That Blog

It is not a closely guarded secret that I do enjoy the finer things in life…so, I need to tell you about my most recent discovery- just incase you too have a penchant for these things! 

Anything that has the tag line “eat + drink + enjoy + celebrate” is going to be close to my heart…so when I saw these words in an e-mail a little while ago, I knew I was on to a good thing! Winestyle magazine launched a few months back and the second edition, arrived in my postbox (the actual thing, not my inbox) yesterday. I can’t wait to kick back, relax and read it this weekend…hopefully, whilst sipping a nice glass of wine and enjoying the last bits of summer! (more…)

That Blogger has the interests of her peeps in Cape Town at heart and knows that one of those interests is definitely vino! So…when I saw this little advert pop into my mailbox, I knew it had to be shared with you.

This is a great opportunity to stock up your wine supplies with some amazing wines at AWESOME prices.

Wine from really good wine estates for less than R20 a bottle is not something to sneeze at!!!

That Blogger and friends managed to tear themselves away from the Soccer for an evening and headed off to the Chef’s Warehouse & Cookery School for an evening with the unbelievably talented, award winning Luke Dale-Roberts from La Colombe. May I remind you that La Colombe has just been voted 12th out of the top 50 restaurants in the world by the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards. I think you can safely say that Luke knows his way around the kitchen!!!

I do enjoy cooking and eating A LOT, but have to say that I realised fairly early on in the demonstration that I was probably just there to watch a Master at work rather than pick up any menu ideas for my next dinner party. Food that Luke prepares is an absolute taste sensation, as well as a total visual treat…and I am not sure I have the patience or the time to try and pull that off on my own!! I suspect that it might be INFINITELY less stressful and possibly even cheaper to go and enjoy the meal at La Colombe rather than try and prepare it myself (especially if the Winter Special is on!!) Nevertheless, it was a wonderful evening and on the off chance I ever want to dedicate many hours of my life to preparing something spectacular for friends or family…I do have the recipes!

These were the culinary delights that we were treated to through the evening:

Carpaccio and Seared tartare of Springbok or Venison, Black Pickled Celeriac, Semi Dried Tomatoes, Goat Cheese and Baby Marrow Cannelloni, Basil Mayo, Pine nut and Lemon Thyme Gremolata.

Next up was a Tiger Prawn and Grapefruit Salad with warm Vanilla and Parsnip Puree.

and then to finish off it was the unbelievable medley of desserts…Chocolate Collar filled with Vanilla Creme Catalana and Caramel Foam, Mini Apple Tart Tartin and Salted Caramel Popcorn.

Each course was paired with an amazing wine and so it really was a true epicurean experience. My only complaint about the evening was that the portions were really not very big and so some of the group were still a little peckish by the end of the evening. Other than that, it was incredible…such wonderful food and wine and learning something too!!

Chef’s Warehouse have a few other courses that they will be running and they look awesome. There is the Artisan Baking Course that runs for 6 weeks, then the Imported Wine tasting evening and the Champagne evening. Click on the links to read more about them. These really do sound awesome and I think the wine and champagne evenings would be a great thing to do with a bunch of friends. Book now!!!

That Blogger plus the Touring Party headed off to Robertson this weekend to investigate the legend of the Wacky Wine Weekend.

Whilst there is no denying that there are some awesome wine estates to be visited in the Robertson area, I am not entirely sure that this is the weekend to do a significant amount of farm visiting. A lot of my enjoyment of a wine tasting comes from chatting to the wine maker or at least a knowledgeable staff member about the estate and the wine on offer…this is pretty tough to achieve on the WWW. There are a LOT of people at each farm and it is difficult to talk to the staff about what they are offering for tasting.

Whilst we definitely had a good weekend and much fun was enjoyed with the Touring Party…we may do things a little differently next year.

Firstly, we will do the out-of-town farms on the Saturday. Scrumming against a multitude of drunk students to get a sample of wine is not my idea of fun at a winetasting. Friday and Sunday were really pleasant experiences, but the chaos of Saturday should be avoided by heading to the estates that are a little out of town and less well known.

Secondly, we will stay closer to Robertson. We booked a little late and ended up staying nearer Worcester. A lovely B&B…but you really don’t want to travel 50km home after a wine tasting (even with a designated driver)

Thirdly, we will do more self-catering in the evenings. The (very limited number of) restaurants in Robertson cannot deal with the onslaught of the WWW and are best avoided. Rather cook a great meal at your self-catering spot and then head out for the evening after that…or better still, enjoy some of the fine wine you purchased during the day.

Forthly, Arabella on the Saturday night is HECTIQUE…brace yourself! If you are ready for it and if you are keen for a some chassis shaking, you will keep your wits about you (or at least one member of the group does!!) and a healthy sense of humour and only then a good time will be had by all.

Fifthly, do the responsible thing and assign a DD (designated driver) per day. It makes for a far more enjoyable experience knowing that you have at least one person getting you safely around each day.

Lastly, don’t go with any major expectations other than to have a great time and to enjoy some really fantastic wine!!! With that in mind…you will have a great weekend!

It seems to be Wine Festival time…and I think I may have mentioned before how much I enjoy a wine festival! Last week it was the Agulhas Wine Festival and now another one…WOOHOO!! Awesome! Another weekend away AND a wine festival to boot!

This weekend, That Blogger will be venturing to The Robertson Wacky Wine Weekend. This is my maiden voyage to the WWW and I am really looking forward to it. The festival runs from 03 June to 06 June and promises to be loads of fun. Wonderful wine farms to visit and loads of great activities organised throughout the weekend. Just have a look at this program to see what I mean (Wacky Wine Weekend Program). I have to say that I am PARTICULARLY excited about the appearance of the Wedding DJs at Arabella Wine Estate on Friday night…I do like to “flick a heel” to the awesome sounds of the ’80s and ’90s!

See you in Robertson!

That Blogger and a team of friends, eager to escape Cape Town for the weekend, set off for the Agulhas Wine Festival hosted at The De Hoop Nature Reserve late on Friday afternoon. That Blogger was attempting a whirlwind trip to JHB on Friday morning and due to a dodgy starter motor on the British Airways plane, managed to delay the departure for Agulhas by a healthy amount of time…however, we got onto the road at last and after an easy, uneventful 3 hour drive were greeted by the friendly staff of the De Hoop Collection in the Reception area.

We were shown to our accommodation and given a tour of the house. Wow, what a nice little spot! There were 3 spacious bedrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, new bathrooms and an outside braai area. The ever-patient, Boy in the group whipped up a roaring fire in the fireplace and before we could say “Chardonnay” we were all kicking back and enjoying a glass of wine and relaxing in front of the fire.

On Saturday morning, after a yummy breakfast, we set off to explore the reserve. There really seems to be a good amount of game around and within a few minutes of leaving our house, we had spotted Bontebok, Eland and LOTS of Ostrich! We headed for the beach and to check out Koppie Alleen, the beautiful little cottage that is set right on the beach and nestled in the Fynbos.

Bontebok

The view from the beach was just breath taking…the sea was a beautiful turquoise colour and the beach seemed to stretch on forever and the setting for Koppie Alleen is just magical. I will definitely be returning to De Hoop to stay there!

Koppie Alleen

After all that adventuring, the Team decided it was time to do some wine tasting. We headed back to the main reception and were guided to the hall where the wine tasting was taking place. Some quality time was then spent tasting some of the most wonderful wines from the Agulhas area – including Napier, Elim and Gansbaai. We tasted some incredible wines from the estates Strandveld, First Sighting, Quoin Rock, The Berrio, Jean Daneel, Lamond, Lands End, Black Oystercatcher, Zoetendal and Brunio. What a wonderful treat to have so many awesome estates gathered in one place!!!

Fast forward through a rather disappointing rugby game (for the Stormer’s fans obviously) and it was time to sit down to the specially prepared 6 course dinner in the lovely Fig Tree restaurant. The Chef, Bruce, had carefully prepared a meal that could be paired with wine from the estates showcased at the Festival. What a treat!!

The Team gingerly made it to breakfast back at the Fig Tree restaurant on Sunday morning and whilst the croissants with smoked salmon and scrambled eggs were wolfed down, I noticed that there weren’t too many takers for the bubbly-I suspect that might have something to do with the generous quantities of wine paired with the delicious meals the previous evening!!

The Beach and Sand Dunes

We headed back to the beach after breakfast for a stroll and were lucky enough to spot some Whales in the bay! We were told that in Whale Season, there have been nearly a 100 Whales sighted in the Bay! (We spotted 2…but it is still very early in the season!)

It really was an absolutely wonderfully relaxing weekend, made even more so by the almost non-existant cellphone reception throughout the reserve! Yes, the world did survive without us!

If you are looking for a great weekend away with family or friends, you really should have a look at De Hoop Nature Reserve. There is accommodation to suit all budgets and there really is SO much to do. The De Hoop Collection are also running a winter special of 25% off accommodation in June, July and August

For further information, call the De Hoop Collection on 0861 33 4667 or the Cape Town reservation office directly on 021 405 4587 or email res@dehoopcollection.co.za.

You can also visit the website for more info www.dehoopcollection.co.za

De Hoop Collection

I have to be honest and say that That Blogger LOVES a wine festival! This is why I was very excited to hear about the upcoming Agulhas Wine Festival being held from 28th to 30th May 2010 at the De Hoop Collection in the De Hoop Nature Reserve. The wine festival will showcase some of the award-winning wines from the Agulhas area – including Napier, Elim and nearby Gaansbaai. De Hoop is described as the “Jewel of the Western Cape” and really is such a beautiful setting for this festival and this is a great opportunity to taste some of the most delicate and decadent wines on offer from the area.

Wine estates on offer at the festival include:-

• Black Oystercatcher, Jean Daneel, The Berrio, Zoetendal, Strandveld Wines, First Sighting, Quoin Rock, Lamond, Brunio, Ghost Corner and Lands End

How exciting is that? Those are really some of my favourite wine estates and now they will all be gathered together in spot for tasting!

The festival begins on Friday evening with sundowners and snacks overlooking the De Hoop Vlei, where you can relax and enjoy the tranquil beauty of the surrounding wildlife and fynbos. On Saturday, from 11am to 2pm, the wine tasting starts and just to make the whole event even more decadent, you will be able to sample the freshly prepared canapés on offer. Later, from 6pm-8pm, another wine tasting will be held, followed by a sumptuous dinner at The Fig Tree restaurant, complete with wine pairing. On Sunday morning, the festival will close in style – with a luxurious champagne breakfast at the Fig Tree Restaurant to celebrate the area’s local bubbly.

Whilst the Reserve is open for day visitors, this is a fabulous opportunity to make this a “Weekend away with friends” type of event (Aren’t we always looking for a reason to get out of town?) There are plenty of accommodation options to choose from that suit all budgets. You can choose from the affordable campsite rondavels, an assortment of self-catering cottages and larger houses or the Opstal Manor House (which incl meals catered for at The Fig Tree Restaurant). If you are looking for something really special and more private, there is the beautiful Koppie Alleen set on its own overlooking the bay.

De Hoop Koppie Alleen Cottages

The Reserve is a World Heritage Site and really has so much to do if you are looking to take a break from the wine tasting. You can do some mountain biking, hiking, birding, animal spotting, snorkelling and even some whale watching! You are welcome to leave your vehicle at any time and wander around the reserve.

Black Oyster Catcher

De Hoop Nature Reserve is about 3 hours drive from Cape Town. It is in the Overberg region near the Southern tip of Africa can can be approached from either Bredasdorp or Swellendam. Reserve gates open at 7am and close at 6pm (7pm on Fridays). Late and early arrival can be arranged with Management at a small extra cost.

For further information, call the De Hoop Collection on 0861 33 4667 or the Cape Town reservation office directly on 021 405 4587 or email res@dehoopcollection.co.za.

You can also visit the website for more info www.dehoopcollection.co.za

De Hoop Collection

The awesome “Tourist in your own country” special at Delheim has started. Have you booked your table yet?
Unfortunately, it is only available for lunch…but if you can sneak out of work, take a client to lunch or are lucky enough to be a “Lady who lunches” then get there!!

The special runs until 21 May.

Please make your reservation at Tel: +27 (21) 8884607 or online at restaurant

Conditions apply:

• One starter, one main and one dessert per person
• One booking per group for the week
• SA citizens only – please bring your SA passport or ID
• Offer does not include drinks

The V&A Waterfront Wine Festival is on at the moment.

There really is a pretty extensive list of wine farms exhibiting their wines this year, including some really awesome, lesser known estates. A few of the restaurants from the Waterfront have stalls there, which means that you can snack and quaff!

The Cape Wine Academy will be hosting a Tasting Theatre each evening that can educate you a bit more on the art of wine tasting.

This year, the festival is being held in a marquee on top of the Breakwater Parking Garage . The marquee is a pretty sturdy glass one and I am told they have installed heaters, so don’t let this vile weather put you off!

The festival runs until Friday 7 May from 17h00 – 21h00.

Cost: R90 Tuesday to Thursday and R110 on Friday evening

Parking: Secure, underground parking is available throughout the V&A Waterfront. Although, the closest garages are the Granger Bay Parking Garage or Breakwater Parking Garage.