Nosing Diemersfontein

The Nose is a welcoming restaurant and wine bar in the Green Point area of Cape Town. I was impressed with their chatty and wide ranging wine list which changes every month and offers a good selection of wines by the glass.

I started with a glass of the amazing Springfield Estate Special Cuvee Sauvignon Blanc 2006 while I browsed Nose's informative wine list . There I read that of all the wines they sold during 2006, the best-seller of the year by far was a Pinotage. Despite the negative comments we keep reading, people are voting with their money and they are choosing Pinotage.

Which one?

The Nose's People's Pinotage was Diemersfontein's coffee and chocolate stunner.

So, what else could I do but order a glass of that to accompany my Nose Burger which was much better than its name - "200g of the finest ground beef mixed with our secret herbs and spices and flame-grilled to your liking. Served on a fresh-baked roll with homemade pickled cucumbers, lettuce, tomato and chunky potato wedges."

They were now serving Diemersfontein's 2006 vintage (35R a glass), and you know what? It was scrummy --but you don't need me to tell you that.

The attentive waiter asked if I wanted a coffee to follow. I declined. How could ordinary coffee follow that wine?

Nan don't

So, off to Nando's to score a bottle of Stormhoek Pinotage for the cost of 2 glasses.

Well, that was the idea. But despite an entrance display and the restaurant being covered in signs promoting their Wine Festival offer, the till rang up the full bottle price. Luckily I noticed the price momentarily flash up on the till and queried it and (after the managers special till authorisation card had been obtained) got a correction before paying. But I didn't notice they'd overcharged on the food, and with the general environment the evening wasn't the great success I'd hoped.

The St Albans Blog recommends sitting upstairs, but staff headed off anyone making for the stairs and seated us crammed together on the ground floor until it was full. Various reasons were given, but basically it was for the convenience of the staff who presumably were tired of going up and down those stairs.

The tills didn't always recognise combo's and charged each item separately, thus our order of chicken, chips & corn was charged as a combo (£8.10)while our order of chicken, chips and salad wasn't billed as a chicken/salad combo (£8.10)with a side of chips (£1.65) totalling £9.75 but as chicken (£5.45), salad (£3.45) & chips (£1.65) totalling £10.55.

The chicken was tender, there was more peri-peri sauce on it than I've ever had it before, the chips were dull, like McCain oven chips, but there were plenty of them. The salad and its dressing were good, mixed lettuce leaves with three baby tomatoes and a couple of pepper strips.

I think Nando's basic idea is brilliant. Flame grilled chicken (not deep fried like KFC) coated with a spicy sauce before cooking over real flames (not cooked elsewhere and microwaved like McD's) served with some simple accompanients, perfeck!

My original Nando's experience was in Sandton, Johannesburg, the first time I went to South Africa in 1996. There was waitress service, great food, a choice of spicy sauces. It was really enjoyable and I thought then that this was an idea that would succeed. And if I was any sort of a businessman (which I am not) I'd have taken a franchise immediately.

Over the years in Johannesburg and the Cape I have eaten Nando's takeaways, and I was pleased when Nando's started to open in the UK and delighted when one appeared in Snorbens.

So, what about the wine? The bottles were stacked on the counter by the kitchen, not ideal conditions, and thus the Pinotage was too warm. This was the 2006 vintage, not the award winning 2005, and -- maybe because of the conditions it was kept and served in -- it didn't taste quite as good, there was a sharp edge to it and a rim of small bubbles.

We didn't hang around for a dessert (tempting though they sounded), but took the unfinished bottle home, where chiled a little it delivered some ripe blackberry fruits and - the little that was left -was very drinkable.

Conclusion -- Nando's is a place to eat, not to dine.

Pinotage on offer at Nando's

Buy two glasses of Stormhoek Pinotage, or any other wine, and get the rest of the bottle free. That is the offer in the current Nando’s Wine Festival which runs until 13 May in the UK.

Nando’s flame-grilled chicken restaurants have spread fast throughout the UK, and since Nando’s originated in South Africa it is not surprising that some South African wines appear on their new wine list, and there are two wines each from Spier and Stormhoek.

I wonder why, of all the wineries in South Africa, that it is the newcomer Stormhoek that gets on the list? Is their success solely a result of their blogging, as is often claimed?

If blogging is a factor, how come the so few of Stormhoek’s competitors have blogs? And why do those who do have blogs update them so infrequently? Of the Pinotage producing wineries that I have found with official blogs (links on the right menu bar) Backsberg didn’t post once in April and Warwick haven’t posted since 9 March. Beats me.

Anyway, back to Nando’s. They describe Stormhoek Pinotage as “Alluring – a very deep and sophisticated character with a complex nature”. A 250ml glass of sophistication costs £4.95 and the alluring bottle is £14.95. During the festival Nando’s are also holding wine tastings in the evening.


See you there.

Pinotage Jam and Scones

Scones are a Sunday treat here at Pinotage Towers. And what better topping than Pinotage jam?

I find it strange that grape jam is not more common. I am not aware of any being available in the UK. In South Africa you can buy Hanepoot jam, made from those large golden intensely sweet Muscat grapes used for making dessert wines.

Ripe Pinotage grapes are also quite sweet, and this jam comes from Beyerskloof Winery. Owner Beyers Truter has been incorporating Pinotage in many foods, sausages, ice-cream, yoghurts, meat sauces etc. See Red Leaf and Green Pinotage.

So, what is it like? On opening it has a lumpy texture from the berries and a dark, browny black colour which doesn't look too appetising. The nose is not sweet like other jams -- ahh I get it! Some wines we call 'jammy', and this jam is definitely 'winey'.

Spread on the opened scone -- broken open where the side of the rising scone has fractured -- take a quick photo (see picture right) and take a bite. Umm, tastes good. There is a winery grapiness, it is not overly sweet. Definitely an adult jam, and I am thinking that it maybe good as an accompanient to savoury dishes, such as bobotie or with turkey instead of red-currant sauce.

Unfortunately Pinotage jam is currently available only from the winery, but scones are easy and quick to make.

My scone recipe takes about 20 minutes to make and 20-25 minutes to cook

Ingredients

225g/8oz self raising flour
Pinch of salt
55g/2oz butter
Handful of sultanas
150ml/5fl oz milk



Method
1. Heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Mix together the flour and salt and rub in the butter to get a bread crumb-like texture.
3. Sprinkle in the sultanas and stir them through, there should be plenty so add more if you want as they are the only sweetening* in the scones.
4. Mix in milk to get a soft dough
5. Turn on to a floured board and knead for a few minutes
6. Gently roll out to 2.5cm/1in thick – making them too thin is the biggest cause of disappointment.
7. Use a 5cm/2in cutter to stamp out rounds and place on a baking sheet. Knead remaining dough, roll out and stamp out more scones till all used. Cutting the edges helps the dough rise.
8. . Bake for 20-25 minutes until well risen and top is firm.
9. Place on a wire rack and serve with butter and good jam and cream to taste.

Eat while hot. They also freeze well; defrost before use and warm

*With the sultanas and sweet jam topping I think it is totally unnecessary to also add sugar to the scone

(Note: Scone is pronounced skoan (to rhyme with loan) or skon (to rhyme with ‘on’ – in Pinotage Towers those from the north say skon and those from the south say skoan. Thus both are correct.)

Pinotage & Vindaloo? No Problem!

Wine and food writer Fiona Beckett has tried matching a curries with various beverages, and recounts the experience on her Food & Wine Matching website in an article titled Can any Wine survive a Vindaloo?


Armed with a "can of supermarket lager, a bottle of Greene King IPA (Indian Pale Ale), an Alsace Gewurztraminer, a full bodied, fruity red Stormhoek Pinotage from South Africa and a mango lassi - all served chilled, even the Pinotage" she started with a medium hot Chicken Rogan Josh, moving on to a supermarket vindaloo and finishing with a "vindaloo from the takeaway, which was hotter still. The Gewurztraminer really couldn’t cope with this unless you added some raita and dal but the Pinotage still kept going"

She concludes that "the big surprise - although I’d had an inkling it would work because South Africans regard it as the best match for curry - was the Pinotage, welcome news to those who prefer drinking red wine to white. But don’t drink it at room temperature, chill it first!"

That Pinotage is a good match for spicy foods is no surprise to Pinotage lovers, but it is good to hear the word is spreading.

Spit Lamb, not Pinotage!

Talking of lamb and Pinotage reminds me that last week I called in at Backsberg Estate Cellars near Paarl to update myself with their wine range.


Walking towards the winery I noticed people were dining at tables placed on the lawn under the shade of the numerous trees. I wandered over to see an entire lamb slowly rotating on a spit and a cheerful chef wielding a long carving knife. (Lennox - pictured right)

A glimpse of the menu promised “Karoo Lamb on the Spit - A South African tradition served with a house salad or farm style vegetables and Backsberg’s famous roast potatoes. Have your lamb sliced exactly as you like it at the spit. R90.”

A moment later I was sitting at one of those tables, studying the wine list and nibbling on some bread. Lamb wasn’t the only dish on the menu but it is the only item I had eyes for. What to drink? Water obviously and a bottle of Backsberg Pinotage 2006 at R45. Obviously. The waitron* said she would bring my veggies and then I could go and get my meat.

A long empty table filled up with a large group under the guidance of a tour guide and although there were a few calls for vegetarian dishes the majority chose the lamb, and without waiting for their potatoes they took their bread plates and formed a line by the spit. I was fearing all the lamb would all be gone by the time I was served, but the cheerful waitron, returning with my platter, assured me that the tour group was expected and there was plenty of meat for everyone. And so it proved to be.

The chef asked which part the animal I preferred (the leg) and how I wanted my meat cooked (medium), and expertly and efficiently carved me off slices of lamb. A nearby table held ample jars of Colmans Hot English mustard (the only one that matters) and thickly gloopy mint sauce – lovely!!

The meat was deliciously succulent and tender, cooked exactly as I had chosen. The ‘famous’ roast potatoes were crisp on the outside and creamily soft inside and the roasted veggies (aubergine, courgettes, carrot, peppers) were a tasty colourful accompaniment. (picture left)

Backsberg Pinotage 2006 was very ripe, soft and plummy with some jammy fruit, very drinkable and approachable. A friendly wine and a truly new world Pinotage. I replaced the cork and took the bottle with me and returned to it the following evening when it was just as delightful. It was 14.5% but didn’t show it and, surprisingly Wine of Origin Coastal when I was expecting from the word Estate in the winery name that it would be WO Paarl.

Simon Back, son of Backsberg owner Michael Back (who was at another table in the restaurant. I tipped my straw hat to him, but didn’t interrupt what looked like – from his unhappy expression – a business meeting), blogs at B’s Blog so I asked him.

Simon explained “We declassified ourselves as Estate wine producers several years ago and changed the name from being simply Backsberg Estate to being Backsberg Estate Cellars. This was done so as to comply with the law governing Estate wine production but at the same time staying as close as possible to the original name. In some cases where we have bought in fruit and or wine we can keep the classification of Paarl in others it becomes more complex as we may have fruit and or wine from different areas and then it becomes easier to refer the classification as coastal which is more generic. The main driver behind this is simply flexibility in the pursuit of quality.”

Backsberg vineyards as seen from access road.

*Waitron is a most useful South African non-gender specific word for a waiter or waitress.

Matching Food & Pinotage – Salmon or Lamb?

Vino Con Brio in Lodi, California are pleased with the 88 points their 2004 Pinotage was awarded by Steve Heimoff in Wine Enthusiast! who wrote "Dark, thick, soft and juicy, an amazingly flavorful wine with a depth of exotic flavors. Blackberry liqueur, dark chocolate, cherry jam, violet flower, charred beef bones and peppery spice flavors swirl together into a complex finish..." and they recommend Con Brio Cedar Plank Salmon as the perfect food match in this recipe from their current newsletter.

1 cedar plank (6 by 14 inches) well soaked

2 salmon fillets (1 1/2 pounds total)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 tablespoons Dijon mustard

6 tablespoons brown sugar

Soak cedar plank in salted water for at least 2 hours, then drain. Remove skin from salmon fillet. Remove any remaining bones. Rinse the salmon under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Generously season the salmon with salt and pepper on both sides. Lay the salmon (on what was skin-side down) on the cedar plank and carefully spread the mustard over the top and sides.

Place the brown sugar in a bowl and crumble between your fingers, then sprinkle over the mustard. Set grill for indirect grilling and heat to medium-high. Place the cedar plank in the center of the hot grate, away from the heat. Cover the grill and cook until cooked through, around 20 to 30 minutes. The internal temperature should read 135 degrees F.

Transfer the salmon and plank to a platter and serve right off the plank with Vino Con Brio's Estate Pinotage.

Lamb Curry

But over at Stuffed and Plastered, Rach thinks Pinotage is ideal with her Lamb Curry which she says “does not taste like a true Indian curry, more of a Mongolian one with subtle spices and less afterkick.”

She finds Cabernet Sauvignon “makes the wine taste sour” and Rioja/Tempranillo is “too heavy a grape and loses the rich flavour and aromas of the food”.

Rach says Stellenbosch Pinotage makes the best match, and she recommends Kleine Zalze and Beyersksloof Pinotage.

Meerendal Releases Single Vineyard Heritage Block Pinotage

A world class meal demands a world class wine and at Meerendal Estate (pictured left) I enjoyed both.

Meerendal have taken opportunity of the recent change in South Africa’s Wine Of Origin system to register production from single vineyard block. This block, officially identified as number 2D and named The Heritage Block, was planted with Pinotage in 1955, making them the oldest Pinotage vines in the Durbanville area and – by my reckoning – the third oldest in the world.

I mentioned earlier that visiting Meerendal to taste this wine would be a must during my time in the Cape.I had the extreme good fortune to meet David Higgs, Meerendal’s General Manager/Executive Chef (pictured right) at Beyerskloof and he immediately invited me to lunch to taste the wine at Meerendal.

Meerendal is easy to find – take the R302 exit north from the N1 , and after passing through Durbanville take the left fork onto the M48 and you cannot miss Meerendal on the right. The Estate changed hands a few years ago, and the new owners have great plans – the release of a single vineyard Pinotage is the result of one and there are new building works underway.

There is a buzzy Bistro with great views from its deck and a deli stocking produce made on the farm, a function room and a chapel whichjis a favourite spot for weddings. And the old manor house (pictured above) houses the sophisticated Wheatfields restaurant.

The last of the Pinotage was being harvested although Heritage Block was already in tank undergoing malolactic fermentation. Meerendal do their alcoholic fermentation in kuipes - traditional open tanks. Each of the 20 tanks can hold 5 tons, so Meerendal can handle 100 tons of grapes at a time.

Winemaker Liza Goodwin told me that the 2005 vintage was the first where the grapes from the Heritage Block had been handled separately. “Everything is done by hand,”she told me, “from picking through to labeling the bottles.” She pointed at a small team of workers carefully placing the heavy paper engraved labels on the bottles - which have been imported especially. They weigh 1 kg and have a very deep punt. The 2006 vintage is in barrel. Lisa poured a taste in my glass. It had a good structure, subtle mulberry flavours of great depth and a long finish, on which wooding was apparent. “It has been in barrel 15 months and I expect to be bottling it next month,” said Lisa.



In Wheatfields restuarant I chose Oven roasted Springbok, with sweet potato and honey rolled in crispy filo pastry on a bed of shredded mangetout which had been flash fried with some pancetta and homemade smoked chili, on rosemary gravy (pictured right) This dish was exceptional, with the mangetout outstanding being so crispy. One of the best meals I have eaten, and priced at just 90R.

With it we tasted Meerendal Pinotage 2003. This had a ripe fruity nose and although not overt there were rich silky berry flavours and an underlying sweet mouthfeel. A classy wine.

The single vineyard Heritage Block Pinotage 2005 was opened. "It was just bottled in December 06," Dave Higgs told me. There was a bright nose, it was exciting and youthful and a little perky, with dense mulberry and grip on the finish. We agreed it needed more bottle age. Having seen how well the 2003 has fared, I'd wouldn't open this wine till 2010 at the earliest.

I found it difficult to choose just one dish from the menu of this excellent menu, but it is hard to image a meal more enjoyable than my roast springbok with its 'salad of pancetta, mangetout, and smoked chili'. Executive Chef Dave Higgs, Head Chef Stephen Fraser and their team (they are training local youngsters in their kitchens) are cooking up a wow.

New York’s FOOD & WINE magazine (May 2006 issue) named Wheatfields in their List Of Hottest Restaurants In The World, one of just seven restaurants in the Cape. I have no doubt Dave and Stephen will go far in their profession and we wil be hearing much more of them in the future.

And as for The Heritage Block Pinotage: only 300 cases were made of this special initial 2005 vintage, so don't delay in in laying down some down. You'll be thanking me in 2010.

Oh Dear, Auberge!

Increasingly wineries are opening restaurants ( see Red Leaf and Green Pinotage ) but how about a restaurant with its own vineyard?

I have long been keen to visit L’Auberge du Paysan because it owns the small vineyards growing on three sides of its attractive old Cape Dutch building. Pinotage bush vines produce the house wine for the restaurant, and it is the only place where one can get the wine.

But, sad to say, although just a few paces separate the vineyard from restaurant, the wine does not travel. But it is not a question of distance in metres but in years. Because the wine being served in 2007 is from the 2000 vintage and frankly, it is way too old. It has a stinky volatile nose, and although the wine doesn’t taste quite as poor, it is thin and lacking in fruit or life. The problem is the wine is oxidised; I returned the following day and tasted another bottle which was the same. The corks used are twin-tops which are designed for wines for early use not for being aged this long. The policy of the restaurant – they told me – is to wait until they have sold their entire stock of 2000 before bringing out the next vintage.

Somewhere there are store rooms full of later vintages. The 2007 Platter guide rated the 2004 L’Auberge du Paysan Pinotage as 3.5 stars and said the 2005 has “lively strawberry fruits and savoury overtones”, and the 2006 is currently being bottled. But when these wines will be available in the restaurant I can’t guess, because I can’t see anyone ordering the 2000 vintage a second time.


The French accented food is tasty and well presented, and the service is competent. But no wine represents a restaurant more than its house wine, and when it is not only has the restaurant’s name on the label but its own home grown wine inside the bottles it should not disappoint. I do not understand why their entire vintage range is not available. Why not let diners have the choice of young and old and the opportunity to buy a couple of bottles for comparison.



Oh, and please get some decent wine glasses - cheap thick Paris goblets are just not good enough for a restaurant of this calibre.

Tell me about Pinotage

That's the question posed by a reader of the Monterey Herald. The answer, from George Edwards (owner and operator of WineMarket wine store) is:

"This is a red wine associated almost exclusively with South Africa, where, in 1925, Cinsault, a simple red grape of the Rhone Valley of France, was crossed with Pinot Noir to create Pinotage. Generally speaking, it is a rather simple and rustic red but I have also sampled wines that show more of the Pinot round texture and, in fact, my first experience back in the early 1990s was with Kanonkop, which paired up pretty well with swordfish, of all things.

More recently I found enough textural finesse in the Golden Kahn bottling, which got along just fine with pork. I've probably been exposed to less than a dozen takes on Pinotage but clearly my favorite to date, one that delivers more depth and flesh and makes a delicious blueberry and sweet oak statement, is the Simonsig Stellenbosch Red Hill 2003 ($28)."

I'd agree with him on Simonsig Redhill, and also Pinotage matching well with swordfish. I recall myself how well Wamakersvallei 'La Cave' worked with fish in Stellenbosch's Fish Market restaurant.

As for Golden Kaan -- this is a succesful brand co-owned by KWV and a German company designed for the German market. And I have to say that I don't recall if I have ever tasted it :)

Read George's full article here .

Diemersfontein Pinotage -- now it's the other way round!!

Every one who tastes Diemersfontein's Pinotage remarks on its incredible dense coffee and chocolate flavours. Of course, there isn't really any coffee or chocolate in the wine but it sure tastes like it.

Now Diemersfontein have taken the concept and turned it around. They have just launched dark Belgian Chocolates with a coffee and Pinotage truffle filling. They are delicious!!

And even better with a glass of Pinotage!