Last night Adoro Wines held a Tweet-Up at L’Aperitivo in Loop Street, with twenty-five Cape Town Bloggers and Tweeters invited to join them for a cheese and wine Taste & Tweet.
Erica Liebenberg from Meles PR organised the Taste & Tweet. She has a number of PR clients, including Graham Beck, Belfriend, Elgin Valley Vintners, Eagles’ Nest, Freedom Hill Restaurant, Glenwood, Hidden Valley, and Paarl Vintners. 
The wine that Adoro winemaker Ian Naude used for the cheese tasting is his Mourvedre, with a port nose, and sweet taste on the palate, having acidity of 8gm per litre and 14 % alcohol, creating a good balance of sweet and sour. Ian explained that what makes South African wines so unusual is that it makes “old world meets new world wines”. The Old World (German, French, Spanish) style wines are created from grapes from the Elim/Hermanus area, while the New World Style wines are made from grapes sourced from the Swartland. Ian says he makes his wines in his head first, and then he decides on the regions from which he can source the grapes to make his dream wine. The Adoro Mourvedre bottle is an attractive and slim one, described by some as looking like an olive oil bottle.
All present were in agreement that the wine was excellent as an accompaniment to the six cheeses tasted, being the following:
* Simonsig six-month matured Gouda, a soft cheese with sweet andfruity flavours. This cheese won second place in matching with the Mourvedre amongst those present.
* Fairview Roydon Camembert, made from pasteurised Jersey cow’s milk and cream, with some goat’s milk added, and aged for four weeks
* Asiago is an imported Italian cheese from Veneto, made from pasteurised cow’s milk, and is aged for 12 – 14 months.
* Taleggio is imported from Italy, made from pasteurised cow’s milk and aged for four weeks
* Gruyere tasted came from Kleinrivier near Stanford, and had a surprisingly bland taste. It is classified as a hard cheese and is aged for 4 – 6 months.
* Gorgonzola is imported from Lombardia in Italy, made from pasteurised cow’s milk and aged for 6 – 8 months. This cheese was voted as being best matched to the Adoro Mourvedre.
To reflect the reaction of the Tweeters present to the cheeses tasted and their match to the six cheeses, we list the Tweets written during the Taste & Tweet (read from bottom up):
Verdict: Gorgonzola cheese is voted the best match for Adoro Mourvedre 2009! Couldn’t agree more! Connoisseurs watch out! #adorocheesewine
Final verdict: cheese really works with Adoro Mourvedre ’09 and the wine retails at R110 for 500ml #adorocheesewine
Amazed at the gorgonzola pairing, great match but the asiago wins for me #adorocheesewine
Game over. Now we can park our analysis and just enjoy the evening. Really interesting exercise. Cheers! #adorocheesewine
Best Tweeter at Adoro Taste and Tweet @StefanLuka #adorocheesewine
#Adorocheesewine Seriously guys.
Having a OMG moment with this Gorgonzola, imported from Italy. #adorocheesewine
#Adorocheesewine I really deserve to win.
#Adorocheesewine Vote for me
Last cheese great gorgonzola gastronomic heaven! #adorocheesewine
Gorgonzola wins this for me – wine shines like a superstar #adorocheesewine
#adorocheesewineAdoro Mourvedre & Gorgonzola: a match made in heaven
Find the Gorgonzola shortens the finish of the wine on the first sip. It kinda offers swell of flavours, troughs and peaks #Adorocheesewine
Gorgonzola cheese & Adoro Mourvedre, spirit is lifted & brooding above earthly things, heavenly match & made for lovers #adorocheesewine
Woohoo imported gorgonzola rocking the room! #adorocheesewine
Not my gig @laurencohenGot invite from melespr for the #adorocheesewine Will slap organiser for not inviting you.
@406 Is very excited about the Gorgonzola. apparently “the real cheese has arrived #Adorocheesewine
Ok, final round. Let’s see how it handles gorgonzola! #adorocheesewine
The wine is mouvedre with 14% alc and 60g residual sugar #adorocheesewine
Just in case we forgot to say what this amazing wonder wine is- Adoro Naturally Sweet Mouvedre… #adorocheesewine
Gruyere & 09 Adoro Mourvedre: a symphony of sweet and salty flavours resulting in seamless match, a pure dolce vita concept #adorocheesewine
#adorocheesewinecardboardy gruyere spoils the Adoro Mourvedre ’09
Ok, left field comment: the adoro mourvedre apparently goes well with choc souffle. #adorocheesewine
Gruyere, sweet and salty profile, creamy & nutty (when younger), develops earthly & complex flavour over time, hard cheese #adorocheesewine
Difference of opinion now, gruyere up for some grrr-not for others they balance out…#adorocheesewine
Combination of Gruyere (our first hard cheese) and the Sweet Mourvedre is nuts, full on mushroom flavour has been created #Adorocheesewine
Now tasting gruyere with the wine. Saltiness assertive makes wine too sweet #adorocheesewine
Adoring Adoro Mourvedre 2009, perfect to drink with cheeses, @StefanLuka writes the most beautiful wine tweets #adorocheesewine
#adorocheesewine James diligently taking notes… http://twitpic.com/353l88
@StefanLukaKak! You’re wrong. Raw garbage more like! #Adorocheesewine
#adorocheesewineAdoro Mourvedre: Taleggio cheese intensifies the flavours of the wine
The Taleggio pairing with the Sweet Mourvedre is like a slap in the face. Bam. flavour! Bam Bam! Other flavour! not fun. #Adorocheesewine
Taleggio creamy, tangy delicious! Bit nutty. Wine coping well. #adorocheesewine
Taleggio with its distinct smell & 2009 Adoro Mourvedre from Swartland – a marriage of elegance and raw power. Superb match #adorocheesewine
Italian asiago cheese and this adoro mourvedre like each other are u over it yet, I’m having fun #adorocheesewine
Adoro spam continues…..Now on to Taleggio from the North of Italy, feet smelling wine. Not a good pairing. #Adorocheesewine
Adoro Mourvedre wonderful pairing with cheeses: Asiago, Taleggio, Gruyere, Gorgonzola, Camembert, Gouda #adorocheesewine
@smokingsheddoesn’t normally drink, but loving the Adoro Mouverdre, fab cheese #adorocheesewine
Get stuffed… Not you but where you can buy the wine! #adorocheesewine
3rd cheese from Veneto Italy – Taleggio. So yum & strong – good match #adorocheesewine
#adorocheesewineAdoro Mourvedre, Asiago, creamy sweetness intensified by the wine
Heading into stronger territory, Asiago. 12 – 14 months of ageing. Remarkable that the wine is standing up to it. #adorocheesewine
Taleggio: soft, washed-rind cheese made from cow’s milk, aromatic & mild, tangy, meaty notes, a fruity finish, aged 4 weeks #adorocheesewine
Asiago, from Veneto is semi-soft cheese from cows milk. It was fated to be consumed with this wine. Coming on a bit strong? #Adorocheesewine
Wow – asagio has lovely bite that sings opera with the wine #adorocheesewine
Sweet, passionate and gentle confluence of Asiago and Adore Mourvedre 2009… a poetry in making, a hint of fiery desires #adorocheesewine
The cheese is now asiago. The pairing is killing. Adds massive complexity. I just heard it is “haunting” #Adorocheesewine
Pairing with the Camembert is like a fresh berry falling from a tree, quickly squelching into the mushroomy forest floor #Adorocheesewine
#adorocheesewineasiago up next. For those as clueless as I was asiago is imported italian semi-soft cheese…
Erica from @aussiewinechickis a supremo behind this gorgeous wine and cheese exercise at L’Aperitivo bar #adorocheesewine
I prefer nr 2 @fairviewwinecamembert roydon paired with #adorocheesewine
2nd cheese from @FairviewWine– Roydon Camembert. Creamy & delish. Gouda better with wine #adorocheesewine
@fairviewwineroydon next pairing #adorocheesewine
After the romp home there is a funky, forest floor flavour left behind. #Adorocheesewine
Asiago: cheese from Veneto, Italy, semi-soft, from pasteurized cow;s milk (aged 12 -14 months) & is DOP (Protected origin) #adorocheesewine
#adorocheesewineRoydon camembert & adoro ’09 mourvedre: strawberries & cream
Next cheese Camembert: four week aged from Fairview. I find the wine romps home, trampling the cheese in the process. #Adorocheesewine
Fairview Roydon 4-week aged Camembert paired with Adoro Mourvedre #adorocheesewine http://plixi.com/p/55761479
Cheese 2, Fairview Roydon – yum yum. Creamy but a little cool. Again great affinity withe wine. #adorocheesewine
Camembert and naturally sweet Mourvedre… awesome… like a kissing softly a young lady 🙂 #adorocheesewine
Sorry forgot #adorocheesewine! On the ball now got too carried away with fab mouvedre….
#adorocheesewineAdoro Mourvedre 09 and aged gouda. Better together than apart
“This is a semi-soft or semi-hard cheese” lol only in sa #adorocheesewine
Gouda Tasting with Adoro dessertstyle wine, specially made for pairing with cheese #adorocheesewine http://plixi.com/p/55760726
Hello everyone #Adorocheesewine
The chef says its a semi soft/hard cheese -haha! a gouda from parmalat #adorocheesewine
Adoro has done well to get everyone tweeting. Hoping everyone likes the wine. Good Launch. #Adorocheesewine
#adorocheesewine Fee Mac is loving the fruit garnish with the wine http://twitpic.com/353e5k
Parmalat gouda with adoro works well… Wine a lot lighter than nose gives away #adorocheesewine
The sweet Mouvedre: like a loveable uncle with a sharp wit. #Adorocheesewine
Gouda: traditional hard cheese with sweet & fruity flavours that intensifies with & is made from pasteurized cow’s milk #adorocheesewine
Liking the Gouda with the Mourvedre. Cheese gets more creamy with added nuttiness, wines’ fruit undiminished #Adorocheesewine
First cheese a six-month matured gouda good match #adorocheesewine
Gouda Tasting with Adoro Mourvedre #adorocheesewine
Cheese 1, local gouda. Described by chef as semi-hard or semi-soft. One wag quipped: “sounds like a porno!” #adorocheesewine
#adorocheesewinechef James explaining cheeses gouda up first http://twitpic.com/353d60
At L’aperitivo about to begin tasting new Adoro Natural Sweet Mourvedre. Starting with a Parmalat gouda #adorocheesewine
Gouda is very mild, creamy and fruity cheese which blends in superbly with Adoro Mourvedre Natural Sweet 2009 #adorocheesewine
Natural sweet 2009 Adoro Mourvedre with 14% alcohol rocks… let’s se how the marriage with Gouda will work 🙂 #adorocheesewine
Smells like port but not jammy #adorocheesewine
So we are gonna taste a wine that’s not fortified but it has 60mg residual sugar. #adorocheesewine
#adorocheesewineGreg Ladman’s comments priceless!!
Its a sweeter red wine made to pair with cheese but not fortified #adorocheesewine
This is our naturally sweet Mourvedre(it is not fortified, RS is around 60g/l) #AdoroCheeseWine
One of the first south africans about to taste adoro’s new wine made specialyfor cheese #adorocheesewine
Wine maker Ian naude talking about how this project started #adorocheesewine
Mourvedre from Swartland was our first “cheese wine” (it is very much sought ‘sweetish’ red wine) #AdoroCheeseWine
The basic idea: we need wine that will complement cheese #AdoroCheeseWine
At Adoro cheese and wine Taste & Tweet at Aperitivo #adorocheesewine
#adorocheesewine http://twitpic.com/3539jo
Adoro Wines from Latin word meaning “to adore” #AdoroCheeseWine
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage