The Constantia Fresh Festival kicks off on Friday. Why do you care? Some fair and completely unbiased reasons…
Number One: Well, because this Saturday sees the main gathering on the lawns of Buitenverwachting that pairs all the (very good) wines* on show with food. And not just snacks from some hotdog joints, but cuisine of the haute kind by the respected chefs from The Greenhouse of Cellars-Hohenort, Overture, Constantia Uitsig, Grande Roche’s Bosman’s and Buitenverwachting. There’s also NOT TOO MANY wines on show, which is how many wine events balls it up. Not here. Go slow, take it easy and get indulgent, you’ll taste them all. 3pm – 8pm. Tickets: R400.
Number Two: Because on Friday afternoon they are hosting (and probably sold out, but if you’re lucky you might still get a spot) a tasting of the best local and international white blends available, with representation from estates like Château Laville Haut Brion, Château Haut Brion Blanc, Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc and more. If these fancy French names mean nothing to you, let me say that they’re all a) fucking expensive and b) expensive for a good reason and c) hard to get hold of.
Number Three: They, the good people at Fine Wine Events, are also hosting a Friday dinner at the Cellars-Hohenhort where Iron Chef Peter Temeplhoff will prepare a five course degustation** menu that is guaranteed to make your tongue feel like it’s never really lived before. Naturally, paired with local and international wines of note.
Number Four: the lads from &UNION will be pouring their beers at this wine gathering on Saturday. Ever been sipping wine non-stop at a wino event for five hours and just feel like a beer? Now you can. And GOOD BEER too.
Number Five: because the good people at Fine Wine Events are my friends, Jörg “That’s-not-a-wine-mate,-this-is” Pfützner and his partner Claire “I’m-too-busy-to-run-for-president” Lockey. Legends x 2.
Number Six: they linked to the cool Klein Constantia viral video on their homepage. What one? This one… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL0eneoGaVM.
Number Seven: what? You need seven reasons?!! Okay, in case you do need more encouragement on Number One, note that this gathering is held on Buitenverwachting’s lawns. Yes, you get to drink plenty of (good) wine*, have an excuse to wear a panama hat/summer dress and act completely uncouth amongst very cultured people, all of them so merrily drunk happy they act uncouth too.
Tickets for Saturday’s general gathering available from participating wine farms as well as &UNION on Bree Street. More details at www.constantiafresh.com. No, I don’t have tickets for you, I’m selfish like that, but I’m told you can win some via Cape Town Girl.
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* wines from Constantia include Constantia Uitsig, Klein Constantia, Groot Constantia, Steenberg (these guys know how to throw a party), Eagle’s Nest, Buitenverwachting and Constantia Glen. And there are more South African wines there too. Yes, more!
** degustation – a fancy French word for the action or an instance of tasting especially in a series of small portions. — de·gust \di-ˈgəst, dē-\ transitive verb, etc…
A guide to a few cool food and drink events happening around Cape Town over the month of October…
Spring it on Constantia.
Constantia, which has billed itself as ‘Cape Town’s Vineyard,’ hosts a festival this month to celebrate their heritage of food and wine. Basically, what this means is a great excuse to put on your Panama hat and get elegantly wasted in beautiful surroundings, something we do all enjoy. From the 15th – 24th of this month, there’ll be wine dinners, tastings and other events hosted by each of the wine estates as well as other establishments. Things like tapas and jazz at Steenberg. Or if jazz, oysters, bubbly and some cricket action sound good, head to the ‘Celebrities against Winemakers’ cricket match at Constantia Uitsig on the 17th. There’s also a vertical tasting of Vin de Constance at Klein Constantia on the 15th & 20th. Though this wine was being made back in the 1800′s, I don’t think the vertical goes back to then, but it’s no doubt going to be a treat. Get the scoop at spring-it-on-constantia.com.
Meet the Maker.
As if their beer wasn’t enough of a reason to visit, &UNION also host these Meet the Maker events every so often. A way for them to show you how much thought goes into their choice of producers. A way for their producers to show you how much painstaking effort they put into everything they make. Book a spot at the upcoming evening on the 11th October where Johan Kruger (Sterhuis) talks wine, Mike Robb talks biltong, Richard Bosman talks charcuterie and Evan Faull (Knead) talks bread. Seating is limited, and you get well fed. For price & booking info, contact them via the world’s greatest email address: pigandbeer@andunion.com.
Cookshop + The Foodie.
And finally, I have plenty of love for the Cookshop cafe and deli, hence I’ve decided to be involved in their October dinner club. If you haven’t been to Cookshop then it means you probably haven’t tried their good coffee, awesome sandwiches and ridiculously tasty homemade pastries. They host a monthly dinner club where they serve a menu and wines to just 20 people. It’s hard to get a seat, but worth it. This month, it’s a four-course menu with some wines I’ve selected, all in for R285pp. The menu? West Coast Mussels in saffron & fennel broth (w Secateurs Chenin Blanc), Walnut Crusted Linefish on wilted spinach with caper berry sauce (w Paradyskloof Chardonnay), Oxtail Ravioli with rosemary-tomato sauce (w Merwida Barbera) and for dessert, Chocolate Parfait & Honeycomb with gooseberries (w Domaine de Canton liqueur). I’m sure there’ll be some grappa floating around afterwards to go with the espressos. Taxi!
I just marinaded some rump steak in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, Worcester sauce, lemon juice and with a bit of salt and pepper. Just cut the vacuum-seal bag open, added these ingredients, and closed the bag tightly around the steak so it’s well covered with marinade. Then just popped it in the fridge. In 6 hours time, I’ll take it out to get to room temperature, sear it over a sizzling hot fire for a few minutes each side, then off for a few minutes to rest, then slice it evenly and spread on a platter topped with some Parmesan shavings and rocket… olive oil, salt & pepper - it’s going to be a beauty!
That’s how easy it is to make a good steak at home. All in all, about three minutes to make, ten minutes (tops) to cook and another two to dress. 15 minutes!! So simple. It’s amazing people bother with any other rub, sauce, marinade or anything else. I would normally use fillet. Good fillet, marinaded overnight then seared medium-rare and served at room-temp (or cold) topped with Parmesan and rocket, is amazing. It’s a dish called Tagliata, one that I first encountered as a barman ten years ago at Constantia Uitsig restaurant. No not ‘tagliatelle,’ the pasta. Tagliata. La Perla do a shitty version. Il Leone does a good one. But now, you can do one at home. Enough said.
Who is the Foodie? It doesn’t really matter. Bacon is god. Wine cures anything. If you believe those two facts, then we’re going to get on fine. This means you have discovered the power of food to make life better. This knowledge is imperative to the art of living well.
