Annandale Road | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

I have driven past Bilton Wines on my way to Rust en Vrede and Haskell Vineyards a number of times, but had never stopped to visit their Tasting Room, even though their collection of old-timers catch the eye. An invitation by the wine estate to attend a tasting of their wines, paired with dishes prepared by ‘pop-up’ Chef Craig Cormack from Sofia’s, was an excellent opportunity to hear how its winemakers go about their winemaking so differently.

We were welcomed in the Tasting Room with a massive fire burning in the fireplace on a very wet Winelands day, by owner Mark Bilton, referring to us as ‘blockers’, which caused a laugh, because of the double meaning implied, especially due to many bloggers blocking each other on Twitter! I was told that he is British in origin, has American connections, but lives on the estate. His grandfather, Sir Percy Bilton, was a well known philanthropist, who came to South Africa in 1938, and bought the wine estate at the end of Annandale Road ten years later. It is one of the largest wine estates in the country, 377 hectare in size, but only 20 % of the land is planted to vine, the rest dedicated to biodiversity, being fynbos. The distance between the cellar and the highest point on the wine estate is 680 meters. Winemaker Rudi de Wet believes that Bilton Wines is the largest wine estate in private ownership. Rudi has been on the wine estate since 2005, having studied at Elsenburg, and then setting up Ernie Els Wines and Webersburg close by. From there he moved to Meerlust, working on their iconic Rubicon. Elizma van der Mescht is Rudi’s assistant winemaker, having also studied at Elsenburg, joining Bilton Wines and gaining experience by working a harvest in St Émilion. We chatted about women winemakers, and Elizma said that she was one of seven female students in her class of 20. The physical challenge of the harvest, including 20 hour days during the harvest, is a barrier to entry for women in this career, but was no deterrent for Elizma. She believes that women winemakers are perfectionists, and therefore very good at their jobs. She has seen an increase in the number of female students from Italy and France, who come to Bilton Wines to help them with their harvest. Elizma admires Erika Obermeyer from Graham Beck Wines, and Ronel Wiid, winner of the first woman winemaker of the year competition and now at Bartinney.

We moved to the wine cellar, in which a long table had been set, beautifully and simply decorated by Marketing and Sales Manager Cindy Eveleigh, with vases of fynbos, corks in glass jars, labels on each glass, and name cards. Rudi introduced the Bilton Merlot 2008, and shared with us that they harvest 100 tons of grapes, and all wines are barrel matured, using 25 different barrel types from 25 coopers. Rudi explained that the wood used to make the barrels by each cooper is different, influencing the taste of the wine, and he blends the wines matured in the 25 barrel types over two years, to achieve the perfect wine. Interestingly, 80% of the production each year goes into new barrels. Rudi’s previous boss from Meerlust, Giorgio Dalla Cia, is a consultant to Bilton Wines. Rudi expressed his passion for Merlot, not the easiest wine to make, its grapes either giving a fresh and green taste or a plummy taste. The thinness of the skin, the sugar, and eleven other parameters are evaluated to select the right time to harvest, night harvesting being preferable. To aid oxidation, Rudi adds 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Chef Craig and his team prepared a beautiful study of beetroot, with a curry-flavoured ice cream, risotto, and purée all made with beetroot, toasted caramelised walnuts, and sprinkled with truffle oil. The earthy Merlot (R 99) was a good match with the Beetroot starter.

The second wine we tasted was the Bilton Viognier, and Rudi explained how he makes this wine look and taste different to any other local Viognier, receiving the blessing from Mr Bilton to experiment and try out new things. Rudi introduced the wine as one he had no intention to make, but explained that a winemaker spends his or her free time by reading international wine magazines. It was in one of these that Rudi read about Josh Gravner from Northern Italy, and his Viognier, which he matures in clay vats under the soil, fermenting the grapes with their skins, ‘unheard of in New World wine-making‘, Rudi said. Rudi has used this €1000 a bottle wine as his benchmark to produce his Viognier, sold at R250 per bottle in the tasting room. It was first produced in 2008, and only 10 barrels are produced every year. They select berries, and not bunches, and the skin contact is 18 days, compared to the usual 6 hours. Rudi explained that there are no boundaries in making Viognier. All of the wine is matured in barrels, 25% of them made from acacia wood, a wood type normally used to make grappa, because it has fewer tannins, and the balance in oak. Craig paired the wine with a strongly flavoured Chakalaka sauce served with a delicious pork belly, pap, bok choy, and a jus to which he had added star anise.

The biggest surprise of all was Chef Craig’s third course, for which we were expecting a dessert. In the mould of doing things differently, like Bilton Wines does in its winemaking, Chef Craig created intrigue when they served each guest a platter containing three bowls, with a raw egg, a mushroom, a piece of bacon and steak, and a tomato. Then the creative chef arrived with hot Himalayan salt blocks, which Chef Craig smeared with olive oil, before each guest prepared their own bacon and eggs! The steam from the preparation reminded one of the smoke created with liquid nitrogen in fine-food cuisine. The salt contained in the blocks was a natural flavourant for the food. I added some Viognier to the egg, and Rudi was most intrigued by this creative use of his wine! Whilst on the egg theme, Rudi explained that all red wines have too much tannin, and therefore all winemakers add proteins (gelatine, but more often powdered egg white) to soften the tannins. He adds 1 egg white per 300 litre barrel, whereas the French winemakers are inclined to add six egg whites for the same volume, in order to clarify the wine. Locally wines are filtered, for clarification. Rudi explained that making a screw cap takes 24 times more greenhouse gases than a cork, and therefore one can be sure that all Bilton Wines have corks. I liked Rudi’s description of vineyards being ‘oxygen factories’. Rudi also burst the bubble on sulphites, saying that every grape has them naturally, and therefore every wine too. Many wines claim to not add any sulphites, but that does not make them sulphite-free, he explained. We had the Bilton Sir Percy (R149) with our ‘breakfast’, a Bordeaux blend first made in 2004. Its current 2007 vintage has 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, and 17% Petit Verdot. Once again Rudi uses 25 different barrel types in which to mature this wine, which spends about two months on skins, which is the way in which it is done in Burgundy and Bordeaux, Rudi explained.

Other wines in the Bilton range are Shiraz 2008 (R99), Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 (R99), Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (R59), Merlot 2008 (R99), Pinotage 2009 (R99), and the Merlot-dominant Matt Black blend (R79). Cabernet Franc has been harvested this year for the first time, and its first bottled wine of this variety will be available in five years. Interesting is that Bilton sells 1 million tons of salt to Oranje Soutwerke a year. In the Tasting Room Bilton also sells delicious chocolate slabs, made by Marionette in Knysna and costing R35 each, and are meant to be paired with their wines, the Dark Chocolate Espresso paired with their Cabernet Sauvignon, and the Milk Chocolate Cape Malay Spice paired with their Shiraz. The Cape Malay Spice chocolate has an intriguing gingerbread/Lebkuchen taste, with cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Vintage D’Vine restaurant serves light meals prepared by Nella and her staff, and includes sandwiches, salads, boboties, lasagne, chicken pie, and burgers.

Bilton Wine Estate, Annandale Road, Stellenbosch. Tel (021) 881-3714. www.biltonwines.co.za Twitter:@BiltonWines. Tuesday – Sunday. Wine tasting R35, chocolate and wine tasting R50. Vineyard walk free.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage

I had heard about the Long Table Restaurant and Cafe on the Haskell Vineyards outside Stellenbosch on Twitter, and tried it out recently. I left overwhelmed by the unexpected quality of the food, matching the stature of the wine estate. However, not all is perfect. With some better-polished service staff, and some attention to its table presentation and housekeeping, it can rank with the best Stellenbosch restaurants.

Haskell Vineyards is at the end of the Annandale Road near Mooiberge Farmstall, high above and beyond Rust en Vrede. I was impressed how three competitive wine farms (Rust en Vrede, Haskell and Bilton) have a collegial co-existence in sharing the security for the communal entrance to their farms.

One cannot see the entrance to the restaurant from the parking area, as the restaurant signage is set back too far above the entrance door. One enters a reception area, that of the restaurant on the left, and that of the winery on the right. I was greeted by Corli as I entered, but I did not realise that she was the chef. Using the bathroom first (door lock does not work on the middle door), I then connected with Werner Els, who does the wine tasting and sales, and he answered my question about the relationship between Dombeya and Haskell.

Dombeya was originally the name of the farm, and was known as a mohair wool farm and factory. It also had grapes, and the wines made were branded Dombeya, a Latin family name for the wild pear, which is found on the farm. Preston Haskell bought the farm earlier this decade, and introduced the Haskell wine label from 2007, when highly regarded winemaker Rianie Strydom started making the wines. The Haskell wines are super-premium ones, selling at high prices. The wine estate also represents PHD Wines, selling their Australian and New Zealand wine brands from the wine estate and from select retailers such as Caroline’s Fine Wines and Norman Goodfellow’s. Werner told me that the new restaurant is pulling in feet through the door, and leading to wine sales since it opened five months ago. Previously one had to make an appointment to taste the estate’s wines.

Werner showed me around the restaurant, demonstrating the collegiality that exists between the restaurant and wine sales, and I only learnt afterwards that Corli Els (no relation) is the chef and owner of Long Table, and leases the restaurant space from the winery. The long table is in the last section of the restaurant, a beautiful wooden table that can seat about 20 persons. Here they host regular Winemakers’ lunches. Blackboards list the wines and menu items inside. I noticed some odd looking lampshades, made from beads, but preferred to focus on the view from the terrace outside on a lovely summery winter’s day.

The outside area is large, with many tables and chairs, the trees providing shade if required. The wooden tables and chairs are garden furniture, and the waiter brought a cushion for my chair after I had sat down. The waiter was an irritation – he kept wanting to talk to me in Afrikaans. I found him extremely lightweight, and not a credit to the restaurant nor the wine estate. I found it hard to understand what he was trying to tell me, and the pork belly which I ordered without chickpeas was served with chick peas! It took him forever to bring the bill (there were only 2 tables in total booked for lunch).

Chef Corli was previously from Pretoria, and last worked at Ernie Els’ (no relation) Guardian Peak restaurant close by. She has also worked at Hazendal, and owned the Fusion Cafe’s in Observatory and in Stellenbosch, but sold them.

Corli bakes her own bread (I loved the whole wheat bread), and is excited that the farm is creating an organic vegetable and herb garden for her. I ordered the Avocado and papaya salad served as a stack with Black Forest ham, with a yummy dressing, and finished off with a pansy – I have not seen one on food for years. I loved the salad, and the look of it, and I would come back again just for it alone! The main course choice was pork belly, costing R98, served with a generous portion of creamy mash, crispy fresh vegetables, a tangy orange sauce and fine orange rind (and the unwanted chickpeas!).

The menu and winelist are attached onto unattractive clipboards, and could be more attractively presented. The menu has an eclectic mix and a good number of dishes to choose from. For Starters one can have beef carpaccio; lamb kidneys; fresh corn, or pear and camembert soup; a “super foods” salad or crunchy Caprese parcels, costing between R 50 – R60. There are 14 “Light Meals and Main Courses”, in what seems a waste to have all ingredients available for so few people. One can have a chicken salad; Beef Burger (with all sorts of yummy-sounding additions like wild mushrooms, prosciutto, onion confit, mustard bearnaise, for R70); beef strips; cajun chicken sandwich; farfalle pasta; mushroom ravioli; lamb medallions; duck breasts; spiced quail; fresh linefish; grainfed sirloin steak; Moroccan lamb shank, and oxtail braised in red wine. All of these range from R 59 to R 105 for the last two dishes. Two specials were also available, kingklip at a reasonable sounding R85, and Springbok at R108. When speaking to Corli, she told me that preparing venison is one of her food favourites. I did not have a dessert, but will do so on a next visit, most costing a reasonable R35. Chocolate fondant, pecan nut praline cheesecake, confit apple tart and malva pudding are some of the options. There is a Kiddies Menu, with “Foodies”, and “Goodies”(the sweets) to choose from. The menu is changed every 2 -3 months.

The winelist is disappointing, only having one page of local wines, with unforgivable vintage corrections made by pen (commendably though the vintages have been changed to older rather than younger ones!). “Riesling” is incorrectly spelt. The remainder of the five pages lists imported wines, which are the Australian and New Zealand PHD wines. The Australian wine brands are Hoddles Creek, Kalleske, and Spinifex, and are in line with South African prices, the Spinifex Shiraz Viognier being most expensive at R 435. The New Zealand wines sold are Craggy Range, Felton Road, Lawsons Dry Hills and Wild Rock, the prices not being unreasonable – the Craggy Range The Quarry Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend the most expensive at R475. No vintages are specified for the PHD wines. Dombeya wines can be bought from R60 upwards (Sauvignon Blanc), the Shiraz being most pricey at R 96. The Haskell wines are far more expensive, the Aeon Syrah costing R 290, and the Pillars Syrah R 400, both being 2007 vintages. The Dombeya wines are marked up by R20 each in the restaurant, the Haskell ones are not. A glass of Dombeya Sauvignon Blanc costs R25, and the Samara costs R30.

The “Cafe” part of the restaurant name refers to the freshly baked cakes, muffins, scones and tarts that are served before and after lunch.

I will come back in a flash for the Avocado and papaya salad, and was most impressed with Chef Corli’s food, and good value. I found a number of dissonances between the high quality of the Haskell Vineyards’ brands and the image they are creating, and Long Table’s far more casual decor, the laid back and less than adequate service from the waiter, the lack of table coverings, and the unattractive and unprofessional winelist, making the Long Table feel amateurish in almost all respects, other than in the high quality of Chef Corli’s food.

Long Table Restaurant and Cafe, Haskell Vineyards, Annandale Road, Stellenbosch. Tel (021) 881-3746. www.longtable.co.za. (The website is a model website for a restaurant – lots of beautiful photographs create appetite appeal and demonstrate Chef Corli’s food presentation skills, winelist and menu available, and I even saw some recipes on the Haskell website. Beautiful presentation of information – a pity this appetite appeal is not reflected in the actual menu and winelist). Tuesday – Sunday 8h00 – 17h00. Breakfast and Lunch. On the Stellenbosch Restaurant Route.

POSTSCRIPT 8/8: I returned to the Long Table for lunch today. Disappointingly, the winelist still has handwritten changes, and the Avocado & Papaya Salad did not have the salad dressing, which made the salad so tasty on my last visit. I had a taste of the Mushroom Ravioli, which was outstanding, and I loved the presentation and taste of the Apple Tart, even though the portion was small. The winelist did have vintages for the imported wines offered today, but the copy I saw on my first visit did not.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com