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Parlez-vous Vino?
Lianda Beyers-Cronje, world traveller,
passionate wine lover
and wine columnist on Nosy Rosy.
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Romance, roses…and wine
A book of Verses underneath the Bough, A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of
Bread - and Thou Beside me singing in the Wilderness - Oh,
Wilderness were Paradise now!
- Omar Khayyam
I can’t resist romance. One can never grow too old for it and the
wonderful thing about it… it doesn’t need to cost the earth – a walk
along the beach to watch the sunrise, a long kiss in the moonlight,
a smouldering look, a verse penned in love…
To celebrate Valentine’s Day with you, my chef daughter, Lianda
Blignaut and I have prepared a special dinner for two, to pair with
some of the excellent wines from the Walker Bay ward.
You can dress up the table as simple or elaborate as you want – the
important thing is to have some flowers – I used roses – but any
flowers will do, a candle or two and just a little bit of
imagination to transform your table into an intimate island for two.
For starters she prepared a simple salad consisting of watercress,
mizuna, rocket and red spinach leaves combined with chilli and
garlic prawns garnished with adorable heart-shaped croutons and
beetroot sprouts with a splash of strawberry vinaigrette. This was
served with award-winning Wildekrans Methode Cap Classique. Made in
the classical traditional style, it shows a light golden hue with a
fine mousse. Delicate fruit and biscuity aromas on the nose, is
followed by a distinct fresh and creamy effervescence on the palate,
leaving a crisp and clean aftertaste.
This was followed by a main course of ostrich fillets with a herb
crust and cherry jus, poached asparagus and heart-shaped fondant
potatoes. The ostrich fillets were marinated overnight in some olive
oil, red wine vinegar, a few sprigs of thyme, Dijon mustard and
freshly ground black pepper.
We paired our main dish with Creation’s Pinot Noir. Deep ruby in
colour and sensuously inviting in the glass, the intensely fragrant
bouquet shows a mélange of red berry aromas, elegant vanilla and a
whiff of wood spice. These follow through on the full-bodied palate
where soft, supple tannins contribute to the dense structure. This
is a wine for romance and love…
To conclude the romantic dinner, Lianda conjured up a delicately
fragrant vanilla pannacotta with raspberry coulis – a dreamy,
flirtatious concoction that makes a perfect companion for the
delicious dessert wine, a chilled bottle of Beaumont Goutte d’Or
(dried fruit, orange peel and honey wit, apricot and spices on the
palate.
PS. You can contact Lianda at 082 572 2637 if you would like her to
make this dinner for you!
Open Day at Beaumont Wines
Receiving an invitation to the Beaumont family’s open day at the
beautiful Compagnes Drift farm in Bot River, the oldest wine farm in
the area, is always a special pleasure and privilege.
This year, guests were greeted with giant flower signs dotted along
the road to the farm where a Marimba band was playing, the wine was
flowing and old friends were sharing anecdotes and laughter.
The Beaumont Open Days are held on a Saturday and Sunday. We chose
to go on Saturday which was as lovely an Overberg summer day as one
can get – no wind and blue skies.
A long table was overflowing with fresh home made bread, a giant
Klein River Gruyére cheese and delicious home made chutneys, liver
paté, hummus and various dips and preserves.
Samples of the feast on the table were on sale to take home for
those who just couldn’t get enough.
A special feature on the farm, is the 18th century water mill that
has been lovingly restored to its former glory by the Beaumonts.
Here one can buy stone ground flour to bake your own bread at home,
have a chat to the miller and just enjoy tradition and nostalgia.
As always, the historic barn were filled with hand crafted jewellery
by Ariane Beaumont, some striking paintings by matriarch Jane
Beaumont as well as breathtaking reduction fired stoneware by John
the Potter from Betty’s Bay.
Some of the guests made use of the sprawling garden to have
impromptu picnics under the age-old trees.
The Beaumont wine selection features the Beaumont label as well as
the Raoul’s range of lifestyle wines. Beaumont is renowned for fine,
origin-expressive wines exemplified in the Chenin Blanc, an elegant
Pinotage and South Africa’s first single variety Mourvédre – all
rated four Platter stars.
Unfortunately the Hope Marguerite (five Platter stars) 2008 was sold
out and the 2009 vintage will only be available in March.
I couldn’t resist buying some of the Chenin Blanc (green melon,
golden delicious apple and apricot blossom aromas) and of course a
bottle of the lovely dessert wine Goutte d’Or– ideal for a special
Valentine’s rendezvous.
We also bought roasted pita bread pieces and smoked Kudu to make
exotic canapés to nibble with our wine before dinner on Saturday
night.
Visiting the close-knit and talented Beaumonts on their exquisite
farm is always a memorable occasion. Apart from wine tasting,
viewing Jane’s paintings or buying some exclusive jewellery pieces
from Ariane, or some of the exquisite home made preserves, dips and
chutneys, one can also book a weekend-breakaway in one of the
beautifully-restored historic cottages.
Call 028 284 9194 for more information.
A challenging harvest
A quick survey among winemakers in the Walker Bay ward indicated
that this year’s harvest will be challenging.
Some of the winemakers have already started harvesting white grapes
a little bit earlier than usual. Fortunately, winemakers in the
Walker Bay area did not have to struggle with mildew and other grape
diseases as well as heat stress as is the case with their colleagues
in Stellenbosch this year.
The next couple of months promises to be a nail biting time for our
winemakers. Now they need moderately warm days with as little
temperature spikes as possible and preferably no rain.
We wish all the winemakers in the Overberg a successful and happy
harvest time!
A busy year for
Hermanuspietersfontein
Hermanuspietersfontein fans can get ready for an exciting year
ahead. The winery is kicking off 2010 with its popular Mosfees every
Saturday at the Wine and Food market during harvest time in February
and March. Visitors at the market will be welcomed with a glass of
must, grapes and harvest bread at the gates of the market on
Saturday mornings and should there be wine pressing on the Saturday,
winemaker Bartho will take visitors on a cellar tour. Read more
about all the goings-on at your favourite winery.
Hermanuspietersfontein is entering a team to take part in the CANSA
Relay For Life :2010 Overstrand that is taking place from Saturday
27 February to Sunday 28 February at the sport ground at Hermanus
High.
This is probably one of the greatest and most heart warming
fundraising events of the year and a wonderful way to show that you
really care!
I would like to challenge all the other wineries in the area to
enter teams for this event.
Have a wonderful, caring and love-filled February.
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