Thursday, December 05, 2024

Flagstone’s Celebrations on Saturday

An invitation from Flagstone Wines in Somerset West to an exclusive celebration
of Flagstone’s remarkable achievements this year
This gave us a chance to connect with head winemaker Gerhard Swart again,
as we keep seeing him at wine competitions
They have not had an event at the cellar for quite a while
Other media and trade were also invited to this celebration, as were the members of Flagstone's Wine Club

The tasting room

and a glass of their brand new 2021 Cap Classique 

The tasting room was filling up with arrivals

Music was provided by Carla Strokes on Saxophone

Their brand new 2021 Cap Classique, released a month ago, called Paradise Lost
It is crafted from bush vine Chenin Blanc

Winemaker Gerhard Swart with wine specialist retailer Caroline Rillema and her husband Ray Kilian


The food that would be on offer later

Into the marquee to taste the wines

The Word of Mouth Viognier has the slightly sweet peach flavours
 balanced by good acidity that we have come to expect
The Two Roads Chardonnay has wood and stone fruits with lime and lemon

CJ Marais pouring the red wines

The Music Room cabernet is very popular and has all the classic Cabernet berry flavours, with wood, chalky tannins
and the potential to age well
The Dark Horse Shiraz is dark, dense and very spicy. Both have won good awards 


More award winning wines
The 2021 Treaty Tree Pinotage is young and fresh and impressed the lovers of this grape
The 2021 Dragon Tree Cape Blend has Cab Sauvignon, Petit Verdot , Malbec, and Merlot in layers
It sells well and wins awards
The Writers Block Pinotage was impressive in its style and in its awards

Winemaker Gerhard Swart read out all the awards
that Flagstone has won locally and abroad in competitions this year, an impressive list

The attentive audience

The second bucket of white wines
The  Surge was impressive, it is a classic Sauvignon Blanc with a twist. Lynne detected a trace of wood,
"Yes", said one winemaker; "No", said another.  Damn fine wine
The  Treaty Tree Classic White, a blend of Sauvignon Blanc Semillon is also impressive,
young but with a great future
The Free Run Sauvignon Blanc has all the green and zesty flavours you might enjoy in this wine

Time for some food - canapés served by chefs Mark and Mo. Sausage rolls with a mustard dip

A Mediterranean slice with herbs, cheese & tomato 

Crisp Samoosas with chutney

Lamb pies had a lot of pastry

Some of the food was plated

Good bread for the dips

A combination of beetroot purée with edamame beans

The Stuffed pancakes were rather good

All our stories can be opened from the archive list near the top of the column on the right

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Exmouth

After the Anniversary celebrations,
we moved to our cousins Rick and Mary's new ground floor flat in Exmouth on the Exe estuary for a few days
Their current house in Clyst St George is only a short drive away





Lovely views across the estuary when the tide is in

Looking across at the hills too

We think this boat has seen better days. You can see Exeter in the far distance

The three family dogs were in their element having such a wonderful place to run and chase balls

They have a lovely view of Lympstone Manor, the home of famous chef Michael Caines MBE
The chef/patron of this luxury hotel, he is one of Britain’s most popular and well-known chefs
The holder of two Michelin stars for 18 consecutive years,
he was awarded a Michelin star for Lympstone Manor just six months after opening
In case you want to go and sample his food:  https://lympstonemanor.co.uk/dine/menus/

Caroline making sure the dogs get a great walk to tire them out

The tide was in when we went for a walk along the front

We watched these fishermen unloading what looked like crabs and shrimp with a waiting buyer on the dock

Tossing back undersized crabs

All these old seafront Victorian Houses used to be small hotels and bed and breakfasts
but now look as though they are residences

They have great sea views

and the usual problem of parking on the seafront, which we understand

Looking across to Dawlish Warren where Lynne spent weekends with mates in her early 20's
when visiting a friend tutoring at Exeter University 

It was way back in 1967 and we sat on the dock and listened to Otis Reading sing 
" Sittin' in the mornin' sun
I'll be sittin' when the evenin' come
Watching the ships roll in
And then I watch 'em roll away again, yeah
I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
I'm just sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time" 
Such great memories

Just one still doing Bed and Breakfast

The flat is in this rather Scandinavian style complex where people can moor their boats

All the time we were in the UK we tried out local beers and these were rather good
John bought the Adnam's Suffolk bitter in Marks & Spencer as a bit of nostalgia
It was the first English beer he drank and he loved it
On his first visit to the UK in 1962, family members took him to a lovely old Adnams pub in Suffolk

The sailing fraternity bringing their boats home in the evening

Lights go on as night draws close. You can see the Penzance to London trains going along the coast here

Off for Dinner at RockFish restaurant
They recently had a freak tide inundation to the sea side of the restaurant which smashed windows
and so they were only using the front half
You need to book; it was a short walk from the flat

Very popular and busy

We thought a Muscadet would be a very good choice with seafood, and indeed it was. The wine list was good


Lynne and Mary chose the Fritto Misto with fresh anchovies, calamari, prawns and fish

The Sea Bream delighted
You can just see the list of fish that might be available on the left of the picture;
they come and mark it up with what they do have available on the night 


Fish and chips for Rick made us all rather envious, served with "bottomless chips"

The loo wall is papered with maps

From all over the world

The chefs are on show

There are several restaurants  to choose from on the front

The next day we explored Exmouth and visited eight charity shops!
They sit two by two in a square and are well supported We needed more reading material as we didn't bring much
John bought two books and two CDs for a Pound each

Lunch in the pub on the way back to Clyst St George was a return to the White Hart in Woodbury
A Steak and Ale Pie with mash and peas which John said was one of the best he had ever tasted

Good fish and chips

Rick's Ham and Eggs with chips had us salivating

Shantell Brookes, née van Aarde, the owner of The White Hart
John enjoyed speaking to her in Afrikaans

After a wonderful break in Devon, where we were so spoilt and enjoyed being with family so much,
it was time to head for London

All our stories can be opened from the archive list 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

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