Drunk!

Fons Aaldering & winemaker/GM, Dustin Osborne

So after my very delicious Asian-inspired lunch at Delaire, I moved onto the second spectacular lunch of recent weeks – with Aaldering Vineyards at The Greenhouse at the Cellars-Hohenort Hotel.

Aaldering launched to the world last year, but since then, several changes have taken place, notably a new winemaker/GM in the shape of Dustin Osborne, previously of Mont Rochelle. The re-launch was held at the Greenhouse at the Cellars-Hohenort and was clearly a larney enough event to entice the glitterati of SA wine-drinking media to join in. Starting with a putting competition and fizz, it culminated with an incredible 5 course lunch by Eat Out nominee, Peter Tempelhof at The Greenhouse, specially opened for the occasion by group GM, Tony Romer-Lee.

The wines themselves are solid citizens and a very worthy start indeed. It was a tad awkward for Dustin to talk about them when he had done very little except oversee labelling, but he handled the quickfire interrogation with aplomb and was incredibly positive about the future. My favourites were the Chardonnay and the Shiraz – the Chardonnay 2011 showing delicious balance, hints of oatmeal and a creamy, nutty finish. It’s R132 cellar door. The Shiraz 2009 was all blueberries and mulberries on the nose with some white pepper character and soft juicy tannins. Like all the reds (Pinotage 2009 and Cabernet/Merlot 2009) it costs R187 cellar door.

Right now, I have to say that I think the wines are over-priced. They’re certainly very pleasant, and I think there is huge potential there, particularly in the talented hands of Dustin. Most of them get imported to Holland where Dutch owners Fons & Marianne Aaldering have a food distribution company and the wines are listed in an impressive 250 restaurants. I was particularly pleased to hear that Fons is setting up a version of   in Holland as well, to channel funds back to worthy projects in SA, helping to get kids off the streets and back with their families and into schools. It seems Aaldering have great deeds in mind on two continents and I look forward to seeing what happens next.

PS – Aaldering also win the prize for the cutest way of giving out a press kit – how sweet is this?!