Cape

Cavorting Through the Cape

The weather is miserable. The icy wind snaps at every bit of exposed flesh, flushing your cheeks in its attempt to chill you to the bone. A bubbles and nougat pairing experience at Villiera in Stellenbosch may then seem more ideally suited for summer; but with large gas heaters and snugly blankets enveloping your legs, mixed with convivial chatter, nothing could be better as the rain pounds on the roof of the cellar.

Traditionally, when you think of champagne, you think of oysters as well as strawberries, mussels and salmon. Villiera, in a constant search for new and delightful food-pairings (and capitalising brand associations) has teamed up with Sally Williams. We were given four different champagnes to sample, each paired with a sweet treat. Now this is real champagne, not the casual sparkling wines you are apt to find, the difference being that the bubbles are created by fermentation in a tank as opposed to the “soda stream” carbonation method of sparkling wines. The real deal is also less likely to induce headaches and “will only give you hiccoughs after three bottles”.

My favourite was the first pairing of Grier Brut with Honey Nougat and almonds and cranberries – “the acidity of the cranberry, bringing out the raspberry character of the bubbles”. Objectively, however, the best pairing had to be the Mono Brut paired with Honey Nougat and almond – both have a strong flavour and complemented each other well. The pairing of Tradition Brut and the Honey Nougat with Macadamia was exceptionally bland, but the complete failure of a pair was the Tradition Brut Rose with Turkish Delight. It’s a nice idea, because the colour and the names of both match, but that’s about as far as it goes as the champagne just makes the Turkish Delight taste like glue.

The real treat came afterwards as the staff waltzed round generously pouring champagne and a sterling selection of wines, as well as an excellent port which went particularly well with Sally Williams’ chocolates. Encompassing a vast array of champagnes and wines and sweet, delicious morsels what I appreciated the most was the bounty of information and knowledge that was imparted to the audience.

This was followed by an equally jovial time in the tasting-room where more wine and champagne merrily found its way into glasses and quickly thereafter into bellies, paired with fantastic cheese platters of smooth camembert, delectably rich gouda, brie with pistachio and another with peppadew.

After this bliss of bubbles, we were off to KWV in Paarl to be seeped in nauseating, nose-in-the-air, snobbishness underscored by our pretentious and patronising host. I hid my pale face in shame at the blatant showcase of Western ideology and history in the heart of Africa and rolled my eyes at the half-arsed attempt to make up for its abominable past by punting its BEE quotas in the introductory DVD. The tour is, nevertheless, quite impressive boasting the five largest upright vats in the world under one roof (one vat would take 750 years to empty) and we were given a taste of Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Petit Verdot, Café Culture, white muskadel and Moya (which is a blend of whiskey). Thereafter we were left in peace to sample more wines and champagnes paired with biltong and nuts. It is a mark of my inebriation at this point that I do not recall exactly what I drank.

Happily, the evening ended with more food – the first proper meal I’d had all day – in a restaurant in Paarl whose name I never heeded. Corks popped as the champagne continued flowing for the time-honoured pairing of champagne and oysters. If it weren’t for my new-found passion for food, as well as copious time spent reading Anthony Bourdain’s books, I probably would not want have wanted to try oysters again (having practically gagged the first time I tried them); but I am glad I did – and the champagne thing…it really works.

For a classic Cape experience – admittedly, yet inevitably, saturated with ceaseless colonial influences – you will have a splendid time trawling the magnificent vineyards and drinking to your heart’s content revelling in good company and great times.

Originally published on Dinner and a Movie.

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