It being Women’s Month, the invitation to Dr Riana Hall of Rudera Wines to present her wines to and pair them with dinner at Azure restaurant at the Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa on Friday evening was a perfect match.

Many of the Azure tables were booked for the food and wine pairing evening.  I shared a table with Twelve Apostles Executive Director Horst Frehse and his wife Barbara, Riana Hall, a staff member of FIVE STAR PR which company had invited me, and two 2OV Radio presenters Rowan Johannes and Olwetu Mtiya. Sommelier Gregory Mutambe poured a welcome drink of Rudera De Tradisie Chenin Blanc.

While we were waiting for the last guests to arrive at our table, we talked about my fantastic food journey in KwaZulu-Natal the week before, and eating at Hartford House, where the previous Twelve Apostles pastry chef Amoré Botha now works. GM Michael Nel told me the lovely story of how they discovered and nurtured the pastry talents of their Café Grill waitress Brenda Madamombe, who brought a self-baked cake for a colleague to work. It was so amazingly decorated that she was moved across to the kitchen, and put on a six-month pastry course, and has taken over some of the duties of Chef Amoré.

Two platters of bread were brought to our table, each with seeded bread, seeded crisps, dill bread, and cheese straws, a salmon spread, salted butter, and smoked butter. One of the platters also contained corn and chorizo mini loaves. Banqueting Manager Willem van der Merwe took good care of me, and set up a photography spot in their vinoteque, in which there was better light.

Horst introduced Riana to all the guests, and it was a surprise to hear that she has a doctorate in Psychology, but that she turned her wine hobby and passion into her career. She operates from Jonkershoek, where she had bought the Le Riche cellar. Riana shared that ‘Rudera’ is the Latin name for ‘broken stone‘, vines wanting stony soils. As we were drinking Chenin Blanc, she shared that our country has more Chenin Blanc planted than the rest of the world in total! Riana said that they focus on quality and consistency in style, making the best possible wines without cutting corners.  Chris Keet (formerly the winemaker at Córdoba, and having his own wine label) has been her consultant and wine maker since 2010.

The dinner started with an Amuse Bouche, which was kob and pickled beetroot, Executive Chef Christo Pretorius told us. The starter of Mozambique langoustines, Malay-spiced butternut, curried lentils, butternut gremolata, cumin yoghurt cheese, shards of poppadom, and gooseberry compote was paired with Rudera Robusto Chenin Blanc 2011, their most popular wine.Riana expressed her satisfaction with the pairing, as curry can be a challenge to wine pairing.  The wine was more robust and fuller than the first De Tradisie Chenin Blanc which we drank.  It is named after a cigar which she smokes on occasion, which intrigued Horst, who was synonymous with cigars when he worked at a hotel in Paarl.

The Joostenberg duck was a very generous portion, consisting of a breast and confit leg, soy-glazed mushrooms, lemongrass, ginger, a rich mushroom consommé, parsnip, and truffle croutons, which was paired with Rudera Platinum Cabernet Sauvignon 2009.

Riana explained the difference between Syrah and Shiraz, her Syrah 2012 paired with the springbok loin, crispy bacon, Savoy cabbage, salt-baked celeriac, pickled cranberries, and smoked jus, reflecting an Old World style of the cultivar. This wine went down so well, that one if the guests said that it was ‘more better‘, which brought the house down!

A surprise palate cleanser of lemon sorbet, which created smoke when water was poured onto a container on the table, was a party piece.

The dessert was a Dulcey mousse, served with calamansi (a fruit combination of naartjie and orange) ice cream and gel, whipped hazelnut ganache, and salted peanut sponge, which was paired with Rudera Noble Late Harvest 2007, a Chenin Blanc-based wine which Riana has offered to the Nederburg Auction taking place next month.

With our coffees a generous platter of friandises was brought to the table. Riana told us that she has a Vinoteque, storing about 20 cases of each of the wines they have made, to allow vertical tastings and to have as a record of where they have come from in the past 15 years.

We had a lovely evening, chatting about restaurant eating, and music in particular, Horst and I remembering the days of LM Radio nostalgically, and the 2 Oceansvibe Radio presenters adding a current-day music touch to our discussion at the table. Horst epitomizes ‘Mr Hospitality’, and invited all the kitchen and serving staff into the restaurant, so that they could be thanked by him and applauded by the diners. Willem extended his arm to me, and graciously accompanied me to my car for the journey home, ending a lovely evening of laughter, good company, good wine, and good food.

Azure restaurant, Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa, Victoria Road, Camps Bay.  Tel (021) 437-9000. www.12apostles.co.za. Twitter: @12_Apostles

Rudera Wines, Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch. Cell 083287 6364. www.rudera.co.za Twitter: @RuderaWines

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com  Tel (021) 433-2100 Twitter:@WhaleCottage  Facebook:  click here