Wolfgang Leyrer | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

Last week Allée Bleue launched its first sparkling wine, the Brut Rosé 2009, and dressed up its lunch venue in pink, in contrast to its blue corporate colour. Flowers on the tables were pink, pink and white balloons decorated the entrance to the venue, and GM Wolfgang Leyrer wore a pink jersey in honour of the event.

The new Brut Rosé is made from 53% chenin blanc and 47% pinotage, and has “delicate flavours of strawberries, rose petals and candy floss”, according to the tasting notes. The wine spent 10 months on the lees. Only 6000 bottles have been made.

Using the colour and flavour descriptions as a cue, the food and wine journalists and bloggers invited to the celebration of the new bubbly were treated to a most wonderful lunch:

* The starter was a Trio of Salmon, with wasabi cream, beautifully presented.

* The main course was Chicken Supreme and prawns in a saffron sauce

* The most beautiful of the three courses was the strawberry dessert, a strawberry pannacotta surrounded by fresh strawberry slices

For the past 18 months Allée Bleue GM Wolfgang Leyrer has been driving the development of the wine estate, now the largest venue in Franschhoek as far as weddings go, and he was proud to announce that 50 weddings have been booked for the season ahead already, held in their new Grand Hall, which was launched in March and can seat 300 guests. The new Brut Rosé will largely be used for wedding events, and will only be sold on the estate, at R89,50.

Winemaker Van Zyl Du Toit introduced his new Chenin Blanc 2010, made from Walker Bay and Franschhoek grapes, which was also served to the guests, costing R39. It is so new that it still has to be labelled. A Rosé 2010 was also served with the lunch, with a distinctive deep pink colour, and a dry taste. It costs R32.

A new chef Glen Ferris has been appointed for the Bistro, and he is currently doing an exchange at Schwarzer Adler, a Michelin two-star restaurant in the Black Forest in Germany.

Allée Bleue is a wine estate to watch, as it is constantly moving ahead with new developments, within a culture of German excellence. The owners of the wine estate are the Dauphin family from Germany.

Allée Bleue, R45, Franschhoek. Tel (021) 874-1021 www.alleebleue.com Twitter: @AlleeBleue

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

The Sweet Service Award goes to Allee Bleue in Franschhoek, for laying on the most wonderful lunch on a perfect summer’s day 2 weeks ago. Invited guests were hotel/guest house owners/managers as well as media representatives. The lunch was held in the new wine tasting courtyard, which looks very chic, the many staff were immaculately dressed in the Allee Bleue branded aprons and bow ties, and live music was performed. The lunch was prepared by lovely and ever-smiling Chef Dane Newton, and the starter was a Taste of the Sea Assiette, a seafood collection of salmon, crayfish, calamari and prawns, beautifully plated; the main course was an “Inside out sirloin burger”, with a potato galette served between a layer of sirloin steak and beef mince; and a “Strawberry Delight” pannacotta dessert was served. The appointment of GM Wolfgang Leyrer, who joined Allee Bleue less than a year ago, has resulted in a most amazing transformation of the wine estate, has added picnics and the wine tasting lunch menu, and is expanding the wedding capacity of the estate, it being one of the most popular wedding destinations in the area. This is the third Sweet Service Award Allee Bleue has won since the inception of the Sweet & Sour Service Awards over a year ago.

The Sour Service Award goes to the management of Robben Island, who have not operated their ferry Sikhululekile to the iconic island for 2 weeks now, because a part has to be flown in from Germany. This is the third time in four months that the R 26 million ferry has not operated, in periods during which Cape Town has numerous tourists visiting the city. The Sea Princess, with a capacity half of that of the Robben Island ferry, has been chartered for the time being.

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog. Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com. Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.