Top food and wine matching experiences in the Cape Winelands

So sophisticated is the South African food and drink scene now that you can expect to find suggested wine pairings at practically every restaurant you go to but some wine farms have made even more of a feature of their skill at combining the two - a fun way of learning the art of matching food and wine.

I visited three during my recent visit, the most ambitious of which was at Creation in Hemel-en-Aarde whose owner Carolyn Martin has taken a keen interest in food and wine matching since the winery was opened in 2007. For a very reasonable R125 (£8.92) per person you can order a selection of ‘wine pairing canapés‘ to sit and nibble in their light, airy tasting room. (There’s also a vegetarian version).

The pairings are spot on, not only showing off the food but flattering the wines (by no means as common as you’d think) making the long drive up a dirt track to the winery well worthwhile (don’t worry, you will get there!).

Highlights for me were an aubergine and goats’ cheese cannelloni with the Creation Sauvignon Blanc (goats cheese and Sauvignon is a well-established pairing but the aubergine really made the flavours of the wine sing), Viognier with a chicken laksa-flavoured bite, wild mushrooms on polenta with the Creation Pinot Noir (always a reliable match) and - less expected - a chorizo empanadita with the Syrah. All delicious and really imaginative. They also offer a 'surprise' 4 course wine pairing for R180 (£12.89).

At La Motte in Franschhoek the Wine and Food Tasting Experience is just one of a number of experiences you can enjoy including an organic walk, historical walk and visit to the permanent Pierneef exhbition. (Pierneef was one of South Africa’s most celebrated artists.)

What I liked about this tasting, which just took top prize in the 2013 Drinks International Wine Tourism awards, was that it went into that the basic principles of food and wine pairing - what the main taste sensations are (sweetness, acidity, salt, bitterness and umami) and how different areas of the tongue can pick them up.

The thinking behind each of the pairings is also really well explained - for example that the acidity of tomatoes works with the acidity in Sauvignon Blanc and that the big tannins of Cabernet need fat to smooth them out.

Again the food is high quality - from the restaurant kitchen - giving you a good sense of what it would be like to pair the wines with dishes at home. You need to book ahead if you want to do the pairing which takes place on Fridays and costs R120 (£8.59)

Other wineries focus on one particular food. For example the innovative new Spice Route visitor centre in Paarl has a wine and chocolate pairing which features the artisanal De Villiers chocolate which is also made on the farm.

They’re really quite bold about this, pairing chocolate with dry white wines rather than sweet. (I didn’t expect it to work but the ripe gooseberry and tropical fruit flavours of the Spice Route Darling Sauvignon Blanc went surprisingly well with the citrus and raisin flavours of a 70% Madagascar chocolate bar. And the rich, brambly Mourvèdre was great with the berry flavours or a Venezuelan Caracas. I haven't always been convinced about this but plain dark chocolate and red wine really can hit it off. You can also attend a chocolate tasting in the Manor Farm building where they make the chocolate.

Spice Route’s neighbouring property Fairview, also owned by the enterprising Charles Back, offers a food and wine tasting too - in this instance with cheese from their famous herd of goats*. We ran out of time to visit it this time but you could easily take in both farms in a day.

You can also do a chocolate and wine tasting around the lovely Tuscan-style courtyard at Waterford in Stellenbosch. I’ll be adding more food and wine tasting experiences as I discover them.

*They also offer a Junior Cheese Masters experience which shows kids how to make cheese

Possibly the best truffle dinner ever

Did I want to go on a truffle trip to Spain at the end of January? Balmy Barbados seemed like a better option but since that wasn’t on the cards and the enquiry came from an old friend I said yes. The 2 day visit - the annual Viñas del Vero ‘Days of Wine and Truffles’ in Somontano would include an outdoor picnic in the foothills of the Pyrenees (eek), a truffle hunt and - the clincher - a multi-course truffle menu by one of the region’s most talented chefs followed by a gastronomic brunch. “Bring the Gaviscon”. my friend sagely advised.

I’ll be writing about the truffle hunting in due course so let’s concentrate on the dinner at Bodega Blecua which was the best truffle experience I’ve ever had. It kicked off in style with a selection of truffle-flavoured canaps including truffle flavoured macarons, parcels of truffle threads in lambs skein (sic), tartlets of pigs trotters and truffles (awesome) and best of all, truffle flavoured truffles of the satiny consistency of the best chocolate truffles. These were served with Tio Pepe (also owned by Viñas del Vero’s owner Gonzalez Byass) and V de V’s fragrant Gewürztraminer which I’m not sure I didn’t marginally prefer, to my surprise. (The 2009 is currently on offer at £6.49 at Majestic)

The first proper course was a glassful of truffles served with a hot broth which transformed it into truffle consommé followed by ‘Royal de Trufa with egg yolks and passion’. Fortunately this turned out not to be passion fruit as I had feared but a sumptous blend of truffles and pork fat of the consistency of creamy mash, scattered with yet more truffles. (I hadn’t thought of the combination of pork fat and truffles before but it’s a winner, let me tell you). With that we drank the 2010 Viñas del Vero Clarion, a rich, structured white about whose components they were curiously reticent but which seems to be Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer and Chenin Blanc.

That was followed by one of my favourite dishes of the meal, cardoons with oysters and almond sauce topped with a truffle shaving. Again a really imaginative and delicious combination of ingredients. This was served with a 2008 Clarion in magnum which suited the dish better than the younger fruitier vintage would have done.

They then brought on a potato ‘mushroom’ with ceps, a mound of fluffy truffle-infused mash moulded into a ... well, not a mushroom, more like a potato but fantastic anyway and a good match with the Blecua 2004 served in magnum.

Blecua is the flagship wine of Viñas del Vero - a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Garnacha, and Tempranillo from seven different parcels and possibly one of the best wines you've never heard of. It has more warmth and generosity than many Bordeaux and more finesse and complexity than most Spanish reds. The '04 also went perfectly with the next course, a truffle infused risotto topped with an outrageous amount of truffles.

By this stage even I was almost truffled out but just about found room for a mouthful or two of veal shanks with truffle sauce and chestnut purée (particularly good with the richer, more complex Blecua 2005) and some local truffled cheese.

And I didn’t make much impact on either of the two interesting desserts - a semi-frozen cylinder of something faintly ice creamy with amaretti crumbs and ‘snow truffles’ on muscovado cream, a truffle-inspired but, to some relief, not truffle-flavoured finale.

The general conclusion? That truffle dinners could be a lot more inventive than they generally are, that Spanish cuisine, dare I say it, has a lot to teach the French and that truffles can take younger, fruitier wines than you might imagine. Quite an experience.

The event I went to was a private one but If you want to sample chef Carmelo Bosque’s cooking go to his restaurant La Taberna de Lillas Pastia it’s in Huesca. It specialises in truffles and has a Michelin star. Tel: +34 974 211 691.

I attended the dinner as a guest of Gonzalez Byass.

 

10 Australian Shiraz - and Shiraz blends - that might surprise you

Although there’s still plenty of the rich, lush style of Shiraz we’ve come to associate with Australia there’s more than one style as I discovered on my recent trip. If you like more restrained, even funky syrahs, Australian producers can deliver. Unsurprisingly many of them are organic or biodynamic and made with a minimum of sulphur. Most are from cooler vineyards. Take your pick . . .

Battle of Bosworth Puritan Shiraz 2011 (on UK shelves from March/April. about $20-22 in Australia)
If you’re going to the Bibendum tasting this week you’ll be able to taste this electric young syrah from Joch Bosworth’s (right) organically run vineyard. No oak, no sulphur, designed for early drinking. "We wanted to make a fresh, vibrant Spanish ‘Joven’ style of Shiraz ready for opening and enjoying immediately" he explains. He has.

Bobar Syrah 2009, Yarra Valley. Excel Wines has the 2010 at £120.20 for 6 bottles. £20.25 St. Clair & Galloway Fine Wines, Bognor Regis. £24.99 The Smiling Grape, £28.50 Green & Blue. Australian suppliers are on to the 2011 vintage.
More in the funky natural wine vein this won’t be to everyone’s taste and I suspect will be more susceptible than most to the day on which it’s tasted and the conditions under which it’s been stored and transported. I tasted it at a dinner at the Healesville hotel and it was delicious with a really fresh, mineral, spicy character. Unfined and unfiltered. The current 2011 vintage is only 12.5%

Castagna Adams Rib 2008 Nebbiolo/Shiraz, Beechworth £23.50 St. Clair & Galloway Fine Wines, Caves de Pyrène
I mentioned Julian Castagna’s Genesis Syrah in my Guardian article because that’s the wine that’s most widely available but I also loved this perfumed, supple Nebbiolo blend with its lovely bitter twist - the perfect wine for drinking with Italian-style grills and roasts. There's also a cracking Syrah/Sangiovese called Un Segreto at same price as the Syrah ($75 in Australia)

Clonakilla Hilltops Syrah 2009, Canberra NSW. £14.99 West Mount Wine £18.50 Fortnum & Mason slurp.co.uk has the 2010 at £16.95, $25 in Australia
Not a producer I visited but one of the best examples of new wave Aussie shiraz that you can find on the shelves at a reasonable price though it no longer seems to be available from Waitrose. More in the classic lush style but with real finesse.

Eastern Peake Walsh Block Syrah 2008, Victoria N/A in UK, $35 in Oz
I tasted this at the end of a long wine bar crawl with Max Allen at Gerard’s wine bar in Melbourne so can’t vouch for the accuracy of my tasting notes but remember finding it wonderfully fragrant, spicy and smoky. And delicious with fresh mozzarella and smoked tomatoes.

Jamsheed La Syrah 2010 N/A in UK, $20 in Australia
A bright, breezy young syrah sourced from 4 different vineyards in the Yarra Valley. 50% new oak, unfiltered, unfined “my take on Crozes - a good young quaffing syrah” says winemaker Gary Mills who worked for 2 years for Ridge in California. “A lot of the time we used to mimic South Australian shiraz. The best now comes off cooler sites.”

Ngeringa J.E.Syrah 2009* imported by Caves de Pyrène. £17.25 www.scc-finewines.co.ukaround £106.60 a case of 6 from Excel Wines, around $25 in Australia
Another bright syrah - or ‘bright and chirpy’ as Erinn Klein (right) from this biodynamic producer in the Adelaide Hills puts it. They compare the fruit to Schwetchen plums - I thought the predominant note was black cherry with a good kick of spice. Either way it’s delicious - as is the more expensive Ngeringa Syrah (about £35 here, $50-60 in Australia)
* pronounced neringa

Paxton Quandong Farm Shiraz 2009 McLaren Vale £18.90 Fareham Wine Cellar, £19.99 Cadman Fine Wines, £20.45 Noel Young Wines, £22.95 Jeroboams
I mentioned Paxton’s AAA shiraz/grenache in my Guardian column this week but I really like this scented, floral, almost violetty shiraz too which comes from a single biodynamically farmed vineyard. Shows McLaren Vale fruit can have finesse as well as weight.

Ruggabellus Archaeus 2009, Barossa N/A in UK, 40AD
One of three blends of grenache mataro and shiraz from Eden Valley which were released to rave reviews and sold out within six weeks. A fascinating insight into what young producers in the Barossa are doing - aromatic, spicy and peppery. “We use no new oak and pick early looking for vitality, crunch and intrigue” says winemaker Abel Gibson.

The Yard Riversdale Shiraz 2010 Frankland River, Larry Cherubino. N/A in UK, around $35 in Australia from March
If you want to get an idea of what Western Australia’s Frankland River is capable of look out for this sensuously soft, natural tasting shiraz with a lovely structure that Cherubino suggests drinking with duck, French-style roast lamb or spiced meatballs with rosemary. The secret? "We don’t make shiraz outside the Great Southern - Margaret River is too maritime for shiraz" he claims.

You might also be interested in two other wines I mentioned in my column, First Drop's Mother's Milk Shiraz 2009 (£14.99, The Secret Cellar, Tunbridge Wells; £15.03, The Sampler, London SW7; £15.99, Cambridge Wine Merchants) and Picardy Shiraz (£22, auswineonline.co.uk)

Pairing cheese and claret

I’ve always had a bit of a problem finding cheese matches for red Bordeaux. Cheddar is often suggested but I find mature versions have too much ‘bite’. Stilton slays it and so do most washed rind cheeses, oozy Camemberts and Bries . . .

The most successful match I’ve found so far is Mimolette so maybe it was auto-suggestion at work when I tasted a deep orange Red Leicester at The Fine Cheese Co’s Cheese Fair in Bath at the weekend and immediately thought of red Bordeaux.

It was the Sparkenhoe Red Leicester from David and Jo Clarke of the Leicestershire Handmade Cheese Co. a revival of an old recipe and a lovely mellow, typically English cheese. Extraordinarily it hasn’t actually been made in Leicestershire for 20 years and for even longer - over 50 years - on a farm in the county.

It has more flavour than milder cheeses like Caerphilly and Wensleydale which are better suited to a white wine in my opinion but lacks the intensity of a farmhouse cheddar which can sometimes throw a medium to full-bodied red. I tried it with a bottle of André Lurton’s 2004 Chateau La Louvire Pessac-Lognan from Bibendum, a mature Bordeaux of exactly the sort you might bring out with the cheese over Christmas and it was perfect.

Coincidentally I tried another aged Bordeaux (a 1999 Chateau Tour du Haut-Moulin which was drinking quite beautifully) with cheese the following day and found that although it was again overpowered by a ripe Brie it went really well with a Vacherin Mont d’Or, a combination I’d never have expected. I think it was probably because the cheese wasn’t that mature and the wine was. The problem with reds and cheese is mainly about unintegrated tannins. Older vintages seem to survive better.

• You can buy Sparkenhoe from The Fine Cheese Company and other stockists listed here.

Photo by Ray Piedra