Drunk!

Is there anything to beat swanning around scenic lawns, swigging Sauvignon Blanc and snaffling sumptuous seafood?? Of course not, which is why Saturday afternoon at the Constantia Fresh Sauvignon festival was one of the most enjoyable afternoons I have spent in some time. Jorg Pfützner and lovely wife, Claire Lockey, had put together an awesome programme of events featuring some of the best white wines of the area along with a few invited guests from both SA and overseas.  The idea was that you sauntered around the grounds of beautiful Buitenverwachting and sampled all these different Sauvignons paired with delicious titbits from some of SA’s top chefs.

Oh alright – if I must. My rubber arms took a lot of twisting to attend this event as you can probably appreciate, and mid-afternoon saw me in fine form, talking kak and having a whale of a time. Luckily I wasn’t alone in enjoying the hospitality with many of the other 200 or so attendees looking equally tired and emotional at the end of the day which was rounded off with a braai served with the underrated red wines of the valley.

Fave wines of the afternoon? Well, I won’t go on about the older vintages right now – check out Food24 in a day or two for my report on that – but up to date highlights for me included Highland Road’s 2008, Oak Valley’s 2009 and the extremely good 2009 Sauvignon/Semillon blend from Trizanne Barnard. Oh and I also loved the cheeky Yellow Lorry from Ian Corder at Elgin Valley which had a refreshing tweak of Viognier. Very dashing stuff.

Fave foods of the afternoon? A delicious prawn and crayfish mousse affair which was served with little balls of spanspek melon in a shot glass. Delish stuff with the Thelema 2003 Blanc Fume. Other highlights included a scallop ceviche (good with Diemersdal) and a very nice little goats’ cheese tartlet thing as well. As you can see from the pics, all the chefs were having a great day out as well, so if you missed it this year, get your tickets now for 2011 – but get in line behind me first!!