October 2014
Superb wines at Franschhoek Uncorked
Venue
adverts inside
Aan de Doorns
vier 60 jaar Fine dining at
Grande Roche
Superb wines at Franschhoek Uncorked Get into the swing of spring and sample superb wines at this year’s Franschhoek Uncorked Festival, over the weekend of 27 and 28 September. Wineries in and around the Valley will be pulling out the stops showcasing their finest newrelease wines. This year 21 wineries will be participating and will include newcomers Babylonstoren and Topiary Wines. Don’t miss out on the wine specials either, valid for the weekend only. This year all wineries will be offering a “buy five, get the sixth bottle free” special, on selected wines. The perfect excuse to stock up on your wine collection as you travel from farm to farm. Choose to stop and sample wines or take in the entertainment and activities on offer at some of the farms. Get your Uncorked Weekend Pass, at a cost of R120 per person. Prebookings
through www.webtickets.co.za, or par ticipating wine farms on the day. Collec tion points for prebought tickets are as follows: • Allèe Bleue • Anthonij Rupert Wyne • Babylonstoren • Franschhoek Wine Valley Tourism Offices • Haute Cabriere • Lynx Wines • Noble Hill • Vrede & Lust Your pass includes a tasting glass and free wine tastings at these wineries for the duration of the weekend. For more info contact the Franschhoek Wine Valley offices on 021 876 2861 or visit www.franschhoekuncorked. co.za for further details and a list of par ticipating farms. For regular updates follow us on Twit ter @Franschhoek_SA.
Scrumptious dishes at Grande Roche * Asianflavoured Glass Noodle Salad panfried prawn & line fish, mari nated alfalfa sprouts & coriander mayonnaise V MAIN COURSES * Panfried Kingklip Medal lion red confit peppersaffron risotto & garlicflavoured Patagonia squid * Classic Wiener Schnitzel butterglazed parsley potatoes, cranberry ragoût & side salad * Dry Aged Sirlion green bean bacon cassoulet, pota to flan & sauce béarnaise * Ovenroasted Duck Breast vegetable jus lentils, potato mousseline & thyme jus * Classic Penne Al’Arrabiata sundried olives & fresh garden basil V DESSERTS * Pina Colada Créme Brûlée marinated pineapplepink peppercorn salad & pineapple sorbet * Honeynut Nougat Parfaît rose water sparkling sorbet & honeyroasted muesli * Interpretation of Lemon Meringue orange cashew nut salad & yoghurt sorbet * Local & International Cheese Board Panfried kingklip. PHOTO: FRANCOIS homemade fruit bread & SWANEPOEL PHOTOGRAPHY apple butter
The Grande Roche Hotel is celebrating the final months of their winter Bistro lunch menu this September and Octo ber. Prepared by Michelintrained chefs, guests can expect classic inter national cuisine with imagination and innovation. Although enjoying typical Allegro dishes, guests will be served in the Bosman’s restaurant or on a beautiful sunny day they can choose to dine on the Terrace. A wide selec tion of wines, to compliment the dish es, are also available. V STARTERS * Thin Slices of Seared Yel lowtail spring roll, avocado crème & mar inated Chinese cabbage * Duo of Chalmar Beef Fillet baked quail egg, herb mayon naise & parmesan shavings * Spiced Butternut Soup yellowtail spring roll & coriander cress
The group of wood cutters who each received a chainsaw and safety gear for enterprise devel opment purposes. The handover took place last week at Slang hoek Cellar. PHOTO: MATTHEW SHELDON
BET empowers local entrepreneurs MATTHEW SHELDON The Breedekloof Empowerment Trust (BET) recently gave 13 wood cutters the opportunity to create their own small business ventures by providing each of them with a chain saw. The BET is an initiative of Breedekloof Wine and Tourism, a notforprofit com pany, which has been established to the benefit of previously disadvantaged black persons living in Rawsonville, Goudini, Breede River and Slanghoek. During the handover ceremony at Slanghoek Cellar in the Slanghoek Valley, each wood cutter also received safety gear, which includes a specially designed
pair of pants, helmet and gloves. Melody Botha, CEO of Breedekloof Wine and Tourism, said the aim of the trust is for cellars from the area and other busi nesses to pay their Black Economic Em powerment (BEE) and Social Economic Development (SED) contributions into the trust. In this way, the money can be gener ated to support local projects in the area. “This is the first project that we have launched under the BET, whereby the wood cutters were donated with chain saws for enterprise development. “All the wood cutters received training from professionals before they were sent home with their equipment. They were al so informed about all the safety tips and measures to take before cutting wood with the chain saw,” said Botha. She added
that each chain saw costs roughly R8 000. Frederik Syster (39), a farm worker and entrepreneur, told the Standard that he is thankful for the donation and is deter mined to use the equipment to further his ambition of establishing a small business. He expressed his gratitude towards the trust and challenged them to continue to inspire and help other disadvantaged people in the area. “I am a fulltime farm worker, but after hours I go into the fields and cut down black wattle trees into wood pieces and sell them to make extra money. It was diffi cult to do this before, because I never had my own equipment and had to borrow ev ery time. Now I can focus on my business and hopefully become my own boss,” said Syster.
Aan de Doorns kyk terug op 60 suksesvolle jare Aan de Doorns Wynkelder, een van Worcester Wyn- en Olyfroete se oudste en bekendste produsentkelders, vier vanjaar sy 60ste bestaansjaar. Dié groot mylpaal is op 20 September gevier met ’n geselligheid by die kelder vir lede, personeel en ander belanghebbendes. Dit was ’n geleentheid om met trots te reflekteer op ’n geskiedenis van vooruitgang en ook ’n glasie te klink op ’n blink toekoms. Een van die spesiale gaste van die aand was Arno Hugo snr, ’n stigterslid van die kelder 60 jaar gelede. Die gewese hoofwynaankoper van Distell, Diaan de Villiers, was die gasspreker van die aand. Hoewel Aan de Doorns Wynkelder amptelik op 17 Oktober 1954 gestig is, is die keldergebou eers die volgende jaar gebou op grond wat deur Japie Naudé geskenk is, waarna die eerste oes in 1956 verwerk is. Die eerste oes het 4 700 ton druiwe opgelewer, waarvoor boere destyds ’n winsgewende 9 pond per ton betaal is. In 2014 spog die kelder met ’n opbrengs van ongeveer 30 000 ton, 27 aandeelhouers en meer as 1 500 hektaar wingerd op 29 produsenteplase. Om mededingend te bly in die uitdagende Suid-Afrikaanse wynbedryf, moes die kelder deur die jare op verskeie terreine innoveer. Volgens Johan Lingenfelder, voorsitter van die kelderdireksie, was ’n belangrike stap tot hierdie doel om so vroeg as 1995 geleenthede in die grootmaatwyn-uitvoermark te identifiseer en aan te gryp.
Die kelder het toe reeds oor die kwaliteit en volumes beskik om ’n volhoubare aandeel in hierdie belangrike mark te vestig, waarop vandag steeds voortgebou word. Die tendens is dat die kelder nog meer gaan groei deur middel van strategiese kelderuitbreidings en wingerdaanplantings om aan te pas by die immer veranderende bedryfsituasie. Hoewel die kelder volgens streng besigheidsbeginsels bestuur word, dui die lang diensrekord van vele personeellede op ’n sterk samehorigheidsgevoel. Hierdie gevoel van familie-wees is geskoei op wedersydse respek en samewerking tussen die personeel op alle vlakke, sê Johan “Dapper” Morkel, slegs die vierde bestuurder in die geskiedenis van Aan de Doorns Wynkelder, en is reeds 21 jaar aan die kelder verbonde. Kwaliteit was nog altyd deurslaggewend tot die sukses van Aan de Doorns, en die toegewyde personeel en produsente sit skouer aan die wiel om te verseker dat die kelder vir nog 60 jaar sy plek in die SuidAfrikaanse wynlandskap volstaan. Een ding is wel seker: om soveel dekades in hierdie strawwe bedryf te oorleef en te gedy, getuig van merkwaardige deursettingsvermoë en standvastigheid. Aan de Doorns Kelder produseer hoë kwaliteit wyne en die trofeë en toekennings deur die jare getuig hiervan. Die mees onlangse toekenning waarmee die kelder met reg kan spog, is ’n Michelangelo International dubbelgoudmedalje vir hul 2014 Sauvignon Blanc!
James Jeffery (direkteur), Hein Ungerer (direkteur), Driaan Griessel (direkteur), Gerdie Hugo (ondervoorsitter) en Johan Morkel (kelderbestuurder/wynmaker). Voor is Johan Lingenfelder (voorsitter), Arno Hugo snr, en Diaan De Villiers, wat die gasspreker was.
Gert van Deventer, wynmaker, saam met sy vrou, Liesel.
Die oudvoorsitter, Andries du Toit, en gasspreker van die aand, Diaan de Villiers, voor heen van Distell.