Drunk!

Loathe though I am to abandon all hopes of summer, I must say it was really chilly in Cape Town last night. Fingers crossed it was a momentary blip and come Sunday (Cape Argus Cycle Tour day), the weather will be back to its normal hot state.

Those of you who know me will not be the least surprised to hear that I am not actually doing the Argus myself. My idea of cycling is to wrestle my capacious backside into the shorts and then sit on the sofa spinning the wheel of my bike in order to clock up the miles whilst eating chocolate and drinking wine. But my husband is frantically carbo-loading all this week which I am taking as a sign from the Lord that I ought to drink more red wine.

I don’t know – red wine and pasta seem like a match made in heaven to me. I am not going to do the foodie bit as there are hundreds on these blogs who can do that way more competently than I, but here are my suggestions for 3 good reds to go with the carbs this week.

De Krans Relishing Red NV (R26 and widely available around the country)

A fruity little number from this port-specialist cellar in the Karoo. Simple, uncomplicated, screwcap(cheers, cheers!) and made from Pinotage, Ruby Cabernet and Merlot. It’s as firm and fruity as Lance Armstrong’s buttocks and is a great match for chicken livers in roasted tomato sauce with penne.

Springfontein Red 2006 (R90 from the farm, or from specialist retailers)

This comes courtesy of Food24’s Kerry Gibbs who has good connections in the Walker Bay area. It’s a classic Bordeaux blend – Cab/Merlot with a sprinkle of Petit Verdot – and is an extremely attractive wine with its dark, fleshy fruits, cassis whiffs and elegant vanilla-tweaked finish. Definitely one for Matt Damon – if only he was joining the race again this year!

Durbanville Hills Pinotage 2008 (R56 and widely available around the country)

The blurb accompanying this bottle says that you should serve it chilled with desserts. The chilled bit is fine by me, but I think this wine is crying out for a typical Italian speciality such as Jan Tripepi’s Linguine al Cinghiale (http://blogs.food24.com/janicetripepi/wild-boar-ragu-linguine-al-cinghiale) – shredded wild boar in a tomato-based sauce. A perfect match for the spicy, meaty, berry-licious flavours of the wine – I reckon Makhaya Ntini could put away a plateful or two before the weekend!

Good luck if you’re cycling and hope you all hit your dream times!