.

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A Beautiful Summer’s Day in Blaauwberg

The view from the beach at Blaauwberg! Cape Town is doing turquoise so well this year! The fine white sand is almost blinding

A little breezy, but this side of the coast does get a bit of wind. It is a great place for kite sailing and surf boarding,

you just have to be careful not to be taken out past Robben Island

What a lovely way to spend the afternoon

This sea front house has great meaning for Lynne. In 1993 she was in Cape Town and visited Blaauwberg with her mother and a friend. While they sat and chattered on a seat, admiring the sea and our fantastic mountain, she pondered what to do with her life. The recession was on in the UK and it was punishing; she was working herself into the ground. She realised how much she missed Cape Town; she had been away for 27 years. She turned around and there was the name of the house! The universe has ways of giving you messages. She returned the following year and the rest is history, which includes John ...

Some coal had been washed up on the beach and these children were having such fun 'mining' for it

The classic view of our mountain across the Bay in perfect weather

We might put this panorama on our wall in a frame!

A pre-Christmas break in Lambert's Bay

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Thursday, January 17, 2019

This Week’s MENU. 2018 Overview, Lambert's Bay, Muisbosskerm, Elandsbaai, Cape Gannets, Fryer's Cove, Namaqua Cellars, Supper at Isabella's, Breakfast at Spice, lunch at Gibson's, Wine of the Week, Avocado and Sweet Corn soup, Things to do

Elegance in the air. A Cape Gannet, photographed at Bird Island in Lambert's Bay

Happy 2019. It promises to be a year of threats and promises. We are gearing up for an election with all sorts of revelations of skulduggery coming out to muddy the waters, just to add to the tales we've been hearing for the last year. The UK and Europe are gearing up for Brexit... or not, with complications setting in in Parliament. And the USA continues to play its Trump card. We'd like to remind the US President of his predecessor who said, "Mr Gorbachev, tear down that wall!" So it looks as though there will be a lot of excitement and we hope that we'll all look back at the end of the year, with obstacles overcome and a bright future.

The holidays are over and we are all back, doing what we need to bring home the wherewithal essential to staying alive and comfortable. We've had a wonderful month of exploring new areas, eating (mostly) great food and tasting some wonderful wines - most of which we'll report on below this, some of them held over till next week. We might have been on holiday, but our work is our hobby. There are already lovely events in the pipeline and we look forward to telling you about them

You will notice that we've done a makeover of our web site and this blog. It has evolved steadily ever since we started MENU in 2003, but we felt that it had become a bit too staid and needed a bit of a rev. We hope you'll like it. To open an article just click on the headline

MENU’s 2018 Overview

2018 was a very eventful year for us. As we like to do each year, we had a month-long road trip in a foreign country, but we also ventured into places nearer home, some of which we visit quite frequently, others which we haven’t seen for a few years. We tasted some wonderful wines and a few we’d prefer not to write about; we had some wonderful meals and endured some less than delicious. But that’s life and, fortunately, most of it has been good. To make the good bits even better is that we were able to share it with some of our favourite people in real time and with our readers, many of whom have given us lovely feedback, through our electronic media. So here’s our 2018 Overview…

After a very busy year, we decided that a few days’ break up the West Coast would be a good idea, so we booked a house in Lambert's Bay for ten days

On the way, we stopped at the Rosemead artisan bakery in Yzerfontein for lunch, because we’d heard so many good things about it

A Beach braai at Muisbosskerm, Lambert's Bay

On our holiday at Lambert's Bay before Christmas we booked to go to the most iconic place in the area. Muisbosskerm. They say "The First and Original Open Air Restaurant" https://www.muisbosskerm.co.za/. We had not been there for many years, but the reports are still good. It is an informal beach restaurant, famous for its food - served in vast quantities and very plentiful in choice. We booked on line before the holiday. It costs R350 per person, not including crayfish, for a veritable feast. Crayfish is not always available, as it has a restricted season. We were lucky; it was in season…

Fish and chips in Elandsbaai

One of our side trips on our holiday up the West Coast was to Elands Bay, just half an hour south of Lambert's Bay

We had a recommendation from friends to try the Wit Mossel Pot for good Fish and Chips…

The Cape Gannets of Bird Island, Lambert's Bay

For bird lovers, the Cape Gannet (Morus capensis) colony at Bird Island, across the causeway from the harbour is a very important reason to visit Lambert's Bay. It is well worth the charge of R50 per head to visit the island, but be warned, they only accept cash. On our first attempt at visiting the colony, we were turned back as we had insufficient cash and they were not interested in our cards. There are no ATMs in the town, but the Spar supermarket will allow you to draw cash with your card at the till…

The wines of Fryer's Cove in Doringbaai

Fryer's Cove has its wine tasting venue and wine cellar in a refurbished and repurposed crayfish factory in Doringbaai. They are famous for having the vineyard closest to the sea, kissed by sea breezes and mist and you pass it as you come into Doringbaai. They are the only wine farm in what is the smallest wine ward in South Africa - Bamboes Bay. And it is as they say "500 meters from where the cold ocean throws its breakers against a rocky shore"…

A visit to Namaqua Cellars, Vredendal

While we were on holiday in Lambert's Bay in December we wanted to visit Namaqua winery in Vredendal. This is one of South Africa's biggest wine producers. We keep meeting the team at awards ceremonies as over the last few years they have picked up some very impressive awards, and lots of them. Recently they won the General Smuts Trophy for the Top Wine and the Pietman Hugo trophy for quality and consistency. Yes, the winery concentrates on bulk wine, boxed wine and making wine for other people but they do have a small range of excellent wines we wanted to taste. We made an appointment with winemaker Reinier van Greunen and had an impressive tasting…

Supper at Isabella's on the wharf at Lambert's Bay

Isabella’s on the Dock side in Lambert's Bay is where you go for seafood, we were told by our landlady

So we made a booking for dinner during the week. We took a bottle of…

Breakfast at Spice, lunch at Gibson's

During our lovely Christmas break we did go out to a couple of places. Our last dash to do Christmas shopping at the Waterfront left us depleted in many ways, so we needed some lunch. John fancied a burger, so we headed for Gibson’s on the dock side which, although busy, had tables…

MENU’s Wine of the Week. Namaqua Wines Spencer Bay Winemakers Reserve The Blend 2017

https://adamastorbacchus.blogspot.com/2019/01/menus-wine-of-week-namaqua-wines.html

We have tasted a large number of excellent wines since the last issue of MENU was published, but this one stands out, not just because it is very good, but because it is exceptionally good value. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot...

What’s on the MENU this week? Avocado and Sweet Corn soup

https://adamastorbacchus.blogspot.com/2019/01/on-menu-this-week-avocado-and-sweet.html

This lovely cold soup recipe was served to our guests on New Years day at lunch and went down very well. It is quick and easy to make. Lynne loathes fresh coriander but, liquidised, it is more acceptable. If you don’t want to add a whole fresh chilli, you can add one from the pickled Jalapenos in jars from the Peppadew company, we always keep a jar in our fridge for Nachos or other spicy Mexican dishes. You can get a mild version. It just adds a kick of warmth. The lime juice is essential and fresh limes are in season…

Things to do

Sunday, 27th January Groote Post’s First 2019 Country Market. For further information on the Groote Post Country Market. Contact I Love Yzer: 022 451 2202 or info@iloveyzer.co.za / www.grootepostcountrymarket.co.za • Facebook.com/GrootePostCountryMarket • @GPCountryMarket

Saturday, 2nd March Harvest Festival at Muratie Wine Estate in Stellenbosch. For further information and bookings contact Nina Martin at Muratie on 021 865 2330/2336 or info@muratie.co.za

Friday & Saturday, 1st & 2nd March RMB Starlight Concert at Vergelegen. Details and tickets at http://www.capetownopera.co.za/production/rmb-starlight-classics/

17th January 2019

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2019

PS If a word or name is in bold type and underlined, click on it for more information

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

On the MENU this week. Avocado and Sweet Corn soup

This lovely cold soup recipe was served to our guests on New Years day at lunch and went down very well. It is quick and easy to make. Lynne loathes fresh coriander but liquidised, it is more acceptable. If you don’t want to add a whole fresh chilli, you can add one from the pickled Jalapenos in jars from the Peppadew company, we always keep a jar in our fridge for Nachos or other spicy Mexican dishes. You can get a mild version. It just adds a kick of warmth. The lime juice is essential and fresh limes are in season. It prevents the avocado from going black

4 ripe avocados - 1 jalapeno chilli, seeded - 1.5 cups vegetable or chicken stock - juice of 1 lime - 6 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt - 1 clove garlic - 1/4 cup fresh coriander - 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds - 2 cups iced water - 2 cups cooked or tinned sweet corn kernels

Combine all the ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Put the soup into a bowl, fold in the sweet corn, cover and refrigerate until chilled; about 1 hour

Spoon into bowls and dress with a mint or coriander leaf, or a small swirl of plain yoghurt

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MENU’s Wine of the Week. Namaqua Wines Spencer Bay Winemakers Reserve The Blend 2017

We have tasted a large number of excellent wines since the last issue of MENU was published,

but this one stands out, not just because it is very good, but because it is exceptionally good value

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Very approachable on the nose, with chocolate and black cherries

Soft chewy tannins, good fruit, cherries and cassis, this wine has tension and length

It is very impressive now and will surely be in the future. R125 ex cellar

We think it will win awards. Lynne scored this one 18.5/20 or 92.5/100

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A visit to Namaqua Cellars, Vredendal

While we were on holiday in Lambert's Bay in December we wanted to visit Namaqua winery in Vredendal. This is one of South Africa's biggest wine producers. We keep meeting the team at award ceremonies as over the last few years they have picked up some very impressive awards, and lots of them. Recently they won the General Smuts Trophy for the Top Wine and the Pietman Hugo trophy for quality. and consistency. Yes, the winery concentrates on bulk wine, boxed wine and making wine for other people but they do have a small range of excellent wines we wanted to taste. We made an appointment with winemaker Reinier van Greunen and had an impressive tasting

The large and spacious tasting facility also has a small restaurant

which has a simple, but reputedly good, menu

We arrived at 3 for our appointment at Die Keldery

They also have a small range of things for sale, as well as wine

The view over the valley and you see lots of vineyards. Namaqua has 200 owner producers. This fruitful valley is fed by the Olifants river

A good outdoor seating area and a children's playground. It was hot; we preferred to sit in the air conditioned tasting room

Reinier van Greunen was very welcoming and took us through the range of wines. It is now possible to buy their wines on line. https://www.namaquawines.com/wines/ We began with the 2018 Chenin Blanc from their Cultivar Collection. R45 Typical golden dusty nose with fruit and spice, jujube sweeties, dark apricots, citrus and guava

Reinier kindly organised one of their cheese and meat platters for us to try during the tasting. It came with three glasses of their white Muscadel

Then the 2017 Doornkraal Chenin Blanc. We paid R130, (R780 for a case of 6). Made as a social responsibility project with a local community from low yield vines. The vineyard is tilled with horse-drawn ploughs and everything is done by hand. An elegant dusty chenin, with golden juicy fruit, with lime crispness, soft chalky tannin, minerality and long flavours. Platter gives it 4½ stars

The back label

Then the 2014 Namaqua Limited Cellar Door Merlot R85 which was the National Champion at the Young Wine Show. Pretty and perfumed on the nose with roses and violets, it has intense dark fruit, biting fruit acid, minty, mocha and nuts, this wine needs time to gather its skirts but has great potential. Each bottle is numbered

From the Heritage Collection, the 2017 Cape West Cabernet Sauvignon Pinotage blend has lots of gongs. including a double gold at Veritas this year. Elegant on the nose with some perfume, it has soft sweet fruit and some youthful tension, which is what people are looking for today

The 2017 Spencer Bay Merlot from the Flagship Range is perfumed with violets and cassis, has sweet red berry fruit,cherries, red and black cassis berries and leaves, and black pepper hints and is nicely round on the palate Lynne scored this 18/20

2017 Spencer Bay Winemakers Reserve The Blend. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot Very approachable on the nose, with chocolate and black cherries. Soft chewy tannins, good fruit, cherries and cassis, this wine has tension and length and is very impressive now and will surely be in the future. R125. We think it will win awards. Lynne scored this 18.5/20

The platter looks and was delicious

Summer on a plate

The Namaqua White Muscadel is sticky sweet and full of raisins and honey. Winning lots of awards. R60

Then a tour of the wine cellar, it is bigger than anything we have seen before

We were impressed with the quantity this tank holds .....

Until we saw this one and then more ...

... and there is a veritable forest of them. We counted about 24 holding up to about 1.2 million litres each, but apparently there are more on another site

Winemaker, Reinier van Greunen, took John up the stairs to the top. Lynne does not do heights

The green vineyard view from the top

In every direction, grapes

"I will look at the photos! Enjoy the view"

We had a marvellous tasting and visit and are so impressed with what they are doing with their Heritage range. Thank you Reinier. Their boxed wines are very popular in South Africa and they sell a lot of them overseas