Cape Town - Many wine farms do chocolate pairings these days, and a fine combination it is too, although often as complex as any other food pairing.
Laborie in Paarl produces a number of excellent wines which have won awards, including cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, merlot, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, and red and white blends. Its Manor House, built in 1750 and recognised as one of the most architecturally significant buildings in the region and a shining example of the Cape Dutch style, is a national monument.
You can of course visit the farm for the day, but you can also spend the night in one of the lovely cottagey rooms – there are just eight of them. Heck, you can even get married there, should the mood take you. It’s lovely and relaxed, and you’re pretty much left to your own devices. I liked that the cabinet under the television contains a good selection of wines, more than any other mini bar I’ve encountered.
The food at Harvest restaurant is superb. When we stayed over, we had partaken of a fair amount of wine and they accommodated us by serving us dinner under the oak tree outside our room. I feel I should point out this was partly because we were too relaxed to walk to the restaurant, partly because it was beautiful right there, and not because we were in no fit state to be in public.
The Laborie Obsession chocolate and wine pairing (R35) comprises cabernet sauvignon with dark cherry and malt chocolate, shiraz with Cape Malay spiced milk chocolate, and Alambic brandy with dark orange chocolate.
l Laborie Wine Farm, Taillefer Street (off Main Road), Paarl. Cellar Door: 021 807 3390, Harvest Restaurant: 021 807 3095, accommodation 021 807 3093, e-mail [email protected]
This week I had the great pleasure of sharing a bottle of Vrede en Lust’s Mocholate Malbec 2013 with a good friend who happens to be a big fan of this particular grape. I thought it would be a good idea to get his opinion.
It’s interesting, for a few reasons. Malbec is usually used in Bordeaux blends and not often as a single varietal. I’ve never professed to be a wine expert (just a wine lover), and 2013 seems very young and frisky for a red, but this is surprisingly smooth. It can be drunk now, chilled even, or you can keep it for a few years. Right, like that’s ever going to happen.
And it’s made by 2007 Woman Winemaker of the Year, Susan Erasmus, with Ansone Stoffberg.
We polished it off with a slab of Lindt 70 percent, which was the recommended chocolate.
It was a very pleasant evening.
“This wine brings a whole new twist to how Malbec has been perceived in the past,” they say. “The wine is rich, ruby red in colour and fruity… with beautiful aromas of mocha and chocolate… thus the Mocholate Malbec name.”
Yes, yes – I can put it in one word: delicious.
Vrede en Lust is at the intersection of the R45 and Klapmuts Road in Simondium (on the way to Franschhoek). Telephone 021 874 1611 or e-mail [email protected].
With glorious views across the valley, ocean and even all the way to Table Mountain, Durbanville Hills does a pairing of five wines accompanied by hand-crafted chocolates. It’s R60 a person and offered daily, although if you’re a group of eight or more, booking is recommended.
“Chocolate and wine are natural companions offering both complex flavours and nuances, and their individual tannin structures combine effortlessly to add a new dimension to the wine,” they say.
l For more information contact Laura Carswell at [email protected] or call 021 558 1300. Durbanville Hills is on the M13 in, well, Durbanville. More info at durbanvillehills.co.za - Weekend Argus