Muscat d’Paternoster
March 14, 2011 in Uncategorized
Somewhere in the 90’s our family moved into a house on Stellenbosch’s historic Dorp Street. Underneath its far-from-pristine Victorian exterior, we found the bone structure of a Cape Dutch manor dating back to 1750.
The renovation process resulted in quite a few surprises – some good, some bad. On the downside, for example, concrete columns in really akward places (I blame the 50’s). On the upside, a beautiful Table Mountain yellowwood attic (a proper brandsolder) which was hiding behind rotten ceilings.
My favourite discovery, by far, was the dried-up old vine we found in the backyard, which turned out to be a 200 year old Muscat d’Alexandrie.
With the help of a viticulturist from Nietvoorbij – and lots of tender loving care – this dormant piece of dry bark turned into a beautiful vine within a year. And the following summer, like something out of Canaan, we harvested the most luscious, sweet hanepoot grapes – in bunches that weighed up to 3kg.
When we moved to Paternoster we brought a clipping with us, and I’m absolutely thrilled that it too seems to love its West Coast home.
Grape and olive oil sorbet
500g Hanepoot grapes
Sugar syrup, chilled (approximately 200ml sugar / 375ml water)
80 – 100ml extra virgin olive oil
Lemon juice
In a large enamel basin, squash the grapes into a juicy pulp with your hands. Add the chilled sugar syrup, a few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice and olive oil, and stir until combined. Strain using a fine sieve lined with muslin cloth. Churn in an ice-cream maker, or freeze and whisk every half hour to prevent ice-crystals from forming.
Pictured here, hanepoot-and-olive-oil sorbet and red globe sorbet, served with fresh grapes, peppery basil, a drizzling of grassy extra virging olive oil and a few retro crystallised grape berries.
drizzleanddip said on March 14, 2011
Wow how unusual using olive oil. Im totally intrigued.
Sam
MickyM said on March 14, 2011
Well never write off Mother Nature…… great pics and that desert looks delish !!!!
sharonsmit said on March 14, 2011
Dis nou druiwe met ‘n ‘heritage’.
Zabwan said on March 14, 2011
That has to be one of the most unusual recipes I’ve ever read. Thanks for sharing the memories, too, lovely.
davidbb said on March 14, 2011
scrumptious looking. please can I have a stem of the vine in July- evidently Hanepoots are not susceptible to the root fungus that devestated the European vines
pinkpolkadot said on March 14, 2011
Strange combination!! It looks gorgeous!!
janicetripepi said on March 14, 2011
My mouth is tingling …. and I have goosies! that must be so fresh and juicy and wonderful! Eish wena – too good!!!! Is that Thai basil? Goodness – I need to come back and taste some more of your kitchen treasure! xxx jan
ajhart said on March 14, 2011
a lovely story!
Made me think of the The Great Vine in the Hampton Court Palace Gardens in England – apparently the oldest and largest known vine in the world.
A few stats on that grapevine:
The Great Vine is more than 230 years old and 36.5 meters (120 feet) long. It is believed to have been planted by Lancelot “Capability” Brown around 1768, during his time as Surveyor to George III’s Gardens and Waters. The vine is also the oldest plant in the palace gardens, having come from a small cutting at Valentine’s Park in Essex (which no longer survives).
sardinesontoast said on March 16, 2011
It is a lovely fresh combination indeed. And it’s lemon basil – my new favourite in the herb garden. Tiny leaves, HUGE on flavour. Almost lemon-grassy on the nose, with that typical peppery-basil taste.
sardinesontoast said on March 16, 2011
Thanks – and thanks for sharing your story. Googled, it = that vine looks freakin amazing. Can’t believe it’s only 230? It seems relatively young in comparison to our little vine’s estimated age. Makes it even more special to me.
sardinesontoast said on March 16, 2011
sardinesontoast said on March 16, 2011
You certainly may – so I take it you’ll be visiting in June? And you’ll be glad to hear that this hanepoot has not been grafted.
sardinesontoast said on March 16, 2011
Thanks – yes, it’s amazing how this vine came back from the dead.
sardinesontoast said on March 16, 2011
The grassy quality of the olive oil jumps out once it’s frozen – quite amazing. If I can use a musical comparison, it adds tone-colour to this composition.
sardinesontoast said on March 16, 2011
sardinesontoast said on March 16, 2011
ajhart said on March 18, 2011
Your vine is definitely older – I would have thought that there were older vines in France, but I seem to remember that theirs were all wacked by disease a couple of centuries ago (or something).
I guess that there must be some pretty old vines in the Middle East, but who knows. Apparently one of Queen Victoria’s favourites was a Constantia dessert wine.
Nuff sed – starting to pontificate like Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory
sardinesontoast said on March 19, 2011
Yes, come to think of it, you are right about the disease (phylloxera?) wacking the French ones. Do wonder about the Middle East though.
And another unique thing about our vine – it is not grafted onto a different rootstock. Purebred hanepoot.
BITSOFCAREY said on March 22, 2011
Stunning!How amazing! that vine has stood the test of time and you’ve even utilized the grapes in those delicious sorbets! wow! inspired!
putts said on March 25, 2011
Kobus, it’s Andrew Putter here. I didn’t get a chance yesterday to say how humbled and inspired I am by your work: thank you for the extraordinary way you weave an exemplary life from what is closest at hand. Once you finished showing us slides of your work, I rushed out to eat my packed lunch: your pictures made me so hungry. Co-incidentally, I’ve been making a new body of photographs which look at indigenous Cape fruits through the aesthetic lens of 17th century Dutch still-life painting. Seeing your sensitive development of a cuisine based on these plants really struck a chord. I’ve also spent a lot of my life in strandveld, and although I’ve always been interestd in veldkos, I’ve only recently – and cautiously! – started tasting things. Thank you again for the example you are setting. Long may you live!
sardinesontoast said on March 26, 2011
Wow, thanks for your generous comments Andrew. I am happy that you enjoyed the presentation. I loved yours too, btw. And now I am amazingly intrigued by the new project with Cape fruit.
Hope you can come visit in Paternoster soon so that we can taste some Strandveld wild food together.