January 2010

It is hard to believe that just more than a month ago we were in the midst of our December holidays. Long gone are those care free summer days, as we are waiting for the first grapes to arrive in the cellar mid February. To celebrate the imminent harvest, the Barouche Restaurant will offer a two or three course set harvest menu. The two course menu costs R135-00 and the three course R155-00.

Some of the seasonal delicacies on offer include mosbolletjies, korrelkonfyt (grape berry jam), pan- fried line fish topped with sautéed grapes and crispy bacon with a rocket and marinated button mushroom salad, chicken supreme filled with feta cheese and sundried tomatoes served with a must jus, and sautéed new potatoes and mint and berry compote to name but a few.

Luckily February is not only the month of hard work on a wine farm, it is also the month of love ... our Barouche Restaurant will be hosting a special Valentine’s Day treat, as our delectable picnic barrel platters will be served on the Werf. The platters sell for R300 for two, including a bottle of Blaauwklippen Rose. Bookings are essential, and need to be made 24 hours in advance. Contact the restaurant on +27 (0)21 880-8222 . The restaurant will still be offering their seasonal A La Carte menu as well, so be assured that there will be something for every taste!

Talking about taste, when harvesting starts, it is also time to make one of ’s delicacies, Mosbolletjies, a sweetish bun, made with of partially ferm ented grape juice, often flavoured with aniseed, and eaten fresh or as a . Now, if you are not lucky enough to be able to get hold of grape must, try this modern mosbol recipe – perfect to make no matter how far from a vineyard you live! Mosbolletjies are not common, since it is a time-consuming affair to make with yeast, but also because "mos" (grape must) is not readily available. Through trial and error, we developed an easy recipe that is very close to mosbolletjies, using yeast and a maker.

Ingredients

• 10 ml instant yeast • 600 gram high grade • 120 gram • 60 gram • 5 ml salt • 300 ml water • 5 ml aniseed

Method

1. Place yeast and all the dry ingredients in the bread maker's bread pan. Add butter and pour water into the pan. 2. Close lid, set program on "dough only" cycle (called "pizza" cycle on some bread makers) and start machine. It should take about 45 minutes. 3. After the cycle completed, switch unit off and leave to rest for 15 minutes. 4. Set to the "dough only" program again and start. Switch machine off after finished. 5. Leave dough in closed unit to rise to double or three times the original size. Remove the dough when it rose to the brim of the bread pan. It will take about 4 to 6 hours at room temperature (or a warm cupboard in winter). 6. Knead dough down for 5 minutes. You could do it by hand, or set the program on the "dough only" cycle again. Do not let the machine finish the cycle, but switch the machine off after 5 minutes. 7. Remove bread pan from unit, form dough into small balls, and place balls in a greased pan or similar container. 8. A large bread or rusk loaf pan is ideal (and very traditional) but any shape will do. A square container measuring 25 cm x 25 cm and 10 cm high will be suitable for 36 balls, laid out as 6 rows of 6 each. 9. Let the dough rise for about 6 hours in a warm place, or until it is three times the original size. On a cold day it might take longer, on a warm day it will be quicker. 10. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. 11. Paint the buns with milk, and bake for approximately an hour in the oven at 180°C. 12. Using a fork, gently separate the rusks from each other. 13. Dry overnight in a slow oven, between 80°C to 100°C.

The wine centre is running a promotion on the BVS White Zinfandel - buy the special priced 3-pack for R180-00 (usually R270-00 for 3 bottles) and stand a chance to win a mystery spot prize, or the main give away, a Valentines lunch for two, to the value of R500.

Be sure to pop into the wine centre, or place an order for your 3-pack well before Valentine’s Day, to stand a chance to win this romantic prize.

Talking about romance, it is believed that the French are the best lovers in the world – being German, I would rather not comment. But we did welcome a French monsieur to Blaauwklippen in January; our famed Terroir consultant Xavier Choné paid us a pre harvest visit. Xavier is to viticulture what Sophia Loren is to movies, and Blaauwklippen is the only South African winery which Bordeaux based Xavier consults to. Robert Mondavi utilised Xavier's consulting expertise for terroir management for his properties in California, and some of Xavier’s American clients include: Dominus, Dalla Valle, Roederer and Opus One. His client portfolio in Bordeaux consists of many of the top growths including: Château d'Yquem (Sauternes), Haut Brion (Graves) Léoville Las Cases (Haut Médoc), Cheval Blanc and Fomplégades. (Saint Emilion). Needless to say we are in good company!

William Shakespeare said: “If music be the food of love, then play on”, and that is exactly what we intend to do. Cape Classic, which takes place from 26 February until 6 March is a set of live classical concerts, including chamber, piano and vocal music. Revenue from the concerts is donated to support social relief projects in the Western Cape.

Blaauwklippen is proud to play host to this worthy initiative on the evening of 2 March 2010. Tickets cost R250 per person and are available from Computicket. For more information on the Cape Classic offerings, please visit www.computicket.com. If you wish to order a picnic, please call the Barouche Restaurant or e-mail us at [email protected] .

Some wise person once had the following to say about new arrivals of the human ki nd: A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for. On that note we would like to congratulate our winemaker, Albert Basson and his wife Esm é with the birth of their beautiful baby daughter, Annie on 1 January 2010, 9:31 in the morning, she weighed a healthy 3.58 kg. I cannot imagine a more exciting way to kick off 2010!

Until next time, Rolf Zeitvogel and the Blaauwklippen team

Blaauwklippen Vineyards Subscription Informationn R44, Stellenboschh If you prefer not to receive e-mail from Tel +27 21 880 0133 Blaauwklippen in the future, or have Fax +27 21 880 1246 received this e-mail in error, E-mail [email protected] www.blaauwklippen.co.za