Tag Archives: University of Stellenbosch

Chenin Blanc largest SA wine cultivar, one of least known by SA winedrinkers!

The Chenin Blanc Association hosted the ‘Cape Chenin Unveiled’ seminar at the One&Only Cape Town yesterday, and its main focus was the presentation of a comprehensive three year research project on South African Chenin Blanc wines, a tasting of twelve Chenin Blancs, and a pairing of five dishes at Nobu with fifteen Chenin Blancs.  The research presentation by Dr Hélène Nieuwoudt of the Institute for Wine Biotechnology at the University of Stellenbosch highlighted that despite Chenin Blanc being South Africa’s largest cultivar at 19% of production, it is one of the least known and understood by wine drinkers.

Dr Nieuwoudt related that scientific research was conducted between 2010 and earlier this year, at three levels: at the chemistry level, analyses were done on grapes, fermentation, and maturation; at the sensory level, the sensory intrinsics, taste and smell were evaluated; and at the consumer level, the perceptions and psychology of wine-drinking were analysed.  The research project has been conducted in conjunction with Stellenbosch University, Consumer Check (in Norway, Italy, Australia, South Africa and the Netherlands), and Consumer Perception (in France and USA).  Chenin Blanc was one of the wine cultivars which was evaluated in the study.

The diversity of Chenin Blanc in its chemistry, sensory make-up and consumer perceptions led the researchers to conclude that Chenin Blanc suffers from a ‘confusion of style identity’, as to whether it is dry or off-dry. Seventy cellars making 170 wines were evaluated, and at the chemical level there was no obvious measurement of the chemistry of Chenin Blanc.  At the sensory level a database of descriptors was built up, and lemon, citrus, peach, pear, and apple were most often identified, and recorded in terms of number of mentions, but also their intensity.

Research conducted amongst 5261 consumers at the Johannesburg Wine Fair and Robertson Wine Fair found that Chenin Blanc has a ‘vague knowledge as a wine style’ amongst local consumers, with only 8% of all respondents interviewed knowing and understanding the cultivar. Chenin Blanc had a very low level of awareness amongst wine drinkers, which would result in a low likelihood of it being bought.  The research also showed that there is a confused segmentation of local Chenin Blancs, ranging from ‘fresh and fruity’ (and also less expensive) on one end of the spectrum, to the other end of the spectrum of ‘rich and ripe’, being the more expensive Chenin Blancs.  A spontaneous Liking score of 5,8 out of 10 increased to about 7 out of 10 when respondents were exposed to information about Chenin Blanc, showing that consumers need to be informed about Chenin Blanc, to improve their probability of buying it.  Dr Nieuwoudt said that consumers are becoming label readers in general, and suggested to Chenin Blanc producers that they evaluate how they are communicating the cultivar on their labels.

Ross Sleet summarised the research findings, and said that the Chenin Blanc Association had contributed financially to the research, to improve the ‘production of quality Chenin Blanc in South Africa.’  The Association wants to position Chenin Blanc as a ‘desirable drink‘, he added.  Whether ordered by the bottle or glass, Chenin Blanc is an excellent wine to pair with food. An ‘on-bottle device is being investigated to demonstrate the continuum of Chenin Blanc styles‘, said Sleet.

Jeff Grier, winemaker at Villiera, took the delegates through a wine tasting, segmented into ‘Fresh and Fruity’ and ‘Rich and Ripe‘ Chenin Blancs:

*   Fresh and Fruity: Perdeberg 2012, Slanghoek 2012, and Simonsig 2012 were the entry level Chenin Blancs, costing below R40, a price point which is excellent for younger drinkers.  These young drinkers will evolve into ‘Rich and Ripe’ drinkers over time.   Lutzville Diamond Collection 2011, Radford Dale Renaissance 2010, and Mulderbosch Small Change 2009 are lightly wooded, medium bodied, with minerality, and not too high in alcohol. The latter two wines cost around R200.

*   Rich and Ripe:   Spier 21 Gables 2010, Rudera Robusto 2009, and Rijk’s Reserve 2008 are wooded, while Remhoogte Honeybunch 2011, Graham Beck Bowed Head 2010, and Ken Forrester FMC 2010 are noble late harvest wines influenced by botrytis.  Generally these wines have more tropical fruit, and more yeast on the palate. The Rijk’s costs R170, the Ken Forrester FMC R325, and the other wines in this segment around R120.

Stellenbosch is associated with Chenin Blancs, and the majority of the wines selected for the tastings were from this region, reflecting that a large proportion of Chenin Blanc is made here, with low yields of 7 tons per hectare.  The Chenin Blanc Association was formed to collectively market the category, the ‘Fresh and Fruity’ Chenin Blanc brands being used to draw consumers into the category. Jeff warned that Chenin Blanc should not make a Chardonnay look-alike, given that international feedback reflects that our Chenin Blancs are excessively wooded. He recommended using bigger barrels, and coopers in Loire and Burgundy to help the ‘wooding’.

Ken Forrester is the Chairman of the Chenin Blanc Association, which is administered by Ina Smith.

At lunch at Nobu I was lucky to sit at what someone described as a ‘VIP table’, with Jeff Grier, Chenin Blanc Association founder and MW Irina von Holdt, Alan Mullins from Woolworths, wine writer Norman McFarlane, and Olivia Mitchell from garagiste Andy Mitchell in Greyton.  For each of the five courses, three Chenin Blancs were poured for pairing, the first 12 being the same Chenin Blancs we had tasted in the seminar. The Whitefish New-Style Sashimi with chives, ginger puree, garlic, and yuzu citrus soy sauce was paired with Perdeberg 2012, Slanghoek 2012, and Simonsig 2012.  The latter wine was found by our table to pair best.

This was followed by a Baby Spinach Salad with Lobster, a sprinkling of parmesan, and a drizzle of truffle oil and yuzu, which was paired with Lutzville 2011, Radford Dale Renaissance 2010, and Mulderbosch 2009.  The table found the Radford Dale to pair the best.  Shrimp Tempura Cut Roll was served with light soy, and was paired with Spier 21 Gables 2010, Rudera Robusto 2009, and Rijk’s Reserve 2008, the table choosing the Rudera as the most suitable Chenin Blanc to pair with the dish.  Irina von Holdt shared that Chenin Blanc is the ‘ultimate restaurant wine‘, she said, being so versatile.

Grilled salmon topped with a salmon skin crisp, served with brown rice salsa, with a light soy sauce, a jalapeno dressing, lemon juice and olive oil was paired with Remhoogte Honeybunch Reserve 2011, Graham Beck Bowed Head 2010, and Ken Forrester FMC 2010, the Graham Beck found at our table to pair best.  The dessert was excellent, being a Passion fruit Brûlée served with coconut ice cream, and was paired with Villiera Inspiration 2010, Kanu Kia-Ora Noble Late Harvest (NLH) 2008, and Joostenberg NLH 2005.  Jeff explained that the Villiera wine name came from a trip to France, which he and his team had won in a blending competition, where they tasted lots of Chenin Blanc and Noble Late Harvest, which was the inspiration for the creation of the Villiera.

The Nobu lunch demonstrated how well the spectrum of Chenin Blanc wines can be paired with foods, and will have gained Chenin Blanc producers a whole lot more fans.

Disclosure: We received a bottle of Villiera Chenin Blanc 2011.

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

Eat @ Altydgedacht good country food at historic wine estate on Durbanville Wine Route!

Living on the Atlantic Seaboard, I do not get out to Durbanville very often.  Errieda du Toit, PR consultant for the Durbanville Wine Route, is determined to change that, and invited me to visit Altydgedacht, the second oldest wine estate (after De Grendel) on the Durbanville Wine Route (then called Tygerberg, having been handed over to the first owner Elsje van Suurwaarde in 1698 by the Dutch East India Company) last Thursday. The wine estate has been owned by the Parker family for the last 160 years, and its rustic Eat @ Altydgedacht restaurant was named one of the Top 10 Winelands restaurants by Wine Tourism SA last month, published in Oprah magazine.

Bubbly restaurant owner Sharon Kriel showed us the original cellar at Altydgedacht, which is used for seating for her restaurant when it is cold outside, decorated with fairy lights and the original wine vats, which are over 100 years old. She showed us the plans which have just had drawn up, to show how the cellar grew from the original 1702 building to its current shape, last added onto in 1941.  Using a Bedouin canopy, Sharon has increased the size of her popular restaurant, which she started at Altydgedacht in 2009, and on good weather days one can sit outside at wooden tables and those made from wine barrels, or even on a blanket on the lawn, in picnic style.  The restaurant can seat 95 guests.

The Parker family is the fifth generation to own the farm, and its matriarch Jean Parker is a character at 87 years, I was told. Her sons John and Ollo run the farm, John being the Viticulturist, and Ollo the Cellarmaster, working with their winemaker Etienne Louw. It was a stop in Cape Town of the ship carrying the Parker forbears to Australia that made 13 year old Ralph Parker stay behind, find a job as an apprentice with Mr Chiappini, after whom a city centre street is named, marry his daughter, and buy Altydgedacht a few years later.  The history of the farm and of the Parker family is captured in the very rustic tasting room, which has a very old workbench, in which historical farm tools are still to be found in its drawers, and on which the Altydgedacht wines are displayed.  The Tasting Room has a wall with some of the original ‘koffieklip‘ from which the walls were built still showing.  The farm is 415 hectares in size, of which 180 ha is under vineyards and 30 ha is dedicated to a Fynbos and Renosterveld reserve. The farm was managed by Jean Parker when her husband died at the age of 29 after a shooting accident, with the help of their long-standing farm manager Hennie Heydenrych. John and Ollo both went to the University of Stellenbosch to study wine management and winemaking, respectively, and both worked on wine estates in California. Ollo also spent time in New Zealand and in Australia. Their initial grape production of 500 tons, from which the wine made was sold to the Castle Wine & Brandy Company and to Monis, for the production of fortified wines. When Distell set up Nederburg, incorporating Monis, in the ‘Sixties, they bought grapes from Altydgedacht, and the farm stopped making wines. In 1980 Altydgedacht was registered as a wine estate, and they started making their first red wine a year later, called Tintoretto, a blend of Pinotage, Shiraz, Barbera, and Cabernet Sauvignon. In 1985 they bottled the first wines, including the Tintoretto, a Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin Blanc, and Bukettraube.  Their grape planting increased to 1700 tons (now reduced down to 1400 tons) of which they bottle 10% and sell the remainder of the grapes to Nederburg.  The farm produces 14 grape varieties for winemaking and two table grape varieties.  The current Altydgedacht wine range includes:

*   Sauvignon Blanc (R60)

*   Gewürztraminer (made in the French Alsace style, R60)

*   The Ollo (blend of Chenin Blanc, Semillon, Chardonnay, Viognier, R75)

*   Rosé (made from Cabernet Franc, R35)

*   MCC (made in 2008 for the first time, and now in 2012, R100)

*   Semillon Noble Late Harvest (R65 for 375 ml)

*   Merlot (R75)

*   Shiraz (R75)

*   Cabernet Sauvignon (R75)

*   Pinotage (their flagship, having made ABSA Top 10 in 2008 and 2009, R85)

*   Tintoretto (R125)

*   Barbera (R95)

*   Ralph Parker Cabernet Sauvignon (wine with a more pronounceable name for export).

*   Dry Red (R35)

It was explained that the Durbanville area is very suitable for grape production for winemaking, as the air cools down at night, coming off the Atlantic Ocean 15 km away after the hot summer days, which prolongs the ripening process. Durbanville is the reigning Terroir Award holder for fine red wines.  The eleven farms on the Durbanville wine route work well together, and ‘speak as one voice’, but are in healthy competition with each other.  Etienne said that winemaking should be ‘analog from the vineyards’, in that the more one leaves the wines alone, the better the wine that is made.

Sharon has no idea when Wine Tourism SA came to evaluate the lunch, to award it the listing in the Top 10 Winelands Restaurant list (alongside Babylonstoren, Jonkershuis, Jordan Restaurant, South Hill, Creation, The Kitchen at Maison, Black Oyster Catcher, Mulderbosch, and The Stone Kitchen).

Sharon brought us the soup of the day, which was a roast red pepper cream soup with basil pesto. Sharon explained that her menu is small, focusing on quality rather than quantity.  Platters are available, which one can make up by marking the elements one wishes to eat on the menu, including bread slices, cheeses, dips, olives, preserves, cold meats, and salads, or one can order prepared platters of cheese (R110), ‘Eat at the Farm Platter‘ for two persons (R175), and a Meze Platter (R60).

For the main course I ordered the Chicken Pot Pie (R85), the restaurant’s signature dish, which contains chicken, mushrooms, and carrots in a creamy sauce, topped with puff pastry, and served with delicious potatoes wedges ‘like my mom used to make‘  Sharon said, and a vegetable mix. Sharon is very good at including the Altydgedacht wines into her dishes, so her Pot Pie of the Day last Thursday was a Pinotage Steak one.  Her Barbera Burger has the Italian-style wine included in the beef patty (R75).  Her Bacon Quiche (R62) is the favourite of Ollo and Etienne.  Salmon on Rye with dried capers and dill cream cheese (R80), and two pasta dishes (R62 and R80) are also available. For dessert three of us shared the baked cheesecake, chocolate brownie, and apple pie, all generously served with ice cream, each costing only R30. Sharon emphasised that they subscribe to the Slow Food movement, preparing all food fresh, on order, so it takes a little longer to receive one’s order.

Eat @ Altydgedacht offers extremely friendly service and good value home-cooked meals on a wine estate that marries longstanding traditions and modern methods to create wines of quality and character.

Disclosure: I received a gift pack of Altydgedacht wines.

Eat @ Altydgedacht, Altydgedacht wine estate, Durbanville.  Tel (021) 975-7815. www.altydgedacht.co.za Twitter: @EatAltydgedacht  Monday – Saturday Breakfast and Lunch.

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

2012 Olympic Games come to ‘world class’ Stellenbosch!

I was surprised but delighted to read an article in the latest The Sunday Independent, reporting that more than 260 athletes participating in the 2012 Olympic Games, to be held in London from July to August, are in Stellenbosch to prepare for this top event this month.  This includes top athletes Blanka Vlasic from Croatia and Dwain Chambers, British world indoor champion in the 60 metre track event.

The University of Stellenbosch’s Coetzenburg Stadium athletic facilities have been deemed to be ‘world class’ by Charles van Commensee, head coach of the British athletics team, who has been bringing his athletes to Stellenbosch for the past 12 years.  “Stellenbosch is the ideal place to train for us. Athletes get injured easily and always need warmth and sunshine to prevent injuries, so the warm weather is great”, he said, his team getting an overdose of ‘warmth’ at the moment, as the Cape suffers a heat wave!  He added further benefits being that they have access to the track, the pool, the gym as well as ‘top notch recovery facilities‘.

Athletes from The United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, and the Czech Republic have arrived since the beginning of this month, to train here.  More athletes are expected to arrive next year, ahead of the 2013 World Championships of Athletics. Athletes have praised both the facilities, as well as the beauty surrounding them when they train.   Tille Scheerlinch, the Belgium team ‘high performance director’, said that an advantage of training in Stellenbosch is that there is a minimal time difference, compared to a country like Australia, with similar weather, but the time difference would affect his athletes when they return home. He said: “They call it a paradise and I can see why”!

The University of Stellenbosch’s athletics administration officer Mario Smith said it is an honour to have the athletes practising here, and a good learning experience for local athletes to learn from the world’s best. Stellenbosch and the Western Cape are sure to benefit from the athletes training locally, advantaging accommodation establishments, restaurants, and retail outlets currently, and from the good feedback that the athletes will take back with them to their home countries.

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

Babel Tea House: a refreshing new stop in the gardens of Babylonstoren

Babylonstoren is the flavour of the year, and is on everyone’s lips.  Just over a year after opening, the hotel has made the Conde Nast Hot 100 list, and Babel Restaurant the Eat Out Top 20 shortlist.  Now the owners Karen Roos and Koos Bekker have opened the Babel Tea House on the impressive property, as a refreshment stop for visitors to their garden.

Designed to emulate a Victorian ‘kweekhuis’, the glass conservatory is positioned under oak trees about 400 meters from Babel Restaurant.  To get there, one must walk through the massive 1,2 km x 700 meter 3,5 ha fruit and vegetable garden, with 350 species, which was designed by Patrice Tarravella, who has a  Relais & Chateaux property about two hours south of Paris, which is well-known for its garden.  The Bekkers contracted Patrice to design their garden in the same style, with a lot of trellising of roses in-between the vegetables, and especially along the pathway.  One needs a hat, and comfortable walking shoes to walk on the part stony and part peach-pip path to the Tea House.  Tables with a collection of colourful chairs are set up under the trees outside the Tea House.  Inside the Tea House one can sense the decor style of Karen Roos – a collection of flowers, including blue lillies, just lying as if they are still to be put in a vase.  Another table has a collection of vegetables on a table, making a decor statement.  A third table has herbs from the garden, with Nigiro glass tea pots and warmers.   One can choose one’s herb from a collection from the garden – e.g. rose geranium, sage, mint, lavender – and have one’s own tea made, at a mere R10 a cup.  Cupcakes were also on display.

When one arrives one receives a brochure with the layout of the grounds, and of the vegetable garden specifically.  I heard that a guide can take one through the garden, but this is not communicated on arrival nor when one is at the Tea House.  Some interesting sounding garden sections include the prickly pear maze, the historical mulberry, ‘mulberry meditation’, the citrus block, the ‘guava avenue’, and many more.

It is very ‘gesellig’ at the Tea House, as a number of visitors came to say hello, including radio man Nico de Kock, the F&B Manager Annelle van Tonder, who brought me a Winner plum as a welcome, and both Karen Roos and Koos Bekker.   Karen Roos is a very private person, and had her own decor magazine ‘Red‘ many years ago, and ended her editorship of Elle Decoration, no doubt to devote more time to her new project.   She has won awards for her stylish dressing, and her impeccable taste shows in her understated decor at Babylonstoren.  Koos Bekker and I have crossed paths three times – as members of the editorial team for Die Matie whilst we were students at the University of Stellenbosch; as a client when I was seconded from Y&R Johannesburg to work with him as a market researcher when he set up M-Net 25 years ago; and as a research consultant to M-Net a few years later. Now he is the CEO of Naspers. Koos’ touch is evident in the Chinese on the signage, with English or Afrikaans, and his company has lost a lot of money there, he told me. He is still very active in China, having returned from a trip to there the day before, he told me. Babylonstoren must be the only South African tourism player that is recognising the potential power of the Chinese market. Admirably he has taken Mandarin lessons, to master this difficult language.  Koos looked like a country gentleman, with a Panama hat, was friendly and relaxed (he is an extreme work-a-holic), and he even brought me a hat to protect my face from the sun.  He has invested an inordinate amount of money in Babylonstoren, one assumes.  Koos told me that they will start producing their first wines next year in their 300 ton cellar, Charl Coetzee, previously of Clos Malverne, being their winemaker.  In the meantime they are selling wines drawn from the terroir surrounding the Simonsberg in their shop and in the restaurant.  I have read elsewhere that a tasting room for these Simonsberg terroir wines is on the cards at Babylonstoren, with a deli selling cheeses too.

The GM Terry de Waal also came to introduce himself, and told me that his background is industrial engineering and not hospitality at all.  He was the project manager when Babylonstoren was first developed, and now takes overall responsibility for the estate.   His industrial engineering skills were useful when the Tea House was designed, working with Patrice, Koos, and Karen to come up with the design of the building. I saw Terry being hands-on, carrying food boxes from the kitchen to clients.

Water is offered for free in branded bottles, and must be from the farm. Cutlery is the most stylish patterned perspex.  The food is served in a branded wooden box.  The paper table cloth is also branded, with a Delft plate, which has become a new symbol for Babylonstoren, remnants of which have been found on the grounds during the renovations.  The table cloth states that it is recycled, going into the compost after use. The concept is very simple – from a blackboard choose for a ‘sandwich’ a bread style (ciabatta, wholewheat, rye, farmstyle white), a cheese (Dalewood Huguenot, Gorgonzola, goat’s cheese, pecorino), and/or a charcuterie item (Black Forest ham, smoked chicken, soft cured biltong, smoked trout).  The cost of both the meat and cheese sandwich is R65, and R55 for either the one or the other.  A fresh garden salad with herbs is served in a separate glass jar, and there are two further jars: one with plum relish with granny smith apple and pineapple sage, and the other with a mixed herb oil. My rye ‘sandwich’ was a roll, and was rather tough, filled with the ham and cheese, and wrapped in branded paper, with the perspex cutlery tied to it with a serviette.  I took my roll home with me, and only had the salad, spontaneously booking for lunch at Babel restaurant.  I am not sure how one would eat the ‘sandwich’ without having a plate, the wooden box in which it was served possibly serving this purpose. Chef Simone Rossouw confirmed that the cakes and cupcakes are made for them by Kelly in Franschhoek, who transforms the produce they have in abundance into cake.  I took a chocolate cupcake (R25) home with me, and it was wrapped in the branded paper, with six cherries giving it a beautiful finishing touch. Slices of cake cost R45, and the selection includes lemon meringue, carrot cake and chocolate cake.  Cappuccino costs R18; red, yellow or green juices cost R20, homemade iced tea R25; homemade ginger beer R16 and lemonade R20; Marriage Freres teas cost R30.

Service is slow, but Babylonstoren is not the place to go to if one is in a hurry, and the service should improve as the Tea House settles in.  Neither the blackboard nor the staff explain clearly how the sandwiches work, and what the prices are.   One needs a hat and comfortable shoes.  I was disappointed that they buy in the cakes, and do not make them on the farm. But the overall delight of walking through the gardens, of getting an opportunity to experience a taste of Babylonstoren without pre-booking Babel Restaurant, and of seeing style personified makes the food disappointment secondary.

Babel Tea House, Babylonstoren. R45 to Franschhoek, next to Backsberg. Tel (021) 863-3852. www.babylonstoren.com Twitter:@Babylonstoren.  Wednesday – Sunday. 10h00 – 16h00. No reservation required.  R10 entrance fee to the estate.

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