Friday, October 06, 2017

The 21st Michelangelo International Wine and Spirits Awards at the Cape Sun

We were invited by Lorraine Immelman, Owner and CEO of the Awards, to attend the Awards ceremony last Friday. It was held at the Cape Sun in Strand Street which has recently been refurbished. The Michelangelo International Wine and Spirits Awards was established in 1997 as the only international wine competition in South Africa. They are celebrating their 20th anniversary. The competition is unique in South Africa in that all judges are hand-picked wine experts, representing all seven continents around the globe. The banqueting room was filled to bursting with tables; we estimate 44 tables with 10 people at each, which made for a very large audience
What we really appreciated, being so far from the stage, was that the awards were announced on the big screen above the stage. To see the full list of awards click here https://michelangelocapetown.wordpress.com/2017-results/
The menu for the evening
Cleverly, the starter was already on the table when we all entered. And a selection of wines was available at each table. The salmon was briefly cured, but we welcome a light and fresh starter, although you did have to watch for the extremely hot wasabi
PRO Emil Joubert was the Master of Ceremonies for the evening and he began the announcements
Technical Director Christine Rudman showed us some facts and figures. Judges this year represented 22 countries, only five were South African https://michelangelocapetown.wordpress.com/judges-2016/
This photograph shows how the 100 point scoring system works. More and more competition judges are adopting this system
The main course of poached chicken breast roulade with Duchesse potatoes, rainbow carrots, sprouts and a truffle jus. Sadly, with the best will in the world, keeping this dish warm and serving it to that many people means that the chicken and the potatoes will dry out
During dinner Emo Adams performed. He is very popular and, apparently, was very funny too. We were right under the speakers, so it was rather loud
We exited the banqueting hall for dessert which was served as a buffet. There were two choices - a Peppermint Crisp crème covered with granola and fresh fruit
You could add more fruit
Or these rather nice and crunchy mini chocolate coated balls
The chefs were assembling the desserts
including this lovely creamy chocolate crème, topped with raspberries
Michelangelo's double circle logo, which is presented to the winners of the various categories to adorn their wine bottles. Bronze, Gold, Double Gold, Platinum and Trophy are the levels
Christine awarding Shawn Thomson of Du ToitsKloof with his medal
She gets a lot of kisses from grateful winemakers or wine farm owners. This time, Grant Newton, Global Sales & Marketing Manager - Wine & Tourism at Groot Constantia
The much coveted Trophies. This was awarded to Oude Molen for their 14 year old Vintage Selection
Sometimes, we feel that we earned this one! It went to Lourensford for their MCC Brut 2011
Lorraine Immelman, who started these awards, in presents a medal
Worthy winners queuing for their awards
We were so delighted to see that Irene Waller of La Bri in Franschhoek was awarded a Platinum medal for her La Bri 2014 Syrah
Deidré Labuschagne GM of Bergsig Estate with a Platinum medal for their unconventional blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Touriga Nacional, Bergsig Icarus 2016
All the Platinum medal winners
and to Danie Keulder of Nitida the African Cellar Suppliers Pinot Noir Trophy for their 2015 Pinot Noir. Hurray!
The award for the best MCC is not a trophy, but a sword for Sabrage and this year it was collected with alacrity and joy by Nuy Winery for their Nuy Legacy Celine MCC with the African Cellar Suppliers MCC TROPHY
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Thursday, October 05, 2017

A Heritage supper with Jenny Morris at Karibu

Last week, Jenny (famously aka The Giggling Gourmet) invited us to join her and sample the menu at Karibu. And sample we did with a massive 10 course tasting menu, all paired with the correct wines. The courses just grew and grew in size. If you have visitors to the Cape who are curious as to what traditional South African food is like, send them to Karibu. And, no, they will not be obliged to have a 10 course menu, unless they choose to
A large restaurant with seats outside on the front terrace and great views of the Waterfront and the mountain. Luckily, as it was a little chilly that evening, we sat at the long table inside
Interesting, rather Christmassy decor (Yes, it is coming, far too quickly for us). All they need is a reindeer - wait! no, a caribou - and a few red baubles
A welcoming "cocktail", somewhat reminiscent of melted ice cream, with a chocolate elephant head for decoration
The irrepressible Jenny Morris with Executive Chef Jamie Rowntree, who has been with Karibu for 10 years. We were told that Sommelier Paul would keep us moist and lubricated. And, yes he did, with such a well chosen wine pairing of excellent top wines. Their cellar must be good
First course, a twist of smoked salmon on a mini potato rosti, with mayonnaise and lemon
This was served with some 2016 Fleur du Cap unfiltered Sauvignon Blanc. If you like this beautiful wine, and we do, buy now; it is about to disappear. We hear that Distell has cancelled all the unfiltered wines from Fleur du Cap. Cider makes more money and Distell is the world's second largest cider producer. Who needs wine...?

Next a wave of smoked rooibos, thyme and red barrel-stave-smoked snoek paté with a garlic crouton and a twirl of sweet mustard sauce. Served with Fairview’s Oom Pagel Semillon, which was also very wooded and a good match
Another fish course: a tiny fish frikkadel (cake), with a tomato and raw onion salsa and our traditional Mrs Ball’s Chutney and mayo. This went with Ken Forrester’s 2016 Old Vine Chenin Blanc, a wine good for all occasions and super with fish
Suddenly, we had this choir doing a Black Mambazo/Paul Simon rendition of "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" and others. Excellent, adds atmosphere. The restaurant has lots of tourists
On to the meat courses and, of course, we had to have some game. No not caribou but an Impala, Kudu and Springbok brochette, nicely smoke-flamed, dressed with spicy chakalaka sauce, on a bed of pap - ground white maize known as mielie meal, the staple diet of many African nations. This was paired with Billy Hughes' 2010 Nativo
Also on the table were bowls of traditional Umngqusho - samp (dried white maize kernels, reconstituted) and beans. We, personally, don't like the very popular Pap; for us it is close to tasteless polenta and was served at boarding school for breakfast every third day - enough already. John skipped porridge every third day, preferring the oats and Maltabella (sorghum porridge) served on the other two days. But we do love samp and beans. The soaked maize kernels and brown borlotti or speckled sugar beans are cooked together in stock and spices for hours, until they are soft and melting and well flavoured. Each of the two has a different texture and they go so well together
Ah, we are watching the courses get bigger and bigger.... Next came a duo of Karoo lamb chops, currently more expensive than fillet steak, thickly coated in a barbecue sauce and defying the use of cutlery - all South Africans like to pick up their chops and chow. But we ate politely; well, almost all the time.. They were served with chips and potato & carrot mash. Now we are getting that full feeling. What wine could this be paired with but the Steenberg 2014 Merlot? Perfect with lamb
Oh dear, what comes next, can we resist? Can we cope? Confit duck cuisses! served with fig jam and mash. We tried, we enjoyed, we were failing. Another good wine, Stellenrust’s Cinsault. There are HORDES of new and excellent Cinsaults appearing on the market. A grape which has always been a big part of SA’s red wine portfolio but has flown under the radar for many years...
Oh hell. Just as the trapdoor in Lynne's innards slammed shut, they serve the most interesting Cape dish. Denningvleis is lamb knuckles cooked in a sweet and sour tamarind, molasses and sugar sauce with lots and lots of spices, but no chilli. Served on traditional Cape Malay yellow turmeric rice, seeded with raisins. This dish originated in Indonesia and has been cooked in the Cape for over three centuries by our Cape Malay population, so it is one of our oldest recipes. It was delicious and falling off the bone. We managed just one mouthful. And this is a full sized portion, no more sissy tasting portions from chef. Suitably paired with the spicy 2014 Kloovenberg Shiraz
Thank heavens for the sparky conversation around the table, or we might have been losing the will to live, because ..... now it was time for dessert. And not one but two, both served with ice cream. First came Malva pudding in a cardamom sauce. John tried it. Lynne stood well back and said no more food thank you. And then another - Cape Brandy Pudding. We have made this our recipe of the week, in case you are now so hungry that you want to try it. The dessert wine is one we always recommend as the wine that goes with all desserts, especially those difficult ones like Christmas pudding, chocolate and trifle: Pierre Jourdan Ratafia from Haute Cabrière; it is a sweet wine made more interesting with the addition of some of Pierre Jourdan’s potstill brandy
And guess what? Next came local cheeses with fig preserve and chutney. Some then had coffee, Lynne some mint tea for her digestion
A bubbly Jenny Morris with one of the invited industry guests, Iwan Jooste
Chef Jamie with another guest; actor and broadcaster Soli Philander
The usual fun, games and giggles with the restaurant manager
Lynne had a long chat with Chef Jamie
Time to phone our Uber. We have to mention that the staff was absolutely superb. And, unusually, they have all been with the restaurant from the beginning. It opened more than 10 years ago. Chef believes in encouraging them, and promoting and training them. What an evening, what a meal. Thank you so much Jenny and all at Karibu
Late night at the Waterfront with all the lights on
And as we walked (OK one of us was staggering a bit under the weight of doggie bag food) to the taxi, we spotted this huge mast and went to investigate. She is Super yacht M5 (formerly Mirabella V) and she was moored in the V&A Waterfront. She is a 75.2m sloop with an 88.5 metre mast supporting 36000 sq m of sail; the largest single-masted yacht ever built
A small (but very powerful) Carbon Cub sea plane is housed on her after deck. Is this the world's smallest aircraft carrier?

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Tasting the pairing menu at Creation, Hemel en Aarde Valley

A Creation feast of flavours and tastes and textures
When we last visited Creation Carolyn and Jean Claude Martin said we must come again to do their special pairing menu The Story of Creation. And spending the long weekend in the Hemel and Aarde weekend was the perfect opportunity. It truly was a marvellous, if rather challenging experience, the wines are paired with cleverly created dishes, some small, some bigger that highlight these special wines - R360 for 7 courses with 8 wines. If you do not have the stamina to attempt this you can do the smaller pairings. You can view their extensive menu here http://www.creationwines.com/creation-menu.pdf
We were welcomed with a glass of the delicious 2014 Elation MCC
Chapter 1. This is inspired. The beginning of creation, an egg in a nest. Ah, but this is deceptive, its actually a wonderful passion fruit and pawpaw jelly in a nest with lots of texture from fired baby leeks, courgette, granola and oregano. Which, of course, pairs perfectly with both Creation's 2017 Sauvignon Blanc full of tropical fruits and their 2016 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, refreshing, full and very quaffable
Writing, drinking, eating and listening with Carolyn and JC Martin. Restaurant manager Phillip Marais shows us the Creation book they have produced
Chapter 2 The Creation Viognier, with its rose petals, peaches and ginger, goes very well with pre paired Pickled Fish. Now, Lynne has to state that she does not like Picked Fish because of the usual heavy vinegar and raw onion she has encountered in the past; no way to treat respectable fish. However, the chefs have produced something quite different and edible. It's a spicy curried version, of fried, battered hake topped with a rich sauce, an tangy apricot atchar and served on sweet corn, with crisp strips of poppadum. Perfect with the tongue tingling Viognier
Chapter 3 Next was Smoked salmon and leek ravioli, topped with roasted pumpkin and a cinnamon and orange butter to go with the smoky bacon 2016 Chardonnay. All the wines were served in the correct Riedel glasses, this was in a Montrachet glass and the style of the wine is rather like that too, rich, layered and complex. A great match
Chapter 4 This was the prettiest and the most interesting pairing and the one we thought worked the best. The Creation Reserve Pinot Noir 2015 is soft and sweet, with elegance, minerality and layers of red berry fruit which opens up on the palate. Slivers of smoked duck breast with gentle goats milk cheese, sliced beetroot and radish, raspberries, pomegranate, a Pinot Noir salt and an inspired touch was the pistachio crumb. The flavours of both sing in the mouth
The tasting room is also the restaurant and even, though this was a chilly and miserable day with rain, they were packed. You do need to book at the weekend
Chapter 5 The Reserve Merlot has red and blue berry fruit, incense wood and perfume on the nose. Chalky, crisp tannins with layers of tight fruit, this is a wine built to last 10 to 15 years and, with food, works now. Served with a thick cauliflower, celeriac, walnut, gorgonzola, onion and dried blueberry soup
Chapter 6 The Big Bang! Creation Syrah (80%) Grenache (20%) is one of our favourite Creation wines. It is savoury, spicy, rich and layered and delicious to drink. The current vintage is 2016 and it was paired with a slow cooked pulled lamb shank , salty and rich with a savoury jus (echoes the savoury Grenache), added acidity from the sun dried tomato pesto. spice from the curry powder, and sweetness from the pomegranate
Chapter 7, the finale, is served with Creation Reserve Chardonnay. Pineapple sage and beeswax on the nose with elegance, full , rich with apple fruit acids balancing it on the palate. So cleverly paired with staves of Boerenkaas to dip into the sauce of fynbos honey, truffle oil, bee pollen, pineapple sage in a sauce
We were not finished tasting the wines as we were then offered two top wines to taste. The Art of Creation Chardonnay is sophisticated and elegant on the nose with hints of what is to come, it has crisp apples, limes, in layers, with minerality and good acidity to carry it forward for a long time. The wood is there but in the background. So delicious. Then the Art of Creation Pinot Noir. Rose petals raspberries and incense wood on the nose, soft sweet berries and warmth, with perfume on the palate too. Very French in style, a good Burgundy comparison.
And then a surprise. Just about to be bottled the next day, we were given a taste from the tank of Creation's new Chenin Blanc. Wow. Golden fruit, lovely ripeness, layered limes, loquats and melon. This will be another success for them

Finally good coffee served in something we haven't seen before, special Riedel coffee glasses. This is a double espresso with good natural crema. And then there were some cocolates to end this tour de force of food and wine.
All the Art of Creation wines bear Jean-Claude Martin's signature. Thank you both for being so generous to us and our friends, who were provided with vegetarian courses for the whole 7 Chapters. Greatly appreciated
After Creation it was time to drive home going up the road towards Caledon. We had to make a stop at Dassiesfontein on the N2 and Loraine needed some Nagtegal jam
Looks like they have embraced solar power, we applaud them
It is a crazy place, each room piled high with all sorts of things to buy. Baskets anyone?
Or lamps and chandeliers or wood burning stoves in the restaurant, all for sale
Food being cooked on some of those stoves in the shop
On the way back to town you pass through our wheat lands, and at this time of the year with corn just beginning to ripen, it is a wondrous sight. We saw a field of blue cranes, our national bird, drinking at the dam with the sheep, just too many to count, such a special sight, they are rare. We so hope they will not be not affected by the Bird flu being brought in by returning birds migrating south
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