Biltong has certainly come a long way since the 17th century and has evolved from a necessity to a luxury snack item. Stellenbosch Hills was the first cellar to combine two proudly South African delights with their Biltong & Wine Adventure to be enjoyed at the cellar door.

We learnt that the art of drying meat nowadays is as specialised as the art of wine making, during a visit to Freddy Hirsch, one of the sponsors of the annual “Biltong Maker of the Year” Competition.  They also host biltong-making workshops (for those in dire need of birthday gift inspiration).

I expected a visit to Freddy Hirsch to comprise a short tour of their factory – I was proven wrong in the best possible way. The facilities at Freddy Hirsch HQ comprise state of the art laboratories, test kitchens and (best of all) blind tasting facilities. We got a tutorial in the art of biltong making, donned white coats, hairnets and gloves and proceeded to make our own biltong! Inspiration flowed as we all mixed our own spices and searched for the perfect cut of meat to cure. We even got a demonstration of dishes that can be made with biltong – no more biltong dust sarmies; rather nachos with biltong and chilli poppers stuffed with cheese and (yes) biltong…

Back to the competition: Each year a different Stellenbosch Hills wine is chosen to be the inspiration for entrants. The winner’s biltong must be the best match for the chosen wine. This year the choice of wine is the Stellenbosch Hills Shiraz 2007.

Entrants can use any meat for their entries and prizes of R60 000 are up for grabs. The judging will take place early September after which the top three places will be announced.  Prospective entrants for this battle of the best biltong can order entry packets at a cost of R150. This includes a bottle of Stellenbosch Hills Shiraz 2007, a Freddy Hirsch spice pack, as well as delivery costs for the entry pack.

Participants must register before or on August 1, 2012. Closing date for entries is August 31, 2012 when 500g of biltong from all participants must be delivered to Stellenbosch Hills for judging.

We have certainly been inspired to enter the competition; we certainly need no other excuse to sample the delicious Stellenbosch Hills Shiraz. Come August, we’ll be ready – who will beat the Batonage biltong entry?  Shall we have a little side competition amongst bloggers?

www.stellenbosch-hills.co.za or 021-8813828 for more competition details or contact Freddy Hirsch on 021-5074500

]]> http://batonage.com/2012/02/15/the-battle-for-the-best-biltong/feed/ 3 http://batonage.com/2012/02/10/the-epic-chenin-tasting-of-november-2011/ http://batonage.com/2012/02/10/the-epic-chenin-tasting-of-november-2011/#comments Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:01:59 +0000 batonage http://batonage.com/?p=3376 MOvember; the month when men grow mysterious tufts of hair to adorn their upper lips in aid of cancer research, also known as November and the month of the first Epic Chenin Blanc Tasting hosted by yours truly.

We are lovers of big, bold White Wines and wooded Chenin Blanc rank amongst our favourites. Our collection of these great wines had outgrown our wine cabinet and, coupled with the hellish summer temperatures in our flat, we decided to share the spoils of our Chenin addiction with our friends-in-wine (with our without scary looking moustaches).

The friendly folks at La Mouette graciously lent us their private bar and dining area for a Sunday afternoon of Chenin Blanc imbibing. Our line-up for the day was:

• Jean Daneel Signature Chenin Blanc 2003
• Jean Daneel Auction Reserve Chenin Blanc 2006
• Jean Daneel Signature Chenin Blanc 2008
• Jean Daneel Signature Chenin Blanc 2009
• Jean Daneel Signature Chenin Blanc 2010
• De Morgenzon Chenin Blanc 2005 (purchased from Checkers who in turn, did the heavy bidding at the Nederburg Auction)
• De Morgenzon Chenin Blanc 2009
• Rijk’s CWG Chenin Blanc 2010
• Teddy Hall CWG Chenin Blanc 2010
• Graham Beck Bowed Head Chenin Blanc 2009 (graciously contributed by Dion Martin, from his personal stash of excellent wine)
• Jordan Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2007 (kept aside for us from the extensive wine list at La Mouette)
• Saltare Chenin Blanc 2009 (unfortunately corked)
• Oldenburg Chenin Blanc 2010
• Rudera Robusto Chenin Blanc 2009
• Mulderbosch Small Change Chenin Blanc 2009

Yes, the line-up was quite heavy on the Jean Daneel wines, but the man has won the Chenin Blanc Challenge three times so he clearly knows his Chenin Blanc. We were lucky to purchase the Cape Winemakers’ Guild Wines at the annual auction – a special treat. The other wines were sourced over time from Wine Concepts on Kloof Street.

I can list the boring technical details and our tasting notes but that would make boring reading. Suffice to say the wines were all good, some brilliant. We were all pleasantly surprised by the freshness of the 2003 Jean Daneel and the richness of the 2006. The Teddy Hall, although quite young, was perfectly balanced and found favour all round.

During an excellent meal (La Mouette’s widely known tasting menu was the obvious choice to conclude proceedings) the Chenin Blanc rapidly disappeared.

The conclusion of our epic tasting? Wooded Chenin Blanc, done well, is really, really good. Try it; they’re still reasonably priced compared to some bigger named wooded Chardonnays out there. The Cinderella grape has not only come off age, she’s wearing designer threads and she’s looking good.

Its not every day that you can take wisdom from a real life Sioux medicine man. Black Elk passed away in 1950, but never a truer word was spoken. Nowhere have I seen a better example of this being taken to heart than at De Toren.

I’ve always been fascinated by what goes on in the vineyard. Many a wine maker has used words like “wine is made in the vineyard” and “you can’t make good wine from bad grapes”. The French even goes as far as to say that there’s no such thing as a wine maker – a wine makes itself – and viticulturists are the people responsible for the wine.

In South Africa we do things slightly different, but it does not make the above any less true. And you will be hard pressed to find a better example of how the work in the vineyard translates into the bottle than at De Toren. As we drove into the estate, I saw a vineyard to our right, and run-off pipes about every 10 – 15 meters going under the road, originating in the vineyard. Ernest Manuel, the farm manager and viticulturist explained to us that the run off pipes effectively helped create a giant potted plant of this vineyard, planted to Merlot. Clever use of irrigation and records of where the water table should be at any given time of the year for optimum growth and vine stress creates a perfect environment for vines. In fact, the quality of the Merlot vineyard is so good, that it is used as a benchmark by the University of Stellenbosch for their viticulture research.

Another fascinating aspect of De Toren’s vineyard management is how they ensure that the micro organisms in the ground are at an optimum level and helps with the fertilising of the soil. Ernest explained to us that a generation of farmers destroyed the micro organisms in the ground through irresponsible use of chemical fertiliser and sprays. The trick is to get the organisms back, and they are doing this by composting organic vineyard and wine making waste and reintroducing earthworms into the soil. Ernest repeatedly stressed the importance of earthworms for healthy soil as they aerate the soil, ensuring that the roots of the vines can reach deep into the ground.

South Africa in general, and Stellenbosch in particular have a serious problem with virused vines. I asked Ernest how they cope if they avoid spraying. He explained to us that leaf roll virus (the most common) is spread through a little nematode called a mealie bug. The female is the culprit, but she’s also incapable of moving around on her own. In steps the humble ant. The mealie bug excretes a sweet liquid that the ants love, and they actually cart the female mealie bug around so she can feed. Hence the ants indirectly contribute to spreading the virus. What Ernest does, is instead of spraying chemicals onto the vines to kill the mealie bugs, they control the movement of the ants. A ring with molasses is placed at the base of the vine, keeping the ants off the rest of the vine. If the mealie bug can’t move, it can’t feed and it dies without any chemical intervention. And minimal chemical intervention is what clever and responsible farming is about.

Probably the cleverest manipulation of insects is the use of a copper wire ring around the stem of the vine. Crawling insects do not crawl over the ring, as the wire scratches their tummies and hurts them. You have to love that kind of imagery! Snails are controlled with a team of ducks and chickens are also allowed to roam the vineyards.

I did not even touch on the actual wine making process. Suffice to say its another article on its own as the same clever thinking that is used in the vineyard is also used in the cellar. It all translates into amazing wines that has won numerous accolades world wide.

I’ll leave you with another quote that I find rather relevant in the marvellous De Toren instance.

“A wine does not just command your attention, but rather, it rewards it.”

De Toren certainly rewards us all.

www.de-toren.com

Polkadraai Road, Stellenbosch

021 – 881 3119

We were a group of 5 lucky friends visiting the restaurant recently; all huge fans of The Test Kitchen.  We could order almost all the dishes on the small menu; we were not missing out on a single plate!

This is no ordinary plate of food served to the unexpected visitor, or food just anyone can  contribute to a pot luck club; Chef Luke’s small plates are carefully developed by him and his team – individual dishes are even named after them: “Ash’s Tuna Tartare” (R60) was one of our favourites along with “Ivor’s crispy duck spring roll” (R30).  “Ash” is of course Sunday Times Young Chef of the Year for 2011; attesting to the calibre of staff in Luke’s kitchen.

The crispy curried celery leaves (R20) were eaten with gusto by The Navigator.  Yes, he ate leaves and he loved it!  The leaves were crispy, not overly spiced and not oily at all, just incredibly fragrant, even refreshing on the palate.

There were firm favourites among us:  we all agreed the steamed scallops with grapefruit (R60) were simply exquisite; with the grapefruit adding a most interesting zing to the dish.  I thought (at that moment) that it would be my dish of the evening…then the Pork Rib (R60) made Chinese style with dark beer and doenjang glaze arrived: a triumph of balance between sweet and meaty had us licking our fingers.  The crispy pork belly (R45) with Luke’s XO dressing had The Navigator smiling from ear to ear and five of us all reaching for the last morsel on that plate.

I can write a whole paragraph about the smoked beef fillet (R80); you know it’s smoked, so it will be fantastic but noooo, they added the most elegant, rich and decadent black pepper and truffle “café au lait” sauce (take note “sauce” is far too common a word to describe it).  I will eat that fillet 7 days a week and still lick the plate, every time.

There’s also dessert: Wesley’s tapioca, passion fruit sorbet and toasted coconut (R45) and Fresh summer berries with fig leaf ice cream (R50).  The cocktails are different and wonderful;  the wine list hip and happening – all not outrageously priced.

Décor is clean and understated , service is efficient and Chef Luke wanders out from behind the kitchen counter chatting about the food.  This is the pot at the end of the rainbow and it’s filled with plates of heaven.

www.thepotluckclub.co.za

021 – 447 2337

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The Dog’s Bollocks is an industrial looking eatery in a side street of Gardens.  Just off Hope Street, lies Roodehek Street.  Its a narrow one way with industrial looking garages and the odd business.  At 17:00 in the afternoon, one of those industrial looking garages are opened up, and the Dog’s Bollocks opens.  If you’re looking for silver service and white linen you’re going to be seriously out of luck.  The decor is wire outdoor furniture (so you can play noughts and crosses on your bum when you get up), there’s no cutlery or crockery, and the only washable item around (other than your hands) is the glass tumbler you are given if you order wine.

There’s only one thing on the menu – hamburgers.  No fries, just hamburgers.  And the winelist?  3 options. Dry Red, a lighter Dry Red and Dry White.  It comes in a papsak and the cardboard outer making it look like olive oil.  You get 1.5 liters for R50 and (this coming from someone who’s rather particular about what wine he drinks) the wine is actually rather palatable – at least the lighter style Dry Red was – a 2011 Shiraz/Cabernet blend.

There’s a burger for everyone, from 1950′s style Sliders to Cheese Burgers.  Various styles of chili sauces are also available.  The price?  R50 to R55.  All burgers are prepared to order by Nigel (the owner and only employee), so you wait a few minutes.  It’s worth it though.  The burgers are huge, there’s loads of flavour (the patties are cooked on coals, so you get that barbecue smokiness and char on the patties) and the ingredients are fresh.  The meat quality is good, and the patties are not dense (a pet hate of mine).

We went on a very quiet Thursday evening, the first week of the new year.  The place was dead and we were the only patrons there. However, once everyone is back at work the place apparently pumps, and you can wait quite a while for your burger.  So be warned – get there early.  It is a rather nondescript place, but that hammie might just blow your mind.

The Dog’s Bollocks
6 Roodehek Street
Gardens

Where we’ll always feel at home

The Vineyard Hotel in Newlands, Cape Town hosts regular wine events, some of the coolest in the Cape.  During the winter months The Vineyard gives you the following for R550:  Entrance to the wine event, a 3 course dinner at The Square Restaurant, a room for the night and a full buffet breakfast the following morning.  You can’t make this up – it really is as good as it sounds.

Dining out – with all guns blazing

We dine out often.  A LOT actually.  But we don’t fine dine as often as you might think – firstly because the prices are prohibitive for regular feeding and secondly because if you do something too often, it takes some of the pleasure away from doing it as a special treat.  2 of the highlights of our culinary year was the Gourmand Menu at Luke Dale Roberts’ Test Kitchen and lunch at Waterkloof Restaurant under Gregory Czarnecki. What stood out for us of Luke’s menu is the perfect marriage of fusion cuisine with our local ingredients and the excellent wine pairings.  We had Diemersfontein Pinotage (we HATE coffee Pinotage) with gammon and it was a triumph.  Gregory plated us dishes that was so pretty we didn’t want to eat it, with flavours that just boggled our minds.  Both venues are also remarkable, with us always making sure we were seated at the kitchen counter in The Test Kitchen in order the see the action.  Waterkloof Restaurant is of course known as the glass box – views of the their amazing vineyards and a hint of ocean.  We cannot wait for Luke’s new Pot Luck Club to open – we already have reservations!

Of Bacchus and his favourite tipple

Glen Carlou has been producing two of our favourite wooded Chardonnays for more than 20 years and with the release of their new unwooded Chardonnay they’ve firmly entrenched themselves on our Top 3 Unwooded Chardonnays list.  This is the ideal summer wine: delivering bags of flavour without that heartburn-inducing acidity.  Lovers of both wooded and unwooded Chardonnay will enjoy glass after glass!  Available only from Glen Carlou Estate at R78 per bottle.  This is, without a doubt, our Wine of the Year.

The most overused phraze in consumer driven writing is probably “value for money”; a difficult concept when describing wine , as it is such a personal experience.  Vondeling is one of those estates where you can heartily throw the term “value for money” at them and it will always be true.  A small winery from the Voor Paardeberg area, they produce 6 white wines, 3 red wines and a sweet wine.  The wines are all great, with our favourites being the 2 Mediterranean blends, the unwooded Petit Blanc (blend of Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Viognier) and the wooded Babiana (the same as the Petit Blanc but with a dash of Grenache Blanc added).  They retail for R39 and R95 respectively and over deliver at the price.

See if you can lay your hands on a bottle of Jean Daneel 2003 Signature Chenin Blanc; Wine of the Year in the 2005 Platter Guide.  You will be amazed by the enduring freshness of an 8 year old wine that has developed remarkable complexity over time.  For anyone who thinks South African White Wines cannot age we say you’ll drink your own words!

Our Favourite Wine Events

If you’re a wine geek, like we are, look no further than The Swartland Revolution.  In actual fact, if you are a human being, look no further than The Swartland Revolution.  It is by far the best wine event you can attend – 2 days of intensive wine tasting, partying, eating and socialising.  There’s something for everyone – the wine geek, the wine novice, the party animal and the wallflower.  It truly is a fantastic event – you can read about the 2011 event day 1 here and day 2 here

There’s also the Franschhoek Champagne and MCC Festival (unsurprisingly also organised by DnA Events, the same organisers of the abovementioned Swartland Revolution) Taste your way through the best MCC’s produced in South Africa and some of the greatest Champagnes in the world, all in a classy setting over 3 days in November.

Sticking to the bubbly theme, there’s also the Wine Concepts Finer Things in Life Champagne Festival held at the above mentioned Vineyard Hotel.  You get to taste some of the best Champagnes available in South Africa all under one roof, whilst swallowing oysters the size of your fist.  We had an amazing evening here, and can’t wait for the next one.

What is in a word?  Waiter, waitron and service ambassadors

We’re both extremely focused on quality service, be it in a retail environment, hotel or restaurant.  We are forever looking for service experiences where we will be wowed (alliteration not intended!) We frequent a few places regularly, and the main reason for it (other than a good quality product) is the exceptional service we receive whenever we are there.  The 3 stand out venues for service in Cape Town is most certainly in our book Societi Bistro, La Mouette Restaurant and the Planet Restaurant at the Mount Nelson.

Home is where the heart (and the stove) is

We do occasionally eat at home and we do prepare our own meals, with The Navigator perfecting home made pasta – not a feat to attempt at the height of summer as all that turning-of-the-handle can be pretty sweat inducing.  Our favourite pasta dish is a simple one: Richard Bosman chorizo sliced and pan fried (to release all the oil), add a few cherry tomatoes and add the freshly cooked pasta to the pan.  Garnish with rocket or basil leaves – easy and incredibly fragrant.

We now source most of our meat products (including Richard Bosman’s bacon and other charcuterie) from Frankie Fenner; so easy, just order and collect.  When in Napier, we buy mutton (not lamb but stuff that actually taste like meat) from the local butcher.  Fresh produce from the Hope Street Neighbourhood Goods’ Market is a requirement for people like us who do not cook much – the potatoes stay fresh for weeks and taste like proper potatoes.  In view of the latest (in a long line) of trust abuses by Woolworths, we’ve decided to (try to) avoid shopping there; let’s see how long our resolve (and disgust) lasts.  We prefer to purchase wine directly from the Estates but in cases of emergency (and to buy champagne) we love the selection offered by Sue and Neil Proudfoot at Wine Concepts on Kloof Street.  They stock CWG wines at reasonable prices, are always ready with advice and will even order your favourite tipple when requested.  It is no surprise that their sister outlet, Wine Concepts in Newlands, hosts our favourite tasting event of the year: The Finer things in Life Champagne Festival.

Easy living and lazy days

Beautiful Cape Town makes it easy to forget you have to work for a living with ample opportunities to play tourist in your own city.  We rediscovered the Red Open Top Bus Tours (they’ve even added a canal tour by boat to their 2 existing routes).  The Table Mountain Cable Car now offers pre-booking of tickets online.  Living in the CBD and walking everywhere gives you a unique perspective on our City and leads to interesting discoveries.

Places where we’ve been known to laze our days away at are amongst others Brewers and Union with their delicious craft beers and pulled pork sandwiches. These guys do not allow an inferior product to enter their premises and have lately added a sommelier who has “beefed” up their wine list offering.  The stoep at El Burro in Green Point is ideal for lazy summer afternoons whiled away with good Mexican Food (no oily Mariachis or oily food allowed) and decent tequila cocktails.  The Long Table Restaurant at Dombeya/Haskell Wines offers dining under generations-old trees with an incredible view of the Golden Triangle of Stellenbosch’s vineyards.  Add exquisite Reds from Haskell and imports at reasonable prices from New Zealand and Australia and you have to call a taxi when the sun has set.

There has, of course, been many more wines we’ve savoured and restaurants we’ve enjoyed visiting and will continue to do so.  We are lucky to be living in the Cape Winelands, where good wine and good food go hand-in-hand.

As the sun sets on another year we’re excited about 2012 ahead, we’re looking forward to the new year and everything she has in store for us.  We’ll be keeping you updated on our progress as we continue our intrepid journey honouring Bibesia and Edesia; the Roman godesses of Food and Drink.

Inspired by classic Brasseries this unpretentious space includes a huge bar, kitchen counter dining, al fresco dining in the walled garden and an intimate bar. Retaining the ethos of Societi Bistro, seasonal products are locally sourced and much emphasis is placed on small local artisanal producers.  The chicken and eggs are free range and pork is sourced from Happy Hogs as at Societi Bistro.

We had the pleasure of having breakfast at the newly opened Brasserie last week and yes, we were impressed. The space is beautiful and continues the welcoming embrace of Societi Bistro.  We felt right at home, making the trek from the City Bowl absolutely worthwhile.

The Navigator was very impressed with his Eggs Benedict (R68) – a huge portion with two of everything –  and my Bacon & Egg Chiabatta (R50) was a stand out with the bun being soft and not chewy (a pet hate). The menu also includes Eggs in any style with toast (R36), Croquet Monsieur (R65) and a myriad other options including pastries and cereals (R28 – R54 for home-made granola with fresh fruit and yogurt)

Service is of the usual high standard we’ve come to expect from Societi Bistro: warm, friendly and efficient.  The Brasserie is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 9pm.  Please make a reservation as they are full already!

We’ll be dining at the Brasserie soon – more feedback to follow.

www.societi.co.za

021 712 1363

Shop 1, Forest Glade House, Tokai Road, Constantia.

The scoring system was interactive this year, with 406 Media doing the clever geeky things behind the scenes.  We simply tweeted our score for each box and it magically transformed itself into a self-updating score sheet that we could all track online.

A lovely time was had as we all took our tasting jobs quite seriously (at first) and there were more than a few palatable wines out there.

The winner of the White Wine Category was Box 11: Robertson Winery Sauvignon Blanc and the best Red Box Wine was Box 36: Drostdy-Hof Merlot 2010.  Drostdy-Hof was a worthy winner in 2010 as well!

Congratulations to the winners!  You have done the remarkable: making Box Wine palatable and (yes) quite drinkable.

]]> http://batonage.com/2011/11/25/we-taste-box-wine-a-public-service-project-by-batonagedotcom/feed/ 0 http://batonage.com/2011/11/22/life-is-in-perfect-balance-at-waterkloof/ http://batonage.com/2011/11/22/life-is-in-perfect-balance-at-waterkloof/#comments Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:54:04 +0000 batonage http://batonage.com/?p=3056 Waterkloof: say the name out loud and anyone in the vicinity will immediately start talking about nouveau riche from Pretoria or that High School being in the news for all the wrong reasons…now there is a new Waterkloof on the block, on the slopes of the Schaapenberg, embraced by the Hottentots-Holland and Helderberg Mountains.

You won’t find any nouveau riche on this farm; it’s not one of those pretty lifestyle farms that so many foreign investors set up in SA.  This is a proper farm, with chickens, sheep and of course, vineyards.

When the friendly folks at Waterkloof invited us around for a visit, we never thought it would be a 5 hour marathon…and we enjoyed every second of it!  The enthusiastic and extremely knowledgeable Farm Manager (Christiaan) took us on a tour of the farm; a “tour” is the wrong description; it was more of an eye-opening experience: Waterkloof is farmed according to biodynamic principles by people who care and know what they’re doing.

The fancy definition of Biodynamic Agriculture is: a method of organic farming that emphasizes the holistic development and interrelationships of the soil, plants and animals as a self-sustaining system. Biodynamic farming has much in common with other organic approaches, such as emphasizing the use of manures and composts and excluding of the use of artificial chemicals on soil and plants. Biodynamics was one of the first modern ecological farming systems and is considered to be one of the most sustainable.

All the scientific wording in the word does not prepare you for Waterkloof’s approach: we’re talking having chickens scratch around in the vineyards to ensure the soil is loose and aerated while their poop adds vital nitrogen to the soil.  They’re using horses (yes, the four-legged working horse kind) to work in their vineyards to avoid the inevitable soil compaction caused by tractors and other heavy machinery.  The aim is to have a tractor-free farm in the near future!  Sheep roam freely in the vineyards, keeping the cover crop short and adding their vital nitrogen contribution to the soil.  Speaking of cover crop: it’s planted to keep the insects (and possible pests) off the vines.  We spotted a raptor perch for birds of prey who hunt burrowing rodents…and the list goes on.

Christiaan showed us his planned earthworm farm for the vegetable garden he is planning with Chef Gregori Czarnecki for the fabulous Waterkloof Restaurant.  They’re taking the idea of sustainability one step further with the garden on the farm.  The newly acquired calves will also be raised to provide milk while the sheep well, they will make a vital contribution to the restaurant menu.

Speaking of Chef Gregori: what a guy! What a Chef!  Born and trained in France, he has worked all over the world in Michelin-Star restaurants as a chef and consultant.  He was finally lured to SA by a woman in 2008 – we shall forever be thankful to her…  Chef Gregori was involved in the Waterkloof project from inception; he designed the kitchen and decided from the beginning to use local produce where possible.  Salmon trout is sourced from Lourensford just around the corner; while a very special matured cheddar cheese is made by James Healey, especially for the restaurant.

Chef Gregori sent us food that he believed showcased the restaurant and the wines; we were blown away by the beautiful presentation that was only exceeded by the incredible flavours on our plates.  The Navigator said that it was the best “fine dining” food he’s had in South Africa!  Flavours from all over the world were in perfect synergy on our plates – a feast for the eye and taste buds.  We’re talking roasted cucumber, monk fish, ginger infused fresh apples…Go eat there, experience the food for yourself; you will be making the trek out to Somerset West again and again.  Prices are reasonable for the excellent food: 2 courses R190 and 3 courses R230 or try the 6 course Degustation Menu at R490 including wine pairing.

Waterkloof makes wine too!  With a philosophy that the wine must be a reflection of the farm, they have a few wine collections: The flagship Waterkloof Sauvignon Blanc (R155) made from a single situated at the highest point on the farm (300m above sea level); Circumstance (R85 – R155) also from higher elevation vineyards but generally with more fruit expression; Peacock Ridge (R70 – R90), mainly produced from the vineyards on the lower, more protected slopes.  The Circle of Life Range (White and Red blends both R120) are remarkable as they tell the tale of the circle of production and plant life on the farm.  I loved the Circle of Life White Blend and the Circumstance Sauvignon Blanc (R90); coming from a person not known for her love of Sauvignon Blanc, this is high praise indeed!  The Navigator enjoyed the Circumstance 2008 Chardonnay (lightly wooded R90) and the Circumstance 2009 Chenin Blanc (saw a spot of new oak R90) and they both paired exceptionally well with the food of Chef Gregori.  There is also a Peacock Ridge and False Bay range to complete the beautiful collection.

One thing that struck me about Waterkloof was that all the staff we spoke to, have been employed at Waterkloof since Paul Boutinot re-developed it in 2008.  This is the real deal: a farming enterprise that doesn’t just give lip service and practices what they preach. What is good for the farm, is good for the restaurant, is good for the wine and it is good for the people…it will be good for you too.

 www.waterkloofwines.co.za

Sir Lowry’s Pass Road, Somerset West

021 – 8581292

]]> http://batonage.com/2011/11/22/life-is-in-perfect-balance-at-waterkloof/feed/ 3 http://batonage.com/2011/11/16/the-christian-eedes-chardonnay-report-2011/ http://batonage.com/2011/11/16/the-christian-eedes-chardonnay-report-2011/#comments Wed, 16 Nov 2011 05:21:40 +0000 batonage http://batonage.com/?p=2991 I love Chardonnay.  I love it when it is lean and minerally.  I love it when it is fat and oaky.  I love it when it hasn’t been near a barrel or has never seen the inside of a steel tank.  I love it when it was fermented in Nomblot… In fact, I get blotty about it.  I love the stuff. Luckily we have a forward thinking chap like Christian Eedes involved in the wine industry.  Christian’s launched the first of his Chardonnay reports at Torro Wine Bar on the 15th of November and we were lucky enough to attend.

Christian, along with James Pietersen from Belthazar and Roland Peens from The Wine Cellar tasted 50 current release South African Chardonnays to come up with a top 10.  The top 10 are as follows:

Five stars:

Ataraxia 2009
Hamilton Russell Vineyards 2009
Oak Valley Elgin 2010
Tokara Reserve Collection Stellenbosch 2010
Tokara  Reserve Collection Walker Bay 2009

Four and a half stars:

Glen Carlou 2010
Glen Carlou Quartz Stone 2009
Julien Schaal Mountain Vineyards 2010
Laborie Limited Collection 2010
Mulderbosch Barrel Fermented 2009

Interesting to note that 3 of the top 5 wines are from Walker Bay fruit (long touted as a local equivalent of Burgundy).  The rest of the wines are from Elgin (2), Stellenbosch (2) and Paarl (3).  I was personally pleased to see Glen Carlou do so well, as they have long been a favourite producer of ours.  Notable absentees are big guns like Jordan, Bouchard Finlayson, Uva Mira, De Wetshof, Springfield, Chamonix, Vergelegen and Paul Cluver to name but a few.  They were all close, I was told.

Look out for the public tasting of the top 10 at the Vineyard Hotel.  It is being held on the 2nd of December and the start is 18.30 sharp. Make sure you book in advance and early, as tickets are limited.  You can get yours for R120 –  a bargain considering what you are going to taste.  Book by calling 083 324 6855 or by sending an email to widlnevents@gmail.com

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