Wednesday, May 11, 2022

In MENU This Week - Regent St Party, Greek Fisherman, Gordon's Bay, Elgin Cool Wines



Dragon Boat practice in the V&A Waterfront

We are waiting for the winter rains but, in terms of stories to tell, it’s pouring. We are so used to inactivity, that all this buzz is a little unsettling; nevertheless, we love it. This week’s stories are around a street party in our main street on Freedom Day and the Elgin Cool Wines Festival. And we have a few stories banked for next week. We hope you’ll enjoy them all. Click on each full story’s headline, photograph or “Read on…” to open

If you think you might have missed something interesting, go to the Archive in the column on the right of our blog page and you’ll find everything we’ve published since 2010 and, please, check the advertising. That’s what pays us!

Freedom Day Street party in Regent Street, Sea Point

Sea Point came alive on our Freedom Day public holiday. Regent Road was closed off from Church Road down to Solomons Road. And it was such fun. Perhaps not for people trying to get home at 6, who had to divert to Kloof Road or Beach Road, but residents came out in droves, both during the day and until 9 at night. We decided to go at 6 and see "what was occurring". We started at the Church Street end. Read on…

Meze Supper at the Greek Fisherman, Sea Point

We feel the loss of La Mouette, the fine dining restaurant that used to occupy the lovely heritage Sea Point building on Regent Road, but are glad to see that The Greek Fisherman, which was in the Waterfront, has now moved here. The upstairs is now a separate bar. We were shown, initially, to a table next to the fountain, but moved before our food arrived, as it was dripping on us a little. Read on…

Elgin Cool Wine Festival - 1. Lothian

We looked back at our records and we have been visiting Elgin for their Cool Wine Festival since 2014! It is the perfect time for a wine festival, autumn is upon us and there are lovely glowing colours in the trees in this cool wine area. The programme for this year included 9 wine farms and we planned to visit at least two days. You cannot do them justice if you rush at it. So we drove up that morning to arrive at our first stop, Lothian, at 10h30. Read on…

Elgin Cool Wine Festival - 2. Paul Cluver

Our second farm visit was to Paul Cluver, where we had made an appointment. There were people tasting wine on the lawn in front of the restaurant and a ticket stand for people wanting to buy festival tickets. It was not very busy when we arrived, but it did fill up. Most of the people in the tasting room were not visiting the festival and had come to taste the premium Cluver wines for which there is a charge. Read on…

Elgin Cool Wine Festival - 3. Elgin Railway Market

We decided to pay a quick visit to the Elgin Railway Market, which is in an old apple warehouse at the Elgin railway station, built by Italian prisoners of war during World War 2. It is just outside the entrance to Oak Valley estate, and we were greeted with the sight of the historic train which had brought people from Cape Town, a 3 hour trip – only one hour by car. Read on…

Elgin Cool Wine Festival - 4. Oak Valley

Ancient oaks at Oak Valley welcome you at the entrance. It was a very popular venue on both days of the festival. We were greeted by beautiful autumnal shades and lots of space for picnicking under the trees. Read on…

Elgin Cool Wine Festival - 5. Almenkerk

Sunday morning and, after a huge breakfast at our accommodation in Gordon’s Bay, it was time to head for Elgin for our second day at the Elgin Cool Wines Festival. It is harvest time in the valley for the apples and pears that they grow so successfully, as well as the grapes. Read on…

Elgin Cool Wine Festival - 6. Iona

Iona is on top of a hill, on the opposite side of the valley from Almenkerk and has some of the highest vineyards. Walking past the Manor House where a special lunch you had to book for was taking place, we went to the area in front of the tasting room and enjoyed the sunshine. Four wines to taste at the festival. We began with the 2020 Sauvignon Blanc, with a nose full of grass, fig leaves and green pepper. Read on…

Elgin Cool Wine Festival - 7. Paul Wallace

We love finishing the Elgin Cool Wine and other festivals at Paul Wallace Wines. It belongs to our friends Paul and Nicky Wallace. Nicky has recently been ill, so we wanted to see how she and Paul were doing. It is always one of the most popular wine farms to visit. And it was good to see their son Bobby, assistant winemaker at Iona, who was helping out. Read on…

Big Skies Guest House, Gordon's Bay

We were invited to the Elgin Cool Wines festival to write about it this last weekend, so accommodation was a priority for us. Sadly our tickets arrived just the day before, when all the affordable accommodation in Elgin had been taken. So, thinking laterally, Lynne looked at Gordon's Bay, just 15 minutes down Sir Lowry’s Pass and found Big Skies, which is only two roads from the sea front. Read on…

Fish and Chips at Trawlers, Gordon's Bay

Gordon's Bay is a quiet town out of season. This was taken at 7 o'clock on a Saturday evening, so the season is definitely over. We wanted some good fish and chips for supper and we knew that Trawlers is a good place to get them. It is a legend and has been serving good seafood for years. Sadly, we were their last customers. Their only seating is on their verandah or on the chilly open air seats and tables. Read on...

All our stories can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right

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Posted by MENU at 8:11 am 0 comments

Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Elgin Cool Wine Festival - 7. Paul Wallace

We love finishing the Elgin Cool Wine and other festivals at Paul Wallace Wines
It belongs to our friends Paul and Nicky Wallace
Nicky has recently been ill, so we wanted to see how she and Paul were doing
It is always one of the most popular wine farms to visit
and it was good to see their son Bobby, assistant winemaker at Iona, who was helping out

Lots of folk enjoying the afternoon and sampling the wines on this outdoor stand or inside the tasting room
We had a lovely glass of the Paul Wallace Chardonnay, so ripe and layered in flavour and quality,
and so good to enjoy in the sunshine

and we met new Sea Point friends Amos and Lerato, to whom we had chatted at Iona

Paul was very busy selling cases of his excellent wines

and it was good to see Nicky on the mend. She organised the festival this year and it is a lot of work

They had a good food truck with lots of choices at reasonable prices and Lynne was feeling a bit peckish,
so she had the sliced rump steak roll. Good value and great flavours

Good music too 

Black dogs are a Wallace trademark. The Black Dog Malbec was named for Jake, the late Rottweiler
This is Angus the labrador, the new generation and he loves people

Black Dog is a ripe and ready Malbec with dark berry fruit, licorice and good wood
that just amazes each year and improves with age

The Little Flirt Sauvignon Blanc has many of the lovely Elgin characteristics;
fig leaf, freshness, zingy apple and granadilla flavours

We sat on the stoep enjoying the wine and the camaraderie,
after which it was time to head home after a great weekend
Elgin is only one hour from the city and is a wonderful place to take a break and enjoy the wines,
the scenery and the wonderful hospitality

All our stories can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right

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Posted by MENU at 4:04 pm 0 comments

Elgin Cool Wine Festival - 6. Iona

Iona is on top of a hill, on the opposite side of the valley from Almenkerk and has some of the highest vineyards

The Manor House where a special lunch you had to book for was taking place

We went to the area in front of the tasting room and enjoyed the sunshine

The Iona tasting room

Four wines to taste at the festival. We began with the 2020 Sauvignon Blanc,
with a nose full of grass, fig leaves and green pepper
The same flavours follow through on the full palate with the addition of granadilla and lime,
a style of Sauvignon Blanc we really enjoy

The 2020 Chardonnay is slightly smoky with lime and grapefruit on the nose, with peaches and cream on the palate,
then crisp limes, long flavours; it's very quaffable

The 2020 Pinot Noir has smoke and dark berries on the nose and palate
with Rhubarb, mulberry and morello cherry with good chalky tannins

And we took our glass of 2020 One Man Band outside in the sun
Dark cherry berry fruit, a lovely mouthful of bruléed berries,
it is soft and juicy with spice, licorice, salt and dark toast on the end
Another wine to quaff and to enjoy with food

Young people enjoying the swing

Andrew Gunn collects cars. The original of his 1956 oval window VW Beetle is the parent of all rear-engined Porsches
and you can also see his favourite motor bike

The Porsche 356, Andrew Gunn's first car, was bought used in 1969 for R675; The 2017 911 GT3 RS, was more expensive

The vineyard has magnificent views over Elgin. Go and visit, you will be glad you did;
it is worth the ride up the good dirt road, which is very well graded

All our stories can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right

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Posted by MENU at 3:13 pm 0 comments

Sunday, May 08, 2022

Elgin Cool Wine Festival - 4. Oak Valley

Ancient oaks at Oak Valley welcome you at the entrance
It was a very popular venue on both days of the festival

Beautiful autumnal shades and lots of space for picnicking under the trees

A playground for adventurous children,
but it could be dangerous and they were asked to stop bouncing on the branches




Lovely contrasts


Good music from the sax player had people dancing to his tune

and a lovely gift for us from Christopher Rawbone-Viljoen of their 2020 Groenlandberg Pinot Noir,
lovely classical Pinot; red berry and cherry nose and soft and silky fruit on the palate

Chef John van Zyl was having a busy day, as the Restaurant was serving food
and there was also a hamburger and oyster stand on the front lawn

The wild oysters, which were from Mossel Bay as the West Coast has had a toxic red tide.
This young chef had a lot of work to do opening this very popular shellfish, sold as 4s or 8s

Afrika Chimombe was delivering picnic boxes from the restaurant to guests seated on the lawn

We decided to go for the Smashburgers, which these two young chefs were preparing

and they were delicious, covered in good coleslaw and pickles, with their own special dressing
We sat and relaxed, enjoyed the afternoon, tasted a couple more Oak Valley wines
and then it was time to leave and head for our accommodation in Gordon’s Bay

All our stories can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right

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Posted by MENU at 2:53 pm 0 comments

Elgin Cool Wine Festival - 3. Elgin Railway Market

We decided to pay a quick visit to the Elgin Railway Market, which is in an old apple warehouse at the Elgin railway station, built by Italian prisoners of war during World War 2. It is just outside the entrance to Oak Valley estate. We were greeted by the sight of the historic train which had brought people from Cape Town, a three hour trip – only one hour by car

The loco shares its name with John's daughter

It looked as though she was getting up steam for the return journey

Inside, the Art Deco market building was packed with people enjoying their Saturday

We always visit the fruit and vegetable kiosk, but they didn’t have what we were looking for this time
It did have lots and lots of lovely apples and pears and other fruit grown in the area

Darielle Robertson, who organised the festival for Elgin, was also at the market

It is a great venue for a visit, lots of different food outlets to sample and other stands with a variety of things to buy

and Brian, the Book Bus, an old mobile library, now used outside the market as a shop, sells second hand books


All our stories can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right

If you do not wish to receive e-mails from us, please email menucape@gmail.com with the word 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in your email

Posted by MENU at 2:27 pm 0 comments
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