An innovative selection of wines by the glass at restaurants
is a growing trend. Yet many wine-lists still encourage diners to up-spend on a
bottle rather than tempt consumers to chance a glass of a new label, alternate
variety or emerging cellar. (And waiters often take your wine order before you
decide on what you are going to eat.) Ordering wine by the glass means your
party can mix ‘n match wine to each course - and make the wine-list as much a
culinary journey of exploration as the menu itself.
Wine by the glass etiquette uncorks its own issues. Should
the wine be poured at table? If open already, when was the bottle opened - and
how are open wines preserved? Wine by the glass was highlighted at the inaugural
Sommeliers Selection awards, announced at Open Door restaurant at Constantia
Uitsig in June 2015. Judged by members of the SA Sommeliers Association, winners
across fourteen categories structured like a wine list - eg, full and rich,
fresh and juicy, elegant and classy, house wines, MCC, etc - were awarded wine
by the glass trophies selected from 400 entries.
Restaurateur Neil Grant says sommeliers can play an important role by encouraging diners to try new wines - rather than stick to their old favourites in the comfort zone (even if he has to replace the wine if not to the customer’s satisfaction). As an experienced sommelier he should know. We talked over lunch at Open Door, his brand-new restaurant on the former premises of The River Café at Constantia Uitsig - his wine list demonstrates how an innovative wine selection by the glass - including a special sommeliers selection - encourages consumers to quaff on the wild side.
We were drinking Ivory White 2014 - a luscious blend of
Grenache Blanc and Viognier from JH Meyer in the Swartland - one of the new
releases on the excellent wine-list divided into categories like “interesting
whites (and reds)”. The white list at Open Door showcases alternative varieties
like Dirty Julie Verdelho, Leeuwenkuil Marsanne, TSW Grenache Blend, The Foundry
Grenache Blanc and B Vintners Muscat de Alexandrie - as well as many niche labels
inter alia Blake’s (Swartland), Driehoek (Cederberg), Seasmoke (Durbanville), Hannay
(Elgin), Beeslaar (Stellenbosch) and Simelia (Wellington). The varietal
selections are inspired, especially in Chenin, Merlot and Pinot Noir (Try Fist
of Fancy Pinot/McGregor - or Donkiesbaai Pinot).
Open Door is a stunning new venue in the Constantia Wine
Valley - with a new
tasting room for Constantia Uitsig opening nearby later in the year. Opening a
180-seater in mod-winter in the Cape takes courage.
Living up to its name, Open Door has opened up the century-old heritage venue,
from the bar and open-plan kitchen to the deck, chic interior and vineyard
views. The culinary accent is contemporary bistro fare on a menu created by
Annemarie Steenkamp - executive chef at sister Burrata and Bocca - along with
breakfast, café and child menus. I enjoyed the classic flavours of tuna
gravlax, poached crayfish and slow-cooked lamb neck in the comfort zone - and a
sublime cheesecake (and divine chocolate torte) from star pastry chef Christine
de Villiers (ex Le Quartier Francais), who runs the bakery. Watch this space.
I have enjoyed four of the best meals of 2015 on my tasting
circuit on the Constantia wine route. Bistro Sixteen82 at Steenberg is another
winery restaurant which has had a makeover this year. The chic wine bar - one
of the most stylish tasting venues at the cellar-door - and stunning restaurant
terrace in the vineyards remains the same. But new chef Kerry Kilpin (who
worked under Franck Dangereux at The Food Barn and La Colombe), brings culinary
flair to one of the top bistros in the Cape winelands.
This rising star of what she calls “the neo-bistro” scene
created one of the best food-and-wine pairing menus of the season at the recent
launch of Steenberg’s new vintages. We enjoyed Kerry’s sublime menu of langoustine
risotto and mussel veloute with The Black Swan Sauvignon Blanc 2013, salmon,
scallop carpaccio and oysters with Steenberg Semillon 2013, five-spice
springbok tataki with Catharina 2013, and seared citrus duck with the flagship Magna
Carta 2012 - and Magna Carta sorbet 2015 made from the freshly pressed grape
juice. Winemaker JD Pretorius and GM John Loubser traced the evolution of
Steenberg’s wine style - in assemblage and oaking.
The art of food and wine matching is often arbitrary,
indifferent or too overwrought. A good pairing should complement and highlight
flavours with simplicity and subtlety. The signature mineral, flinty, savoury
and steely acidity of Steenberg white wines are classically matched with
ingredients like shellfish and seafood sourced from the same cool-climate
maritime terroir, with an umami spin. Or in the case of the reds, say mushroom
dishes to match the earthy, smoky, forest floor flavours of the reds. Chef
Garth Almazan of Catharina’s at Steenberg is a whiz at seafood and ‘shrooms.
La Colombe, a renowned destination restaurant in the Constantia Wine Valley, is a newcomer of sorts, after upping and moving from Constantia Uitsig to Silvermist Vineyards on Constantia Nek late last year. Since stepping into the big crocs of chef Luke Dale-Roberts (who opened The Test Kitchen - rated #28 on the World’s Best 50 Restaurants in 2015) five years ago - chef Scott Kirton has made his own mark. Lunch at La Colombe was the highlight of my own culinary perambulations around the winelands in the first half of this year. The dizzying drive up to chef’s new eyrie - past the source of Silvermist Organic Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2014 - offers some of the most spectacular vineyard views in the Cape. What a dramatic setting. It reminded me of the new sushi and wine bar at Beau Constantia I tried late last year.
At La Colombe, I enjoyed catching up with renowned winemaker
Peter Finlayson over a tasting of the newest releases of his Bouchard Finlayson
wines. We paired Blanc de Mer 2014 (a Riesling-led five-way blend) with
starters of west coast oysters poached in MCC, Scott’s stunning tuna with
ponzu, citrus and shitake, cleverly presented in La Colombe’s own branded cans
- and signature Alaskan snow crab and yellowtail ceviche. The plating is very
playful, with seafood on glass rocks and sea-shells - and the combinations
inventive but still classic and never “OTT” - say scallops and sweetbreads with
curried snoek veloute. It paired well with Missionvale Chardonnay 2013, an
elegant wine with tangy citrus marmalade and a clean finish.
Every dish on the menu at La Colombe is paired with an
interesting choice of wine by the glass - say scallops and sweetbreads with
Vondeling Babiana, ostrich tataki with Tormentoso Mourvedre and sous vide Karoo lamb with Bouchard Finlayson’s Hannibal 2013. The
menu is one of the most original I’ve sampled in a long time - from the confit
duck and Jerusalem artichoke soup to a trio of Oak Valley acorn-fed pork
(belly, loin and shoulder) served with smoked apple puree, Calvados and apple
jus. Complementing the earthy dish were, the dark fruit, spice and fecund
forest floor flavours of Galpin Peak Pinot Noir and Tête de Cuvée (2005 won Platter
Wine of the Year in 2008) - Robert Parker said, “The best wine I’ve tasted out
of South Africa).
“2005 was a stellar year for us. We haven’t had a five star
Pinot Noir in the last five years in Platter” says Peter (who does win a close
4,5 stars every year for both Galpin Peak Pinot Noirs, Hannibal and Kaaimansgat Chardonnay, and four
stars for the rest. “Five stars = a 30% increase in sales. We sometimes get
criticised for making Pinot that is too compact, too tight. Well the 2013 Tête
du Cuvée is not typically compact - and we’re trying to get more Nebbiolo into
our Hannibal.
You know we sold 120 cases of our Blanc de Mer 2012 to Moulin Rouge in Paris! I last went there
in 1975!”
My Constantia culinary spree ended at The Conservatory at The Cellars-Hohenort. Chef Delia Harbottle has created a three course winter menu tempting with signature dishes like her double-baked Underberg cheese soufflé and squid linguini Nero - perfectly paired with Reyneke Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2013 by new, renowned sommelier Tatiana Marcetteau. The sunny glasshouse and garden restaurant brightened up a chilly winter’s day - as did a glass of Constantia Glen Five, a five-way Bordeaux-style flagship which complemented the grass-fed sirloin with kitchen garden veggies, heirloom carrots, triple -cooked chips - and a decadent chocolate fondant. Who could ask for more apart from Vin de Hohenort dessert wine from their own Muscat vines - or chef Tempelhoff’s Yardstick wines made by Adam Mason?
Another day I’ll revisit the other two culinary landmarks of
the Constantia Wine Valley:
Edgar Osojik’s Buitenverwachting and Peter Tempelhoff’s The Greenhouse at The
Cellars. The Greenhouse is closed until mid-August for renovations and
expansion. When it re-opens, the culinary makeover of Constantia, a gourmet
destination in the city’s backyard, will be up and ready for the new season. The
valley even has a new farmstall called Chardonnay Deli on its culinary map -
despite the fact that Sauvignon Blanc is undoubtedly the cool-climate star of
this historic terroir.