Thursday, October 17, 2024

Martin Moore memorial sundowner at Durbanville Hills

We were invited to Durbanville Hills wine cellar to join the team and other guests
at a memorial sundowner to their much-loved late cellarmaster Martin Moore

Martin was a good friend who was an important mentor to us when we were studying for our wine diplomas
and he was winemaker at Groot Constantia 

As we arrived we met old friends wine merchant Michael Bampfield-Duggan
and Tielman Roos, co-owner and viticulturist at Mooiplaas wine estate

Durbanville Hills CEO Albert Gerber welcomed us all

The guests listening to Albert's welcome


A portrait of Martin Moore by Theo Paul Vorster

Albert took us into an adjoining room where he spoke about Martin, the cellar's first cellarmaster,
and his influence on the organisation which is now a subsidiary of Heineken

followed by a reminiscence by journalist Emile Joubert

Theo Paul Vorster the artist spoke about his relationship with Martin

Martin's sister Janine Roos with her copy of the portrait


More reminiscences followed from the floor

Martin's family and Albert Gerber with the artist and the portrait
Alexander Moore, Mariette van der Merwe, Albert Gerber, Theo Paul Vorster, Janine Roos, William Moore

We were all invited for a Durbanville Hills Sauvignon blanc sundowner on the upper deck


a brilliant sunset

Janine and Tielman Roos and a glass of Pinotage

and Table Mountain in the late evening

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Posted by MENU at 2:55 pm 0 comments

Sunday Pinot noir tasting at Strauss Auctioneers

On a Sunday afternoon in late August,
John attended a tasting of the best South African Pinot noirs at the Strauss & Co premises in Salt River

Righard Theron showed two De Grendel variations on the theme


Proposal Hill Pinot noir MCC and 2022 Op die Berg Pinot noir

In a separate alcove, all the Pinots were from the Hemel en Aarde/ Walker Bay area


Jean Engelbrecht's Cirrus Pinot from the Ceres Plateau
presented by Rust en Vrede assistant winemaker Lara Barnard

Winemaker Tim Hoek of Haute Cabrière and his wife Lesley with the estate's Pinot noirs

Andries Burger, talking to Glen Hunt, with Paul Cluver Village and Estate Pinot noirs

Werner Muller showed his Iona, Kloof and Mr P Pinots noir

Dudley Wilson with Kershaw Smuggler's Boot Pinot noir

Antonij Rupert Cape of Good Hope Sneeuwkrans Pinot noir 2020

There were two lucky draw prizes of a case of 6 bottles of Pinot noir, presented by Andries Burger and Glen Hunt

Bobby Wallace with his family's Paul Wallace Braveheart Pinot 2016 and 2020

Michelle Waldeck, Young Winemaker of the Year finalist, showed the Benguela Cove Walker Bay Pinot noir 2023

Hasher Family Wines Ernest Pinot noir 2022 


It was good to catch up with Berene Sauls and her Tesselaarsdal Pinot noir 2022

Spookfontein Cap Classique Brut and Pinot noir 2022

Liam Cloete showed the Newton Johnson Family Vineyards 2022 and Walker Bay 2023 Pinots

La Vierge Noir 2021 and Apogée Single Vineyard 2022

shown by winemaker Christo Kotzé

Gottfried Mocke with his Cap Maritime Pinot noir 2022

Barend Erasmus, assistant winemaker at Bouchard Finlayson with a fan and his Galpin Peak Pinot noir

The full suite of Creation Pinots from the Hemel en Aarde

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Posted by MENU at 11:14 am 0 comments

Restaurant Week lunch at Ramenhead

 
We love Restaurant Week, even when it's nearly five weeks long
It gives us a chance to try out some restaurants that we couldn't normally afford
and others that are new and in our own neigbourhood
There are always some very good specials
We love Peter Tempelhof's restaurant Fyn and had not yet managed to get to his Ramenhead
which is below Fyn, in the same building, near Parliament Square
So, seeing it listed on Restaurant week inspired Lynne to book it for lunch on the very first day
We so need occasional treats in our lives and, this having been a very tough year, we were ready for some

If you look up the definition of Ramen you will find many varied descriptions
The one we like the most is: "Ramen is a type of Japanese noodle soup
Once a simple street food, it's now become a gourmet phenomenon around the world"
Lynne makes us miso soup with noodles and veg when we need a boost but Ramenhead is next level
You need to go and try them at this airy and spacious venue 

A long bar where you can eat your ramen and have a cocktail or two, some Japanese Sake
or some carefully chosen wines or beers
or eat at one of the small tables opposite or in the next room 

The serving staff are wonderful, full of good explanations and chat
Do not expect to be rushed; it's a contemplative kind of place, lots of zen and feng shui

John began with a complimentary glass of this imported dry sake

Served well-chilled

They have a selection to tempt you, even a sparkling one

 The table setting is simple and fun, we even learnt some more Japanese words from the place mat

Lynne was given a Nagasaki Smash cocktail made with Japanese gin, basil, cucumber, szechuan pepper,
mint, lime and sesame seed oil
Despite her dislike of cucumber, she rather enjoyed it. A good match with the ramen

A glass of Wolf and Woman rosé for John to sip with his ramen

The menu is simple and the explanations are clear. The Restaurant Week special is three different bowls for R395
The first bowl was a very simple starter served cold. Thin chewy noodles in a deliciously light soy based broth
topped with shredded spring onions topped with wasabi and sesame oil

Next came the Miso Tonkatsu, a flavourful dish of rich bone broth, topped with thinly sliced Chashu pork belly
Bean sprouts with garlic, corn butter, Ajitamago (a marinated egg, still with the runny yolk)spring onions, nori
and strips of warm ginger and Sapporo style noodles which are thick and lovely and chewy
Very reminiscent of the dish Lynne had in a bar on Mount Fuji many years ago



 Next came Ebi Abura Soba noodles, which are not served with a broth, but come with prawns,
a seaweed salad with yuzu and garlic in a prawn shell emulsion on Kitakate flat straight and chewy noodles
The emulsion was thick, dense and delicious and coated everything
The picture was taken after we had begun as we could not wait to taste the dish
Lynne has to admit that she could not finish everything (she is a small eater) but was grateful for the remains
of her two unfinished dishes in take-home containers to enjoy for lunch the following day.. 

Mint Chocolate Ice cream with crisp sprinkles was the dessert. It was a bit like eating a Peppermint crisp,
a  chocolate bar much loved by many South Africans, often an ingredient in sweet tarts

Our bill 

Hannah, one of the lovely young ladies who attended to us

Signs of Spring in Parliament Square

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 10:44 am 0 comments
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