This awesome collage thanks to @darrynvdwalt

Last Sat I popped into the Winestyle magazine’s Winter Wine Party which was hosted at Simon’s at the beautiful Groot Constantia wine estate.

We were welcomed with some Bisquit Cognac cocktails.  Now even through I’m a solid Afrikaanse meise, I’m not a brandy drinker, in fact, I hate the stuff.  So I’ve never really tried being a Cognac drinker either, because to me it was just a fancy pants Frenchie version of the same thing.  I just assumed I wouldn’t like it…  But I’m happy to report that I was actually pleasantly surprised.  The cognac was very smooth and they paired it with some fresh limes, soda water and I think some sugar to turn it into a really lovely cognac spiked lemonade type drink.  It was very cool.

Maybe I’ll do some more “research” into cognac then…

Now as any experienced wine festivalgoer will tell you, the key to a successfully wine-filled day out is to make sure that lining that stomach of yours is your first order of business.

We did so with the help of the yummy Simon’s special tasting menu:

Here you have (from left to right) the pork belly on ciabatta, the bratwors roll and the fish & chips:

Aaaah. Comfort food bliss.

Next up, we did some stretching, grabbed our tasting glasses and set out to explore.  Normally I stick to trying wines from wineries I don’t know.  But I broke my rule just this once for two new wines from well known Nederburg Wines:

I’m a girl who loves a good story and these two wines certainly suck you in with theirs.  Both are dedicated to two former Nederburg wine makers.  The Young Airhawk (a wooded Sauvignon Blanc) is a homage to Arnold Graue who tragically died at a young age in an air crash and The Motorcycle Marvel (Rhône-style blend of Grenache, Carignan and Shiraz) is for Günter Brözel who used to love his trips around the wine estate on his motorcycle. Pretty cool huh?

Now you won’t be finding these in the Pick ‘n Pay or Checkers wine isle.  They will be exclusively sold to restaurants and boutique wine shops, like Caroline’s Fine Wine Cellar in the V&A.  I tried both and loved both.  Very easy drinking wines and who could resist those beautiful labels.  Would make a really nice gift.

Another honorable mention goes to a goose.  And no, I’m not referring to a a chick (Afrikaans okes always refer to their girlfriends as their “goose” – cringe!).  I’m referring to Fine Wines by The Goose which is made by word famous SA golfer Retief “The Goose” Goosen.  Following in the footsteps of his fellow golfer, Ernie Els, who has Ernie Els Wines, Mr Goosen now has his own winery.  I had a taste of The Gander 2010 Shiraz and really loved it.  The Goose Espression 2010 is a single vineyard Shiraz & Cab Sav blend and apparently their best seller.  Unfortunately they didn’t have any for us to sample, so I’m gonna have to keep my eyes peeled for that one.  More of a white wine person?  Not to worry, they also have a Sauvignon Blanc version of both The Goose & The Gander.

Oh and the winery is situated in Upper-Langkloof valley on our beautiful Garden Route

Another lovely red came from High Constantia.  Their 2006 Malbec was lovely and I really liked the nice solid bottle.  Malbec is a French grape variety known to be one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine, just so you know.

Lastly I have to mention a special creation by Franschhoek based wine estate, Solms Delta – The Cape Jazz Shiraz:

Now what you’re actually seeing here is a sparkling red wine.  Yes that’s right, they’ve taken a Shiraz and added some bubbles!  I know, I know… this is very very wrong, kinda like those people who mix Coca Cola with their red wine… haha… but it tastes really good.  This one will be a shameful little secret between you and only your closest friends…  come on, you know you wanna try it.

That’s it for my wine wrap up.  A huge thanks to Kalinka from Winestyle magazine for hooking us up with invites.  This was a very cool wine outing indeed.  Kalinka mentioned there might be a summer wine party in the works…  good to know…  you certainly don’t need to twist my arm to attend anything like that!

The gang with Kalinka from Winestyle on the right. Have no clue who the dude in the back is though, but he sure seems friendly.  hehe

xxx