September - December 2014
Issue 10
W
ith Spring upon us, and glorious Summer just around the corner, many of us are celebrating the end of a fairly wet and cold winter. The frequent cold fronts nearing the end of last month laid a wet foundation for the annual flower celebrations and also kept us indoors around the hearth sipping glasses of red wine.
In this issue we tell you a bit about the Cape Columbine lighthouse and its history. We take a look at local wine label, Ormonde, and explain their love and passion for the grape. Speaking of cold fronts and storms, a new local band, Klassik, is rocking up a storm. Their debut album, Weekend Warrior, is due for release soon so keep an eye out for that. Some great recipes to try and some great wines to drink, some good music to listen to, beautiful flowers to see. A proverbial feast for the senses. What more could you want? Life is good. Enjoy. Dodds and Caera
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what’s up! magazine wishes all our readers a happy flower season. Be safe.
what’s up! Wine & Dine
Simply delicious Starter Asparagus with lemon pepper mayo
Main Pan fried sirloin with truffled mushroom sauce
by Innes Linder
Starter Asparagus with lemon pepper mayo: (serves 2) Ingredients: 1 Pack of Woolworths fresh asparagus 1 Tbs of Butter 1 Tbs cooking oil Simply heat a pan and add butter and oil. As soon as the butter is melted, add the asparagus and cook until bright green in colour. The asparagus should still have a good crunch when you bite into it. Lemon Pepper Mayo: Ingredients: 2 Tbs of your favourite mayonnaise 1 Tsp of Lemon juice A grind of fresh black pepper Main Pan fried sirloin with truffled mushroom sauce: Ingredients: 2 x 250g Beef Sirlion 1 Tbs salt 1 Tbs Sugar 1 Tbs Garlic powder 1 Tbs Cooking oil 1 Tbs Freshly ground black pepper Mix the sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder with the oil to make a paste and rub on the steaks until evenly covered. Caution: Cook your steak after preparing your side dishes! Heat a grill pan or frying pan (your choice) and your steak and cook to your preference. Very imprortant: Let you steak rest for at least 5 mins after cooking. This allows for the meat to relax and be more evenly cooked. Truffeled Mushroom sauce Ingredients: A cup of chopped Button mushrooms 250ml cream 1 Tbs maizena dissolved in 100 ml cold milk 1 small onion chopped A few drops of Truffle infused oil (available at Woolworths) Salt and Pepper to taste Sautee your onions in a small pot in some cooking oil and add your mushrooms. As soon as the mushrooms start changing colour add the cream and maizena mixture and bring to boil. Start seasoning your sauce with salt and pepper when it starts to thicken. Caution: only add a few drops of truffle oil when you serve your steak. The oil is very intense yet delicate. If you add it too soon your might risk losing some flavour. Serve the steak and sauce with roasted seasonal vegetables
www.whatsupwestcoast.co.za
Wine description: Nose: An intense bouquet of herbs, pepper and dark berries Palate: Soft, velvety tannins complemented by herbaceous undertones, spiciness and opulent dark berry fruit.
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“A wine by any other name, would still taste as sweet.”
Ormonde’s love affair with
Sauvignon Blanc
A hands on, hands off approach yields great wines.
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vineyard that can see the sea, is a good vineyard", is a well-known saying in the Cape wine industry. This proves true in view of the outstanding varietal character that are obtained in such vineyards, especially in the case of terroir sensitive cultivars such as Sauvignon blanc, Sémillon, Shiraz and Pinot noir. Cultivars that sit comfortably within the Ormonde three tier-collection of wines in the Darling appellation. Sauvignon Blanc has become the signature wine of the Darling District (Wine of Origin) as seen in the vast number of awards bestowed upon this single cultivar. It responds favourably to the cool growing environment of the area and the complementing terroir, producing intense herbaceous, fruity, and aromatic wines that remain a favourite among wine drinkers. The Ormonde Private Cellar's appealing tasting facilities and homestead border the perimeters of Darling. In fact, historically the village of Darling developed on the doorsteps, or is it at the farm gate, of the Ormonde farm, previously known as Langfontein, with Mount Pleasant Street running into the farm. The extensive hectares of vineyards spread out from there, rolling up into the hills behind the village along three farms towards the Atlantic Ocean.
Ormonde concentrates its efforts on 4 ranges with Sauvignon blanc leading the way, being the only single cultivar bottled in all four tiers - Alexanderfontein lifestyle range, the vineyard selection range, Chip off the Old Block, the speciality range, Ondine, and the flagship Ormonde range.
The Basson family have, over more than forty years, established themselves as highly regarded grape growers in the Darling region. Current owner Theo Basson built the 1 000-ton cellar in time for winemaker, Michiel du Toit, to produce wine from the best grapes harvested in 2006. Michiel believes in a 'hands on' approach in the vineyard and 'hands off' approach in the winery, which reflects the philosophy of allowing fruit and terroir to be fully expressed in every bottle. The modern gradient design Ormonde cellar is geared at making wine using traditional French techniques, including open fermentation, plunging, racking, barrel ageing and blending. Only oak barrels are used as opposed to wood chips and staves.
Theo Basson honours his father's role in establishing the fi r s t t i e r u n d e r th e O r m o n d e b r a n d . " T h e Alexanderfontein name is a tribute to my father, Nico Basson, a pioneering farmer and visionary. He set about planting Sauvignon blanc (and other) vineyards in 1970 on the Alexanderfontein farm and lay the foundation for what has become the prolific wine producing region it is today." Their first Sauvignon blanc grapes went to SFW (Distell), who used them to establish one of their top Sauvignon blanc labels in the early 1970s. The Sauvignon blanc grapes grown on the Ormonde farms remains sought-after.
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The Cellar
"We pride ourselves on creating wines characteristic of our terrior and pour our passion for creating wines into each and every wine to be enjoyed by wine lovers all over the world.” The three red cultivars in the Chip off the Old Block range now commercially available are Cabernet Sauvignon (2011), Merlot (2011) and Shiraz (2012). The Chip off the Old Block refers firstly to a specific block or vineyard earmarked for this range of wines. Secondly, it speaks of the father's pioneering spirit passed on to the current owner. The Speciality Range: Ondine Why Ondine? Ondine was a nymph, a water goddess in the German folk tale written by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. It tells of a tragic and tender love story that has been made into an opera, a movie and ballet (Undine) especially written for Dame Margot Fonteyn by Sir Frederick Ashton. Ondine was breathtakingly beautiful and possessed of a streak of independence - a 'free spirit'.
The Vineyard Selection Range: Chip off the Old Block he vineyard selected Chip off the Old Block wines, with its first vintage in 2012, were an instant hit with customers, offering outstanding value. Here too, Sauvignon blanc leads the way, as is so often the case. The "Chip" Sauvignon blanc has raked in a number of awards, among others: an international Gold Decanter 2014 award, Top10 FNB 2013, Gold Veritas 2012 as well as numerous star accolades in the annual Platter Wine Guide. The 2011 vintage was also rated 'Good value' in the 2012 edition.
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Such is the characteristics of the wines in the middle-tier speciality range bearing the name Ondine. This niche cultivar range consists of four elegant yet invigorating white wines and four red wines. Free spirited and refreshing. The white cultivars include Chenin blanc, Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay and Semillon. Merlot, Pinot noir, Cabernet Franc and Malbec make up the red consignment. Sauvignon Blanc 2011 & 2013 The Ondine Sauvignon blanc (2011) offers asparagus, ripe fig and gooseberry on the nose. Delicate in style, the wine boasts both balance and complexity. This wine is characterised by undertones of fig and green pepper, minerality, crisp acidity and a voluptuous finish. The 2010 Ondine Sauvignon blanc was a recipient of a Gold medal at the 2012 Veritas Awards, the 2013 received a welldeserved Silver Decanter as well as an Old Mutual award. cont. overleaf...
Our Sauvignon blanc in our lifestyle range (Alexanderfontein) has also received Double Gold Veritas awards twice in the past few years. "We pride ourselves on creating wines characteristic of our terrior and pour our passion for creating wines into each and every wine to be enjoyed by wine lovers all over the world."
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what’s up! Advertorial "We set out to produce a wine which offers more focus on the structure of the palate.” Ormonde- unbeaten thoroughbred with great pedigree
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he name Ormonde sprung from a magnificent horse known as the finest racehorse of the 19th century. This British thoroughbred, a beneficiary of a great pedigree that included two excellent winning parents, was unbeaten as a race horse.
It is believed that Langfontein, the family farm from where Ormonde conducts its daily business, was home to a foal sired by the thoroughbred that was equally magnificent. An apt christening therefore, of the award-winning barrel selected flagship brand. Ormonde's love affair with Sauvignon blanc continues in their flagship range. The principle behind the flagship wine is simple. Each year it has to represent the finest wines from the best grapes selected. The vineyard block selection may alter slightly with each vintage, but the philosophy behind the wines never changes. Theo Basson, proprietor
Sauvignon blanc harvested for the flagship range is very aromatic, due to the uniqueness and the location of the terroir. "We set out to produce a wine which offers more focus on the structure of the palate. Though challenging, this wine offers a new dimension of length and concentration on the palate," says Theo. The ultra-modern Cellar compares favourably with the world's best gradient designed cellars. The picking bins allow for soft handling of the grapes that are gravitation fed into the system. With advanced international cellar technology and state of the art equipment it combines with traditional techniques like open fermentation - cold soak - and barrel fermentation - techniques that ensure that quality commitment is guaranteed.
Michiel du Toit, Winemaker and Cellar Master
“A vineyard that can see the sea is a good vineyard.”
The vineyards 10
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Did you know? The uniqueness of the Darling Hills terroir is undisputed. Pockets of eroded granite type soils are selected as close as five kilometres from the cold Atlantic Ocean, at altitudes between one hundred and fifty and three hundred meters above sea level. The soil composition varies between deep homogeneous soils, rich in iron and organic matter and harsh glenrosa forms, derived from the granite. These deep soils provide the ideal cradle for our vines. Ormonde keeps viticulture practices simple and with continuous consultation, training and evaluation exercises involving all levels of the workforce, maintains its pursuit of quality every day of the year. Lt Governor Charles Henry Darling established Langfontein Farm in 1853. In 1915 Mrs Suzanne Malan, wife of the local minister, and Mr Frederick Duckitt of Waylands founded the Darling Wildflower Society and the renowned annual Darling Wildflower Show has been held virtually every year since its inception in 1917. The Basson family roots penetrate deep into the history of Darling. Being of a big family, grandfather Vernon Basson settled on a farm in Philadelphia, a town close to Darling. His son Nico, was an avid animal lover and returned to Darling in 1970 when he bought the Alexanderfontein farm to start a highly acclaimed dairy stud. Apart from visiting us, Darling offers a wide variety of attractions. It is a perfect weekend getaway destination. The Darling tourism website www.darlingtourism.org.za tells of everything Darling, such as Pieter Dirk Uys and Evita se Peron, the Annual Flower show, the Voorkamerfest, and lots more.
Public facilities at the Cellar Tasting and sales: Monday to Friday: 09:00 to 16:00 Saturdays and public holidays: 9:00 to 15:00 Closed: Easter Friday, 25 & 26 December and 1 January Telephone: 022 492 3540: E-mail: info@ormonde.co.za; www.ormonde.co.za
“A Waltz and a glass of wine invite an encore.” Johann Strauss
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Meeurots CafĂŠ & Restaurant Open: Mon - Sat: 10.00am-3pm - light meals, Mon - Sat: 6pm-late - a la carte menu Sun: 12.00 - 8pm - a la carte menu Meeurots Curiosities - small gifts & Yzer novelties Daily specials during the week Bookings & Takeaways: 022 4512 608 14
Summer times: Mon - Sat: 6am - 9pm Sun: 7am - 8pm
022 736 2374
sthelena@sbto.co.za
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