Drunk!

Lordy lord, I’ve been sick! I hate, hate, hate losing my tastebuds – if you work in the wine industry, it’s actually one of the scariest of things (what if they don’t come back?) so I will be highly delighted when cheese tastes like cheese, broccoli tastes like broccoli and wine tastes like wine once more.

I fell sick almost immediately after going to Warwick last week – and I refuse to believe the two are related. In fact, I am almost sure that the delicious food I ate and the fantastic wine I drank probably warded off a much worse bout of flu than I have actually ended up with. There was no real occasion for the lunch – just a general get-together for some media and trade and a chance to serve a few small sheeps’ legs to us all.

We started off with a round-up of wines which Mike Ratcliffe, MD of Warwick, says he doesn’t generally put into tastings. Following on from our Twitter fest just a few days before, I was hoping for more Cab Franc as it was so yum, but instead, we started with Sauvignon and Chardonnay, moved on to Pinotage and finished up with the new releases of Three Cape Ladies and Trilogy.

I must say, I find Warwick’s wines to be almost universally satisfying.  The Chardonnay is beautifully balanced – plenty of wood to be sure, but lots of fruit, good acidity and all very seamlessly integrated. I found it a tad bizarre that the Chardonnay was in a cork closure whilst the Pinotage was in screwcap but Mike didn’t really have any good reason why – it’s just what they thought they could sell and he was happy to follow the market.

In fact, if anything was strangely incongruous about the day, it was how much Mike kept coming back to the idea of being a follower rather than a leader. For a start, I’m not sure how much I believe him, but secondly, I think he is seriously depriving the wine industry of a figure of intelligence, forethought and stature by taking such a back seat. As the lunch wore on and Mike spoke of his foray into the world of the Cape Blend, of his decision to keep labelling the Pinotage as Old Bush Vines despite the fact that much of it isn’t, the whole screwcap thing – all rather strange and a tad disingenuous from someone who probably owns the pulse, let alone merely has his finger on it.

But enough modesty – Mike’s wines can speak for themselves whatever the circumstances – and when he started digging around in the wine library with a rabidly thirsty Christian Eedes (www.whatidranklastnight.co.za) and Roland Peens (www.winecellar.co.za), it was clear that I should have booked a taxi or used Goodfellas (www.gfellas.com) instead of spitting and driving as usual. Perhaps if I had done, I might have fought off infection for another day. Suffice it to say that the 1999 Chardonnay was awesome, but not quite as good as the older Trilogys or Pinotages with the lamb shank. Who cares if the sheep have to hop? Not me.

It was a lovely day at Warwick. Whether he’s being modest or not, Mike is a generous and warm host with plenty to show off on the farm and plenty to be proud of in all he and his family have achieved. The business is booming – all in all, Mike attributes an additional R2.5 million turnover to the World Cup and expects to build on that this coming summer - especially in the restaurant with their gourmet picnics and family-friendly attitude. If you haven’t been to the farm for a while, go and take a look. Whether they’re following fashion or setting it, there’s plenty to see, drink and do with the Ratcliffe family this year.

Well, okay. Perhaps that’s a slight exaggeration. But it does make it seem a lot better, not least when it’s combined with judicious amounts of Nurofen Cold ‘n’ Flu capsules. I have been dying this past week and so have been forced to treat myself on a regular basis with large doses of alcohol. Here are the – admittedly freebies – which I would happily prescribe for anyone else seeking a cure from all ills.

Protea Shiraz 2008                       R49 from major retailers

This is the new second label from L’Ormarins using fruit from their cooler vineyard in Darling.  It’s a great range offering fabulous value for money and the wine itself does exactly what it says on the tin – uncomplicated, juicy black fruits with hints of leather and spice. Easy-drinking glugger – I drank it all before dinner time!!

Allée Bleue Shiraz 2008                R69 from specialist wine retailers

This is the first vintage made by Allee Bleue’s cuddly winemaker, Van Zyl du Toit and I think it’s lovely. It is packed with spice – well it must be, because even I managed to get lots of lovely cinnamon and clove notes through all the snot! – with soft, juicy berries, hints of leather and a sweet finish. I enjoyed it with Bacon and Blue Cheese quiche.

Ernst Gouws & Co Pinot Noir 2007            R107 from specialist wine retailers

The grapes for this wine come from Koekenaap, way up on the West Coast, near the sea – a perfect climate for Pinot Noir. Everything is about 5% colder than the Gouws’ home vineyards in Stellenbosch and Ernst expects to see lots more Pinots coming from this area soon. It was ripe and soft with smoky black and red berries and a good, lengthy finish. I drank it with homemade lasagne and it was cool!

Neethlingshof Owl Post Pinotage 2008 R130 from specialist wine retailers

An incredible amount of work has gone into making this wine – the vineyard was divided into three and each part was trellised and the grapes vinified separately in order to attain different flavours and structure. The three batches were then all blended to make this  fabulous wine – and I don’t often say that of a Pinotage! Very luscious black fruits with nutty notes, a multi-layered mouthfeel and a rich and satisfying finish. LOVED it with peppered fillet steak.

And – if you think that all this red wine is just too much, then how about a more traditional cold and flu cure – whisky!

Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky is South Africa’s first single grain whisky. Double-matured in oak casks and then aged for 5 years in total before release, this is a really delicious sipping whisky. Try it just with a little room temperature tap water rather than ice – it releases the honey/toffee/spicy/flowery aromas much better than freezing them to death. And it will do your cold more good as well! Newly available in miniature bottles, a 750ml version is about R160.

A meal out with my husband is like trying to catch a bus – you wait for ages and then two come along at the same time. So it was that this weekend saw us head out to Sea Point’s latest chichi dining venue of choice, La Mouette, on Friday night after WineX and then on Saturday lunchtime we bumped down 10km of dirt road to visit Hilda’s Kitchen at Groote Post wine farm.

First – La Mouette. So many things right about this restaurant, so many things written in praise of it by other people – I’m not really sure that I have anything left to add!! Suffice it to say that the R150 tasting menu is fab value and fills you up beautifully with truly delicious food. I’m not sure about the ‘space dust’ element to the little sorbet, but other people on the table loved it, so I’m happy to be in the minority. I’m also glad I managed to arrange to have the G&T dessert as well instead of the Snickers concoction – very yummy indeed.

No photos of La Mouette because I was far too busy having a good time to do so – I nicked these from Food24’s gallery!! And almost the same problem at Hilda’s at Groote Post as well. Following my husband’s 10km-long grumble about the car suspension, I was direly in need of a glass of wine when we got there. I must say, the restaurant wasn’t what I expected – it was more like eating in someone’s front room (albeit someone who has an extremely large manor house stuffed full of antique copper kettles). The menu was also smaller than I had expected – I suspect they have a slimmed down version for winter – and it was bigger meals than perhaps we wanted on the day.

But what the hell. As you may know by now, I am never one to worry about over-eating. So even though I had had a cooked breakfast and was heading up to Langebaan for a huge dinner, I still managed to put away the best part of the most divine steak sandwich I have had in many a long year. Chef Debbie clearly makes all her own sauces including a really good garlic mayo – it’s surprising how many restaurants let themselves down by serving bottled sauces – and everything about the sandwich was perfection itself. In fact so much so, that I completely forgot to photograph it for you cos I was too busy getting my chops round it. Ditto Kevin’s Bacon, Pea and Parmesan pasta. The Old Man’s white was a great partner to the food and an excellent price at R42 – no mark-ups here at all. And when owner Nick Pentz turned up at the table with a magnum of the Old Man’s red for me, well, the weekend just got better and better.

But I did manage to take some pics of Charlie eating his really stunning homemade chicken pasty and homemade chips. You have to let them know if you’re bringing a child so they can make a plan for food (again, I am sure that this is just a winter thing) but they were more than accommodating with him, and the pasty was an absolute triumph. And then he and Kevin shared a great Pecan Pie and this time I did remember to take pics although I am very aware that this blog could turn into a doting Mom’s photo album soon. But hey – what the hell once more! Go to Groote Post – preferably in a 4x4 – it’s well worth the trek.

The tweeting begins! @StefanLuka, @foodie_za @spitorswallow @Merlot_Girl

Last night saw what I hope will be the first of many Twitter tastings held at The Cru Café in Green Point Cape Town. We were tasting Cabernet Francs – a decision based on my love for the variety and a tweet-conversation I had overheard between Rob Armstrong of Haut Espoir (@rambowine if you want to get into the tweet-zone) and Sam Pugh, brand ambassador for L’Avenir (@SamPugh1 or @LAvenir1) about how great their Cabernet Francs were. Thrilled that others shared my love, I randomly invited every other winemaker I could find online who made a Cab Franc, along with a bunch of equally random twitterers to join me for a tasting. The lovely Jacques Castelain from Cru Café kindly offered his tables, wine glasses and delicious cheese straws and we convened at the restaurant last night to try them all.

Bruwer Raats, Cabernet Franc God, preaches the word.

The original idea had been to include only those winemakers who tweet – but it is impossible to talk about Cabernet Franc in any meaningful way in SA without including Bruwer Raats of Raats Family Wines. And boy, is everyone glad we did! What was intended as a fun informal tasting turned into a fascinating, full-on masterclass with one of the greatest winemakers of Cabernet Franc in the world (hey, if Jancis Robinson is prepared to exercise her fingers in support of him as she did last night ‘I do LOVE Raats Cab Franc’ then I think the title is justified don’t you?). 

He was ably supported by Jean Vincent Ridon of Signal Hill Wines (@SignalHillWines), that master of seeking out soils, trying out new things, questioning, querying, always pushing himself to do better and – of course – producer of some of the finest and most edgy wines in SA. Fast following in their footsteps came talented young winemakers Neil Moorhouse from Zorgvliet (@NeilMoorhouse) and Corina du Toit of Eikendal (@corinadutoit) and then ably showing off their winemakers’ skills were James Dare from Warwick (@mikeratcliffe), Sam Pugh from L’Avenir and Rob Armstrong from Haut Espoir (@rambowine @HautEspoir).

Talking, tweeting, drinking.

What a wonderful time we had! Fabulous wines at all price levels, huge discussions about soils, drainage, restricting yields, the difficulties in selling Cab Franc and – gratifyingly – a growing sense of belief in this grape variety and its future in SA. Yes, we may have been biased, but why not when you taste the calibre of wines we enjoyed last night? The winemakers spoke of the variety with love and affection, the tweeters had our minds blown by the multiple layers of fruit and flavour, the elegance and the spice. In all our minds, Cabernet Franc is a serious contender for SA’s future success.

More on that subject soon, along with detailed tasting notes on the amazing wines we enjoyed last night, but in the meantime, why not try a Cab Franc this weekend? Seek them out at your favourite restaurants, demand them at your local wine bar, snatch them off the shelves at your friendly, neighbourhood retailer and see for yourself what we’re on about. I’ve seen the future and the future’s Franc!!

Saturday 28^th August is the date for the first MCC and Champagne Festival in Dorp Street, Stellenbosch. R400 gets you unlimited tastings of 12 French Champagnes and 12 Boutique South African Methode Cap Classiques (hope they have good stocks of everything!) during the hours of 6pm till 9pm. In addition there will be a series of formal tastings hosted by Cape Winemaster, Alan Mullins and MCC Association Chairman, Jeff Grier from Villiera. Click here for more information on how to book – the entire event is limited to only 200 people and tickets are selling fast!

I chatted to Inke Gouws, one of the organisers of the festival and an importer of French Champagne.

Why have you decided to organize the Dorp Street MCC & Champagne Festival? 

In 1971 South Africa’s premier wine producing region, Stellenbosch, released the country’s first wine modelled on the famous sparkling wines of the Champagne region in France.  We felt that the time has come to bring Stellenbosch bubbly back to its home, and at the same time, offer consumers the opportunity to experience boutique French Champagne. 

You come from a great South African winemaking family – why did you choose to sell French champagne?

I've always loved all things French and after 18 months in Burgundy and Champagne, I felt that it was my calling to introduce South Africans to boutique French fizz.  My parents lived with us in France when we were very young and I'm sure that's where the love affair with France started.

How do you think French champagne and Methode Cap Classiques compare?

I think that the local winemakers are doing an excellent job of expressing the true character of South Africa terroir in their sparkling wines, it is really amazing to see how MCC's are just getting better and better every year.  For the time being though, French Champagne is still my drink of choice.

What’s your favourite MCC?

Graham Beck's Cuvée Clive - simply delicious!

What are the benefits to consumers in buying smaller labels of Champagne instead of the big houses like Moet or Veuve?

The big houses have done a fantastic job of putting Champagne on the map and making Champagne "de rigueur".  The smaller growers however, offer consumers something far more interesting in terms of style and just plain good value for money. 

Which do you like best – blanc de blanc, blanc de noir or a mixture of all three varietals?!

Blanc de Blanc for freshness and minerality.  Locally, I love the Villiera Brut Natural, ideal for a hot summers day; on the French side I'd have to go with Le Mesnil (imported by the Wine Cellar) 

Blends are great food wines and my favourite blend is the Henri Giraud Esprit de Giraud Brut (70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay). 

What’s a good food match for champagne? And for pink champagne?

Seafood; any sauce with a creamy base; goats cheese; dark chocolate tart.  Pink Champagne goes really well with duck, red meat, tuna, venison Carpaccio.

I have the worst job in the world. No, I do really. I have to head out to restaurants and wine farms all day and most of the night. My weekends are given up to heavy drinking, my liver is ruined, my waistline is non-existent, I have to buy an entirely new wardrobe of ever-larger clothes every other month, I never get to stay at home and cook – are any of you falling for this at all?? Oh, okay then, suppose it was a long shot really. So perhaps I’ll just get on and tell you about my luxury jaunt out to the Cape Winelands courtesy of Vodacom and the Origins of Golf Tournament.

It’s not often that golf makes its way onto this blog – or indeed many others on Food24 – and I was initially a little confused as to why they had invited me to join them. The Vodacom Origins of Golf is SA’s most prestigious pro-amateur competition and every year they have a headline celebrity. This year, they have managed to secure Ernie Els, so they have decided to go big on his food and wine routes here in Stellenbosch and invite a few wine hacks to see what we’re missing when we choose corkscrews over golf clubs.

So, having been collected in my Vodacom branded London black cab, we tootled off to The Big Easy in Stellenbosch, Ernie’s food home-from-home in SA. I’ve actually never been here before so we got the full tour from manager, Gary Benporath, including the exclusive members loft with its gorgeous easy leather sofas, private boardrooms, library and bars. Our ‘nothing but the best’ tour continued with a winetasting from Louis Strydom – the stellar winemaker at Ernie Els wines – as he took us through the reds.

A couple of interesting things emerged from the tasting – Louis frequently blends different vintages back into his wines (you can add up to 15% of wines from a different year and still label it as the majority component) and he also uses a lot of unwooded varietals in his red blends – something which is highly unusual, but which he claims reduces the need for any additional tartaric acid. Whatever his reasons, his wines are delicious if on the top end of the price scale – R125 for the entry-level red, The Big Easy – which, whilst a lovely wine, is clearly entering via a different door than me. Personally, I’d almost rather pay R550 for the top wine which was elegant and spicy with dark, baked fruits, black cherries and leather. Almost.

Soft Shell crab, fishcakes and guacamole with tom yum dressing.

Lunch was great with good conversation, ridiculously huge portions of chef Simone Russow’s delicious food and good wines - 4 of the 5 partners who own The Big Easy also own wine farms so no surprises as to what’s on the list. And then back home in our black cab after visiting what must surely be the most horrible ladies’ loos in the country!! I cannot remember the last time I sat on a loo so high up I could swing my legs as I peed – most disconcerting -  but not quite as off-putting as having Gary agree with me – what’s he doing using the ladies’ loo I’d like to know??!

Tandoori and Buttermilk Venison with butternut atchar, parmesan polenta and marsala jus.

On the way home, Jan, the PR lady, told us more about the Birdies for Kiddies charity aspect of the Origins of Golf competition – every time someone birdies a hole, R500 goes to selected charitable projects around the country. Last year, the donation was only R100 a birdie, but Vodacom still handed over more than R3 million to the good causes. With the increase, in just one tournament, they raised an amazing R382,500 – can’t wait to see how much they can raise over the whole event!

And one last little bit of luxury for us – a parting gift in a huge white box which got my 4yr old quivering with excitement! Wine, clothes, caps – lots of goodies to round off a great day that even I feel should make me jealous – let alone the rest of you. So - sorry for gloating, but thanks Vodacom for a really awesome time - my resignation from this job will NOT be coming any time soon!

Busy, busy days! Lots of drinking, far too much eating, not enough exercise so – before I head out to the gym (yes, honestly, I really am. Although admittedly it’s just to have a shower and a Kauai muffin….) here’s a few suggestions of good whites which I’ve enjoyed over the last couple of weeks. All freebies, I will happily confess, but nonetheless, well worth paying for in my opinion.

Knorhoek Two Cubs White Blend 2010 R33.95 from most major retailers nationwide.

This is my favourite blend for everyday drinking – almost half and half Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc. It’s a great combo of fruit, acidity, dash and verve, unwooded, zesty and easy-drinking and generally comes in at a really good price. This one has lots of tropical fruit – pineapples and guavas – and a richer mouthfeel than many others. Nice glugger, good value.

Ernst Gouws & Co Chenin Blanc 2009 R39 from selected specialist retailers.

A particularly pleasant Chenin from this appealing family operation in Stellenbosch. Ernst Gouws and daughter Ezanne are making some very solid wines as well as a few interesting bits and pieces (more later!) and this is in the former category. Older vines, no oak, lemony, fresh, crisp and dry. I had it with a simple but delicious roast chicken and it was perfect – what more can I say?

Nederburg Winemaker’s Reserve Chenin Blanc 2008 R46 from selected specialist retailers.

Great to be able to recommend two Chenins in a row! Welcome to the Winemaker’s Reserve range - in this case the winemaker in question is Tariro Masayiti – and this wine is a delightful example of how good this grape variety can be. Made from bushvines and lightly oaked (only 20%), this has a deliciously-low alcohol (12%) but bags of character and citrussy fruit with enough richness and flavour to carry off the huge sushi platter I enjoyed it with.

Nitida Sauvignon Blanc 2010  R75 from specialist wine shops

Normally I don’t recommend this class of Sauvignon so young – to my mind, SB’s this good need at least a year if not more to settle into their stride. But 2010 is shaping up to be as good, if not possibly better than 2009 and really, this wine was so delicious, I think you should drink some now and just buy more for later. Crisp, green and racy with a taut limey edge to it, this is at the same time much richer than you’d expect at this stage in its life – I strongly suspect some Semillon is in here too! Classy wine from a great area made by a top producer – all comes together perfectly.

A few years ago I came across a nice new word - 'chugger'. Basically a contraction of 'charity mugger', it describes those people who ambush others relentlessly in search of donations etc to good causes. To be honest, that isn't my cup of tea - I give to the causes I want to give to and don't appreciate being made to feel guilty because I don't have enough money to support everyone.

However - one cause which is close to my heart, has also come up with such an awesome deal that I don't feel the slightest compunction in recommending it to you all as well. I am a big fan of a winelands charity called Pebbles Project which supports and helps children affected by Foetal Alcohol Syndrome. I think it is entirely appropriate that I, who make my living out of promoting wine, should make sure that I give something back to children whose lives have been devastated because of the abuse of alcohol.

A fabulous company called Wines with Heart has started a scheme which collects bottles of wine from more than 50 wine farms in the region. These generous donations are then packaged up and sold on in aid of various charities - one of which is Pebbles. They have an awesome special on at the moment - a 6 bottle case of wine including some seriously good bottles for only R200 BUT - R130 of that goes straight to Pebbles (I assume the rest goes on handling and distribution costs but I'm sure they will happily tell you if you want to know!). So how good is that? A case of great wine and a reason to feel really good about yourself for the rest of the week.

If you want to treat yourself then here is the link to the Pebbles case - http://www.wineswithheart.org/vmchk/Promotion/Pebbles-Case/flypage.tpl.html

If you want to know more about Pebbles and the amazing work they do in the winelands, then click here - www.pebblesproject.co.za.

Hope you enjoy the wine!!

How long can you keep a bottle of wine? Well the obvious reply is ‘Until you open it’ - although I must warn you that giving that answer risks you receiving a glass of wine in the face. Working out how long to squirrel away your precious bottles of wine is a very inexact science. You can consider lots of different factors – varietal, style, vintage, winemaker, price, storage conditions etc – and still pop the cork to find out you were completely wrong, you should have drunk it ages ago and your wine now tastes like a bucket of rancid old socks.

Generally speaking, there are four different ‘ingredients’ which will help to preserve your wine – alcohol, tannins, sugar and acidity - and often you will find a couple of them combining to give extra life (ie sugar and acidity in Noble Late Harvest wines and alcohol, tannin and sugar in Port). 

When it comes to dry red wines, then conventional wisdom says that it should be alcohol and tannin which are the preservatives, something seized upon by many a winemaker to justify hulking great alcohols of 15%+ and ink-black tannins which take the skin off your teeth. But is this the only way to make your wines last? Not if the tasting I was at the other week is anything to go by.

Winemaker Sakkie Kotze of Le Bonheur clearly enjoys his role as a ‘Grumpy Old Man.’ Currently celebrating his 16^th year as winemaker, he entertained us all with his sideswipes at Cape Legend’s marketing department for pricing his wine too low, at anybody who insists wine has to go with food (“I make wines you can drink at any time of the day – including before breakfast!”), anyone who puts stickers on his bottles (those darned marketing folk again!) and finally at the Merlot grape (“such a slut!”), whilst pouring large tots of his flagship wine, Prima, as the rain lashed down outside.

The Prima is normally about ¾ Merlot and ¼ Cabernet Sauvignon, although the Cab part has been increasing in recent years, as has the alcohol to a still-modest 13.6%. Of his ‘recent’ vintages, I loved the 1997 and the 2003, but things really started getting interesting when he produced a magnum of the first Prima ever made, the 1989.

And this is the reason I am telling you this story because it basically throws all my previous advice out the window  – this wine was made 21 years ago and had an alcohol of a measly 11.75%!  Considering the high proportion of Merlot (a less-tannic grape than Cabernet Sauvignon) and the fact that they never use press-wine, only free-run juice, I can’t imagine the tannins can ever have been that high so, by any laws going, this should be entirely insufficient to preserve the wine for this length of time.

Yet the wine was lovely – cherry-fruit with spice, licorice and truffles. The 2007 is about to be released and will be available from a variety of retailers for about R80 a bottle which is a steal. I should keep it if you can possibly manage to do so and hopefully, in 21 years time, we can all have further proof that guessing how long a wine will age for really is just a shot in the dark.

PS - we also had an amazing lunch cooked by Sakkie's wife including the best koeksisters I have ever had in my life ever, ever, ever!!! I am her slave for the rest of her life!!

It’s Wednesday so my weekend is starting here! A quick round-up of the various freebies I’ve been lucky enough to experience over the last few months – these are the ones worth paying for peeps!!

Obikwa Shiraz 2009         RRP - R25 from practically everywhere!

Don’t we all LOVE a bargain? Well I certainly do and it doesn’t get much more bargain than this. This has just romped home with the Best Value Shiraz at the Shiraz Challenge awards by Wine Magazine gaining 3 stars. But it’s the price which sets it apart – economies of scale are playing a big part in this wine (the makers refuse to confirm exactly how much they make but it’s a lot) and it completely over-delivers on this price. Whiffs of perfume and pepper with black fruit and soft, juicy tannins.

Withington Chardonnay 2009    RRP – R35 from specialist wine retailers

This is a great wine for session drinking – meaning one bottle is probably nowhere near enough! Sadly, that was all that was in the box so I had to make do, but this is a great drinking wine, kissed with the merest smear of oak, full of lively yellow fruit and crisp acidity with a marshmallow cream finish.

Simonsig Sunbird Sauvignon Blanc 2010                 RRP - R54 from specialist wine retailers

This is the latest Sauvignon made using a variety of cool-climate grapes from the West Coast and Elgin along with some Stellenbosch fruit too. Cool-climate is a great thing for Sauvignon as it’s a delicate grape and can lose its flavours and acidity if it gets too hot. This was zippy and zingy but with a nice depth to it and a long finish. Good value for the money – I’ve seen many worse SB’s at much higher prices!

Kleine Zalze Pinot Noir 2008       RRP – R83 from specialist wine retailers

I was very excited about receiving this wine – normally I don’t get sent PN’s because they are very expensive – but once I had it, I couldn’t decide what to open it for. Pizza was one option, but I thought it might be too posh, and in the end, it made its way to the table for Sunday lunch of roast pork and crackling. And crackling good stuff it is too – juicy red fruits and berries with hints of Earl Grey tea and smoky oak. This is a good price for a PN and one I would definitely pay for next time – try it and see what you think!

I don’t know what good deeds the organisers of the Franschhoek Bastille Festival did in previous lives, but whatever it was, they must surely consider themselves amply repaid by the glorious weather the gods dealt them this past weekend. They couldn’t have wished for anything better – streaming hot sunshine, nary a breath of wind and all the punters wondering why they didn’t bring sunblock instead of thermal underwear.

As we drove into Franschhoek on Saturday lunchtime, the whole town had gone Tricolore-crazy with walls, signs, buildings and gates all wrapped in swathes of red, white and blue. It was great to see that everybody was pulling together to make this a worthwhile event. The church on the high street was doing a roaring parking trade at the front with the back devoted to boules courts - various un-Christian comments were reverberating in the air as boules were shoved unceremoniously aside.

Before the crowds really got going

Our first mistake was arriving too late to chill out beforehand and see all the different events going on up and down the high street, but when we saw the queue for the main Food and Wine Marquee, we had no option but to stand in line and make our way inside. And I am sorry to say that this is where this report ends, because once we got inside the tent, it was so busy, we didn’t get chance to do anything except sit tight and growl at people trying to steal our chairs! I did manage one quick tour, chatting to Pieter Ferreira of Graham Beck, Susan Erasmus from Vrede en Lust, Marc Kent from Porcupine Ridge and Jaco Marais from Grande Provence on my way, but then the crowds became too unbearable and I pushed and elbowed my way through the masses back to our little camp by the fence.

We watched people queuing and entering the tent until almost 4pm – at one point a frantic organiser whisked around the tables waving vouchers which she said were replacing the originals – now well out of stock. I reckon there was probably between 2-300 more people there than the venue could comfortably handle, and it is such a pity as the food looked interesting, the wines in Franschhoek are lovely, the weather was perfect and a lazy day in the sun with good food and wine would have been ideal.

Yes, we're in there somewhere!!

So next year, no more tents for me, I’m off to visit the farms instead – apparently top farm of the day was Haut Espoir according to all the tweepies in town. If you were in the tent, do let me know what you thought and I hope you had a better experience than me! Until next year then, when hopefully things will be slightly different - Vive La Revolution!

There are times when coming from the UK is a bit of a problem for one operating in the South African wine world. Every time I cross the boerewors curtain and meet people with panelled shirts who want to chat to me in Afrikaans reminds me of this handicap for example. But when I attended the Nederburg Auction media launch for the first time this week, having no knowledge of the history and tradition of this event did not deter me from having a great morning’s tasting.

The Auction is now in its 36^th year. Working from an original idea by Delheim’s Spatz Sperling of a charity auction in aid of Stellenbosch Rotary Club, the Nederburg Auction is Cape wine’s J&B Met event of the year. Wine aficionados fly in from all over the continent and beyond, to bid for specially selected cases of wine, some specifically made for the auction, some dug up from the darkest cellars where they have been happily maturing - for decades in some cases, some current releases which are thence reserved exclusively for the auction.  It’s a glittering celebration of all that’s good and great in Cape wine.

A barrage of beards!

Or is it? Coming to the auction with a clear mind and palate, unhampered by tradition or reverence, I have to say that a few of the wines gave me cause for concern. Yes, I know about caveat emptor, but there was disturbing variation in quality in some of the wines from bottle to bottle. One wine in particular, which has been lauded to the skies by another writer, was frankly awful in the opinion of the tasters on our side of the room. Several bottles were corked and one oxidised within an hour  of opening which I think could make one a little chary of buying some of the older vintages – sweet wines excluded.

JeanriTine van Zyl and Edo Heyns had the tiredest feet after the tasting!

The other thing which was a little disturbing about the auction was the age of the media folk there. Auction-master Dave Hughes decreed that if a wine is older than you, then you should stand up as you taste it, to do it honour. A 1983 Marsala had a couple on their feet, the 1974 Zonnebloem, a couple more. But serious numbers only started rising for a 1961 Port with the bulk of the room still remaining seated until a 1948 Monis hit the glasses. Where were all the new wine writers, the bloggers and tweeters, the online journalists? There were plenty of reminiscences about the good old times by the good old boys (and girls), but those times, they’re a-changing and I wonder whether new marketing guru at Distell, Carina Gous, might start tweaking the guest list for next year.

Gotta love a man who loves his sweeties - Razvan Macici with the 1977 Edelkeur

Niggles aside, I have to say that some of the wines were outstanding and I found myself looking thoughtfully at the reserve prices and doing some desperate sums involving bond repayments and child’s school fees vs unashamed quality and delight.

My stars on the white were Morgenhof Brut Reserve MCC 2005, both the Nederburg Sauvignon Blancs (2007 and 2008), the Stellenrust Chenin 2007 and the De Wetshof Unfiltered Chardonnay 2006 in magnums. Top reds were a pair of 1999’s – the Tukulu Pinotage and the Remhoogte Cabernet Sauvignon, the Saxenburg ‘SSS’ Shiraz 2001 and the Vilafonte Series C 2003. And finally, on the sweet side, some wines so good I would sell my firstborn for them including the Nederburg Edelkeur 2005 and the 1983 Monis Collection Marsala.

The auction takes place in early September and, calculator in one hand and child in the other, I look forward to seeing you all there!

Busy, busy times! Don’t get me wrong – I am still loving the World Cup, but I wonder how many other mums out there are struggling with organising their child’s social calendar, working, shopping etc etc all exacerbated by obsessed husbands who are promising any number of sexual favours in return for being allowed to slob out in the big chair and do nothing except watch sport?? I have orgasms booked until September, which will doubtless be enjoyable when they happen, but actually – I would really prefer to put my feet up with a glass of wine and just do nothing. As Boy George famously said ‘Sex? No thanks, I’d rather have a cup of tea.’  - I know just how he feels!

Anyway, part of my mad hectic rushing around has been to lots of lovely events so I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much. If you follow me on Twitter (and if not, why not??!! @CathyMarston) then you will see that last week I was lucky enough to go to La Colombe as a guest of Zakkie Bester of Riebeek Cellars who were relaunching their top range as Kasteelberg.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Riebeek Cellars ever since we pitched up at Riebeek-Kasteel on an incredibly wet Sunday, parents and four-yr-old in tow to try and do some winetasting in the village before retiring to Bar Bar Black Sheep for lunch. Was anywhere open for business, keen to take our money, enthusiastic about us trying their wines? Nope – only lovely Riebeek Cellars in their quaint little tasting shop in the main square, so unsurprisingly, they got all our business that morning and we continued drinking their wines over lunch as well. Smart move guys!!

They have now decided to remove all thoughts of ‘reserve’ and instead re-label their top stuff as Kasteelberg, a move prompted by the production of the most fantastic Viognier they have ever produced. It was seriously good – an excellent food wine – as was the other wine currently available in the range – the Kasteelberg MCC and the plan is to move the other reserve wines into this label as and when the vintages change.

The other thing well worth mentioning about Riebeek Cellars is what stonkingly good value their wines are. The reserve range starts at about R60 and the top end of it is R80-ish which is ridiculous considering the quality. Everyday reds are about R30 and the Cab and Shiraz they offered us for lunch completely over-delivered on that price - I think I’ve found my winter glugger for the year in that Cab. Buy it by the case – I’m going to.  

One small note on La Colombe as this is my first visit since the big award – love the food Luke. Always have, even in the face of several detractors who I’ve met at a couple of other events recently. Two things I do want to say though – your starters are way more interesting than your mains (if I go again, I’m having 2!) and to be honest, I wonder if I wouldn’t rather pay less money for less food because your portions are actually really big. See the pic above – divine food, utterly divine but it costs about R175 and it's a huge starter. Halve the portion, charge me R110 and I will be there every day.  Probably with a glass of Riebeek Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon in my hand as well!

I am sorry to say that I have been drinking like an absolute FISH recently – much to the detriment of my waistline and general health. But hey – it’s World Cup month and this is definitely not the time to go on a diet. Here’s my usual round-up of the best of the freebie bottles which have landed on my doorstep this month – worth paying for these ones as you bellow for Bafana!

Eikendal Chardonnay 2009 R80 from selected wine retailers

This is the maiden vintage for winemaker Nico Grobler although not his first at the estate – he was assistant for a few years previously. This wine shows that he has learnt his craft well as it has the single most important quality I ever look for in a wooded Chardonnay – balance. I cannot tell you how important it is that the fruit, the oak, the acid and the alcohol all ‘like each other’ in a wine such as this, and how difficult it is to get that balance right. Top debut Nico – looking forward to my next bottle!

Zonnebloem Laureat 2007 R85 from national retailers

This wine was sadly disqualified from the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show as it contains a tiny amount of Shiraz (a Rhône variety) but was entered into the Bordeaux class where such additions are not allowed. But that doesn’t stop it being an extremely nice wine with rich, spicy black fruit underscored by some interesting oaking – French, American and Hungarian. Warming and delicious – who needs competitions anyway??!!

David Frost Soft Smooth Red 2009 R36 from Pick n Pay

Golfer David Frost is the real deal when it comes to golfers making wine – his family have actually been doing it for the last 60 years so clearly David feels he’s got nothing to prove! His wines are eminently affordable rather than over the top and his new Signature range are all extremely good value. And if you buy a bottle, R1 gets donated to the Raymond Ackerman Golf Academy which assists young golfers with their game and their academic studies as well. This one does exactly what it says on the tin with a nice dollop of sweetness on the finish. It’s good to drink wines that make you feel good!

The AmaShibobo!!!

Just had to put this one in for you even though it isn’t a wine. A couple of weeks ago in the worst weather I think I’ve ever known in SA, a knock at my door produced this huge ‘Amarula Ball Sack’as we’ve taken to calling it (thanks for the name @SpitorSwallow!!). Inside was a bottle each of Amarula, Nachtmusik and Oude Meester Peppermint Liqueur along with 6 football-shaped shooter glasses. You start with Nachtmusik, then the peppermint and top it with the Amarula and apparently this is THE shooter to drink whilst Bafana score goals! So I am putting this post up now in the hopes that it will inspire them to knock at least 3 past France this afternoon!! Go Bafana!!!

Yes, we have officially gone football crazy in our house. Kevin is going to every single match in Cape Town and is watching every other match in between with an almost religious fervour. Even Charlie, aged 4, will be going to the match on Monday – hope he appreciates the cost of the ticket!!

Anyway, this is a final post before I get truly into World Cup fever and start wearing red and white from head to foot. And I thought you might like to see these very cute cupcakes I just bought from Checkers as modelled by Charlie and his friend Torin. Toddlers, armed to the teeth with cupcakes and vuvuzelas – how scary is that??!!

Come on England!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I may well be the only person on the planet who hasn’t seen The Lion King. At least, I thought I was until I went for lunch at Waterkloof last week and owner Paul Boutinot rather shamefacedly confessed that he hadn’t either, which is why he thought ‘Circle of Life’ was a good name for their new flagship white blend!

But, Pumba jokes aside, it is actually quite a good name for a wine, especially one which is produced in such a sympathetic manner. The wrap-around label has drawings of all stages of the vine’s life cycle running in a continuous loop, and very much ties in with the philosophy of Paul and winemaker Werner Engelbrecht – that nothing is done in isolation and sustainability and the renewal of nature are the real key to success in winemaking.

Well, if they were looking for a good example of their ideals, then the Circle of Life is perfect. A blend of ‘about 60% Sauvignon, 30% Chenin and 10% Semillon’ (Paul wouldn’t reveal the exact quantities), all the different components have spent some time in oak. The result is a surprisingly delicate wine with good acidity, yellow and green fruit and a gentle, subtle, supporting vanilla whiff. We enjoyed it on the day with seared tuna and tartare sauce – very yummy – and I can see it being a sushi favourite as well.

I must say that the Waterkloof restaurant was quite spectacular as always, even in the rain which lashed the windows at intervals during lunch. The fireside tasting section was warm and toasty and I am quite motivated to go back and try their specials over the Stellenbosch Wine Festival as well. Chef Gregory Czarnecki makes lovely food (although I wouldn’t be surprised to hear he got his knuckles wrapped after the very poor service delivery last week when 2 tables had finished eating before the other 2 had even got their food! And he had at least 10 chefs in the kitchen as well – too many cooks perhaps??) and I am extremely keen on trying his Lamb Pie at R70. That, a glass of Shiraz and the lovely fire-and-sofa-combo could mean I might be there sometime. Perhaps they could even ship in a movie for me to watch as well – any suggestions?!

PS – I spotted that the decanter was etched with the words ‘Circle of Life White’ and Paul confirmed that a Circle of Life Red is also on the way – no more details but definitely one to wait for with much anticipation I think! The white sells for R140 and is available now from the farm and selected retailers.

I don’t like brandy. Growing up in England, we drank sherry, gin, whisky, disgusting things like Southern Comfort and Malibu, but never really got into the whole Klippies/coke thing which is huge here in SA.  So I was less than enthusiastic when  Marlise at De Kock Communications finally pinned me down to a free day and booked me on The Alchemy of Gold brandy blending course at Van Ryn’s Distillery just outside Stellenbosch.

In case you don’t know, brandy is made from grapes and traditionally people send the ones which aren’t good enough to make into wine to be distilled and turned into brandy. At least that’s what I thought, but one minute with head blender Johan Venter instantly dismissed that as a notion. He selects the grapes rather than the other way round, and because he buys very early on in the harvest, he is able to choose the best on offer. A tour of beautiful old potstills followed, copper piping everywhere and finally a visit to the barrel store where we had to lock up our cell phones outside in case a spark ignited the maturing brandy – no joke apparently!

We also watched Neville, a master cooper at work and for me, this was almost the highlight of the tour. They have found no machines which can make a barrel better than a human being, no shortcuts, no nifty gadgets or tools which can cut the corners – there was just Neville and the implements he has handcrafted over 30 years of barrel-making. Awesome to watch him and gives us all hope that when the revolution comes, there will at least be some things which we can do better than computers and machines!

And finally to the blending. We got 8 different brandies ranging from 3 yr olds to 21yr olds. They boasted an incredible variety of flavours from apples, peaches, ginger, coconut, coffee, butterscotch, honey, cherries and flowers. The idea is that everyone likes different things so we must make up the blend that suits us. Armed with pipettes, measuring tubes and flasks (felt like I was back in the school science lab!) we bent to our task.

Mmmm – it wasn’t quite as easy as it sounds! The idea of blending is that one plus one equals five, but my first go put me into the minuses – it was absolutely horrible! Johan advised us to use less brandies and to pick the one which we liked the most as a single drink and make that the base. My second go was better – so much so in fact, that I was almost disinclined to make a third, but eventually had another crack and came up with something almost as nice. You then get to decant your blends into bottles, name them, label them, certify them and then take them home and drink them.

I must say it was a heck of a lot of fun and has completely changed my view of brandy. I don’t think I will ever be a Klippies and coke girl, but a glass of something oak matured, served sedately in a brandy balloon, enhanced by a touch of water, is definitely something to get me going. If anyone is planning a hen party or the like, then this would be an AWESOME thing to do with a group of friends, but it is just a cool way to spend an afternoon anyway and I am now a brandy convert. Bring on the balloons say I!

Coming soon – and you will all be hearing about it non-stop from me – is my new website called www.kidswelcome.co.za  which will list and review child-friendly restaurants, places to stay and places to play. So in the interests of research – and keeping my child out of my hair on a Sunday – we teamed up with some friends yesterday and headed out to Grand West casino.

‘What!’ I hear you cry. ‘Surely 4 years old is too young to be gambling!’ Well yes, you’re right which is why we took them 10-pin bowling and on the indoor fairground instead. But after they had worn us out, we needed adult time so decided to go for lunch. Using my new cool Food24 iPhone app (such a groovy toy!!) we looked up Daniel Toledo’s restaurant, Il Leone Mastrantonio and booked a table. Daniel had been raving on about how kid-friendly his restaurant was when I met him at Salt a couple of weeks ago so I thought we would go and put him to the test.

Our initial impression as we walked through the door was that this was way too posh and our kids were going to trash the joint. The restaurant was buzzing with lots of prosperous-looking people who all looked too old to have little kids of their own, but not quite into grandparent-land yet. Oh dear – definite kid-haters for sure. But three colouring books, one extra basket of bread and one bottle of wine later we were all feeling a lot more relaxed about things and when the half portions of spag. Bol. and plain penne (only slight niggle of the day – R30 for a bowl of plain pasta?? Mmm) arrived, the kids were very happy little peeps and so were we.

Our food was also good – highlight was the Tagliatelle with Ragu – an 8-hour cooked stew which melted in the mouth and was rich and savoury. The lamb chops were, well, lamb chops really, and it served my friend right for ordering them in an Italian restaurant when she could have had pasta. More wine and the kids moved across the restaurant to watch CBeebies, and then even more wine before we realised that perhaps we should take them home whilst at least 2 of us could still drive.

Daniel says that he usually has many more kids there than last Sunday, but it was fine in my opinion. I get extremely irritated by badly-behaved kids in restaurants and even more irritated by lazy parents who allow them to become a nuisance – but that’s another story for another day. Suffice it to say that after three bottles of wine, our kids were undoubtedly the best-behaved people in our party, and I can only hope that their parents will be allowed back to Il Leone at some point soon!

Here we go again – a quick round-up of the best of the bottles delivered to my door in recent weeks. Yes, they were free, I’m not going to deny it, but these are the ones I would happily pay for so go and track ‘em down – they’re worth it!!!

2009 Waterkloof Circumstance Sauvignon Blanc – RRP R90 from specialist retailers

Want to drink Vergelegen  Sauvignons but can’t afford ‘em? This is an incredible bargain grown on the exact same slopes as the famous V’s but for much less dosh. This wine took 12 months to ferment and obviously all good things come to those of us who wait – crisp and zingy but with a pleasing richness and lots of lemony, citrus fruit. I drank it with seared tuna steaks and it was divine.

2009 Fleur du Cap Unfiltered Semillon – RRP R80 from specialist retailers

I am LOVING Semillons at the moment – such a neglected grape variety, so good with food. I like this one because of its balance – yes it’s wooded but not to add fat, buttery flavours, rather to round out the creamy green herbaceous notes and make it a great wine to drink with sushi. Have to confess that I left half of it in the freezer by mistake – and it was STILL fabulous when it defrosted. What a forgiving wine!

2005 Jacques Smit Shiraz- RRP R57 from the cellar door (www.vines2wines.com)

If any one grape variety is going through the roof in price, then that would be Shiraz. Maiden vintages starting in the hundreds are all over the place so it is fabulous that this wine is as good as it is at this excellent price. Lots of dark berry fruit, nice oak and a good firm finish. Jacques is actually a vine nurseryman so knows his grapes. Had it with pizza – yum.

2006 Kumkani Pinotage – RRP R66.99 from specialist retailers

After our Vin-atics evening, I am totally motivated by my new favourite casserole – Chicken with Olives, Tomatoes and Anchovies – because it has NO ONIONS IN IT!!! Not that I have a problem with onions, but my husband does – such a pain. Anyway, this worked fabulously with the KWV Pinotage the other night so I thought I’d try it again with this wine – and it was still great. The Kumkani is from the company of wine people and is their mid-range pricewise. This was a fab wine – rich and juicy with plenty of body and character and a soft finish.

I don’t like sweet wine. I like a wine to sear my teeth, dry out my cheeks or freshen my breath, but whatever it does, not to coat my mouth with stickiness. But I do make an exception when it comes to Noble Late Harvests so a vertical tasting of one of the Cape’s finest examples, the Fleur du Cap, was enough to see me brave the shocking weather last Thursday and head out to Stellenbosch.

So what is a Noble Late Harvest and why is it worthwhile? Noble Late Harvest is a term referring to grapes which have been affected by Noble Rot or Botrytis Cinerea. This is a ‘good’ rot which has caused the grapes to shrivel without the skin breaking so the juice remains healthy. Here is a picture of noble late harvest grapes – just to whet your appetite!!

Mmm – looks good huh??? The thing is that reducing the amount of water inside the grape makes the juice very concentrated and sweet but without losing any of the acidity and freshness which is so important. So a Noble Late Harvest wine is a combination of all the best things – sweet but without being sticky, cloying or gloopy. If you want to see more, then click here for my article on the  main site.

Fleur du Cap NLH has been made from all the best NLH grapes over the past few years including Rhine Riesling, Semillon, Chenin Blanc and even Gewurztraminer. The latest incarnation launched last week is 100% Chenin and is a rich golden colour with fresh apricots, almonds and coconuts. Lots of fresh yellow fruit and the typical ‘old furniture’ scents rounded off with a lipsmacking finish.

We tasted the last 4 vintages at Stellenbosch’s new 5 star Boutique Hotel, Coopmanhuijs which is well-worth a visit if you feel like a touch of luxury. They couldn’t get a better location – right in the very centre of Stellenbosch - where they have created a very likeable and extremely relaxing space with lovely courtyards, comfy bedrooms and lovingly-restored public rooms packed with fireplaces, over-stuffed armchairs and ancient floorboards.

I thought we would be having lots of courses matched to the wine and was slavering in anticipation of liver parfait, blue cheese and the like. As it turned out, only the dessert was matched to the NLH, the other courses being shown with other wines from the FdC range. The food didn’t quite match up to the ‘5-starred-ness’ of the surroundings, but it is early days and I am sure they will improve. Here’s a couple of pics to show you what they offer.

So sweet kisses from me at the start of the week and bring on better weather in the Cape – yay!!