastry is crisp and golden and cooked through. Serve with creamy mash
or cauli mash and lots of fresh vegetables. And a good robust red wine. The Landskroon
Shiraz, for example
In MENU next week: Keermont new releases, Cap Classique
Association public tasting, Springfield Lost Vintage, Woolworths Wine Event, Wine
Concepts Champagne, Jordan Summer Festival and more
28th November
2016
Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172
/ 083 656 4169
Postal address: 60 Arthurs Rd, Sea Point
8005
If you like the photographs you see in our
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Photo website for our rate card and samples
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Recommendations of products and outside events are not
solicited or charged for, and are made at the
authors’ pleasure. All
photographs, recipes and text used in these newsletters and our blogs are © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus. Our restaurant reviews are usually unsolicited. We
prefer to pay for our meals and not be paid in any way by anyone. Whether we
are invited or go independently, we don’t feel bad if we say we didn’t like it.
Honesty is indeed our best policy. While every effort is made to avoid
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