Themed Tastings at Steenberg Vineyards are back! Featuring unusual and interesting topics around the appreciation of wine, these tastings offer a first-hand opportunity to take a delicious journey through some of the wines of the Constantia Valley and beyond.

Events take place at 18:00 on select Wednesdays during the months of February, March, May and June, and will be hosted in the Executive Tasting Room at the Steenberg Winery, with breathtaking views across the vineyards. (Tasting events for the remaining months will be announced later in the year). With some of the top winemakers from the Constantia Valley and other industry experts leading the events, these eagerly anticipated tastings promise to be highly enjoyable. Participation is R100 per person and bookings are essential. Email Lida van Heerden at lida@steenbrg.co.za or call 021 713 2211.

On Wednesday 22 February Steenberg’s Cellar Door Manager Lida van Heerden will present a Sensory Tasting journey that engages all the senses, bringing the magic of wine to life in a completely new way. Among others, the ritual of clinking glasses, engaging the sense of hearing, will be explored; and the sense of touch will be kindled in the vineyard.

What’s In a Glass? will be presented by industry expert Richard Kellond on 14 March, focussing on the different shapes of wine glasses and how it affects the taste of the wine, if at all.  Kellond is a Consultant at Crystal Direct, one of the top suppliers of fine crystal wine glasses and decanters in South Africa.  He will be sharing valuable insight into the journey of the wine to the palate, illustrating the difference in a wine when drunk from glass or crystal, and what the best shape is to show off its full potential.

Then it’s the turn of the trump card of the South African wine industry – the Pinotage, that uniquely South African cultivar that was created on home soil in 1925 by Professor Abraham Izak Perold at Stellenbosch University. Entitled Perold’s Creation, the third Themed Tasting is to be held on 9 May.  Guests may learn about this refreshing, fruity red wine, fondly referred to as South Africa’s ‘national grape’, while tasting their way through varietals from a selection of top Pinotage growing estates in South Africa and the Constantia Valley.

During the fourth Themed Tasting- earmarked for 13 June, Steenberg winemaker JD Pretorius will lead the Spot a Fault event, where he will tackle commonplace wine faults and how to recognize them when opening a bottle of wine. Covering very real issues such as cork tainting (the most common of all faults) and oxidation (where the wine is affected by exposure to air); guests will be able to try their hand at spotting faults and identifying their effects on the wine.

Whilst it must be noted that it is notoriously difficult to turn a reasonable profit in the restaurant industry, the explicit use of wine lists as a money-making mechanism has more consequences than turning a buck. The temptation to use alcoholic beverages as a strong income generator is often at the expense of having quality wines on offer. The common result is that most wine lists you come across are built more to make money than to enhance your dining experience, a reality which further erodes the growth of a discerning wine drinking public. From this perspective it isn’t difficult to see who pays the price for poor selection.

The placid response that restaurants are forced to use their wine lists to stay afloat does not hold water when you consider the handful of eateries that manage to get it right. There exists the exceptional restaurants which do provide brilliant wine lists at the right price and their continued success is no co-incidence. However these exceptions unfortunately do tend to prove the rule.

It has (somehow) become standard practice for restaurants to offer the same boring wines as every other, with mark-ups well over 150%. It is rather difficult to find an eating establishment which can offer edgy or different options on the wine list, never-mind give recommendations or advice on the topic of food pairing. Whilst it is their prerogative to put a margin on their goods sold, one would expect that this would, at the least, be accompanied by value-added service. If not, then what exactly are you paying for?

The two restaurants on the Steenberg Estate both have their own wine list approaches. Catharina’s is very serious about their wine service with a Head Sommelier who hand-picks the wines on their list to ensure that every menu item has a few interesting pairing options available. There is always a dedicated wine steward on hand to aid those less inclined to make their own decisions. In addition to these services, there is a purpose built cellar for the ideal storage of wine. Bistro1682 on the other hand have a light and easy approach to wines which ties in with their approach to food. The Bistro focuses on Steenberg wines and showcases their strengths and qualities. With only a 25% mark-up the wines are meant to be accessible to every diner. The wine list also has a few other wines from the Constantia Valley.

The need by restaurants to use their drinks as a means to make money does not necessarily have to detract from the quality of the wine list or of the service dedicated to wine, if anything it gives them more reason to commit to it. Correct serving temperatures, glassware and wine advice should exist in any restaurant who sees their wine list as an important part of the dining experience.

Seemingly isolated in this tangled and detached three-party relationship stands the wine producer. The more audacious restaurants will even ask wineries for a fee to be listed, knowing how important wine listings are for sales. This indiscriminately excludes the smaller wineries (often the ones with more interesting offerings) who don’t stand a chance against the ‘big boys’ who can buy their way in. At the end of the day not only do the producers suffer, but also the consumers, as wine lists tend toward a dreary norm in search for greater margins.

The fear then is that the price being paid for this outcome is not only carried by the consumer and the forgotten producer but that it is something altogether more harmful to the wine industry at large. What chances do keen newbies and budding enthusiasts stand when faced with a sea of wines chosen by the restaurateur on cost rather than quality? And this is where the problem lies: with Joe Soap more than content with a common unimaginative wine list to accompany his menu choices, restaurants really have little incentive to steer away from mass market wines. For the discerning drinker then the only option is to bring your own, pay corkage and hope that the wine you have brought manages to enhance whichever meal you choose to accompany it!

What would the festive season be without a little bit of bubbly? As the end of the year comes near there is much to celebrate and what would a party be without a good glass of Steenberg 1682MCC (Méthode Cap Classique)?

Whether it’s to toast a milestone, brighten up a breakfast or to simply wind down the day, a glass of bubbly is always a welcome treat. The bubbles have an uplifting effect both literally and figuratively, making MCC a suitable drink for all occasions. When it’s time to eat however, MCC is often overlooked as a potential partner to the meal. Done correctly it can enhance the dish, lifting the flavours and textures, transforming the entire experience.  Below are two food and fizz pairing suggestions for the holiday season as well as a fun cocktail idea.

The Spring Rolls recipe is taken from the book Celebrating Méthode Cap Classique by Di Burger (available at Cellar Door for R300). If you need the perfect reason to start drinking a bit earlier in the day however, try the Eggs Royale recipe from our very own Bistro 1682. Pop a bottle and enjoy!

Prawn and Rice Noodle Spring Rolls

Paired with Pinot Noir 1682MCC

Makes 12 portions

250g peeled and deveined prawns, chopped

100g mange tout, cut into thin diagonal strips

100g carrots, cut into 3cm julienne

100g celery, cut into 3cm julienne

3 tbsp roughly chopped coriander

1 tbsp chopped mint

Finely grated rind of two lemons

1 tbsp sesame seeds, briefly toasted in a pan

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh chilli

1 egg white, lightly stirred

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

2 tsp fish sauce

2 tbsp lemon juice

150g cooked rice noodles, cut into 3cm lengths

2tsp salt

12 spring roll wrappers

Cornflour for dusting

Sweet chilli sauce, to serve

• In a mixing bowl, combine the prawns, mange tout, carrots, celery, coriander, mint, lemon rind, sesame seeds and chilli. Mix well
• Combine the liquid ingredients in a separate bowl, then pour over the prawn mixture and mix through. Lastly, add the rice noodles and gently toss through. Season with salt
• Place the wrappers one by one on a clean dry surface. Place two heaped teaspoons of the mixture just off centre, towards yourself. Fold the side of the wrapper closest to you over the filling and tuck in, to make a round cylindrical shape. Fold the one side over the filling and roll over once. Fold the other side over the filling and roll to the top of the wrapper to seal the spring roll. Seal the edge with water. Store on a plate, lightly dusted with cornflour and keep covered, while rolling the rest.
• Pre-heat the oven to 200°C and bake rolls for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Alternatively deep-fry spring rolls in warm oil until golden brown and crispy.
• Cut in half, diagonally, and serve warm with sweet chilli sauce. 

Eggs Royale Paired with Pinot Noir 1682MCC

For the Eggs Royale

Use fresh traceable free range eggs for poaching (an old egg will not allow the whites to coagulate and set).

Use the best possible local smoked trout and good quality toasted English muffins or homemade potato rosti.

Plate up the muffin or rosti topped with sautéed baby spinach, smoked trout and then your poached eggs, covered in hollandaise. 

HOLLANDAISE:
Makes 200ml

· 175g unsalted butter
· 2 free range egg yolks
· 2 table spoons warm water
· Juice of 1 lemon
· Salt and white pepper
· Cayenne pepper

• Clarify the butter by melting it, so the solids are separated from the rich yellow oil. Remove from the heat and allow the solids to settle to the bottom of the pan. Any solids floating may be removed with a spoon.
• Place the yolks, water and the juice of half the lemon into a mixing bowl, and place this over a pan of simmering water. Whisk continuously until it reaches ribbon stage. This is very important, as this is what gives you a beautifully aerated hollandaise.
• Remove the bowl from the heat and, very slowly, start to add the clarified butter while whisking continuously. If the sauce becomes too thick, add another tablespoon of warm water. Continue to add all the clarified butter.
• Season with a pinch of salt, white pepper and cayenne. Allow to stand in a warm place for 2 minutes, then pass through a fine sieve. Add more lemon if required. 
• Use within 1 hour of making.

Cocktail Suggestion

1682 MCC Chardonnay and Cuciarin (Coo-Chee-Ah-Rin)

Cuciarin means little spoon in Piemontese. Cuciarin is simply a sugar cube soaked in aromatic (orange) pure alcohol. It is served after dinner, on a spoon, set on fire for a few seconds, blown out and eaten! Followed by a glass of Chardonnay MCC of course! Alternatively you can drop a cube in your glass to add that extra citrus kick! Jars of Cuciarin are available at Cellar Door at R90 each.

John Loubser has been producing wine for the Cape Winemakers Guild (CWG) since he was invited to join in 2004. The first wine he produced was a Barrel fermented Sauvignon Blanc which was followed in 2007 and 2008 by a wine called ‘The White Savage’: A blend of Sauvignon and Semillon which exhibited the fullness and citrus weight of Semillon yet the bracing minerality and herbaceous influence of Sauvignon Blanc. Named for the literal English translation of Sauvignon Blanc, the 2008 White Savage achieved the highest price ever at the Guild Auction by any white wine at an average of R536 per bottle (ex. VAT).

In 2009, in search of something new and always looking to innovate, John introduced a Sauvignon Blanc named the Magus. The 2009 had a small Semillon component yet was more focused on Sauvignon Blanc.

The 2010 Magus is, of course, 100% Sauvignon Blanc: the varietal which does so well on the slopes at Steenberg! It was recently awarded a 5-star rating in the 2012 Platters Guide, 92 points from James Molesworth (Senior Editor of Wine Spectator) and 90 points from Steve Tanzer (Editor and Publisher of International Wine Cellar Journal).

 “This live wire bristles with thyme, chive flower and gooseberry notes, joined by riveting sea salt and crunchy acidity that courses through the finish. Sauvignon Blanc.” Molesworth

The 2010 Magus constitutes some Darling fruit, giving the wine its white asparagus influence and dense pungency with the Constantia grapes contributing a gun-smoke and flint influence: “The philosophy is to make the best possible Sauvignon Blanc using more than one terroir source” claims John. After overnight skin contact the juice was settled and racked into second-fill 500 litre French oak barrels for 2 months: “We wanted to make something different as there are not that many barrel fermented Sauvignon Blancs out there, and the CWG provides the perfect platform for us to do just that.”

This year the 2010 Magus sold for an average of R222 (ex. VAT) per bottle with double the volume than that of previous years produced.

Since its inception in 1985, The CWG Auction has become a quality benchmark and the CWG label is an authentic assurance of quality recognised by leading wine buyers both locally and abroad. Uniquely, the handful of selected wines produced exclusively by members of the Cape Winemakers Guild are auctioned individually at the CWG Auction and are only available at the Auction.

In true CWG spirit the next offering from Steenberg promises to be something a little different, watch this space…

The 2010 Magus is available from Steenberg Cellar Door in limited quantities.

Gardens full of colour, buzzing insects looking for nectar, carrying pollen from one flower to another. Plants waking from yearly slumber, showing flowers too many to number! Natures’ alarm clock has rung, spring has sprung.

Situated in the Cape Floral Kingdom, the plant life at Steenberg is rich and diverse. A world biodiversity hotspot, the Cape Floral Kingdom possesses endemic fynbos plants which have unique reproductive strategies and patterns of seed dispersal by insects. It is the smallest of the worlds’ six floral kingdoms, and the only one to be contained within one country. The Table Mountain region (within which Steenberg falls) is one of the eight protected regions inside of the Cape Floral Kingdom. The Table Mountain National Park alone has more plant species within its 22 000 hectares than the whole British Isles or New Zealand, qualifying it as a World Heritage Site.

As the WOSA (Wines of South Africa) slogan goes: “Variety is in our Nature”. The wines of the Cape are as diverse as the local flora. At Steenberg, the proximity of the vines to fynbos has a notable effect on the tastes and traits of the wine. Our reds show interesting herbaceous characters – those you pick up when hiking on Table Mountain – and our Sauvignon Blanc in particular exhibits elderflower and nettle characters.

Below are some pics of flowers in our indigenous garden, enjoy!

Displayed all around the Steenberg Estate are the works of prominent sculptor Edoardo Villa. Graham Beck was a keen art collector and notable fan of Villas’ work with many of his art pieces also residing on the Franschhoek and Robertson farms. Edoardo passed away on the 1^st of May in hospital aged 95 leaving behind a compelling and rich oeuvre.

The Small Sentinal

Born in 1915 near Bergamo in Northern Italy Villa showed an interest in Art from an early age and consequently attended the Scuola d’arte Andrea Fantoni. Here he formalised his talent for the art of sculpture and decided thereafter to further his studies in Milan. However, world events conspired against his life plans when he was conscripted into Mussolini’s army shortly after World War II broke out.

The Sentinal

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.

The Ambassador at the Bistro1682 Front of House

Renowned for his use of steel, Villa was influenced by artists from Rodin to Picasso, with African Mysticism playing a significant role. Many of the works shown around Steenberg were bought by Mr Beck at an exhibition in the 90’s. 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.

Monumental Sculpture

There are 15 different sculptures by Villa at Steenberg with the largest single collection of his work (177 artworks) can be found at the Edoardo Villa Museum at the University of Pretoria. Contributing more than just art, Villa along with Cecil Skotnes,  made up the artist group “Amadlozi” (Bantu for “spirit of the ancestors”) for the conscious appropriation of African sculptural traditions in 1961. He teamed up again with Skotnes in 2005 when they held a joint exhibition in Stellenbosch. A recipient of many prizes and awards Villa lives on through his art work.

Drive through any vineyard during mid-winter and you will notice that the vines have been cut down to their bare bones. No leaves, no stalks, just naked cordons with stubby little shoots which have been cut back. The practice of pruning is one of the most important aspects of growing grapes.

Pruning is necessary for the vine to regenerate, as when the canes are cut off, it enables the vine to conserve energy and rest during the cold winter months. However, the main aim of pruning is to ensure a healthy yield come harvest time. Done correctly, pruning allows for a controlled quantity and quality of fruit. This is maintained by controlling the number of shoots per cordon (the straight part of the vine running parallel to the ground). Reds have two or three bunches per shoot, so by controlling the amount of shoots left on the cordon it is possible to control for the number of buds which will develop during spring. 

As with nearly everything relating to wine there is a bit of science behind the art: in order to bear fruit a vine needs a one-year shoot, growing on a two-year shoot, growing on a shoot which is more than two years old. This ensures that the canes which develop are mature enough to yield grapes which are ready to be made into wine. It also means that the person doing the pruning can’t just cut and chop as they please; they need to know what they’re doing. Some vines have larger shoots called casanaves. These thicker shoots have more buds (about 6 – 8 ) and hence more fruit zones. However, more does not always mean better. The theory of apical dominance means that the further away from each other buds are, the better the resultant bunch will be (every bunch enjoys some space to grow and develop).

A freshly pruned Steenberg Vine

Fruit needs about 45 – 60 days hang time from veraison (when the fruit changes colour) in order to ripen fully. As a result of our cool climate at Steenberg, our grapes ripen very slowly thus the idea is to prune earlier than most other vineyards. The earlier you prune, the earlier the vine will bud and thus the earlier it will ripen.

So what would happen if you didn’t prune at all? The vine will produce more fruit than it knows what to do with because when you prune a vine correctly, you remove as much as 95 to 98% of the previous season’s growth.  If you leave all of that growth from the previous year it will develop buds, increasing the crop for following year. It will be an uncontrolled mess!

The vine cannot produce enough energy to ripen an unregulated crop, and thus the crop will be poor quality. The clusters will be dishevelled, and you won’t have much fruit worth using.  Even if it is able to ripen, the vine will have diverted energy that it might ordinarily use to mature the wood and to help the vine get ready for winter.

So in essence, when we cut away at the vine we are giving it the best chance to grow: a form of botanical reverse psychology!

The cool climate at Steenberg Vineyards means that harvest is significantly longer than in warmer growing regions, yet not as intense. The heat waves earlier in the year changed this slightly as it meant grapes had to be harvested quickly. Overall yield increased and there was great quality across the board. After all had settled, it was time to reflect on a long and busy harvest.

The 2011 harvest was JD Pretorius’ third at Steenberg and it had its fair share of ups and downs: “Every vintage presents its own set of challenges and for us it’s all about being patient and picking at the right time”. With a few of the Sauvignon Blancs to be released before the end of the year, it won’t be long before you’ll be able to taste the combined result of man and natures efforts.

The heat waves in late February/ early March threw a few curve balls at the cellar team, yet it was nothing they couldn’t handle. Heat waves shorten the ripening time of the grape leading to pronounced sugar ripening rather than phenolic ripening (a sudden increase in heat causes the sugar levels in the grape to rise faster than usual). This results in lower acid levels and hence higher pH levels. On the other hand phenolic ripeness increases with more time on the vine. However grapes need to be picked at the correct degree balling (a measure of sugar levels in the grape) in order to ensure the consequent alcohol level is where it needs to be. Thus the grapes were harvested at an earlier stage as flavour development reached maturity sooner as a consequence of higher sugar levels and lower acid levels.

The 2011 harvest also saw Steenberg record a bumper crop. There was far less wind in the flowering period (typically late September/ early October) which allowed more bunches to develop. This increased overall yield and tonnage was up by more than 30% on some blocks. Our three year old Sauvignon Blanc block underwent its maiden vintage and JD was excited about using the grapes for the first time: “The younger vines have very interesting flavour compounds which will add complexity to the 2011 vintage. Although the new block is quite big we harvested little fruit from it because of cropping (to keep quality high)”.

The cellar team completed a marathon effort with the harvest starting in late January and finishing in mid-April. Be sure to visit and sample the fruits of their labour!

Freshly picked SB grapes

The de-stemmer in action

The Cellar Team celebrating the Harvest

Every season has its own mood, its own colours, its own character, but most interestingly here at Steenberg every season has its own sounds. Seasonal change is glaringly obvious in a vineyard as vine plants change drastically every three months. Visit Steenberg in the middle of winter and again in the middle of summer and it will seem a completely different place. In winter the vines are bare and brown yet in summer they are full and green while the natural cycle methodically ticks through its own course. However, as with any working wine farm, the main focus is caring for the precious berries the vines produce and with that care comes an entire variety of sounds.

During December the Tasting Room and Bistro are both busy and bustling places as summer holiday-goers revel in their high spirits. Loud cries of laughter and a constant buzz of energetic chatter fill the air while visitors sip and savour their vinous treasures. Come February the harvester is out in the vineyards droning away as it works through the rows of vine. Carrying trailer loads of valuable cargo, the tractor trundles by noisily. The cellar clanks and bangs with crushing, pressing and racking.

Lush Green Vine Leaves during Summer

Walk into the cellar in early autumn and all the fermenting barrels are bubbling and gurgling aggressively. The wine sloshes and splashes as cellar staff rack it from tank to barrel. The lees filter whirs and zings as it the separates sediment. Later in autumn, out in the vineyard, the click-click of garden shears resonates from farm workers carefully pruning the vines, preparing them for the rest to come.

Yellow Leaves during Autumn

Lady winter ushers in a period of dormancy: Days grow shorter and nights become colder. Lashing sheets of rain smack the roof of the cellar as out in the vineyard plant-life slowly shuts down. The water trickles and drips down the slopes. After the rain everything is still as the pervading sound of silence encompasses the farm. The icy cellar lies frozen from cold-stabilisation, lying in wait for the months ahead.

Kaal stokkies during Winter

Come spring and crispness fills the air, the once whispering wind picks up and breathes life into the vines. Birds chirp and tweet, squirrels scurry and scamper and flowers begin to bloom. After lying in maturation wines are ready for bottling. The ruckus of knocking and pinging emanates from the production bay as bottles are packed and boxes are stacked.

Pop a bottle

Noises may come and go from one season to the next but there is one sound which you will always hear: the popping of bubbly bottles and clinking of glasses!

Many things relating to wine involve an intricate balance between art and science. Marrying the calculated scientific approach with an intuitive feel is crucial for those who have come to appreciate the wine side of life. The shape and size of glasses are no different. Every style of wine matches a different type of glass whilst the same wine will taste different depending from which type of glass you drink it. There is a science behind it all which focuses on the effect of the shape of the glass on the aroma and where the wine will land on your tongue. A specific glass will concentrate flavour and aroma to accentuate varietal characteristics thus matching the correct glass to the correct grape is crucial. 

More than just a container for wine

The glass is made up of three parts: the bowl, the stem and the foot. It is important to hold the glass by the stem to prevent body heat from affecting the temperature of the wine. However the focus is predominantly on the shape and size of the bowl. Bowls have increased in size where the extra capacity is devoted to still air space which traps the wines bouquet. One should not fill the glass by more than a third in order to enable a good swirl. Swirling breaks the surface tension of the liquid allowing aromas to be released. Swirling the wine also serves to oxidate it, helping it to open up and show its full characteristics. As oxygen from the air chemically interacts with the wine, flavor and aroma are subtly altered. This process of oxidation is generally more compatible with red wines, whose complex flavors are smoothed out after being exposed to air. 

There is a reason why we swirl, sniff and then sip as your senses of smell and taste are closely linked. The way we smell dictates how we taste. You can’t taste properly with a blocked sinus thus the intensity and quality of the aroma of a wine will affect the taste. The general shape has changed from an open trumpet shape to a tapered tulip shape in an effort to concentrate and direct the aromas toward the nose. 

The shape of a glass dictates how a person positions their head when drinking and thus how the wine flows into their mouth and where it lands on your tongue. With different taste zones on your tongue the correct shaped glass will direct a specific wine to the area on your tongue which best suits it.

Wine glasses can be made up from blown glass, crystal or lead crystal. Glass lacks a crystalline structure and will eventually change shape over a long enough period of time. Crystal is also rougher than glass on a microscopic level, allowing wine in the glass to breathe more efficiently when swirled in the bowl. Lead crystal has a higher index of refraction which changes the effect of light passing through it. The advantage of crystal glasses can be illustrated by considering the five senses:

• Sight: The clarity of crystal exhibits the wine better
• Touch: It holds the wine better, being denser and thus harder
• Hear: It sounds better when you ‘clink’ it
• Smell: There is no lip on crystal glasses which allows the aroma’s to travel freely out of the glass
• Taste: Wine tastes better out of a crystal glass

Drinking a wine from the correctly shaped glass will enhance its bouquet and taste. Try it for yourself and see how wine will change from glass to glass.