Wasn't that fun? Penguins emerging from the sea at Boulders Beach, Simonstown
The year is
drawing too swiftly to its close; the older one becomes, the swifter the
passing of time. So in a little over a week, we will slow it right down and,
after publishing the last MENU of 2018, will go up the West Coast to look at
the sea, our navels and a selection of good reading. But, enough of that. We’ve
been to some wonderful events this past week and here they are for you to see…
Time for the
Annual StreetSmart Cape Town Handover Event with Thank Yous to the restaurants,
accommodation venues and wine tasting venues in the Western Cape, Garden Route,
Gauteng and KZN, the volunteers, workers and the many other people who have
contributed to the R1.7 million rand raised nationally this year. It is an
amazing amount, raised by just adding R5 to your bill so, if you contribute,
the Thank You is also for you. StreetSmart ensures that every cent donated by
you goes towards social and educational upliftment projects for street children,
helping them to rebuild their lives. StreetSmart raises its own funds for administration…
An invitation
from Luke Krone to join him and taste the new release of his Aristea wines over
dinner at the Alphen in Constantia. Aristea is a partnership of three friends
who each already have their own wine brands/wine ventures and many years of
accumulated winemaking experience. Their aim was to make exceptional South
African wines that would reflect each of their individual identities and
passion for wine, Luke, a 12th generation winemaker from South Africa who
sources the grapes and makes the wine, Martin Krajewski who is British and owns
Clos Cantenac in St Emilion and in 2016 bought Château Séraphine in Pomerol and
Frenchman Florent Dumeau, a renowned Burgundian winemaker, who has extensive
experience of winemaking and vineyard management, as well as considerable
expertise in France, Italy, Greece, Hungary, South Africa, Turkey,China and
Serbia. Together, they strive to produce exceptional wines in the Cape that
encapsulate the wild spirit and raw beauty of this wonderful land and that make
people smile. For the full story, go to https://www.aristeawines.com/
Oh joy, it was
time to taste real French Champagne this year at Wine Concepts' "Finer
Things in Life” International Sparkling Wine & Champagne Affair Celebration
at the Vineyard Hotel last Friday night. No driving long
distances into the winelands for 10 coupons, only to find that it will cost you
five of them if you want a small taste of real Champagne, but the chance
locally to taste all of the 34 different French champagnes and a few Cavas and
Proseccos. And all this for a R500 ticket, which includes canapés and a
champagne glass. Oh, and a free raffle based on the number on your ticket. You
can take an Uber home without bankrupting yourself or, if you are feeling
celebratory, take the Vineyards special offer of a room, dinner and breakfast..
Hope to see you there next year...
It was time for
the 2018 Diners Club Winemaker of the Year and Young Winemaker of the Year
awards, held again this year at La Residence in Franschhoek. It is always a
glittering Black Tie occasion. This year’s Winemaker of the Year Finalists were
Arco Laarman (Laarman Cellar Services at Avondale Wines), Ronell Wiid
(Bartinney Private Cellar), Clayton Reabow (Môreson), Andries Burger (Paul
Cluver Estate), Carl Van Der Merwe (DeMorgenzon) and Murray Barlow (Rustenberg
Wines). The category was Chardonnay…
Simonsig is
celebrating 50 years of wine making this year, so we were delighted to be
invited to the Belmond Mount Nelson hotel for a launch of something new: The
Grapesmith wines, Die Kluisenaar and Mediterraneo. What else would be the welcoming drink…
part of their new
Grapesmith range, a blend of 57% Roussanne, 37% Marsanne, 5% Grenache Blanc and
1% Verdelho. There is sweetness on the nose, warmth and perfume of peaches and
white plums, spice and light smoke…
An alternative to
Christmas pudding is this luxurious and truly decadent dessert. It is so rich
that it will serve at least 12 to 15 people, as you really cannot manage more
than a small slice. We have to confess that we veered away from this recipe
because Lynne has been hoarding slabs of Lindt 85% and 90% dark chocolate to
make a dessert like this for John’s birthday this week. And she used salted butter;
we think a little salt with dark chocolate makes it taste better. If you are
using 85 or 90% chocolate do taste the molten chocolate mix and if it is not
sweet enough, add a spoonful or two more of caster sugar to the mix, stirring
well. It should not be bitter, but also not too sweet…
30th November 2018
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2018
Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172 / 083 656 4169
Postal address: 60 Arthurs Rd, Sea Point 8005
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 our website and ancillary works are © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus. Our restaurant reviews are often 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 mistakes, we are human and they do creep in occasionally, for which we apologise. This electronic journal has been sent to you because you have personally subscribed to it or because someone you know has asked us to send it to you or forwarded it to you themselves. Addresses given to us will not be divulged to any person or organisation. We collect them only for our own promotional purposes. If you wish to be added to our mailing list, pleaseclick here to send us a message and if you wish to be removed from our mailing list
