Jonkheer Africa: The Future. Together in Wine.

On Wednesday night we attended the launch for the Samora Biko Limited Edition Shiraz at 15 on Orange in Cape Town. We went with due excitement at the prospect of such a unique partnership steeped in history as well as the opportunity to meet and mingle with wine folks who seriously have no boundaries when it comes to having a good time.

The food was delicious, the speeches meaningful and the unveiled Shiraz, hailing from Bonnievale, was young yet full of potential with a nose of forest berries. It's a wine that will undoubtedly age very well and as part of the Jonkheer Africa range, will hopefully accompanied by other wines in 2013.

The gift bag was a big disappointment though. Comprising of a DVD and a black wrapped bottle, I was excited at the prospect of going home with my very own Shiraz but once home and unwrapped, we found that it was a bottle of Pinotage. The design looked as though it had been created in a hurry with the label stuck on in equal haste.

However, the entertainment was amazeballs with the Black Ties taking us through a range of croon-worthy songs in their smooth, chocolaty vocals. Yes, I did rock it on the dance floor along with Mr Biko and his lovely wife.

Mooiplaas

Every so often, one finds a hidden gem amongst the Winelands and Mr H and I were fortunate to do just that. Hidden down a bumpy gravel road and shielded from the world by oak trees and vines, Mooiplass stands just waiting to be discovered by wine lovers. The tasting room itself dates back 300 years and the trees are perhaps older still. The greeting you get is friendly and warm but the knowledge that our tasting room assistant demonstrated was mind-blowing. I could have stayed there for hours listening to her as she described the types of soil that is used for each grape variety, the pairing suggestions and the history of Mooiplass. The tasting is R10 per person and that includes as many wines as you wish to pair, I'm not joking. That is one of the reasons why I don't remember the lady who helped us *cough* I was a little, teeny weeny, tiny, bit tipsy.

The wines are lovely and the variety is huge. I never realised that most of their wines have won awards, even double golds.

For wine lovers out there, you must try this estate especially as they have a wonderfully meaty and smokey Pinot Noir that screams "Middle Ages" at you as well as a Cabernet Franc that has the aroma and initial taste of chilli peppers!

Bilton wine and chocolate tasting

South Africa is home of amazing wines and food experiences. If you've never had a mouth orgasm then you need to relocate to Cape Town and "get some!". I got some when I headed to Bilton wine estate.
Bilton has not been in my good books. The first time I went there was for their wine and chocolate tasting about a year ago and it was so disappointing that I felt like bottling my vomit and sending it to them. You see, chocolate is difficult to pair with wine because of the sweetness and the tannins which don't match. However, I am a big believer in second chances and so I let my senses be subjected to Bilton's new chocolate tasting course. Boy do I stand corrected!

Chocolats Marionettes (check out the delicious offerings here) is now on the menu and it is possibly the best chocolate you have ever tasted and the wines go perfectly together as if angels pooped them out. The pairings were:

Cabernet Sauvignon and Espresso chocolate
Shiraz and Cape Malay milk chocolate
Merlot and 65% Venezuela chocolate
Sauvignon Blanc and Lime infused white chocolate

I don't want to explain too much about the magic that erupts in your mouth when you combine the chocolate and wine because I need you to go and experience it for yourself and a little bit of mystery is very, oooh, sexy.

Why Women like champagne...

1) Women like to appear classy. In my eyes, and it is only my opinion so don't get bitchy, nothing says dyke alert more than a girl swigging a pint. A real lady wants to give off the appearance of sophistication and champers does just that. Even better if it is Bollinger.
2) Nothing gets you tipsier quicker than bubbly. There is just something about bubbles that gets into your blood stream at a rapid rate which actually makes it a very cost effective tipple. Men take note.
3) Women are prone to like golds and pinks which makes for a gorgeous champagne colour too. It just screams femininity.
4) Red wine can stain the mouth in a very unsightly manner. Champagne does none of that but instead, adds sparkle to your teeth.
5) It's in the movies. No girly party is complete without the fizz. (See the Sex & The City movie etc.)
6) Champagne makes you giggly. Girls love to giggle. In fact, we see it as a cute ploy to get men to notice us. What we don't realise is that sometimes, with bubbly, a giggle can turn into a snort. Even worse, try gracefully sipping your champagne whilst grunting like a pig and see which orifice it comes out of...
7)Women like to talk. In fact, they hardly ever shut up. Champagne is primarily used as an accompaniment to toasts, the boring part of weddings and events in which people can drone on endlessly (see movie Bridesmaids). Therefore, why would women not like a drink that inspires more yadda yadda?
8) Keeping in the vein of speeches and weddings, women often have a malicious streak and get satisfaction from seeing men struggle to drink from a thin narrow flute. As an alcoholic beverage, it is so unmanly that women never need worry about men stealing it from them. Bonus.
9) Women just want to get rat-faced and by doing it on champagne, they defy the laws of alcohol by getting pissed on a drink that really only promises a slight buzz. Congratulations Ladies, you prove to us once again that you don't even need spirits to have a good time.

From the expert opinion of a University graduate....(don't take it too much to heart)

Men, Wine & Sushi

Most of the men in my life are big sushi fans. Brett in particular is addicted to the stuff which I find as repulsive as shoving my face in a steaming cowpat. Nevertheless, I will not stop him from enjoying it and so, a few moons back, he had  his cousin and Wayne over to make their very own Sushi and drink copious amounts of alcohol...wait, that was me doing the drinking.
Having purchased a Sushi making dvd and his very own Sushi knife, Brett was prepared to tackle those salmon roses like a pro...his friends however, were not. What happened was a mess of rice, wasabi and tears, from me laughing too hard.
Wayne's first attempt at making a roll should go in the Sushi hall of shame. Dousing his seaweed with far too much rice, Wayne made for himself a roll the size of an 8year old's leg.

It got better though, and whilst I enjoyed eating pop tarts and drinking Bon Courage Red Muscadel, the boys really did me proud with their creations.

 I however, will never be persuaded to eat Sushi....although, i'll willingly accept a challenge off any Sushi restaurant that wants to try and convert me..*wink wink*

Rupert & Rothschild

Wayne has been moaning at Brett and I to go to Rupert & Rothschild for aaaages. He should have pushed us more. It is such a stunning winery! The rolling lush green hills and the hints of blossom on the trees make for one of the best locations to taste wine.
We had been told/ordered to sample the Chardonnay, Baroness Nadine. You know me, I'm not a Chardonnay lover, they are usually too harsh and vomit-like....this was the most beautiful Chardonnay I had ever tasted. As Wayne put it, I'm pretty sure that angels drink this on a regular basis. The flavours are divine, subtle, sweet and fruity with hints of nutty nougat. This is going to make its way into our collection.
We then tried the Classique which is a Cab/Merlot (obviously Brett was happy). It's such a palatable wine without the fussy airs and graces of other expensive labels. It's got a slight earthy undertone and can be rather drying but the hints of berries is rather lush.
Our third wine was the Baron Edmond. We were supposed to be able to taste coriander but all I got was the cigar aftertaste, not that I am complaining. Granted, it was smokier than the Classique, but it is still so easy to drink that you fall in love with it.
It was such a lovely afternoon spent in the company of gorgeous wines and beautiful views.

Amarula

Darlings, I have been away for too long and I humbly apologize. You know how it is though when alcohol is involved, days blur together and your memory fails you. Such a lot has happened in my wine world that the blog posts are backed up immensely and it has been hard to know which post to do first.

So let me start with a non-wine write-up from the adventures of Brett, the rogue, who took a trip to Amurula in Phalaborwa. This is, so they say, the Spirit of Africa but I'm pretty sure that people survive on stronger stuff, stuff that isn't in the middle of nowhere. Anyway, the location itself is rather magical and as for being "nowhere" it is an inspiring setting. The experience consists of tastings and a little history lesson for instance, did you know that the Marula tree is also known as the marriage or elephant tree (which is why there is an elephant on the bottle!) and the trees bear fruit in February and March. The Marula fruit is harvested for 3 months of the year and is then fermented rather like wine and afterwards is distelled in copper pot-stills. Maturation takes about 2 years in small oak casks and the liquid is enriched with pure Marula extract and cream to give that sweet and silky Amarula Cream.
On a tasting note, Amarula is as you would expect, creamy. Yet it has a hint of fruity sweetness. It must always be served chilled. Warm Amarula is repulsive and makes me want to vomit, it's like drinking off milk. A good way to have Amarula is in this cocktail here (uber yummy).

Brett said there were some rather delightful chocolates at the Amarula Lapa that he wanted to get me...note the word "wanted". Apparently it was just too hot for chocolates. Balls. *cough*

As an alcoholic experience, it's a bit of a ways out but if you are around that region, I recommend it for learning about the history and creation of such an iconic South African drink.

Amarula cocktails.