Main Ingredient's festive delights

Posted on December 5, 2008 by CapeInfo

About now, you have probably been pouring over the newspaper ads and comparing prices of gammon, turkey, and other food for Christmas. Or you’re beginning to haunt the aisles in the supermarket for ideas of what to eat with your traditional (or not) Christmas dinner.

If you do Christmas traditionally, it’s usually a choice of turkey… or turkey. Or you could prepare a capon (giant castrated rooster) or Cornish hen. We love goose, but can never find them, so have resorted to duck in the past. But you may want to do something different.

You could order a tin of Confit of Duck from us and use the surrounding fat for wonderful roast potatoes. Or you could use the confit in a killer duck salad. In Europe they often cook a huge fish like a salmon or a carp as their main course. If you can order a side of fresh Norwegian salmon it is not a difficult lunch to do and, cold, it can be really special if the weather is hot and you make a home-made herb flavoured mayonnaise.

Seafood is always special, but you do need a mortgage to afford crayfish nowadays. We like them combined with prawns for a good starter. Scallops are just affordable and we love them steamed in the Chinese way with ginger, spring onions and garlic.

Instead of Christmas pudding, you could do a superb luxury tropical fruit salad because melon, pawpaw, kiwi fruit, and mango are starting to appear. We have a recipe for a festive Chardonnay jelly and will send it you on request, or you could make some really special ice-cream using a liqueur, or make a semi-freddo. Or finish off, as the Italians do, with a light green salad, some really good soft Gorgonzola and some great bread from one of specialist bakers such as Jardine, Knead, Olympia Bakery or, if you are in the Knysna area, Ile de Pain.

If you are not traditional, or not celebrating Christmas, you may still want to have some fun on the day, when most restaurants are closed or are charging a premium for eating out. Now is the time to enquire and make your booking, as there are still places with room. We see that our friends Cathy and Kevin at the Nose Bar are catering for Christmas Parties. They say that if you are still looking for a great, relaxed venue for your end of year function, why not pick The Nose in the Cape Quarter?

If you will be entertaining in the next few weeks, here is Lynne’s new Chilli con Carne with Chocolate recipe. It will serve 4 and you need to use very dark, minimum 70% chocolate, preferably one with very little sugar, like our Callebaut callets. The chocolate enriches the sauce and gives a gentle chocolate flavour, but the meat and the chilli still shine through.

Ordinary sweet dark chocolate will make the sauce too sweet. Lindt’s 80% chilli chocolate might also work well, but we haven’t tried it. Hot food in hot weather actually cools you down, which is why the hottest Indian food comes from the hottest parts of India. You can use mince for this recipe, but small slivers of chopped beef taste so much more authentic and substantial. Use one chilli or more according to your taste. Fresh chillies give the best fresh taste.  You can use chilli powder but it won’t have the same kick or flavour. This can definitely be made the day before, in fact we recommend it.

Chilli con Carne with dark Chocolate

1 large onion, finely chopped
800g lean stewing beef, sliced into very small pieces
1 T olive oil
1 t ground cumin
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
1 green chilli, chopped
1 T smoked chilli sauce
400 ml tomato passata
1 tin of red kidney beans
salt and black pepper
1 level T Callebaut 70% dark chocolate callets

Fry the onions in the oil with a good pinch of salt, till soft, then add the beef and fry quickly until it is brown all over. Add the cumin, garlic and chilli and stir quickly to blend. Add the passata and the beans, season and simmer for 20 minutes. Then add the chocolate and continue to simmer until the beef is tender. Add a little water if it needs more moisture during cooking. Adjust the seasoning and serve with boiled rice and a tomato and onion salsa. Top with guacamole and sour cream.

WINE FOR CELEBRATIONS
We have plenty of new wines in the shop after our successful evening tastings. Buitenverwachting Christine, Meifort, Sauvignon Blanc and Rosé; Vastrap white blend and Cape Jazz Shiraz from Solms Astor; Welgegund Carignan and their excellent Rosé; Cederberg Ghost Corner, Cape Point Stonehaven, Crystallum, Ataraxia, Strandveld, Springfield, Elgin Valley and Oak Valley Sauvignons Blanc, Mooiplaas Pinotage, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Langtafel Red and White blends; Cape Point Scarborough Red; Catherine Marshall Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Shiraz Mourvedre and Sauvignon Blanc. Bouchard Finlayson, Springfield and  Morgenhof Chardonnays.

More of the very popular Cloof Inkspot red blend has come in and is selling out almost as quickly as it came in. And, exciting news, we should have some of the very special limited edition Axe Hill White Port very soon. Send us your orders now.

Ed’s note: Main Ingredient offers gourmet foods, ingredients and fine wines. It has won Eat In guide’s Outstanding Outlet for the past three years. You can find them at: Shop 5, Nedbank Centre, 15 Kloof Rd, Sea Point 8005, Cape Town, South Africa. phone: +27 21 439 5169, or find them online.

Posted in Main Ingredient | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Diary dates: Sparkling shenanigans

Posted on December 4, 2008 by CapeInfo

To get you in the mood for the festive season, there are two summer sparkling extravaganzas in the next few weeks for your bubbly pleasure (if you are in going to be in the Western Cape).

This Saturday and Sunday (6 & 7 December) is the annual Franschhoek Cap Classique and Champagne festival “The magic of bubbles”. I went along last year and it was a phenomenal day out. Fabulous food from local restaurants (think mini-Reubens starters in tiny containers and the most amazing moules I have tasted) and of course all the bubbles from local and French producers.

Unfortunately I am giving the festival a miss this year, but please drop me a line with your feedback in the comments below – I trust it will live up to the precedent it set last year.

If you hurry you might be able to still get tickets at R 180 a pop :) from the Franschhoek Wine Valley Tourism site.

A little bit more off the beaten track is the day of Summer Elegance at The House of Krone, Twee Jonge Gezellen in Tulbagh on Saturday 13 December. From midday to sunset the event offers sushi, oysters (not sure if I am ready yet – still a bit off put after the great Knysna Oyster Festival debacle), olives, chocolates, fashion, art, vintage cars…. Oh, and the bubbly, of course.

I am looking forward to this enormously and want to take the opportunity to visit Saronsberg and Rijks as well (fingers crossed we get accommodation) so watch this space for my report back once the bubbles have subsided!

Tickets cost R 60 and you can email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 023 230 0680 to book.

Posted in Diary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Glorious garagistes: Ian McNaught Davis

Posted on December 2, 2008 by CapeInfo

1.    What exactly is a garagiste wine maker?

No winery? No problem! A garagiste wine maker is someone who wants to make wine for the sake of making wine. Garagiste wine makers get their kicks from spending long nights of squashing grapes with their feet, and if it means getting a bottle of the fruit for your labour one day, that’s even better.

2.    How did you end up as one?

I grew up on the wine farm Klein Helderberg (between Stellenbosch and Somerset West) and we had some extra grapes to spare, so a couple of my garagiste friends showed me the ropes.

3.    What do you think garagistes bring to wine making that the traditional wine makers don’t?

Volatile acidity.

4.    What is the most exciting thing about being a garagiste wine maker?

As the smooth-talking wine journo and garagiste extraordinaire Edo Heyns said, “Chicks dig it”. Which sounds better? “Would you like some coffee?” or “Would you like to try some of my wine?”

5.    What is the most challenging thing about being a garagiste wine maker?

There is a lot at stake, especially for me as a beginner. My “harvest” consists of two barrels, so if something goes wrong, it all goes wrong.

6. How do you not get impatient while you are waiting for the wine to mature?

I’m pretty impatient, I’d say the wine is a lot more mature than I am.

7.    Please describe your wine for us?

Well, it’s still in the barrel at the moment, but it’s safe to say it’s a masterpiece in the making… Jonny Wilkinson warming up for a comeback… John Lennon practicing his scales for a Beatles reunion tour. You get the picture.

8.    What can we do to promote garagistes in South Africa?

Now that everyone is jumping on the organic bandwagon, the concept of “handmade” wine has the potential to become quite trendy and chic. I also think having garagiste wine making competitions and expos will help spread the word.

9.    What is the biggest challenge facing the South African wine industry at the moment?

Directing marketing campaigns to the non-wine drinking sectors of our population.

10.    How do you think South African wine ranks internationally?

It’s a force to be reckoned with.

11. Talk to us about environmental issues in wine.

These days, more and more people will feel obliged to buy organic wine – saving the world one bottle at a time.

12. What is your favourite wine that you have made?

A Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend. It is yet to be bottled and is the first one I’ve made, but so far, so good.

13. What are you drinking at the moment?

In these economic times, wherever I can get a good deal.

14. Where can we get bottles of your wine?

I’ll let you know as soon as I bottle them.

15. If you weren’t making wine, what would you be doing?

Magazine journalism

16. Anything else you would like to add?

I’m really as amateur as they come but so far nothing has gone too wrong. (Touch French oak.) So if everything turns out alright, anyone can do this!

If you are a garagiste wine maker and would like to be featured in this series of articles, please email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Posted in Garagistes | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Merlot the zebra

Posted on December 1, 2008 by CapeInfo

I just couldn’t resist bringing you this pic of Perdeberg’s (meaning horse mountain for our non-South African readers) latest addition. Merlot the Perdeberg Zebra will now meet and greet visitors to the winery from his new home at the cellar door of the Perdeberg Winery. Zebra used to roam the region and you’ll recognise Merlot from the Perdeberg wine bottles because the 66 year-old cooperative with 42 wine farms has always been “the one with the zebra”.

And yes, that is a cupcake he is eating, I hope he gets a chance to go for a good gallop to work off all the calories :)

Posted in Wine fun | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Four Paws Wine: The cat’s meow

Posted on December 1, 2008 by CapeInfo

On a morning of particularly bad planning on my part, I found myself faced with the treat of tasting Four Paws wine for the first time, with a rather numb mouth. Making a mental note to NEVER schedule a dental appointment before a wine tasting ever again, I passed the time waiting to regain some sense of taste chatting to Four Paws’ Anne Jakubiec, about cats, of course.

Simondium-based Four Paws was established in 2005 by three wine-loving, cat-owning friends. The bulk of the small quantities of wine they produce is exported, but we are hoping to change that just as soon as we launch the wine sales on capeinfo.com.

Anne is in the enviable position of having abandoned her medical technologist’s career to do something she loves, making wine. She has cut her teeth on all aspects of wine making and selling, from working in the cellar to selecting and marketing South African wines for export.

For the tasting we decided to concentrate on the reds and tasted the Pablo 2006, a red blend named after winemaker Gerda Willers’ cat; and the 2006 Pinotage, an ABSA top 10 Pinotage in 2007.

The silver Veritas-winning Pablo is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and a dash of Grenache. It received four stars from Platters, and all agreed that this wine has the potential to go places. Delicious sour cherries were the overwhelming flavour for me, with a slight underlying dustiness and spices. As the wine opens up, you get a deliciously almondy, spicey fruitcake aroma and flavour. Serve with a leg of lamb, Christmas dinner left-overs and especially tapas. Retailing at around R55, this wine is a steal.

Onto the award-winning Pinotage (it also received a Veritas gold in 2007). Anne advises that you decant this wine – and it certainly is the most infuriating drink, just as soon as you think you have its measure, it releases a whole range of new aromas and flavours for you to enjoy.

Anne warned me ahead of time that this is a fairly unusual Pinotage. The grapes are sourced from the mountains of the Piekenierskloof and the first impression is of stewed plums, somewhat barnyardy, with a touch of bacon. Leave it for a few minutes and suddenly a delicously subtle mocha and sweet ripe cherry emerges. According to the label, you can also expect red roses, carnations, vanilla and spice. Perfect with a pepper steak.

Both wines can be drunk now, or age for up to four years, if not more in the case of the Pablo.

Four Paws also produces a Sauvignon Blanc, which I have chilling in the fridge at the moment for some afternoon tasting. This year they produced a Chardonnay, but Anne is considering a Chenin Blanc for the 2009 vintage.

In my opinion this is a wine brand to watch, it is made by wine drinkers for wine drinkers, and you can taste the light-heartedness and fun they have making the wine in every sip.

You can contact Anne at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Posted in Wine tasting | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Main Ingredient prepares for Christmas

Posted on November 28, 2008 by CapeInfo

John has a birthday this week, so we will be having a super family supper at home, with all the things he loves to eat. Hopefully this will include fresh artichokes, smoked salmon trout, duck in pomegranate, which will be served with potatoes roasted in duck fat and, of course, a very, very wicked chocolate pudding…

If you are a chocoholic too, try these dark chocolate truffles. They are extremely easy to make and will be a real after-dinner treat over the festive season.

We plan to enjoy Colmant MCC, Rudera Chenin Blanc, Cordoba Crescendo (probably the spectacular ’98, from our cellar) and Cathy Marshall’s lovely Myriad dessert wine with the meal. In sensibly moderate quantities, of course, with leftovers to enjoy on Friday!

Dark chocolate truffles
150m double thick cream
400g Callebaut 70% dark chocolate callets
4 T butter, softened
Nomu’s best quality unsweetened cocoa powder

Boil the cream in a small saucepan until it reduces to 2 tablespoons. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate callets till they are melted. Add the butter and stir, then pour into a large flat dish. Refrigerate for 45 minutes until chilled and set.

Use a teaspoon to scrape across the surface of the chocolate so it forms a rough truffle shape – curls not balls. Roll them in the cocoa powder and put into the fridge till you are ready to serve them. You can add a few drops of flavouring like one of the Nielsen Massey extracts – try orange, almond, coffee or vanilla.

Lynne is making a new chilli recipe tonight and she hopes it will work out as expected. If it does, you will see the recipe here next week. It contains chocolate too!

MERRY SHOPPING
Christmas is now on the way – we cannot be in denial any longer, but we promise we will not be playing any Christmas Muzak to irritate you, especially the dreaded Boney M. We cringe every time we hear them massacre the lovely West Indian carol, “Mary’s Boy Child”, which was so beautifully sung by Harry Belafonte.

We know everyone is feeling the credit pinch at the moment, but we also know how much people love to receive gifts of food and wine at Christmas. We have been buying in lots of wine and other wonderful things over the last weeks for you to give as presents. We even have special doggie biscuits and puppy treats, containing biltong, for those of you who have favoured furry family members! Do come and visit us and fill your stockings. We can order gingerbread house kits for you to put together with your children or grandchildren. Email us and we will order you one, or two or more …

We haven’t managed to find any geese this year – if you have, we would really appreciate your source, as it is our favourite bird for Christmas. We have found a source of free range turkeys and will be happy to pass on the contact to anyone who needs it as we are not going to be stocking poultry – we don’t have the correct fridges. Call us if you are interested.

We also have a shop full of Lynne’s Luxury Christmas Puddings, which were so popular last year, so come and get them soon. They can be cooked in the microwave and will therefore save you 3 hours of boiling.

We are pleasantly surprised at the reception of Bushman’s dynamite chocolate chilli sauce, honey mustard and tikka marinade have received. All sold out very quickly. Sadly, the tikka is on back order and will only be here in a week or two, but the others have been replenished and are waiting for you. We now have their killer garlic sauce.

After our very successful Sauvignon Blanc special tasting, we have a variety of top Sauvignons in the shop for you, like Ataraxia, Cederberg Ghost Corner and Elgin Valley.

A special surprise has been the early release of Cape Point Vineyards’ very Isliedh white blend (a Platter 5-star wine). We, like other wine merchants, have a small allocation, but our first delivery is in the shop waiting for customers with great taste and the ability to treat it well.

We have also been given an allocation of Rupert & Rothschild’s very special limited edition Baroness Nadine Chardonnay 2007. This is only available in 6 bottle case lots, so let us know if you would like some and we will order it for you.

We expect to have a limited quantity of the fabulous Axe Hill White port soon. We do have a couple of vintages of the wonderful Cape Vintage in stock, any of which will be a perfect end to your Christmas dinner.

Corporate Gifts
Every year, at this time, we start putting in lots of new items and restocking old favourites that we know work very, very well as corporate gifts. We can help with the smallest budget – or the largest! One or two gifts or hundreds.

And we have access to some really good packaging, or we can suggest solutions, and we are sure we can find something suitable for you and your business. We find clients and staff absolutely love to receive something in the food and/or wine line at the end of what has been a rather tough year, when they need spoiling or thanking. Do contact us for suggestions.

Recommended Events
Jordan wine estate will hold their Open Day on Saturday, 29th November between 10h00 and 15h00. There will be music from local community band, the “Stellenzicht Music Project”. A selection of food and wine will be available during the day.

Also on Saturday 29th, between 10h00 and 17h00, Fynbos Fine Foods will host an exciting day in the Paardeberg, just an hour from Cape Town, with wine tasting from small wineries of the area, a Farmers Market, Crafts, music and a lot more. Entry will be R15, adults and R5 children For directions contact them on 022 487 1153, or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

On the weekend of 6th and 7th December, you’ll have another bubbly opportunity at the 2008 Franschhoek Cap Classique and Champagne Festival, when Franschhoek will showcase an array of celebrated Cap Classique producers as well as some of the finest French champagnes.

Wine tastings
On Tuesday December 2nd, we will be holding a tasting of 6 modern Chardonnays – three premium and three at very reasonable prices, none of which are over wooded and too heavy – and 6 interesting red blends that we think will suit your Christmas celebration, or any other festive dinner you are planning (some of these will also be very good value wines, such as Cape Point’s Scarborough Red and Buitenverwachting Meifort).

Bookings are now open for this 2 hour tasting which starts at 18h00 and we do hope it will attract people who really are interested in buying some good wines from us. As before, we will take bookings for up to 22 people, as it gets a bit crowded with more. The tasting will cost R50 a head and canapés, prepared by Lynne, will be provided as well as a very interesting welcoming drink.

Our Saturday wine tasting this week will feature a range of wines from Mooiplaas, one of our favourite estates in Stellenbosch’s Bottelary ward.

The Weekend Pavement Market:
Audrey Grobbelaar will be here on Friday with her delicious home baked koeksisters, brilliant chocolate brownies, and wonderful pies and breads as well as her preserves and fresh produce. Nelle will be with us again on Saturday from Wolseley, with her freshly laid, backyard chicken free range eggs, home-made pies and breads and cookies and whatever fresh produce she has been able to pick. If you want wonderful, naturally produced food, this is where you’ll find it.

Posted in Main Ingredient | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

New wine books for your coffee table

Posted on November 25, 2008 by CapeInfo

Just in time for Christmas and other end of year presents. Three new South African wine books have hit the shelves in the last month.

John Platter South African Wine Guide 2009:

Now in its 29th year this old favourite takes a look at 6,400 wines, 840 wine producers, merchants and brands and amongst other things, has added GPS co-ordinates for wine farms to its listings.

Its wine of the year is Kanonkop Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, with Kanonkop winning winery of the year as well. On the other end of the spectrum, Simonsig’s Chenin Blanc 2008 gets the nod for being super quaffer of the year.

Other lists include ‘Wines of the Year’, which consists of the 33 five stars and 52 highly recommended wines. A selection of 140 reds, whites and fortifieds showing particular potential for cellaring appear under the banner ‘Buy Now, Drink Later’.

You can take a look at the five-star wines here.

Crush 2009: Michael Olivier revisits his selection of 100 wines to drink now. A useful guide for those who are buying wine to for everyday and immediate drinking. Michael tasted his way through 600 wine to arrive at his top 100.

He also selects a winery of the year, best wines of the year and the food hero. The book also covers wine related topics such as organic wines, the use of oak in wine making and different grape varieties.

Sour Grapes:

The Times Online’s Neil Pendock takes a look at the wacky world of South African wines from the point of view of the personalities involved. Described as “irreverent, opinionated and always amusing” the book looks at the people to talk about wine, write about wine (himself included I assume) and make wine. I’ve not had a chance to pick up a copy yet, so can’t really give you more details at this stage.

Platters and Sour Grapes are available from Kalahari, while I am sure Crush is available at Pick n Pay.

Posted in Wine news | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Summer festivities come to Main Ingredient

Posted on November 21, 2008 by CapeInfo

Ed’s note: Main Ingredient offers gourmet foods, ingredients and fine wines. It has won Eat In guide’s Outstanding Outlet for the past three years. You can find them at: Shop 5, Nedbank Centre, 15 Kloof Rd, Sea Point 8005, Cape Town, South Africa. phone: +27 21 439 5169, or find them online.

Nature doesn’t take prisoners! This tranquil scene was photographed on the Breede River a few weeks ago. Last week, it was a raging torrent and everything you see was submerged. Today, Cape Town was seriously hot, 35ºC, and we had supper al fresco because the house was too hot despite roof insulation, window blinds and other measures. Our solar generated hot water is almost hot enough to make tea or coffee.

Entertaining times?
Regular recipients of this newsletter have asked us recently for more really simple recipes – we know you all love entertaining, if it’s simple, and we all live really busy lives. In our house, supper sometimes needs to be created in moments, because we need to eat after we close the shop and before we leave for the Opera, the theatre or dinner, all of which we love.

QUICK CANAPÉS

  • One of the canapés Lynne made last night is dead simple. Make or buy a basil pesto. To make the pesto: blitz a pack of fresh basil, with 25g Grano Padana cheese, a clove of garlic, 50g pine nuts, almonds or cashew nuts, salt and black pepper and enough good extra virgin olive oil to give you a thick pesto. To serve: Boil some baby new potatoes, peel them, halve them by which time they will be cold and put the pesto onto the cut surface. You can also put pesto on to halves of small tomatoes and slices of cucumber.
  • Buy or make some smoked salmon paté, some thick minty tsatsiki or some thick humus. Take a cucumber and take off small strips of skin lengthwise evenly around the cucumber. Then cut it in half lengthwise, scoop out all the seeds and fill each half with pate or humus. Put back together and cut into tiny 1.5 cm rounds and serve chilled; dust lightly with cayenne, paprika or cumin.
  • Buy some medium (4-5 cm) mushrooms & remove the stalks. Chop the stalks finely and mix with breadcrumbs, grated cheese, garlic and a little chopped rosemary and thyme, and moisten with olive oil or melted butter then season. Fill the mushrooms and bake in a hot oven for about 15 to 20 minutes till crisp on top, then serve.


New in store
At last! After a bit of a hiatus, we have more French duck fat, perfect for roasting the potatoes which will complement your Christmas bird. And of course, we have frozen French chestnuts for the stuffing and will soon have canned chestnuts and purées.

And for the other bird lovers, we have a plentiful supply of Confit de Canard, from Labeyrie in South-West France. In addition, we have a special Labeyrie gift pack for those of you who want a luxury gift for a true gourmet. Come and talk to us about it – it is bound to make a lot of people jealous and others a bit uptight, and you don’t want to give the secret away, do you?

Our own deluxe Christmas puddings will soon be in the shop, because Lynne is busy making them.

After last night’s successful Sauvignon Blanc tasting, we have ordered some wonderful wines for customers who were there, and as a subsequent benefit for you, we will soon have Ataraxia, Cederberg Ghost Corner, Elgin Valley, Oak Valley and Strandveld Sauvignons added to our already extensive list.

An American friend says that Sauvignon Blanc is South Africa’s best offering to the world of wine; we don’t entirely agree, but these are all very special wines and some of them are only available in very limited quantities, so don’t procrastinate.

Simonsig Brut Rosé will make a brilliant opener to any summer party and we will now be able to let you have it in a free special presentation tin, to turn it into an especially wonderful gift.

Corporate gifts
Every year, at this time, we start putting in lots of new items and restocking old favourites that we know work very, very well as corporate gifts. We can help with the smallest budget – or the largest! One or two gifts or hundreds. And we have access to some really good packaging, or we can suggest solutions, and we are sure we can find something suitable for you and your business. We find clients and staff absolutely love to receive something in the food and/or wine line at the end of what has been a rather tough year when they need spoiling or thanking. Do contact us for suggestions.

Stir of the week
We have just watched a BBC food programme where they interviewed a really good butcher who makes his own sausages. He said: “I make wheat-free sausages, as there now seem to be so many wheat allergies” (in the UK). There certainly seem to be a lot in South Africa.

Our comment: could this be caused by genetically modified wheat? Has anyone checked? We know that commercial bread here is full of ‘improvers’ and new yeast strains that have been developed and we feel sure that this has a connection to wheat intolerance and allergies. But what if it’s the wheat itself that has been modified and humans are getting allergic to it?  We’d love to hear from the industry out there.

Recommended Events:
Join the Cap Classique Association and WINE magazine on Tuesday 25th November at 18h30 for a tasting of the top-scoring South African sparkling wines in the 2008 Amorim Cork Cap Classique Challenge, presented by winning wine maker, Elunda Basson at the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town. This will be repeated on Thursday 27th November at 18h30 at the Hyatt Regency in Rosebank, Johannesburg, and again on Tuesday 9th December at 18h30 at the Riverside Hotel in Durban North, when it will be presented by Cape Wine Master and MCC expert Jeff Grier of Villiera. Tickets can be booked by calling 0860 100 203, or by sending an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

And, if that were not enough, you’ll have another bubbly opportunity at the 2008 Franschhoek Cap Classique and Champagne Festival, when Franschhoek will once again play stylish host on the weekend of 6th and 7th December. The annual MCC and Champagne festival will showcase an array of celebrated Cap Classique producers as well as some of the finest French champagnes.

As a special treat on Thursday 27th November, the Savoy Cabbage Thanksgiving dinner is being offered by one of our favourite restaurants.

Jordan wine estate will hold their Open Day on Saturday, 29th November between 10h00 and 15h00. Relax on the lawn with family and friends to the sound of local community band, the “Stellenzicht Music Project”. A selection of food and wine will be available during the day.

Also on Saturday 29th, between 10h00 and 17h00, Fynbos Fine Foods will host an exciting day in the Paardeberg, just an hour from Cape Town, with wine tasting from small wineries of the area, a Farmers Market, Crafts, music and a lot more. Entry will be R15 adults and R5 children. For directions contact them on 022 487 1153, or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Wine tastings
On Tuesday December 2nd, we will be holding a tasting of 6 modern Chardonnays and 6 interesting red blends for you to enjoy with your Christmas dinner, or any other festive dinner you are planning (some of these will be very good value wines). Bookings are now open for this 2 hour tasting which starts at 6 pm and we do hope it will attract people who really are interested in buying some good wines from us. As before we will take bookings for up to 22 people, as it gets a bit crowded with more. The tasting will cost R50 a head and canapés prepared by Lynne will be provided.

Our wine tasting this Saturday will feature a range of wines from Welgegund in Wellington.

The Weekend Pavement Market:
Audrey Grobbelaar will be here tomorrow. Thankfully, her farm, Rivierzicht, on the Breede river in the Goree Valley was not ruined by the floods, although some of it was inundated. They have wonderful riverside camping facilities and these will be open again within a very short time.

Nelle will be with us again on Saturday from Wolseley, with her freshly laid, backyard chicken free range eggs, home-made pies and breads and cookies and whatever fresh produce she has been able to pick. If you want wonderful naturally produced food, this is where you’ll find it.

Posted in Food & wine | Tagged | Leave a comment

We have a wine winner!

Posted on November 20, 2008 by CapeInfo

A big thank you to everyone who took part ing the Wines Online Blog competition. I really enjoyed reading your comments and feedback. I’m plotting some exciting content based on what you asked for.

But before that, the winner of the case of Stormhoek wine is Jane Fitnum. Congratulations! I loved reading what you had to say about supporting the little guys making superb wines, and also venturing off the beaten track to discover some gems for locals to support. We’ll be in touch shortly to arrange the delivery of your wine.

Back to the reader feedback. In order of popularity, this is what you asked us to look at.

Number 1: FOOD & WINE
Between Jacoba Budden’s articles and the Main Ingredient column, we already have a nice foundation here. But I will certainly be getting out and about this summer enjoying my two favourite things, food and wine! I hope you enjoyed the article on the Stellekaya food and wine pairing event I attended?

Number 2: WINE FARMS AND WINE ROUTES
This is definitely at the top of the list for me. I have a couple of outings planned over the next few weeks to Tulbagh and Franschhoek – so watch this space. Did you read about my visit to Constantia Glen?

Number 3: WINE TASTING TIPS
I am in the middle of turning my tasting notes from the wine tasting I held recently into blog posts and will publish them as a series.

Number 4: ACCOMMODATION IN THE WINELANDS
I am just waiting for the floods of invitations to come and stay at your guest houses, BnBs and hotels… (Hint, hint!)

And then bringing up the rear were wine personalities, international wine news and recipes. I’ll continue adding colour to my articles with background info on the personalities involved. On the international front – I think keeping tabs on international news that affects the South African wine industry will suffice. And finally we publish a couple of recipes, so let’s just stick with that for the moment.

Do you agree? Disagree? Do you have further suggestions to add? Drop me a line via the comment box below – I would love to hear from you.

Posted in Wine fun | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Flagstone wine sale – stock up for summer

Posted on November 20, 2008 by CapeInfo

Feeling the pinch but think that the economy is no reason to skimp on your favourite tipple? Flagstone to the rescue with a fab sounding warehouse sale at the end of the month. Prices start at R60 a case – so stock up for the end of year festivities now.

The sale is on at the Flagstone Winery in Somerset West on Saturday 29 November. The sale includes Flagstone vintages, export run-ons, Kumala reserves and white wine vintages at prices that work out to R10 a bottle.

The wines on offer include 2006 Cellarhand Chenin Blanc, 2006 Cellarhand Back Chat Red Blend, 2005 Fish Hoek Shiraz, and 2006 and 2007 Noon Gun Crafted Dry White Blend. From the international Kumala stable come the 2006 Reserve Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinotage, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz.

Flagstone winemaker Bruce Jack was named the Financial Mail Wine Newsmaker of the Year in 2008. His ethos is “Trust Your Taste”…if a wine tastes good, then it’s a good wine! Flagstone has picked up over 30 awards and has been named one of South Africa’s top 10 wineries.

The sale starts at 9am on Saturday 29 November at the Flagstone cellar and will finish at 3pm. Cash and credit cards only. Flagstone Winery is located at AECI Heartlands Properties, de Beers Avenue, Somerset West. Please follow the signs.

Forget clothes and shoes sales – this is the type of sale that really gets me excited.

Posted in Wine fun | Tagged , , | 5 Comments