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.
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.
By Jacoba Budden, Cape Town-based food writer. She’ll be contributing some delicious food and wine pairing suggestions to the Wines Online Blog.
South Africans are no longer permitted to use the word Port on their labels. They now make fortified wines that taste like port using the same methods that they used when they made port and that, to my mind, is just fine. They’ll just have to come up with a new word – something they can do pretty well nowadays. In all honesty, though, we have yet to see whether these young wines will last as long as the ones from Europe and for that a little time is needed yet.
Bredells Cape Vintage Reserve 1998, with its 50% Tinta Barocca content, is one of those wines that could be truly great. I had the opportunity to try some recently and whilst I am still very new to all this, I knew immediately that I’d hit the jackpot. I love the fact that I breathed in dried fruit, plums, walnuts and when I sipped this exquisite wine I got the overwhelming sense of being back in my father’s small, dusty cellar, sitting on an upside down box sipping port for the first time, quietly, so that my mother wouldn’t find out. I was, after all, only twelve.
In short – this is the perfect match to an incredibly good fondant as it is not overpoweringly sweet, has tannin that makes itself known and enough alcohol to provide that specific balance needed for the chocolate and the rich saffron cream. It’s simply the best match I can think of today.
So onto the chocolate….
Evidence of the existence of chocolate found that it was in use as early as 1100 BC. At first it was an alcoholic drink, then part of everyday life and much later on it became a luxury, even used as currency. Uses were manifold through the ages and it was used to cure diarrhoea, for tax by the Aztecs and after the Spanish had slaughtered most of the Aztecs, it became popular in Europe. It has always been scarce and good chocolate is hard to find. While many believe the good stuff comes from Switzerland or Belgium, this is not entirely correct. The good stuff comes from Hawaii. This is a simple dessert if you keep your head and the perfect end to a simple meal because it restores balance.
Ingredients:
50 g plain flour
3 g baking powder
10 g cocoa powder
100 g chocolate Lindt 75%
100 g unsalted butter, softened
2 extra large eggs
70 g caster sugar
Sauce:
25 g caster sugar
20 g cocoa powder
105 g whipping cream
Saffron filling:
5 tablespoons milk
5 g cornflour
5 tablespoons whipping cream
1 g saffron threads
45 g white chocolate to top
To serve (optional)
Vanilla ice cream
Hazlenut tuilles
Method:
Sauce:
Boil the sugar with about 50 ml water in a pot. Whisk in the cocoa powder very slowly indeed, a sprinkling at a time, ensuring it doesn’t bubble over. Once well mixed and boiling again, add cream, bring back to the boil and turn the heat down, reducing the liquid for 5 – 10 minutes very slowly, whisking occasionally until you have a thick sauce. Check the consistency by putting some on a plate. It must hold its shape and be shiny and dark.
Saffron filling:
For the filling, use a little of the milk, mix it with the cornflour and make a paste. Mix the rest of the milk with the cream and the saffron in a pan. When almost boiling, add the cornflour and bring to the boil. Boil for 1 - 2 minutes and then remove from the heat. Add the white chocolate, whisk until the chocolate has melted and pour into a container about 1,5cm deep and freeze. As soon as it has set, take pastry cutter and cut out 4 shapes and refreeze.
Fondant:
Make the fondant by mixing the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder together and sift twice through a fine sieve. Put the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water and don’t let the base touch the water until the chocolate melts. Take off the heat and stir in the softened butter. Whisk eggs and sugar together until pale and mix into the chocolate mixture with a spatula. Slowly fold in the flour and cocoa powder until it is incorporated.
Use four pastry rings (6 cm deep, 5cm in diameter) and lay them on a tray. Grease them well with butter and line them with a buttered parchment paper cut 2 cm above the rim. Spoon in the mixture halfway up each ring, then put one of the discs of saffron filling (kept in the freezer) on top. The cold disc will set the walls of the fondant around it. Put the rest of the mixture over the top up to three quarters of the height of the ring. Don’t fill it any higher because it will rise in the oven. Keep this in the fridge for two hours until the fondant is completely cold and solid.
Preheat the oven to 180 C and put in the fondants in for 9 minutes until they have risen and got some colour.
Remove, place on the plate and serve with ice cream and a hazelnut crisp.
I am becoming quite a fan of vertical tastings, as they really give you a chance to see how wine ages, and get to grips with the signature style - or not - of a wine label. Vertical tastings take a specific wine and look at how it has developed over various vintages, as opposed to a traditional tasting that looks at the current releases from a wine farm, or a range of producers.
Earlier this month I went along to one of the last wine tastings of the year at Caroline’s and enjoyed a vertical tasting of Morgenster wines. Cellar master Marius Lategan explained that although Morgentster has two labels: Lourens River Valley and Morgenster - neither is considered a first or second label and rather each are an alternative expression of terroir.
But to start the evening we had a taste of the recently released Tosca, from Morgenster’s new Italian range - the brainchild of Italian owner Giulio Bertrand. It’s a blend of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon and is a delightful licorice-ey concoction.
On to the vertical tasting. All were Bordeaux blends and we tasted the Lourens River Valley reds from 1999 to 2004, and the Morgenster from 2000 (the maiden vintage) to 2004.
One thing is clear - South African reds do have the capacity to age well to a well-integrated, extremely elegant wine. Maybe not to everyone’s tastes as so many of us are only used to a full-frontal fruit assault. And to make a gross generalisation, South African wines typically show a New World feistiness rather than an Old World restraint, so that is what we and our New World counterparts often look for and expect.
Marius Lategan joined Morgenster - meaning morning star - in 2000, so has personally been involved in the making of all but one of the line-up. It’s fascinating to hear him talk about the impact of the weather, the cellar and the length of time (to the day) that it took reach harvest time for each vintage.
It was extremely difficult to pin down a favourite wine - with much discussion and variety of opinion. It didn’t help that as the wines opened up, they revealed several layers of flavour and complexity.
I find other people’s wine tasting notes one of the most boring things to read, so will spare you the details. But let me recommend a tasting at Caroline’s if you want to brush up on your wine knowledge; also experience a vertical tasting if you get a chance, it’s an interesting experience. And finally take a trip out to Morgenster in Somerset West for some fine wines and olive oils.
Ed’s note: We are very lucky to have the OK from John and Lynne Ford to publish their Main Ingredient newsletter on the Wines Online Blog. 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.
High winds and flying tiles, lashing rain and tree branches are all over our leafy street this week. Those isobars must have been so close together. We are hearing of flooding in our favourite valley of wine and roses and are concerned that the wind may have taken the flowers off the Cape’s vines at the most vulnerable time of year when they need to pollinate. It will certainly reduce the crop this year.
We thought we had finally gone into summer but this is a setback. However it is not uncommon, as when we moved into our house on the 4th of December four years ago, we had a similar storm and our solar pool heating panels all ended up in our street. We now use solar to heat our domestic water and the collector panels are much more securely fixed.
New in store
It is probably the right weather for slightly spicy food and we have a new product in stock which Lynne is going to try at the weekend: a very authentic Indian Tikka paste which you add to yogurt and use to marinade boned chicken, then bake quickly in a very hot oven. Serve with wedges of lemon or lime, a simple salad and some rice.
It’s from Bushmans and we also have their very delicious mustard (Lynne never thought she would say this about a local mustard, having recently tasted several really bad samples and reverting to her favourite French). It’s a gentle sweet honey mustard and more like a mayonnaise in consistency. She is going to use it in a French dressing.
Then we have something for the Chilli lunatics among you – Dynamite! It’s a searingly hot sauce made from chillies that have been matured in barrel for five years and then blended with 70% Belgian chocolate, balsamic vinegar, molasses, spices and herbs. It’s in numbered limited edition boxes is a perfect Christmas or birthday gift for that Chilli crazy you know. We would never risk tasting it - they say its hotness level is 21 out of 10. (Mathematically as crazy as the heat).
We have frozen chestnuts for you to use when stuffing your Christmas bird and we hear that we will soon have new stock of tinned French chestnuts, purée, crème and even some in syrup. Also from France, we have some Crème de Cassis, walnut oil, hazelnut oil and grenadine and strawberry syrups. Sadly the prices of all the imported foods have gone up a lot but we know some of you can’t live without them so we will continue to stock them - but in very small quantities. The Rand Euro exchange rate is really terrifying some of our importers. Nevertheless, we can offer you (to special order, while the importer’s stock lasts) fresh Italian black winter truffles.
We have stock of Catherine Marshall’s delicious wines: Pinot Noir, Syrah, Syrah Grenache, Sauvignon Blanc and the superb Myriad dessert wine which was so popular last Christmas.
GINGER AND ORANGE CHICKEN
This week’s recipe is one of our favourite ways to serve chicken breasts
1/3 cup of orange juice
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 T dark Soya sauce
1 T Chinese Shao Xing rice wine
1 T honey or dark brown sugar
1 T finely grated fresh ginger
2 t mustard powder
Grated rind of one orange
1 fresh chopped red chilli or 1/4 t crushed chilli
4 deboned chicken breasts or legs, skin removed
Mix all the ingredients together to make a marinade, add the chicken pieces and marinade in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat your grill and put the chicken pieces on a grid 20cm from the heat. Do put a drip tray beneath to catch the juices. Grill for 4 to 5 minutes each side and continue to cook until the juices run clear, basting occasionally with some of the marinade. Serve with noodles and the pan juices and some steamed broccoli.
WINED AND DINED
We have been rather spoilt again this week. First we were taken to La Colombe for a really splendid meal. The menu is full of wonderful rich and expensive choices, the food is delicious and sophisticated and the prices are more manageable for foreign visitors spending Dollars, Pounds and Euros than for locals.
John’s and my host’s starter was quail and langoustine with a delicious, complex sauce. It was truly to be envied and his steak in a savoury chocolate sauce had him in raptures. Our hostess loved her veal and sweetbread dish. She and Lynne had a Crab Jalousie starter.
Lynne and our host followed this with Loin of Springbok with a medallion of Foie and Uitsig Spring flowers! She could not manage a dessert but enjoyed watching the other three tuck into Chocolate fondants, ice cream and really interesting Tonka Bean dessert. Constantia Uitsig Semillon and red blend in pichets were delicious with the food.
On Tuesday we supped with good friends on broccoli soup, fresh salmon, served with an unusual and delicious sweetcorn and gem squash purée which matched perfectly. This was followed by a very pretty rose petal ice cream.
Yesterday Lynne had an excellent lunch at The Roundhouse with the ladies of the International Wine and Food Society, her first experience there, and definitely not her last. John Loubser, the winemaker and GM of Steenberg (he is also responsible for the wines of Constantia Uitsig) presented Steenberg’s delicious wines - the Sauvignon Blanc, Rosé, Lynne’s favourite Merlot and the 1682 Brut MCC, which were all matched to the food.
Starters were either a butternut risotto or the most sensational soft shell crab Tempura with prawns served on a bed of soft avocado with a light vinaigrette and baby greens. Our main course choices were the fish of the day which was confit of elf, a Springbok carpaccio (not really suitable for a main course portion unless you were seriously dieting, as some of our ladies are), and roast lamb rump with a black olive reduction.
Our desserts were a chocolate sensation and a marvellous guava frangipani tart or a cheese platter. The weather stormed and sometimes it was difficult to see across the Glen to Camps Bay, but inside was a warm and very chattery fun occasion. We have had reports of excellent service there - yesterday they were trainee staff, who were nervous but will be very good soon!
Recommended Events: Wine Concepts will stage the seventh “Finer Things in Life” champagne and bubbly Festival at the Vineyard Hotel and Spa in Newlands tomorrow, November 14th. Guests will be treated to one of the most impressive selections of champagnes and MCCs ever seen in this country. More than 30 cuvées will be on show, accompanied by fresh oysters, rare cheeses and fine chocolates. In tune with the theme of the ‘Finer Things in Life’, elegant fashion and rare Italian motor cars will share centre stage. As in the past, proceeds will be shared with the Kids with HIV Foundation. Tickets can be purchased for R230.00 per person from Wine Concepts. Phone +27 21 671 9030 or email newlandshop@wineconcepts.co.za, or you can buy them at the door on the evening.
If you can’t get to that one, or if, like us, you cannot have a surfeit of sparkling deliciousness, you can 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 subs@rsp.co.za
And, if that were not enough, you’ll have another opportunity when Franschhoek will once again play stylish host to their annual Champagne festival on the weekend of 6th and 7th December. The 2008 Franschhoek Cap Classique and Champagne Festival, sponsored by Investec Private Bank, will showcase an array of celebrated Cap Classique producers as well as some of the finest French champagnes.
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.
Our wine tasting this Saturday will feature Morgenhof wines. We will have the very attractively priced Fantail white and rosé and the very elegant, newly released chardonnay.
Our next evening tasting, SERIOUS SAUVIGNONS on November 19th, is fully subscribed. We have a few names on the waiting list in case there is a cancellation. We will follow this on Tuesday, December 2nd with a tasting of selected Chardonnays. The wines have not been finalised, but there will be 22 places and you may book for two people.
Our Weekend Pavement Market:
Nelle will be with us 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.
What a better place to spend a wild and woolly black South-Easter in Cape Town than at the chef’s table at the Mount Nelson Hotel? Whiling away the afternoon matching Chef Ian Mancais’s food with the fabulous wines made by Stellekaya’s Ntsiki Biyela.
It was a taste sensation of note, and the company was perfect: Stellekaya’s Ntsiki and general manager Lindie Smith, Willem du Toit from the Mount Nelson, and the inimitable Brian Berkman.
Quite sensibly Stellekaya sticks to red wines - which seems to make sense, based as they are in super-warm Stellenbosch. First up was Stellekaya’s Boschetto 2004 - an easy drinking red blend of Cab, Merlot, Sangiovese and Shiraz. I am happy to report that I have found my summer picnic wine. I was struggling to make the transition to white wine, and the Boschetto, slightly chilled, will be accompanying my to the Kirstensbosch concerts for the rest of the season.
We also tasted the 2006 Hercules, a slightly more robust blend of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cab. This was a better match with the platter of parma ham, dry seared tomato, mozarella and rocket served as a starter. The saltiness of the dish unfortunately overwhelmed the Boschetto, which was a better match with the tomato and mozarella.
Ntsiki is quite a fan of Sangiovese which adds an unusual and very delicious element to her wines. The natural acidity of the grape makes it a great choice for pairing with a dish rich in olive oil or cream.
Next in the line up was a delicious beef tataki paired with the 2005 Shiraz. The Shiraz is relatively light and fruity - compared to some of the big, smokey Shirazes South Africa is known for. Ntsiki says the word “balance” a lot when describing her wines and the Shiraz is a great example of how the fruit, tannins and acids are in balance, with a delicious pepperiness on the palate.
(Watch out for the South African version of the beef tataki - made with ostrich - on the menu at the Cape Colony restaurant soon.)
Unfortunately although individually the wine and the food were superb - this match wasn’t my favourite as I felt the sesame/soya flavour of the beef drowned out the delicate flavours in the Shiraz.
We were only getting warmed up now and next tasted the 2004 Merlot with a sublime duck red curry and coconut rice. Yet again Ntsiki’s wine surprised me - as I am not the world’s biggest Merlot fan but she has successfully avoided an overripe fruit vibe to produce a lovely, balanced (there’s that word again) Merlot.
Again, individually the food and wine were phenomenal, but as the heat of the curry built (it wasn’t THAT hot but I am a bit of a baby) it started over-powering the Merlot.
The final line-up was a coup. On the wine front we tasted the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, which paired beautifully with the absolute treat of the crayfish thermidor. And Stellekaya’s Cape blend, the Cape Cross 2004, was a great match with the springbuck fillet. I am always amazed how the native wine of a country always suits that country’s cuisine. Stellekaya’s Cape Cross is a blend of 50% Merlot, 30% Pinotage, and 20% Cab. The 2007 vintage was snapped up by WOSA for its Fundi campaign.
What a treat, and certainly made braving the elements on the way home more manageable!
I am always reminded how lucky Capetonians are when I take a trip out to the Constantia wine route. No more than 20 minutes out of the city centre is a world-class wine region - the oldest in South African and soon celebrating its 350th year.
Last week I had the pleasure of visiting the team at Constantia Glen - a relative newcomer in the space, with some delicious wines and big ambitions. “We aim to make the best wine we can,” said Jeremy Nel, Constantia Glen’s marketing director.
Constantia Glen is located practically at the top of Constantia Neck - which gives it a couple of hours of extra sunlight through the saddle compared to some of its neighbours, while still benefitting from the cooling False Bay breeze. It has released four vintages of an award-winning Sauvignon Blanc, and plans to launch its Bordeaux-style red mid-next year.
No expense has been spared in the cellar - which is a shining, gleaming surgery of a place. The attention to detail is phenomenal - grapes are crushed straight into the tanks for fermentation, and each block of vineyards has its own tank where it is looked after separately. Intervention is kept to a minimum and the grapes and wine are handled extremely gently.
I had a taste of the newly released Sauvignon Blanc 2008. Its predecessor is selling for a whopping 55 pounds in some London restaurants - and the team have high hopes for this vintage as well.
The minerality of the wine is striking. The vineyards are planted in a mica-rich granite soil and this comes through very clearly in the wine. The minerality is then rounded off with a delicious fruitiness - plenty of guava, gooseberry and lemongrass.
This guava flavour and fruitiness seems to be a feature of 2008 cooler-climate Sauvignon Blancs. My tastes tend to the overwhelming zestiness and green pepper that was a trademark of many 2007 varieties. But I know a lot of people were tiring of that - so this style is going to be a winner for them.
In terms of food pairing, winemaker Karl Lambour, is spot on when he suggests this wine would go well with a beef carpaccio, served with capers, olive oil, herbs and freshly ground black pepper. Sushi would be another great choice.
The wine is not cheap at R110 a bottle from the cellar, but also not overpriced in its category. It is available from selected restaurants and fine wine shops in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Only around 1,000 cases are produced and the 2007 is sold out. Visits to the cellar are by appointment.
A warm welcome to Jacoba Budden, Cape Town-based food writer. She’ll be contributing some delicious food and wine pairing suggestions to the Wines Online Blog.
In Europe you’d pair this sardine dish with a white from the Côtes du Rhône villages, in South Africa a Chardonnay from the Hamilton Russel Vineyards would do very nicely. In 1995 the Hamilton Russels became the chief spokespeople for terroir in South Africa, probably because the terroir was exactly why they chose the Hemel-en-Aarde valley for their vineyards.
Here the Pinot Noir and the Chardonnay are cooled by sea winds and the Chardonnay is sublime. I loved it when I tried it the first time and even more the second time. Recently I had the 2006 – a creamy, soft, elegant wine, lightly oaked but with a freshness about it and cool unripe peaches suppressing the sparkle that would almost be there.
It is said that panzanella (bread salad) was born in Tuscany and it was made by women taking lunch to their husbands working on the land, another example of the ingenuity of the Italian people who, even under dire circumstances, managed to create superb food out of what they had available at the time. Many of us are in the midst of a some belt-tightening today and it will do us well to learn to appreciate delicious food that costs little. What more poetic than small fish and bread?
Ingredients
12 large sardines (at least the length of an A5 page)
5 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
200 g stale Tuscan bread, ciabatta (whatever you have), remove crusts & tear up
4 tablespoons good white wine vinegar
3 tomatoes on the vine
1 large red onion, cut into small cubes
1 large bunch of basil, cleaned and dry
375 g red kidney beans, cooked (a tin will do, if you must)
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Method
To make the panzanella, soak the bread in the vinegar, adding the beans at the same time. Take the tomatoes off the vine, cut into cubes or if they are the small baby tomatoes, take the palm of your hand and squash them (making sure that you do not lose the precious juice) and add this to the bread with the chopped onion and the ripped basil. Add olive oil, salt and pepper.
See to it that your fishmonger has scaled and cleaned the fish properly and they are quite dry. Brush with extra-virgin olive oil and put on a very hot griddle pan, a few at a time. The pan must be smoking hot and you must have brushed it with oil otherwise the fish will stick to it and you will not be able to turn it over. When you put them down, allow them to develop a crust, do not remove them for at least 3 minutes and then do the other side for about 2 minutes.
Serve on a plate upon which you have already spooned some of the panzanella. Place the fish on top of it and serve.
In this day and age of mass-market commercialism, it’s a refreshing change to stroll into Caroline’s Fine Wine Cellar on Strand Street in Cape Town, and soak up the atmosphere. As a “purveyor of fine wines since 1979″, Caroline Rillema has been keeping South Africans stocked up on local and international wines.
The wine shops stock around 1,500 wines, from SA and further afield. You can also get your hands on some interesting looking grappas, sherries, brandies and whiskies. Private and public wine tastings give you a chance to try before you buy.
Find out a bit more about the personality behind the shop
1. How did you get involved in the wine industry?
I started out as a wine steward at the THREE SHIPS RESTAURANT at the 5 star CARLTON HOTEL in JHB.
2. What do you currently do?
I run my two retail stores in Cape Town, as well as a mail order division called Caroline’s Quarterly.
3. What is your favourite SA wine?
Yesterday, it was Morgenster’s flagship red blend 2004*. Today…..who knows what will take my fancy!
4. What is your favourite food and wine pairing?
A finely-oaked Chardonnay with a good fresh fish dish prepared in a creamy white wine sauce. (The sauce should be prepared with the same wine that I am drinking)
5. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the SA wine industry?
Global warming; and we have to sharpen our pencil when it comes to “value for money” for export wine, across all price brackets.
6. What do you think is the biggest advantage the SA wine industry and SA wines have?
We have abundant sunshine and our growers have thousands of kilometres of land which can still be developed into prime vineyards which terroir has been chosen specifically for certain cultivars.
8. Talk to us about organic and green when it comes to wine.
I think we have a long way to go, and trial and error is the order of the day. Best to ask those who know, like Avondale.
* Look out for my review of the Morgenster vertical tasting held at Caroline’s last Thursday. I’ll be publishing it later this week.
Ed’s note: We are very lucky to have the OK from John and Lynne Ford to publish their Main Ingredient newsletter on the Wines Online Blog. 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.
COMPETITION!
Tickets for a FREE BRANDY TASTING MATCHED WITH FOOD. Alchemy of Gold will host an exclusive tasting of international award-winning connoisseur South African brandies for our customers on Monday, November 24th at Dish Food & Social in Gardens from 18h00 for 18h30 till approximately 20h30, served with gourmet canapés prepared by Andrea Foulkes and her team. They’ll start us off with a lovely brandy cocktail and then we will taste a collection of brandies, each of which has won at least a gold medal at London’s International Wine & Spirit Competition or International Spirits Challenge. Some are trophy winners and have been rated the best in their class. Both these competitions are considered amongst the most important in the international spirits industry.
There is no cost at all for this tasting, but, in order to qualify for a place, you need to enter our competition: spend R200 at Main Ingredient in the next week and you will win one free ticket to this tasting. (R400 for 2, R600 for 3, etc.) Hurry, because there is space for only 14 individuals or seven couples, and first come is, as always, first served!
PLEASE, as a special request, could we ask that if you do get a ticket, make sure that you really do attend. We have had several no shows for our evening wine tastings and it is so disappointing, because we have had people on our waitlist who would have loved to have been there, but we believed that we were fully booked. Lynne went to a lot of trouble making lots of food to go with our tastings and it is not great to have food wasted. If you find that you can’t attend, please let us know and we will make sure someone who is really keen to be there takes your place. People who had not turned up were, sadly, those who had booked on email and therefore had not paid in advance - if this continues to happen, we regret that we will only be able to take bookings in the shop.
Our next tasting, SERIOUS SAUVIGNONS on November 19th - a selection of some of the best and rarest Sauvignons Blanc including Ataraxia, Cape Point Stonehaven, Cederberg Ghost Corner, Constantia Glen, Diemersdal 8 Rows, Elgin Valley, Oak Valley, Saronsberg and Springfield Special Cuvée is fully subscribed. We have a few names on the waiting list in case there is a cancellation.
The second Think Pink Tasting was a great success and we had enthusiastic feedback on all the wines. We started the tasting with Jean-Luc Sweerts’ MC Square La Vie en Rose Pink Bubbly and then went on to taste 11 more Rosés, tasted in order of alcohol content. The tasting sheet is attached so that you can see what we tasted. De Grendel, Morgenhof, Buitenverwachting and Zandvliet were the most popular wines.
Jean-Luc also produces the wonderfully lean French-style MC Square Chardonnay and supplies of this are starting to run low. We have procured some of both the 2000 and the 2001 vintages from him and, sadly, there will be no more because the vineyard in Franschhoek, source of the grapes, has been recycled. DO let us know quickly if you would like some of this very special wine, which is in our attached product list.
One of the dishes Lynne prepared for the tasting this week was an open tart, which is quick to prepare and was well received.
Spinach, Tomato and Feta Tart with Smoked Olive Oil
1 roll of cheese and herb pastry
1 bag of Swiss Chard, washed and chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
3 rounds of feta and black pepper cheese
12 small Roma tomatoes, cut in 1 cm slices
2 T fresh marjoram, chopped –
Smoked olive oil
Line an oblong baking tin with baking paper and roll out the pastry to fit the tin. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 190ºC. Wash the chard and cook it quickly in a covered pot with the garlic and some salt. Drain well. Strew this onto the pastry. Crumble on the feta and then add the tomato slices. Sprinkle on the marjoram and bake for 25 minutes or until the pastry is crisp, but not burnt underneath. Remove from the oven and drizzle with the Smoked Olive Oil and serve.
If you don’t have smoked olive oil, use Extra Virgin and some smoked salt. We have them all!
SUBSTITUTION
Many recipes for pasta and pizza call for ham. We know that some of our customers don’t use ham and, by accident, we have discovered a good local substitute – and, no, it’s not called Macon. We had some slices of ‘chipped’ smoked beef in the fridge and it went really well on top of a cooked pasta dish we had with Puttanesca sauce.
New in store
The amazingly rich Italian Truffle Salt has been soaring into shopping bags and out of the door! We still have some, but do come quickly if you want it for Christmas presents, because we know it is very popular and we are not sure whether there new stock will arrive before the end of December.
We have a few of the French Syrups and, hopefully, our Duck Fat and Confit de Canard will have cleared customs by the end of this week and the full range of syrups (cassis etc.) will soon be here. We were told that the ship arrived a week ago, but Customs is very slow at this time of the year. Phone us to find out if we have it before you come.
Smoked Spanish paprika is in short supply and, if we run out in the next week, there is unlikely to be more before early December, so join the queue! And the amazing garlicky chilli Prego sauce is back on our shelves for those who are addicted, as are we…
Recommended Events:
Wine Concepts will stage the seventh “Finer Things in Life” champagne and bubbly festival at the Vineyard Hotel and Spa in Newlands on November 14th. Guests will be treated to one of the most impressive selections of champagnes and MCCs ever seen in this country. More than 30 cuvées will be on show, accompanied by fresh oysters, rare cheeses and fine chocolates. In tune with the theme of the ‘Finer Things in Life’, elegant fashion and rare Italian motor cars will share centre stage. As in the past, proceeds will be shared with the Kids with HIV Foundation to support their pioneering work, bringing children with that horrible condition the hope of a normal life. Tickets for the “Finer Things in Life” Champagne Festival can be purchased for R230.00 per person from Wine Concepts, phone +27 21 671 9030 or email newlandshop@wineconcepts.co.za, or you can buy them at the door on the evening.
If you can’t get to that one, or if, like us, you cannot have a surfeit of sparkling deliciousness, you can 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.
And, if that were not enough, you’ll have another opportunity when Franschhoek will once again play stylish host to their annual Champagne festival on the weekend of 6th and 7th December. The 2008 Franschhoek Cap Classique and Champagne Festival, sponsored by Investec Private Bank, will showcase an array of celebrated Cap Classique producers as well as some of the finest French champagnes.
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.
Elgin’s Open Gardens started last week, but you will still be able to visit them this weekend. More detail about all these events is available on the websites if you click on the highlighted and underlined event names above and below.
Our wine tasting this Saturday will feature the wines of Catherine Marshall, who won her spurs as a garagiste with her Barefoot Wine Company. She has moved into a more elegant, deliciously feminine style under her own name with her excellent Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and her beautifully presented Myriad dessert wine.
Our Weekend Pavement Market:
A double bill, again! Audrey Grobbelaar will bring her home bakes and fresh produce from Robertson on Friday and Nelle will be with us on Saturday from Wolseley, with her freshly laid, backyard chicken free range eggs, home-made pies and breads and cookies and whatever fresh produce they have been able to pick. If you want wonderful naturally produced food, this is where you’ll find it.
