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When last have you found yourself standing alone,thoughts running through your head about daily life when all of a sudden your brain becomes numb, your ears tweak in on the silence surrounding you, and, as if you have never heard it before, the busy chatter of the birds caress your soul into a state of contentment?
This is where i found myself this morning standing on the porch of the Kingsbridge Tasting room in Elgin, The massiveness of natural beauty is overwhelming, the slopes are covered in vines laden with grapes ready to be harvested, weeping willows stand proud as if owning the land themselves and to the left the majestic Koeggelberg Mountains displaying cloaks of clouds draping its summit.
Its been a while since i stood back and taken in such beauty, funny how we take things for granted when its in abundance, Our culture is to drive forward and burn ourselves out, yet if we stop for 5 minutes and take in some of natures medicine we are recharged as if having a weekend. Kingsbridge is a place for those wanting to get away from the commercial vibe so often encountered when out on wine tastings, personally its a place I would take that special someone, it allows you to get up close and personal while experiencing the unique characteristics displayed in their wines.
Tomorrow I have been commissioned to make my Famous curry for all the lads here at Valley Green, Im sure their wines will bring a new dimension to the complex flavors of my Durban dish, having said that they will also be presenting a tasting for me which i will comment on after the ordeal of my curry. To view Kingsbridge and the full range of wine available, check out www.kingsbridgewines.co.za
Peter.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Curry Cream Mussels
I'm out at Amani Wines Today, The Cape Town weather has turned pear shaped with dark grey clouds rolling over the mountains and with it the cold and the rain. It brings back memories of last winter sipping on a good red wine and satisfying the winter munchies with something that warms up the soul, The Following Recipe was donated by none other than Rudi Visagie our resident chef on the Wine World Network or as his mates call him The Man with a pan.I asked the charming Carmen Stevens, Winemaker at Amani to pair a wine with this recipe and her recommendation is the Amani 2008 Kamili Chardonnay-Viognier blend which displays the essence of Rose water and white pepper which transforms into a lingering expression of ginger and apricots. To view the full range of wines at Amani browse their website www.amaniwines.co.za
Mussels in curry cream sauce(Served as a starter)
Ingredients needed.
30 g butter
1 onion chopped
30 ml flour
7.5 ml curry powder
200 ml white wine
150 ml water
15 ml chopped garlic chives
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 900g canned mussels in shell
10 ml lemon juice
75 ml cream
1 jumbo egg yolk
Instructions
1) Melt the butter in a pan and saute the onion until soft but not brown.
2) add the curry powder and flour and "mellow" for 1-2 minutes.
3) now add the wine and the water, a little at a time and beating well.
4) add the garlic chives and season to taste.
5) Finally add the drained mussels and gently simmer for 5 minutes
beat the lemon juice cream and egg yolk together, add a little of the hot liquid from the pan and mix well.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the egg yolk mixture, stir well and return to the heat taking care not to let the mixture boil or it will curdle.
When just heated through, serve immediately with hot crunchy French loaf.
Mussels in curry cream sauce(Served as a starter)
Ingredients needed.
30 g butter
1 onion chopped
30 ml flour
7.5 ml curry powder
200 ml white wine
150 ml water
15 ml chopped garlic chives
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 900g canned mussels in shell
10 ml lemon juice
75 ml cream
1 jumbo egg yolk
Instructions
1) Melt the butter in a pan and saute the onion until soft but not brown.
2) add the curry powder and flour and "mellow" for 1-2 minutes.
3) now add the wine and the water, a little at a time and beating well.
4) add the garlic chives and season to taste.
5) Finally add the drained mussels and gently simmer for 5 minutes
beat the lemon juice cream and egg yolk together, add a little of the hot liquid from the pan and mix well.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the egg yolk mixture, stir well and return to the heat taking care not to let the mixture boil or it will curdle.
When just heated through, serve immediately with hot crunchy French loaf.
Monday, February 15, 2010
My Introduction to you.
My journey into the wine world started some 15 years ago when the industry was booming, I was included in a venture and had the opportunity to uproot my entire family and move to Cape Town to bottle wines on the many Estates the wine lands had to offer. It was the biggest eye opener as i had never really ventured out of KZN.
Having the opportunity for a fresh start in life I jumped at the challenge and before long I was standing behind a bottling machine trying to make sense of this volatile product they call wine. The high point for me was the fact that i was never in the same place for too long. Most Estates rarely book mobile bottling for more than a week at a time which meant I was being exposed to three sometimes even four or five a week, different places,different faces, who could get bored of that? Before long and many questions later i was starting to understand wine and the complexity of trying to get the same quality product from the cellar into the bottle, For this I am eternally grateful to some of the most awesome personalities in the wine industry, no need to mention names, they know who they are, for those who don't, If I have ever provided a service to you then you fall in that category.
Six years later i had started to develop a deep love for the SA wine industry, I found myself buried in wine books, I wanted to understand my new found passion,and was rather disappointed that the only people I could share it with was those working with wine or in the marketing thereof, the general population just seemed to be switched off the minute you mentioned anything other than it tasted good, If i mentioned anything elitist when describing a wine it was followed by this blank look and the typical SA phrase "JA RIGHT" and I soon learnt that's why so many South Africans prefer a relaxing lubricant that they understand and enjoy without having a chemistry degree to understand what a wine smells and tastes like,my opinion is lets leave that to the winemakers and people working with wine, If you eat a cookie from Woolies you don't sit and discuss its complexity with your neighbor over afternoon tea, You say it tastes good, why should wine be any different? Dont get me wrong, wine terminology is a must for those crafting wines as its a natural product that is based on chemistry, I just believe that's where it should stay, it has no ground in the market place.
To back my theory look at one of the most effective media campaigns in post democracy,this campaign immortalized its brand with the simple, diverse and easy to understand phrase "MET EISH", I don't think there is a South African who doesn't understand it, it fits in with our culture, people can relate to it! I bet my bottom dollar or overtaxed Rand, whichever you prefer, that if it was something technical or elitist it would have never been as effective, to me this makes a whole lot of sense.
This is why i started networking with wine minded people, my facebook wine group (The Wine World Network) grew to 3250 members in 7 short months confirming a general interest in wine on a elementary level, I was trying to find a way to effectively market South African wines to South Africans and even those deprived taste buds overseas without driving them away with the snobbishness so often perceived as part and parcel of our beautiful wine culture,Wine is part of our culture, Our History is based on the vine,I believe that every South African should embrace it, discover a sense of pride, for it belongs to OUR country, these my glass tipping friends are our wines. Join me as we move from one Wine estate to another and discover the shear beauty that lies withing the Western Cape Wine Industry and the personalities that bring SA wines to life.
Peter.
Having the opportunity for a fresh start in life I jumped at the challenge and before long I was standing behind a bottling machine trying to make sense of this volatile product they call wine. The high point for me was the fact that i was never in the same place for too long. Most Estates rarely book mobile bottling for more than a week at a time which meant I was being exposed to three sometimes even four or five a week, different places,different faces, who could get bored of that? Before long and many questions later i was starting to understand wine and the complexity of trying to get the same quality product from the cellar into the bottle, For this I am eternally grateful to some of the most awesome personalities in the wine industry, no need to mention names, they know who they are, for those who don't, If I have ever provided a service to you then you fall in that category.
Six years later i had started to develop a deep love for the SA wine industry, I found myself buried in wine books, I wanted to understand my new found passion,and was rather disappointed that the only people I could share it with was those working with wine or in the marketing thereof, the general population just seemed to be switched off the minute you mentioned anything other than it tasted good, If i mentioned anything elitist when describing a wine it was followed by this blank look and the typical SA phrase "JA RIGHT" and I soon learnt that's why so many South Africans prefer a relaxing lubricant that they understand and enjoy without having a chemistry degree to understand what a wine smells and tastes like,my opinion is lets leave that to the winemakers and people working with wine, If you eat a cookie from Woolies you don't sit and discuss its complexity with your neighbor over afternoon tea, You say it tastes good, why should wine be any different? Dont get me wrong, wine terminology is a must for those crafting wines as its a natural product that is based on chemistry, I just believe that's where it should stay, it has no ground in the market place.
To back my theory look at one of the most effective media campaigns in post democracy,this campaign immortalized its brand with the simple, diverse and easy to understand phrase "MET EISH", I don't think there is a South African who doesn't understand it, it fits in with our culture, people can relate to it! I bet my bottom dollar or overtaxed Rand, whichever you prefer, that if it was something technical or elitist it would have never been as effective, to me this makes a whole lot of sense.
This is why i started networking with wine minded people, my facebook wine group (The Wine World Network) grew to 3250 members in 7 short months confirming a general interest in wine on a elementary level, I was trying to find a way to effectively market South African wines to South Africans and even those deprived taste buds overseas without driving them away with the snobbishness so often perceived as part and parcel of our beautiful wine culture,Wine is part of our culture, Our History is based on the vine,I believe that every South African should embrace it, discover a sense of pride, for it belongs to OUR country, these my glass tipping friends are our wines. Join me as we move from one Wine estate to another and discover the shear beauty that lies withing the Western Cape Wine Industry and the personalities that bring SA wines to life.
Peter.
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