Notes: blackberries | blackcurrants | mint | olives |
balsamic
Ideal drinking
occasions: autumnal chill
Serve with: chargrilled T-Bone, the thicker the better
Drink: best from 2015 until 2023
Alcohol: high with 14% abv
Beverage | Cape Town | Champagne | Coffee | Drink | Durban | Farmall | Food | Gauteng | Hotel | Johannesburg | MC 100 Points Rating | MCC | Rating | Restaurant | Sommelier | Travel | Wine | WineBar | Wine Events | Wine Lovers
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Jacobsdal EstateStellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 91 Points
Notes: cassis | blackcurrant | spicy | juicy | smooth
Ideal drinking
occasions: steakhouse night out
Serve with: tuna steak | grilled beef
Drink: now until 2019
Alcohol: high with 14% abv
Plaisir de Merle PaarlCabernet Sauvignon 2009 89 Points
Notes: blackcurrant | plums | blueberries | olives | chocolate
Ideal drinking
occasions: cool autumn or winter
night dinner
Serve with: ostrich the way you like
Drink: now until 2022
Alcohol: high with 14% abv
Nederburg The WineMasters Reserve Western Cape Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 82 Points
Notes: tutti fruity | berries | plums | paprika | juicy
Ideal drinking
occasions: anytime
Serve with: who cares it’s a glass of red, with or without
food
Drink: now until 2015
Alcohol: high with 14% abv
Quoin Rock Simonsberg Stellenbosch Syrah 2010 89 Points
Notes: jam | liquorice | black pepper | lavender | leather
Ideal drinking
occasions: cold winter night
Serve with: tapenade rubbed roasted lamb loin
Drink: now until 2019+
Alcohol: very high with 14.5% abv
KWV Contemporary CollectionWestern Cape Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2012 86 Points
Notes: berries | plums | cherries | cassis |spicy
Ideal drinking
occasions: friends around
Serve with: braai | BBQ
Drink: now until 2014
Alcohol: moderate plus with 13.5% abv
Quoin Rock Simonsberg Stellenbosch Merlot 2010 85 Points
Notes: plums | bell pepper | tomato leaf | olives | spicy
Ideal drinking
occasions: craving a glass of
Merlot!
Serve with: sticky pork ribs
Drink: now until 2017
Alcohol: moderate plus with 13.5% abv
Herold Outeniqua Sauvignon Blanc 2012 85 Points
Notes: kiwi | gooseberries | guava | apple | juicy
Ideal drinking
occasions: anytime, everyday
Serve with: cheese platter
Drink: now until 2015
Alcohol: moderate plus to high with 13.7% abv
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Hamilton Russell Vineyards Hemel en Aarde Valley Pinot Noir 2011 95 Points
Notes: Cherries | plums | cranberries | pure | elegant
Ideal drinking occasions: Any calling for an exceptional
glass of wine | celebrations | romantic dinner
Serve with: Duck | salmon | mushrooms
Drink: Now until 2026+
Alcohol: moderate plus with 13.5% abv
KWV achieves all-time best at Decanter World Wines Awards
 |
KWV is back in the international limelight having delivered
another glittering performance – its all-time best at the auspicious Decanter
World Wine Awards in London this week.
|
Among the 18 medals and commendations handed to the
Paarl-based wine and spirits producer, were no less than three trophies and
six gold medals.
Responsible for the trophy haul was the Cathedral Cellar Sauvignon Blanc 2012, which was named Best South African Sauvignon Blanc under £15; KWV The Mentors Cabernet Franc 2010 – Best South African Bordeaux varietal under £15; and KWV The Mentors Chardonnay 2012 – Best South African Chardonnay under £15. “This result, our best ever, is also most likely the best ever achieved by a South African wine producer. We are again delighted with the performance of our KWV The Mentors wines”, said outgoing KWV Chief Winemaker Richard Rowe. The premium range, established in 2006 to showcase excellence of select vineyards, was responsible for a total of 14 of the accolades collected by KWV at the Decanter Awards, including Gold for the KWV The Mentors Shiraz 2011 and the KWV The Mentors Grenache Blanc 2011. “Our KWV The Mentors wines are a shining example of the stylistic evolution that has taken place across our portfolio. Arguably the most awarded range in the country, the KWV The Mentors range has consistently ranked as a favourite among expert judging panels and wine lovers, both locally and internationally. It is a proud testament to the hard work of a dedicated group of people, from the growers through to our winemaking team,” Rowe said. Also among the gold medallists was the Classic Cape Tawny, which Rowe said was very satisfying as it wins awards whenever entered, including prestigious accolades such as Double Gold at Veritas Wine Awards, Gold at the Michelangelo CCL Label International Wine Awards and Diamond status at the Winemakers’ Choice Awards. The Decanter World Wine Awards, now in its 10th year, is widely regarded as the world’s leading wine competition. Its rigorous judging process has led to the event becoming an authoritative source for wine enthusiasts worldwide. This year, just over 200 judges from around the world assessed some 14 300 wines from 52 countries. Making KWV’s performance even more significant is the very limited number of awards that are made annually at the event. Only around 1% of wines received a Regional Trophy. • KWV announced this week the appointment of Johann Fourie as Chief Winemaker. Fourie has worked closely with Richard Rowe as KWV Senior Winemaker for the past eight years. Rowe stays on as a consultant with particular focus on developing KWV’s international markets. |
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Ashbourne Walker Bay Sandstone 2007 92+ Points
Sauvignon Blanc blend at 85% with 15% Chardonnay, no wood, but 1% was fermented in clay amphora, followed by 4 years bottle maturation before release, showing a pale bright straw with green reflections, fairly unevolved, youthful for a 6+ years white wine, clean, with moderate intensity akind to a cross between Sancerre and Chablis, impressive purity of fruit, seamless definition, delicately ripe citrus and white stone fruits, mineral core, dry, juicy and textured, nutty, still embryonic, ideal alcohol of 12.5% abv, peppery spice, energetic, athletic, honeyed farewell, long and persistent.
Drinking well now, yet will continue evolution up to 2019+
Monday, May 13, 2013
Mulderbosch Steen Op Hout Western Cape Chenin Blanc 2012 88 Points
Pale straw with yellow green reflections, clean, moderate
plus intensity, ripe apples, guava, orange segments, honey, white flowers, good
purity of fruit, smoky, nutty, toasty with leesy layers.
Dry with dash residual sugar, juicy and bold with creamy mid
palate, moderate acidity, full and concentrated, with some phenolic richness, moderate
plus alcohol of 13.5% abv, though seems to be higher, probably closer to 14%? long
and persistent, drink now until 2018
Diemersdal Estate Durbanville Sauvignon Blanc 2013 85 Points
Yes it is correct a 2013 vintage! The first Sauvignon of the
vintage I tasted!! Good Durbanville typicity, bright tropical fruit, green
lime, hints of kiwi, peppery spice, juicy, good texture, fresh with high acidity, buffered by the residual sugar, ripe with moderate plus alcohol of 13.5% abv, vibrant, drink now until
2015+
Jeio Desiderio Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Brut 89 Points
With more Prosecco being now available in South Africa, the wine is proving popular and good local supports means stock are rotating well and this Jeio is not to be missed, a fruity and forward style, bursting with energy and delicate bubbles, notes of white peaches, delicate orange, jasmin, juicy, fresh with moderate plus acidity, the alcohol is perfect at 11.5% abv, great as an aperitifs, super table friendly, great with Prosciutto and antipasti platters or a simple beef lasagna.
Available through Nixan Wines
Top South African chefs, authors and food bloggers taking part at the Cape Town Good Food and Wine Show – May 23 to 26
Christiaan Campbell Delair Graaf
The Cape Town Good Food & Wine Show – South Africa’s premiere food, wine and lifestyle exhibition – will play host to some of South Africa’s most celebrated chefs, authors and food bloggers who will show off their culinary skills and show that this country is right up there when it comes to international culinary trends.
Grace Stevens Cupcakes by Design
The event, which will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from May 23 to May 26, will also feature international celebrity chefs, Gordon Ramsay, French pastry chef Eric Lanlard, Australian chef Bill Granger and Isabella Bliss, winner of Junior Masterchef Australia and her twin sister, Sofia.
The South African contingent comprises an interesting mix of personalities who will all share their expertise in the cooking arena in different ways.
They include:
• Andrea Leeson, owner of The Red Kitchen, has been passionate about being creative with food since her days at school, where she provided healthy alternatives at the tuck shop. Her passion for art, design and cooking have all come together in baking, particularly in her unique hand-painted biscuits and cakes.
• Anél Potgieter’s blog lifeisazoobiscuit was the recent winner of the 2013 Eat Out DSTV Food Network Produce Best Food Blog of the Year Award. This follows on from her winning SABC2’s first season of Dinner Divas in January in which 12 food bloggers were pitted against each other. She is also a regular face on SABC3’s breakfast show, Expresso, and her recipes and photographs are often shared on the leading foodie site of Food24.
• Annerie MacDonald is a cake decorator and sugar art teacher and is also the chairlady of the South African Cake Decorators Guild for the Somerset West branch. MacDonald, who has her own small business called Anny MacCakes, has been decorating for 12 years and teaching for the past five years. Her main focus is on creating wedding and speciality cakes. On Thursday, May 23, she will be preparing a soft cake for covering with sugar paste and will then be using ready-made ornaments to complete the task.
• Bjorn Guido is the owner and executive chef of the Millhouse Kitchen at Lourensford. He combines his rich pedigree in the kitchen with his natural entrepreneurial instincts. As one of South Africa’s most successful young chefs, he brings his cheeky, irreverent attitude to seasonal local produce to create dishes that surprise and delight the palate.
• Christiaan Campbell, Executive Chef at Delaire Graff Estate, Stellenbosch, will be in action in the Real Food Theatre and the Little Children’s Theatre and will be using free range and ethical produce.
• Debbie and Wally Fry, committed vegetarians, started the Fry Family Kitchen and will be showing how to create delicious and cruelty-free food that has as little impact on the natural environment as possible.
• Franck Dangereux of the Foodbarn will be doing his demonstrations in the Real Food Theatre on Friday, 24 May. “It will be something with sustainable seafood and exotic mushrooms. I am also doing a demo in the brilliant baking theatre, baking bread.”
• Geoffrey Murray, Executive Chef of Conrad Pezula Resort and Spa, first started working in restaurants at the age of 13. Since then he has achieved international renown for his prowess in the kitchen. Murray will be cooking at the Real Food Theatre and Little Chef’s Theatre on May 23 and is particularly excited about working with children and teaching them about the wonderful world of food.
• Grace Stevens is the founder and owner of Cupcakes by Design in Cape Town. She is the author of Celebration Cakes, step by step with fondant, which was awarded the 2012 Gourmand World Cookbooks Awards for the best South African Dessert Book. Grace teaches the art of fondant modelling and cake decorating in Cape Town. She is a member of the South African Cake Decorators Guild and has become well known for her flower fairies and their original faces. She will be demonstrating a flower fairy at the show.
• Jane-Anne Hobbs is a writer, editor and cook and has been fervently interested in food for most of her life. Her successful independent blog Scrumptious - which pioneered recipe blogging in South Africa - launched a new career for her as a food writer and recipe developer. Her first cookbook is Scrumptious: Food for Family and Friends.
• Samantha Linsell has had 20 years of hospitality management and food marketing experience under her belt, and now works as a professional food stylist and recipe developer She writes the popular food blog: DrizzleandDip.com. She has written her first cook book, Drizzle and Drip, which was published in July last year. Samantha will be giving a talk on Friday, May 24, around recipe development, food styling, and photography for blogs.
• Sanli Albertze has been decorating cakes for 19 years. She has won numerous gold certificates at shows and is also a qualified tutor (from basic to advanced levels) of the South African Cake Decorators Guild. She teaches all the different techniques in cake decorating and sugar art, but her big love is Royal Icing. At the show on Sunday, May 26, she will be demonstrating how to do a “Picture in Paste”.
• Sarah Graham will be speaking on her experiences as a blogger, food writer and cook book author. Sarah is currently filming a 13-episode TV show based on her cookbook bitten, set in and around Cape Town. The show has begun airing on SABC 3 on Sundays at 3.30pm.
For more details go to www.goodfoodandwineshow.co.za Booking is also open at Computicket.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Reyneke Stellenbosch Sauvignon Blanc 2011 90 Points
Having found a few cases in one of the hotel cellars! under perfect cellaring conditions, I was
intrigue to see how the wine could have developed ?Well, it was still as fresh as a
daisy, pure, delicate, textured, complex layers, fresh with sweet peas and
stone fruit note, the alcohol is perfect at 12% abv, peaking now, fruit holding well, fleshy and spicy, musk
complexity, long and persistent.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Southern Right Walker Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2012 92+ Points
When I first tasted the 2012 upon released last year in
June, I knew there was something special with this vintage, it was already
seductive, yet not in your face style, it had restraint akind to the subtlety
of Loire Sauvignon, spot on ripeness for a Walker Bay Sauvignon Blanc with
impressive textural complexity, engaging style, a year has nearly gone by and
re-tasting a bottle recently reveals Southern Right pedigree as one of South
Africa’s most consistent Sauvignon Blanc, impressive in the first 3 years, yet combining
amazing power and does not loose it’s freshness and fruit with cellaring.
2012 reveals a striking purity, seamless, un showy, old
world restraint, with notes of grapefruit, papaya, elderflower, Pouilly Fume
like minerality, juicy, perfectly dry with a spicy farewell, pin point
acidity, zesty, fleshy mid palate, moderate alcohol of 13% abv, table friendly,
long and persistent. Now until 2019+
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Southern Right Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Pinotage 2010 92 Points
Ruby red with purple reflections, clean, moderate plus
intensity, focus with impressive purity, dark plums, mulberries, clay minerals,
spicy oak.
Dry with moderate plus acidity, fresh and precise, lots of
energy, crunchy dark red fruits, succulent, savory texture, black olives note, elegant
with a Pinot Noir like structure, moderate tannins, long and persistent.
Without a doubt South Africa’s most elegant Pinotage with an
impressive consistency. Now until 2023
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
KWV The Mentors Orchestra 2011 93 Points
Following on previous vintages, The Mentors Orchestra is fast setting the pace as being one of South Africa's finest and most consistent new wave Bordeaux style blends, a Cabernet Sauvignon led blend with Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec, sourced from prime vineyards across the Coastal Region.
Ruby red with purple reflections towards the rim, clean, moderate plus intensity, ripe blackcurrant, cassis, plums and mulberries, bright purity of fruit, earthy, stony minerals, some classic Cabernet herbaceous note, not green, violets note with delicate layers of cedar wood, graphite and pencil shavings complexity, very left bank like.
Dry with juicy black currants and cassis follows through, crunchy, moderate plus tannins, lending a firm structure, yet with ample fruit to support development, moderate plus acidity, lively and lots of energy, savoury, hints of black olive preserves, structured full bodied with well integrated high alcohol of 14.5%, lingering.
Best served aerated at least 4 hours, now until 2025+
THE BOLLINGER EXCEPTIONAL WINE SERVICE AWARD
Entries now open for 2013 Competition
Entries
for First Round of The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award 2013 are now
open and candidates are urged to enter soon as entries close on the 31 May 2013.
See below for entry details.
The high standards attained by previous
winners, Wayve Kolevsohn in 2012 (Sommelier at The Roundhouse at the time and
currently Sommelier at The Test Kitchen) and Joakim Hansi
Blackadder in 2011
(Sommelier at The Roundhouse at the time and now at Rust en Vrede), have set
the benchmark for aspirant sommeliers. As with the 2011 and 2012 competitions,
the winner of the 2013 competition will be announced in November 2013 and will
win a trip to France including a trip to the prestigious House of Champagne
Bollinger. Wayve Kolevsohn is presently in Champagne enjoying her prize and
celebrating her victory, no doubt with a glass or two of Champagne Bollinger.
The 2012 Awards
runner-up, Kayetan Meissner, a Sommelier at the Saxon
Boutique Hotel in Johannesburg, won a one night stay for two, including bed and breakfast,
at Ellerman House, which overlooks the Atlantic Ocean.
This
annual competition, which is aimed at enhancing and recognising the calibre of
local sommeliers and wine service staff, was launched in 2011 and proved to be
a resounding success.
Ginette
de Fleuriot, Marketing Manager at Vinimark The Wine Company and organiser of
The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award anticipates more entries this
year, “We look forward to
an increased number of entrants for The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service
Award 2013 and to wider representation from all of South Africa’s premier
tourist regions.”
Champagne
Bollinger is proud to be the main sponsor of the prestigious The Bollinger
Exceptional Wine Service Award. The competition
is a joint initiative between Vinimark
The Wine Company (importer of Champagne Bollinger and South Africa’s largest
independent specialist wine wholesaling company) and The Reciprocal Wine
Trading Company, importers and distributors of Riedel Glassware.
Ginette de Fleuriot comments further,
“This industry-wide initiative was established to advance the interests of all
of the country's fine wine producers, as well as those who make their living
from the sale of wine in hotels, restaurants and wine bars. The sponsors and
organisers trust that this competition will continue to act as a catalyst for
the hospitality industry to expand training facilities and support local
sommeliers and sommeliers-in-training, in the interests of all those who enjoy dining
out.”
Neil Grant, Chairperson of
the South African Sommelier Association (SASA), states: “Wine service has
a poor history in South Africa and only with incentives such as these will we
find an improvement within the industry. Chefs in South Africa over the past 10
years have proven how good they are and now wine stewards/sommeliers need to be
part of this movement so we can challenge the international markets.” SASA has
committed to mentoring the winning candidates to
further assist in guaranteeing continued professional wine service of an
international standard.
The competition entry criteria are:
·
Those currently employed in the service of food and wine and with
a history of a minimum of three years of such service.
·
Contestants are required to have substantial knowledge of the
local wine scene and of the professional service of both food and wine.
·
An adequate knowledge of international wine appellations and
styles of wine is also a prerequisite.
·
More importantly, however, the contest examines the ability of
those selling wine in the hospitality industry to relate what is produced in
South Africa to the expectations of international visitors more familiar with
the major wine producing regions of the world.
Competition dateline
First Round:
Registration Forms and the completed Question Paper are to be submitted
no later than 31 May 2013.
Second Round:
The Second Round will take place in August 2013 at venues to be
announced.
Final Round:
Finalists will compete in Cape Town in October 2013 at a venue to be
announced.
Competition
winner announcement: The winner of The Bollinger Wine Service
of Excellence Award will be announced in November 2013.
Judges
Judges at
all rounds of the competition will include internationally trained sommeliers;
Cape Wine Masters; and members of the hospitality trade.
To enter The Bollinger Exceptional
Wine Service Award
For more
information contact:
Ginette de
Fleuriot
Vinimark
Head Office
Email:
ginette@vinimark.co.za
Tel: 021 –
886 9165
or
Michael
Crossley
Reciprocal
Wines & Riedel Glassware
Email:
crossley@reciprocal.co.za
Tel: 011 –
482 9178
The
Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service 2012 Awards
2012
Winner:
·
Wayve
Kolevsohn: Previously employed at The Roundhouse in Camps
Bay and currently the Sommelier at The Test Kitchen, Cape Town;
2012 Runner-up:
Kayetan Meissner: A Sommelier at the Saxon
Boutique Hotel in Sandhurst, Johannesburg.
2012
Judges:
·
Mia
Martensson, Sommelier and Sales Manager for The Winery Of Good Hope
- Kent Scheermeyer, Sommelier and founder of
KSconsult
- Neil Grant, Sommelier and co-owner of Burrata
Restaurant, Cape Town
- Ginette de Fleuriot, Cape Wine Master &
Marketing Manager for Vinimark The Wine Company
- Higgo Jacobs, Sommelier and consultant
The finalists will be judged on wine
and food service and will be tested on the following:
•
wine
styles and terminology
•
wine
label information
•
wine
regulations
•
regions
of origin
•
major
international wine regions and their wines
•
identifying
wines in a blind tasting
•
service
techniques
•
food
and wine pairing
•
wine
storage
•
social
skills and ability to interact with the patron
Background on The Bollinger Wine
Service Award
One of the impediments to publicising the achievements of
South African wine has been the absence of a class of wine waiters able to
communicate the finer points of our wines and place them in an international
context.
The past few years have seen important changes which have
come some of the way in addressing this gap. These include the involvement of
the Cape Wine Academy in creating a qualification for wine service
professionals, and the investments in waiter training driven by WOSA (Wines of
South Africa) under the Fundi programme ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2010. The
increasing number of internationally trained sommeliers living and working in
South Africa is also no doubt contributing to a raised level of awareness
around issues of wine service.
An annual competition – aimed at encouraging those who seek
to make a living from wine service – is clearly part of the next stage.
Sponsored by Champagne Bollinger and with infrastructural support from Riedel
Glassware, The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award has been established to
bring focus – and recognition of achievement – to the growing group of professional
wine waiters in South Africa.
The recently formed South African Sommelier Association(SASA) is fully behind The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award and some of
its members will be judges at the competition. The association aims to provide
training and mentorship to guarantee the continuous development of professional
standards of wine service at the highest level.
ENDS
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