Thursday, October 24, 2019

MENU's UK Adventure 8. From Glasgow to the Lake District; Keswick and Windermere

It was time to head south, leaving Bonnie Scotland and continue our journey to the Lake District in Cumberland
 Lynne spent some great times there when she worked for Heinemann Educational Publishing,
as they took a group of staff up once a year to do some hill walking on hills like Helvellyn and Great Gable
They followed the paths of the beautiful hand written Wainwright guides and, of course, it was team building
 We are well past fell walking nowadays and all we could do was gaze in wonder and amazement
at the beautiful hills that now look so unachievable. Even Cat Bells looks steep
Our first stop was in Keswick and it was a slightly damp Sunday

The sun came out and we spotted a very welcome sign outside this pub - Sunday lunch £9.95
Thirsty for a good local beer, we ventured inside

and this is where it started to go a little haywire
The lass with the blue hair behind the bar appeared to be furious with John for taking photograph with her in it
(was she a fugitive from outer space....?)
We asked about lunch and she mumbled something about there being a delay in the kitchen
- could have been 15 but sounded more like 50 minutes
Fine, we said, "it's only 12 o'clock and we can sit in the window and drink a beer while we wait"
and wait we did






While we waited, a sudden squall brought a heavy onslaught of rain which had people scurrying for shelter
We were, at least, pleased to be under cover, dry on the outside
but insufficiently wet inside for a bit too long



This was the beer we ordered 

and this is what we got and it was very satisfying
We both know Theakston of old and it’s a great beer. But where was lunch?
Just after 1, Lynne looked for our blue haired lass and she was nowhere to be seen - nor was our lunch
So she went to the bar and enquired
The new barmaid was so upset when she heard that we had waited an hour and had obviously been forgotten

Not only did we get our lunch within moments, but she insisted on refunding us in full for the food!
We had a long chat with her later, as we had picked up her Antipodean accent;
she was very friendly and was indeed from New Zealand and said it was great to speak to friendly others from the south

Just as well we didn't have to pay for the food, as the beef, one slice, was rather like shoe leather,
there were two half cooked 'roast' potatoes, a pile of mash, some undercooked carrots and broccoli
and rather soggy Yorkshire pudding
The watery gravy was so tasteless that Lynne managed to persuade John to stir in a small spoonful of HP sauce
to give it some flavour (that will never happen again!)

Keswick Tourist office is in this old building which looks as though it was once a church
They were so helpful and friendly and gave us lots of maps and advice

Yikes! This was not the last we were to see in Britain. Is our generation having heart attacks on the streets?
Well, at least it's a use for old telephone booths...
Just make sure, if you do have an infarction, that you do it next to an old public telephone

The countryside views are like natural watercolours with every shade of blue and green

High hills, rocky crags and small farms nestled below, surrounded by the famous dry stone walls

Small farms on the sides of lakes

Ancient forests and a palate of green and grey

We took a drive along one of the lesser known lakes, Thirlmere, which sounds as if it comes from the Lord of the Rings
The names must have influenced Tolkien and the map of Middle Earth has always reminded Lynne of the Lake District
Many walkers had left their cars along the roadside and gone off for walks up the hills

Becks (streams) running down the hillside into the lakes
It does rain a lot here; apparently the one of the wettest places in England, which is why it is so green

This is moss on a tiled roof. You see it everywhere

Just a few scattered sheep hiding in this view

We passed Grasmere and Rydal Water

and the car's GPS took us to Lake Windermere, but it took us on a merry dance up hill and down dale
in a complete circle on some pretty and rather precarious roads until we arrived back at the lake side
Still we did get some fantastic views of the lake from the high hills

and there was our accommodation, the Sun Inn,
about half a mile down the main road from where we had first been told to turn off
It's an old coaching Inn, a couple of centuries old, but nicely remodelled inside and now owned by a large hotel company
Booked through Booking.com, we had a very special rate for our two nights
We were a little worried that we might be disturbed by the noise of the heavy traffic heading for Windermere,
but the windows are all triple glazed and the traffic abates at night
Our room was under the middle, larger, gable

The room was warm, spacious and comfortable, if a little severe
We had space for our laptops and the bathroom was excellent

A good-sized double bed

Some nice touches in the bathroom, lots of toiletries and huge fluffy towels

Breakfast the next morning, we thought well organised, but a bit sparse
We were wrong! We started with juice, pastries and beverages 

and found a table in the dining room

Good coffee, a pain au chocolat and lots of jams and honey

and then they said, "would you like a full English Breakfast?" Yes, please; it was included in our room rate
We could have had black pudding and baked beans, but we slimmed it down a little

The breakfast bar is also the bar in the evening

Off to see Windermere, which is a lovely town, full of old pubs
We drove down to the lake side trying to find parking. It was raining rather heavily 

Tall hedgerows on either side of the road

After doing a circle twice, we finally found parking quite far away from the boat dock
but found a quick walking route across country to see the lake boats

Lynne shelters patiently while the photographer does his thing in the pouring rain

One of the tour cruise boats. But touring the lake on such a wet day really did not appeal
and the cost is rather more expensive than two good pub meals each

We admired the birds

and were sad that it was too wet to take one of these out for a row. Yes, we do both row competently
Lynne even knows how to manoeuvre a punt. On a Cambridge river

and you can also hire one of these mini powerboats

So we took a walk up into town, admired the architecture and looked at the tourists

Appropriate

In the charity shop - no, won’t do for the next wedding

although it was fascinating

We stopped at this pub, The Flying Pig, for a beer at lunchtime
because they been judged the best pub in the Cumbria region

and had another local ale
We had sandwiches, so didn’t eat lunch there,
which would turn out to be a huge mistake

and wandered down side streets to see what was there. Very old stone buildings at the back ...

... led to Hole in t' Wall pub

We went in but it was full of rather unfriendly people ....

... and dead animals so, as we didn’t feel comfortable, we left

Back on the lakeside, a ferry was coming in

and the sun came out, briefly

We walked back to the car, past some amazing old oaks

some crows

and dog walkers 

Later that evening, we ventured back into Windermere for some supper
The John Peel Inn was in the same street as the Flying Pig and it had a menu in the window that looked very good
It was 7 o'clock and that was our first mistake
It seems that, up here, people have 'Tea' from 4 to 6 (supper to thee and me)

We decided to go upstairs

You have to go to the bar to place your order and tell them where you are sitting

There was a lamb and herb dumpling stew on the menu which sounded just right for Lynne
John fancied the venison pie, imagining a rich filling in a lovely shortcrust pastry
We ordered some John Smith's bitter while we waited, and waited... for our food
 Then we were told that the lamb stew had run out. What else did they have? Lamb hotpot
That would do nicely. When you are in the mood for lamb, that's what you must have

They were not very busy, why the long wait?

Not quite what John expected
The puff pastry lid, which looked a bit like a Donald Trump hairdo, placed on top of his 'pie',
exploded into dust when he put a fork into it
Marrowfat peas, frozen carrots boiled to extinction and soggy chips. But Lynne's dish was much worse

The same marrow fat peas, dead carrots and, bizarrely, cold pickled beetroot
Had the chef left for the evening? Had the landlady gone out? Who was doing the cooking?
Because the "hot pot" was criminal. A thin layer of potatoes had been baked on top of the dish, covered in gravy
What lay beneath was not lamb
It was grey, unseasoned and tough meat with the stringy texture of goat or, more likely, beef
Cold and completely tasteless
There was a strange crust on the left-hand side of the dish that had a good lamb flavour
but that did not repeat at all in the rest of the food
Lynne moved some of the meat aside and found some remains of old gravy beneath
Someone had taken an unwashed dish that had once contained lamb stew
and filled it with some other grey meat, and put a potato lid on top
It was horrifying that anyone would think that they could get away with this sort of thing
It was completely inedible and we had paid for it. We left, hungry
There was no one in the bar to whom we could complain
So, if you go to Windermere, remember to eat early and we suggest you chose your restaurant or pub very, very carefully,
avoiding John Peel with his food so grey
We should have stuck with the Flying Pig....

Windermere at 8.30 on a rainy night
We loved our wet stay there and resolved that we need to come back for at least a week next time,
but then we’ll have supper at The Flying Pig

All content ©  John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus


Delheim celebrates and remembers 80 years

A joyous celebration at Delheim this week to  celebrate the 80th year since the Hoheisen family bought the farm in 1939. Michael Hans “Spatz” Sperling came to the Cape from Germany in 1951. He joined his uncle Hans Hoheisen and his aunt Del on the Delheim farm, where he started to experiment with wine making, eventually adding to his knowledge by consulting with established winemakers. His first wine, Spatzendreck, a natural sweet, was tasted by a friend who pronounced it “dreck”. He bottled it with a picture of a sparrow relieving itself on the label and it has been a favourite dessert wine for many aficionados ever since. Sperling is the German word for Sparrow and Spatz is the colloquial equivalent


Scattered around the farm were some great memories of Spatz Sperling
This was his study
and some historic winemaking equipment
Spatzendreck through the ages and old wines found in the cellar. Some had been opened for us to taste
1940s Hanepoot in a brandy bottle
During the Second World War, bottles were in short supply, so many kinds of bottles were recycled for bottling wine 
There were also platters of food for us to eat while tasting
One of the historic foudres in the cellar. While these were used years ago, they do seem to be back in fashion
as younger winemakers are beginning to appreciate their qualities
They have beautiful carving on them. The white wines we could taste were the 1990 Spatzendreck, lovely floral nose, dryer than expected; it has notes of honey muscat on the palate and finished dry. The 1990 Edelspatz Riesling Noble Late Harvest is dark sherry brown, has a lovely classic NLH nose with honey and spice and, on the palate, the expected sweet, spicy enjoyable flavours. The current 2018 vintage of the Edelspatz has spicy honey & hot notes on the nose, clean on the palate. It is not as sweet as the nose leads one to expect and is absolutely delicious, well balanced sugar and acid with length and class
The 2005 Cabernet has intense berry fruit and forest floor on the nose with a touch of brett (brettanomyces), it is full of cassis and freshness, impressive. The 2007 Grand Reserve also had a touch of brett (there is a theory that it keeps wine alive) with cassis berry freshness but aging fast. Still has the required elements of fruit, acid, tannins and alcohol. The 1990 Pinotage had dark wood, chocolate, sour cherries, dark berries and coffee. The 2012 Vera Cruz Pinotage is showing its Pinot parent face with very lovely raspberry and strawberry fruit, length and depth, minerality and warmth. Impressive. The 2015 Grand Reserve Bordeaux blend is a classic with lots of the berry fruits on the nose and palate in layers with incense wood and good minerality. It is soft on the palate initially, then the berries come to the fore with cassis and mushrooms and dark toast, so satisfying. The older style Grand Reserve 1986 has incense wood, and forest floor on the nose and has cassis and spice notes but is ageing fast
An early Delheim "Burgundy type" Pinotage
And a modern day crisp Blanc de Blanc Cap Classique Brut to celebrate the day
Victor Sperling, the son of Spatz who manages Delheim, and Mike Bampfield Duggan of Wine Concepts
Vera Sperling, Spatz' widow and PRO Leanne Sutherland 
Peter Bishop showing us the old wines that he found in a boarded up part of the cellar,
probably made by the previous owners in the early 1940s
Vera Sperling and Peter Bishop having fun with the old wines
A clever way to show the anniversary
The older sweet wines on ice for tasting
Vin Ordinaire!
A welcome by Victor Sperling
Two long tables set for lunch
were arranged between the old concrete kuipe (wine fermentation tanks)
A great photograph of the family, taken when Nora and Victor were young
Victor Sperling (wearing Paps's hat) started the speeches in which everyone spoke about their time on the farm and life with Spatz. It was very amusing. He gave us a story about when Jeff Grier of Villiera applied to work there. Spatz asked him: "Why didn't you join your Dad on his chicken farm? "You can't a have a chicken tasting!" was Jeff's reply. He told us that Josef Krammer was the first winemaker and Otto Helmer (who has returned to Europe), the second. Then Kevin Arnold, (whose wife is also famous for making the first cheese platter to be served on a wine farm). Heerenwyn was the first white blended wine made in the Cape
The memories must have been quite emotional for Vera Sperling
Nora Sperling-Thiel told us about growing up with her father. This day two years ago, 15th October 2017, was the date of the death of Spatz Sperling (1930-2017), a man who stomped on snobbery, had a strong personality and no PR ability; he called a spade a shovel
And to commemorate this occasion, they have bottled a very special wine. They are calling the wine Iconoclast, which means a person who attacks cherished beliefs, an image breaker. Spatz always said "Keep things simple or you F... it up!" It is a Cape Blend packed in a linen bag with a bow tie. 2 100 bottles to be released this year only, a one off vintage in memory of Spatz Sperling, who broke so many barriers in the wine industry. They have capped each bottle with a bow tie and we were each gifted one
We tasted the wine with lunch and it is extremely good. It is a blend of 45% Shiraz, 30% Pinotage, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot. Lynne knows that Spatz would hate her description; the wine reeks of sophistication and quality. It has good wood, beautiful fruit in layers and keeps on surprising you as you drink it. The Cabernet shines, the shiraz softens and enlivens and there are hints of violets from the Petit Verdot. There are tight firm tannins, but not puckering, and coffee mocha on the end. A special food wine, it has the bones to last. Victor said that when they made it they didn't really know what they would get; they wanted something to drink now but also to last.  They have succeeded 
The main course was a superb Springbok fillet in a green pepper and cream sauce, on mashed potato, served with vegetables. It was so well prepared, as the chef insisted on cooking them all à la minute, so the meat was perfectly pink and tender. He said that if you leave meat like this under a heat lamp it overcooks, goes dry and tough
A friend of Victor, economist Kobus Venter, spoke about his memories of Delheim, the family and the wines
Roelof Lotrief is the current winemaker
Christopher Keet, who was an "assistant winemaker" and went on to a very successful career
Kevin Arnold was also employed by Spatz from 1979 to 1987 as an assistant winemaker and he has also gone on to have huge success at Waterford. Kevin told us that he studied agriculture at Elsenberg. As he was not from the Western Cape, Elsenberg wouldn't let him study wine(!), but he then discovered wine, followed his nose and studied winemaking. He was meant to start work with Stellenbosch Farmers Winery when was called by Spatz and told to apply for the job as his Assistant Winemaker. He took over as wine maker when Otto Helmer left and Jeff Grier became his assistant. In 1981 they made the first Grand Reserve. Then he was joined by Martin Meinert. A succession of men who became renowned winemakers. In those years, three Stellenbosch farms dominated: Neighbours Uitkyk, Muratie and Delheim, who sold direct to the public. He reminded us that in those days a case of 12 Grand Reserve cost R10, but then you were earning R350 a month! 
Norma Ratcliffe, a neighbour at Warwick estate, where her husband Stan farmed fruit. She was mentored by Kevin and by Spatz in the early days of her winemaking at Warwick. Spatz was brutally honest and told her, "you are not allowed to make bad wine, it will reflect badly on the valley". They were wonderful neighbours and Norma said that the family backbone is Vera Sperling; she is a marketing genius
Vera Sperling thanked everyone for the tributes and the memories
She has some great memories of those times and of Spatz
Time for dessert. This is a chocolate mousse made with avocado
And a classic baked cheesecake. There were also chocolate dipped strawberries
Three winemakers: Kevin Arnold, Roelof Lotrief and Chris Keet
And the presentation bottles for us to take home. We love the bow ties and are sure they will be worn with pride at prestigious Black Tie wine events.
The Sperling family poses together