{"id":57834,"date":"2014-06-01T18:25:57","date_gmt":"2014-06-01T16:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=57834"},"modified":"2014-06-01T18:25:57","modified_gmt":"2014-06-01T16:25:57","slug":"peninsula-all-suite-hotel-wine-dine-interesting-pairing-with-steenberg-wines-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/peninsula-all-suite-hotel-wine-dine-interesting-pairing-with-steenberg-wines-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Peninsula All-Suite Hotel Wine & Dine interesting pairing with Steenberg wines!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Peninsula<\/a>On Thursday evening I was invited by Communication Services Africa (CSA) to attend The Peninsula All-Suite Hotel monthly Wine & Dine at its Sunset Restaurant, paired with Steenberg Wines, both clients of the PR consultancy. \u00a0We had a fun evening, with a lot of banter from both the host Chris Godenir and Steenberg General Manager and Cellar Master John Loubser.<\/p>\n

Chris Godenir has been at Three Cities for a number of years, and has a special relationship with his staff at The Peninsula All-Suite Hotel, not losing his cool easily. \u00a0One has to get used to his sense of humour, which he surrounds himself with continuously, making one unsure whether he says something in jest or is serious. \u00a0 Poor John and I both were on the receiving end of Chris\u2019 jibes, and I decided to take the positive out of his comments, which in my case showed that he reads my blog!<\/p>\n

Chris announced that the Wine & Dine was the first opportunity for their new chef Hajierah Hamit to cook for a special group, the dinner being sold out. I sat next to Chris\u2019 vivacious wife Alison, and she told me interesting stories about integration in the workplace, the challenge no longer between different cultural groups, but rather between age groups, quoting generation Y and X behaviours in the workplace, and how these can cause conflict. \u00a0She is a consultant smoothing over such age related conflict in the workplace. \u00a0At the media table too were Joanne and Patrick Gibson (Joanne writes for the\u00a0Sunday Times Food Weekly<\/strong>\u00a0about wine), Cayleigh Bright of\u00a0Glamour Online<\/strong>\u00a0and her friend Will, and Megan Drury from CSA. Chris introduced John, the most creative interpretation of a CV John has probably had to endure, but it raised many laughs, and\u00a0John was \u00a0good sport in accepting Chris\u2019 twist on his background! \u00a0John went to Bishops, was a commercial diver in Namibia where he met his interior designer wife Karen, worked at M\u00f4reson, then at Graham Beck as its Cellar Master, before moving across to Steenberg. \u00a0The diners were not told how good John is at making his own (private) Silverthorn MCCs, with grapes coming from their family farm in Robertson.<\/p>\n

John picked up Chris\u2019 humour, and explained for those who did not know where Steenberg is that it is opposite Pollsmoor prison, which raised a laugh. He said that it is rare for him to come to the Atlantic Seaboard. He wanted to be sure that we understood that the Steenberg Brut 1682 Chardonnay \"Peninsula<\/a>had not been made in 1682, but that the farm had been established in that year, being the\u00a0oldest in the country. \u00a0He shared that they used to make 2000 bottles of the MCC per year, and now they make 2000 bottles per week. \u00a0They are riddled by hand, and joked that Veuve Clicquot had been inspired by Steenberg\u2019s yellow label design! \u00a0The MCC was served as the welcome drink.<\/p>\n

\"Peninsula<\/a>Our starter was a smoked salmon and spring onion tartlet, a petite rocket salad being served on top of the tart. \u00a0This was paired with Steenberg Rattlesnake Sauvignon Blanc 2013. \u00a0John told us the interesting background to the name of the wine, in that it was the name of one of the warships sent by the British to the Cape, to prevent a Dutch\/French alliance from blocking the trade route between Europe and the East via the Cape for the British. \u00a0The names of the ships were HMS Rattlesnake, HMS Echo, HMS Ruby, and more. \u00a0 The battle site was Muizenberg beach, and the British achieved their goal of beating the Dutch, with 800 cannon shells having been fired in the one hour battle. \u00a0The suburb Retreat, which isn\u2019t far from Muizenberg, was named after the retreat of the Dutch after the Battle of Muizenberg. \u00a0This is when the British took over the rule of the Cape. \u00a0The Sauvignon Blanc is barrel fermented, the Steenberg grapes benefiting from its cool climate, being so close to the sea.<\/p>\n

The Intermediate dish was crispy duck blini served with home-made chili jam and pear chutney, paired with \"Peninsula<\/a>Steenberg Shiraz\u00a02012, which John described as having white and black pepper, as well as violet notes. \u00a0It was a good pairing with the duck. John\u2019s story about Steenberg \"Peninsula<\/a>owner Catharina Ras was fascinating, and no one will forget the tale of the lady with the five husbands! \u00a0She arrived in the Cape from L\u00fcbeck, and was granted the Steenberg land, after she arrived in a sailing boat disguised as a man, given that it was a bad omen to have women on board. \u00a0Her first husband died tragically. \u00a0Husband number 2 survived being stabbed when he tried to intervene in a fight between their carriage driver and another, but then was eaten by a lion, which Catharina subsequently shot. \u00a0Husband number 3 was stabbed to death by a tribesman. \u00a0Husband number 4 \u00a0went hippo hunting near Zeekoeivlei, and was trampled to death by an elephant. \u00a0Husband number 5 survived Catharina, who had 13 children. \u00a0Someone in the audience suggested that a Steenberg wine be named \u2018Catharina\u2019s Big Five<\/em>\u2018!<\/p>\n

A cranberry and vodka sorbet was a palate cleanser, and a welcome break between the courses and \"Peninsula<\/a>wines.\u00a0Interesting was that the herb-crusted kingklip stuffed with smoked mussels on \"Peninsula<\/a>a bed of wilted Asian greens was paired with Steenberg Echo Red Bland (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc), which was named one of the Top 6 SA Bordeaux-style Red Blends by\u00a0Classic Wine<\/strong>\u00a0earlier this year. \u00a0The kitchen very kindly prepared my fish without the mussels, on request, due to an allergy. \u00a0John said that the success with Echo had proven that Steenberg is not only a successful white wine producer. \u00a0The fish was topped with a tomato paste, \u00a0which was a pity as it detracted from the lovely taste of this fish, on top of which micro herbs were placed. \u00a0\u00a0It may just have been my fish, perhaps to compensate for the mussels, as the fish dish I photographed at the start of the dinner did not appear to have any tomato paste on it. \u00a0Surprising was seeing Chris remove a large fishbone from his dish.<\/p>\n

For dessert our menu told us that we would be served a petite key lime pie with roast coconut ice cream, but \"Peninsula<\/a>the word \u2018petite\u2019<\/em>\u00a0was a misnomer, as it was a huge serving. \u00a0The coconut sprinkled ice cream was a big hit, but was such a huge scoopful that few could finish it and the lime pie. \u00a0The dessert was paired with Graham Beck Rhona Muscadel 2005, made from Muscat de Frontignan.<\/p>\n

Whilst taking a photograph of John in Reception, he told me about the new craft beer which Steenberg winemaker JD Pretorius and Bistro Sixteen82 Chef Brad Ball are \u2018cooking\u2019 up, and for which a taste test was held on Friday. \u00a0It will be a stand alone Kitchen Bitch brand, an Indian Pale Ale, which will be served exclusively at Bistro Sixteen82. \u00a0It is an experimental craft beer, which will have new beers added over time. \u00a0It will be bottled in a 750 ml bottle similar to that of the Steenberg MCC. \u00a0 John spoke about a Craft Beer revolution, and they may well become part of it over time. \u00a0We spoke about Steenberg\u2019s poor reaction to Twitter and Facebook mentions, and John shared that Social Media activity for the brand will return in-house from July.<\/p>\n

We had an enjoyable evening, with good company, very good wines, and very generous food portions served. \u00a0A nice touch was when Chris called all the staff from the kitchen into the restaurant, to thank them for their hard work in preparing our meal. \u00a0They were beaming, and all appear to love their job. \u00a0It was great to chat to John, not often having had the opportunity to do so in the past, and to meet the lovely new Wine Marketing Manager Caroline van Schalkwyk. \u00a0The Peninsula hosts Wine & Dine dinners on the last Thursday of every month.<\/p>\n

The Peninsula All-Suite hotel<\/strong>, 313 Beach Road, Sea Point, Cape Town. \u00a0Tel (021) 430-7777 \u00a0\u00a0www.peninsula.co.za\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Twitter: @PenHotel<\/p>\n

Steenberg Vineyards<\/strong>, Steenberg Road, Constantia, Cape Town. \u00a0Tel (021) 713-2211 \u00a0www.steenberg-vineyards.co.za<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0Twitter: @SteenbergWines<\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio:\u00a0www.whalecottage.com<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Twitter: @WhaleCottage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Thursday evening I was invited by Communication Services Africa (CSA) to attend The Peninsula All-Suite Hotel monthly Wine & Dine at its Sunset Restaurant, paired with Steenberg Wines, both clients of the PR consultancy. \u00a0We had a fun evening, with a lot of banter from both the host Chris Godenir and Steenberg General Manager […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[20517,4795,3,124,672,1918,266,25,20,21,19,293],"tags":[25658,338,25667,15721,1591,3982,25672,8302,25660,25692,32378,23050,16481,14590,16814,25661,226,25673,25665,25664,25666,25671,13233,1260,11022,24778,25670,19780,5291,25694,25693,11094,21485,16320,25696,25662,32395,231,15667,25695,10216,32373,25657,16498],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t