It almost feels as though Christmas has come early! We’ve been incredibly fortunate of late to not only rate well in the annual Platter Wine Guide with two 5 Star ratings but Steenberg was also adjudged to be the best wine farm – worldwide – for ‘wine tourism services’ in the Great Wine Capitals Network’s annual selection.

John Loubser, Steenberg GM and cellarmaster, said it was a particular honour since all the South African national winners were up against wineries in Argentina, Portugal, Spain, Italy, the United States, Germany, France and New Zealand.

He described the competition as “stiff”, especially since some of the other participants in this category came from some of the world’s most sought-after capitals – notably Bordeaux in France, Bilbao-Rioja in Spain and Napa in California.

“To be singled out for our wine tourism service among Cape Town’s many top calibre wineries and wine estates is a remarkable achievement considering that wine tourism is such a vital contributor to the burgeoning tourism industry in South Africa.”

Wine tourism has massive potential in this country and it was notable that SA did particularly well in this field. Other winners at the Great Wine Capitals awards were Delaire Graff for best accommodation, Grand Provence (art and culture), Warwick for innovative experiences and Waverley Hills for sustainable wine tourism practices.

“I made bubbly as a young winemaker at Môreson but didn’t really appreciate then what it was all about,” John said. “It was during my time working with Peter Ferreira at Graham Beck in Robertson that I started appreciating how complex and fascinating it truly is.”

Loubser believes that South Africa has huge potential both as a consumer and maker of sparkling wine, pointing out that one winery has grown its production to a million bottles of Methode Cap Classique annually. “But then some of the larger producers in Champagne make 20 million bottles alone – and there are a few which have base wine stretching back 27 vintages!”

He is of the opinion that winemakers, during their careers, naturally gravitate towards an area of specialisation – white or red – and admits his is MCC. “About 80% of what I drink is white – and a high proportion of that is bubbly. I find it utterly absorbing from a technical point of view, there’s a precision required, a complexity involved and overall it’s a helluva challenge. I believe we are only just beginning to scratch the surface of what’s possible in South Africa.”

The alchemy involved in the secondary fermentation in bottle to produce the millions of bubbles is well understood but there’s so much scope for experimentation locally. More and more producers are adding sparkling wines to their ranges while few are focussing solely on bubbly production.

Loubser revealed that Steenberg’s production is set to grow dramatically over the next five years. “We’re currently making 2 500 cases by 12 bottles and we’ll be increasing that to 10 000 by 2015/2016! The potential is amazing and it’s an exciting challenge that we look forward to.”

Here are some images taken by our winemaker, JD Pretorius. They would make great desktop wallpaper.

The dynamic duo is at it again… Last newsletter saw Chef Brad Ball tossing down the gauntlet to winemaker JD Pretorius in the form of the HMS Sphynx. Now it’s JD’s turn to challenge the chef which he did by nominating the 2009 Semillon. “The wine is really starting to creep out of its skin at the moment…” Given time it takes on interesting tertiary characteristics so what works this year might not necessarily be a perfect match in a year’s time when the wine has matured and evolved.

In the interests of research Brad spent some time with the Semillon 2009. “I think a spicy pork belly is the way to go,” he said. So here is the recipe for a deliciously slow-cooked free-range pork belly with palm sugar caramel and sambal olek. Brad swears that the recipe is really very simple and easy to do, even though it looks a bit long and intricate. “The nice thing is that it can be prepped long in advance.”

STICKY PORK BELLY WITH SAMBAL OLEK AND SALTED CARAMEL

For five

For the pork belly

( Prepare a day ahead)

Ingredients:

·          1 star anise

·          2 cloves

·          1 teaspoon coriander seeds

·          1 hot red chilli, halved

·          1 piece fresh orange peel

·          1 onion peeled and sliced.

·          Thumb size piece of fresh ginger, sliced

·          200ml Steenberg Semillon 2009

·          Salt and pepper

·          2 teaspoon Chinese five spice

·          1.5kg pork belly, de-boned and skin off

Method

·          Place the sliced onion, star anise, cloves, coriander, orange peel, ginger and wine in an oven tray and mix.

·          Collect the onions in the middle of the tray

·          Season the belly with the five spice, salt and pepper

·          Let the belly lie on top of the onions

·          Cover with foil

·          Roast covered at 160°C for 2.5 hours

·          Remove from the oven and allow to cool enough to handle the belly

·          Remove the belly and place it in another tray, cover the belly with a cutting board and weigh it down overnight in the fridge

·          Pass the remaining ingredients through a sieve into a sauce pan and reduce until sticky, add to your salted caramel.

For the Caramel

(On the day)

Ingredients:

·          1/3 cup of fish sauce

·          1 cup palm sugar. (Treacle sugar will also do the trick.)

·          Reduced jus from roasting tin

Method:

·          Bring to a simmer and remove from the heat once the sugar has dissolved

·          Add reduced jus

·          Keep warm, but do not reduce or it will become too sticky.

For the Sambal Olek

Ingredients:

·          10 medium heavy chillies, stalks trimmed

·          Juice of 1 lime

·          5ml salt

·          ½ onion, sliced

·          2 fresh plum tomatoes

·          30ml peanut oil

Method:

·          Place everything into a sauce pan with a few tablespoons of water and simmer, covered, over a low heat for 5 minutes with no colour

·          Blend in an upright blender until smooth

·          Pass the sauce through a sieve to remove any chilli skins and seeds

·          Season with salt to taste.

To complete:

Remove the pork belly from the fridge and slice into five equal portions.

Fry the pork in a hot pan until golden brown.

Pour the caramel over and allow to simmer for 2 minutes.

When plating the pork be sure to allow most of the caramel to run off back into the pan.

Serve with the warmed sambal olek and stir fried vegetable.

Graham Beck was a keen art collector and is notable for his support of world renowned sculptor Edoardo Villa whose works are proudly displayed not just at Steenberg but at its sister wineries in Franschhoek and Robertson too.

Villa was born near Bergamo in northern Italy in 1915. His artistic talent was obvious from an early age and he studied basic sculpture techniques at the Scuola d’arte Andrea Fantoni. Prior to heading off to Milan to continue his art studies he was conscripted into Mussolini’s Italian army after the outbreak of World War II. Some of his conscription period was spent in Rome, time he used to good effect, examining the numerous wonderful statues on public display.

He was wounded in action in North Africa, captured by English forces and sent to South Africa as one of around 70 000 Italian prisoners-of-war interned in this country. Villa looks on his four years as a POW at Zonderwater camp as productive: he began sculpting again – and also fell in love with South Africa and its people. Everything had already been done in Europe, he once stated in an interview, while in Africa there was an openness and the potential to experiment and do new, fresh things.

His influences ranged from Rodin and Picasso through to African mysticism and he is renowned for his use of steel. Curator of the Beck collection Julia Meintjies said this initially began with an experimentation in using scrap metal, bronze and welding in the 50′s and 60′s and grew, as did his creativity and output. “Mr Beck bought many of the works from an exhibition that was held at Lanzerac in the 90′s,” Meintjies said. The Ambassador piece on display in the Steenberg tasting room is an example not only from the 60′s but also of his clever use of found materials, notably machinery and industrial scrap.

The use of bright vibrant colour along with his stylised abstractions is something Villa became known for in the 80′s – believing that colour was a way of translating mood – either levity or light-heartedness or a brooding intensity. Art experts are of the opionion that the sculptures show an “acute awareness of his environment – natural, social and political – as well as a considered insight into contemporary art-making, tempered by and understanding of the global context”. (Von Maltitz and Nel, ‘Edoardo Villa: a life considered’)

An extremely prolific sculptor, many of Villa’s works are also on public display in Johannesburg’s metropolitan precincts.

“When you do as many poached eggs as we do in Bistro Sixteen 82 over a weekend, you quickly realise how important the quality of the eggs is!” said Chef Brad Ball.

Brad has long battled to source traceable eggs. “I’ve struggled for years to find a reliable source of really good, fresh free-range eggs. Unfortunately the reality of the situation is that most eggs go to a central processing area where they’re graded for size – but as a chef you can never be absolutely certain just how fresh the eggs are. Some might have been laid yesterday and right next to it is an egg that’s a few days older – and the supplier can’t tell you definitively. That makes a big difference to my cooking.”

Poaching is the ultimate way of testing an egg’s freshness. “It is impossible to poach an older egg. The white won’t set properly and dissipates in the water into long strands. You want a nice little firm package to form immediately.”

After years of hunting Brad has settled on the produce from Splash Farms outside Malmesbury, owned and run by passionate chicken farmer Sue Pharaoh. “We’ve developed a great relationship now. I’ll order a batch on Monday and she will tell me not to worry about the colour of the yolks being paler than usual – it’s because she’s feeding her chickens white maize rather than yellow.

“I know that what I am getting is super fresh, the chickens are genuinely free-range, natural and aren’t boosted full of unnecessary antibiotics or stuff.” The chef is also pleased at the effect that his attention to detail is having on his kitchen staff.

“I’ve had some of the younger chefs come to me saying they’d never realised the difference that fresh eggs can make to the end product – and not just for poached eggs. Take the brûlées we do, for example.  I want my brulée to be really pale and creamy, not overly yellow… and chickens fed white maize provide a paler egg yolk.”

So the consumer perception of really vibrant yellow/orange yolks being an indicator of “genuine organic” produce is wrong. “Bright yellow yolks or paler yolks are related to their feed. Yellow maize – yellow yolks. White maize – paler yolks.”

STEENBERG VINEYARDS NAMED GLOBAL WINNER WINE TOURISM SERVICES

IN THE BEST OF WINE TOURISM AWARDS 2011

Steenberg Vineyards has been named Global Winner Wine Tourism Services in the Great Wine Capitals’ Best of Wine Tourism Awards 2011, which were announced in Christchurch, New Zealand on the 4^th of November 2010. This Constantia Valley winery has been singled out as one of nine international winners, also taking top honours in the South African region by winning two of the seven categories, namely Architecture, Parks and Gardens, and Wine Tourism Services.

Established in 2004, the Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism Awards includes an international network of wine capitals, in addition to Cape Town/Cape Winelands, comprising Bilbao-Rioja (Spain), Bordeaux (France), Florence (Italy), Mainz (Germany), Mendoza (Argentina), Porto (Portugal) and San Francisco-Napa (United States) and Christchurch (New Zealand). The Awards is recognized as an industry-wide benchmark for excellence, highlighting the critical role of wine regions within the tourism industry mix, both locally and globally.  

Other South African properties to be named among the local winners were Delaire Graff Lodges & Spa (Best Accommodation); Grande Provence Heritage Wine Estate (Art and Culture); Warwick Estate (Innovative Experiences) and Waverley Hills (Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices). Last year’s global winner from South Africa, Rust en Vrede, in Stellenbosch, which was also ranked among the two best restaurants across the network, has this year won the local restaurant category.

Established in 1682 by the legendary ‘Widow Ras’, Steenberg is the oldest farm in the historic Constantia Valley, located just 20 minutes from the centre of Cape Town. Set amidst the vineyards of a working wine farm at the foothills of the Steenberg Mountain (Stone Mountain), the Steenberg winery was designed by architects Richard Perfect and Jan Desseyn, and landscaper Dirk Vervaeke, to offer a multi-faceted wine tourism experience. An exquisitely styled, interactive wine and food destination, it offers a Wine Tasting Bar and Tasting Lounge, and the popular cellar door restaurant Bistro Sixteen82.

Sharing the grounds is the five-star luxury Steenberg Hotel and Conference Centre, the famed Catharina’s fine dining restaurant, and a championship golf course, all culminating in a multi-tiered one-stop wine tourism destination and experience. Amongst its offerings are terroir walks that highlight the farm’s unique wine-growing location and climatic conditions, the opportunity to taste wines still in the tank or barrel, and innovative food and wine pairing events, as well as a unique, interactive wine rating touch screen in the Tasting Room.

Says General Manager of Steenberg Vineyards John Loubser: ‘We are honoured to be recognized by the panel of international judges among the world’s finest wine tourism offerings, especially in the face of stiff international competition from wine establishments in some of the world’s sought-after wine capitals. Conversely, to be singled out for our wine tourism service among Cape Town’s many top calibre wineries and wine estates, is a remarkable achievement, considering that wine tourism is such a vital contributor to the bourgeoning tourism industry in South Africa.’

Well-known for producing excellent ‘food wines’, Steenberg has long been recognised as one of the top White Wine Cellars in South Africa. It has scored no less than eight 5-star Platter awards since 2002, mostly for its Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc Reserve, and blends thereof (2003; 2005; 2007 and 2009).

“It’s all about Magna Carta,” said GM John Loubser immediately after hearing the news that Steenberg had been awarded not just one – but two “full house” 5 Star ratings from the acclaimed Platter Wine Guide this week.

This year there’s been a lot more anticipation surrounding the Platter Guide launch – specifically the list of 5 Star laureates. Usually, the list of 5 Star stunners is released around August or September because in years past the wines have been presented at a high profile tasting in London. Because that tasting didn’t happen and the list wasn’t released, the wine fraternity has been abuzz with which producers were in the running for top honours.

Many knew their wines were in the 5 Star taste-off that took place in August since they were approached for additional bottles but subsequently, a veil of secrecy blanketed the results…until the invitations to the Platter launch function went out! Then it was a case of everyone quasi-casually enquiring about each other’s whereabouts on Tuesday afternoon, November 16, 2010.

“We’re obviously delighted that our icon has once again been rewarded with 5 Stars. We received the same rating with the 2007 vintage which was fantastic because it was the maiden release,” Loubser said. ” then the 2008 was declassified – and the 2009 gets another 5 Stars!”

Steenberg was one of only four wineries to receive two 5 Star ratings, while one received three – happily, a Constantia producer. Ultimately there are only 58 wines contained in the guide recognised with the ultimate accolade – out of 6 500 wines tasted. The second rave review was awarded to Loubser’s CWG Auction wine – the Magus, a Sauvignon Blanc that he describes as “the thinking man’s wine”, which sold at an average bottle price of R233.33 per bottle ex VAT at the 2010 CWG Auction.

“It’s brilliant that the Magna Carta Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon blend was awarded the tribute since it’s Steenberg’s ultimate expression. It’s a great white wine with a big price tag and the quality to live up to it!”

We’re bombarded on a daily basis with negative news: of things going wrong, politicians shooting their mouths off and provoking outrage from the citizenry, brutal violence, corruption and general chicanery. To counter that, here’s a good news story.

To set the scene – Steenberg is more than just the wine brand, vineyards, Bistro Sixteen 82, Catharina’s, the Steenberg  Hotel, Spa, Steenberg Golf Course or the property. It’s seen as a whole simply because of its geographic entirety or cohesion. There are few who would argue that it’s not a beautiful part of the world – and the people who get to enjoy its myriad of attractions, be it as a restaurant patron, a tasting room visitor, golfer or resident; are very privileged to share in its charms. So it’s really heart-warming to know that a single element of the estate is making a major contribution.

Here’s the good news:   the Steenberg  Golf Club has just raised R541 000 for charity during the Steenberg Classic Week! “It’s the 11^th year that the event has been held and the support for it was phenomenal”, Ian Kennedy of the golf club said.

“We held a raffle that raised R130 000 alone!” There was also an auction and numerous rounds of golf that catered for every type and class of golfer. Parents and their children teed off, seniors, ladies and an exclusive members only round that attracted 240 players.

“Every single cent goes to charity and we’re very fortunate to have some amazingly generous sponsors who appreciate the opportunity to brand holes on the golf course or areas in the clubhouse for an entire week.”

Kennedy said the prize for the seven-day, all expenses paid trip for two to Mauritius had seen a host of raffle tickets sold. “There was added incentive at the auction in the form of three beautiful women getting the men to part with more money than they intended – but then I joined two other good-looking guys and we charmed the women out of their money too,” quipped Kennedy. “And we were more successful at it than the girls were!”

This proves that ‘doing your bit’ to help can take many forms and it’s laudable that people haven’t slumped into a fit of donor fatigue.

Inland, in August and September there are strong movements of air – Berg winds which blow from the escarpment. They are scorchingly hot, dry blasts and locals admit to a sense of foreboding accompanying them because they can be harbingers of doom – often responsible for runaway veld fires. The destruction is often massive, incinerating thousands of hectares of valuable grazing land, stock in the form of cattle, sheep and goats, wildlife and people’s homes and livelihoods too.

In the Cape in October and November grape farmers hold their breath whenever the weather report is broadcast. Just this week, the words no-one wants to hear went out over the airwaves “storm-strength southeasterlies are expected…”

It’s not necessarily the wind per se that is the problem, it’s the velocity and timing that is. Having just seen the San Francisco Giants win the (American!) World Series I was thinking that it’s kind of like a baseball pitcher. The guy could have the fastest arm in the US – but it’s only dangerous to his opponents when it’s allied with direction and control. What’s the point of just being fast if you can’t consistently hit the tiny-little strike zone?

The southeaster can be a good thing: it wasn’t dubbed the Cape Doctor for nothing! The wind blows away all the muck and air pollution which gathers over the Cape Flats and Peninsula, forming a visible brown haze. Ok, so we haven’t quite reached the air quality levels of Beijing and Mexico – thank heavens – but it can still be a scary sight viewing the layer of horrible gunk and thinking about all the people breathing it in.

A strong wind ridding the Cape Peninsula of dirty air is a good thing. Just like that baseball pitcher, the wind’s velocity and timing provide the dilemma. The strong southeaster coming along at flowering time can wreak absolute havoc with a wine farm’s potential crop. Those delicate little flowers are destined to be bunches of grapes and if they get stripped off the vine by the wind – there goes a big chunk of the crop and thus, the potential wine output as well!

Steenberg winemaker JD Pretorius said at the launch of the HMS Sphynx in Muizenberg recently that a stiff breeze can be quite helpful, taking care of excess shoot growth and curbing the vigour of the vine – if the timing is right. Similarly, a good breeze after unseasonal rain can be a good thing, drying out the vines and preventing any humidity from giving rise to fungal diseases. But a big buster at flowering? It’s the stuff of nightmares!