Authenticity

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

One of the questions asked of South Africa’s producers by the Platter Guide this year is: what makes for an authentic wine experience?
There can be no greater example of ‘authenticity’ and ‘wine experience’ than the annual Paardeberg vs Simonsberg potjiekos competition held at Vondeling on the last Saturday in July.

It’s all good fun with the most serious competition being kept for the boulle court where the honours were shared between the two regions. Fellow judge Neil Pendock and I agreed that parallels could be drawn between the potjies and the wines. Paardeberg (which won by a comfortable margin) was more real and down to earth than the Simonsberg.

I mean, if you were faced with a Simonsberg entry presented on a silver plate (a very tasty Moroccan pot complete with chickpeas, cous-cous, yoghurt and shredded mint) or Adi Badenhorst bringing the entire three-legged pot of lamb and beef shin slow-cooked with quinces picked from the tree in his front garden what would you have done? (The fact that Adi and co-cooker Callie Louw of Tulbagh Mountain Vineyards had to be hauled away from a bottle of Gaston Huet Moulleux to present their potjie to the judges was another factor, as was the ‘rustic charm’ of the garnish being hauled out of their jean’s pocket!)

A special mention to Paardeberg’s Willie Chuckers team of Willie de Waal (Scali) and Eben Sadie (Sadie Family Wines) for the sublime match of oxtail potjie with Sequillo 2005 and the side dish of ratatouille with Scali Blanc.

Bragging rights for the year went to new Paardeberg entrant James Reid who recently bought a piece of land near the Paardeberg jail as a potential future home for The Foundry, his joint venture with Meerlust winemaker Chris Williams. He and his partner had procured a West Coast wild pig shot by a member of the Melck family of Muratie fame. (As an aside, Neil and I had a damn delicious preview of Rijk Melck’s homage to Muratie pater familias Ronnie in the form of a Shiraz from 37-year-old vines!) Reid’s ‘Memories of the Old Country’ was presented two ways – one with a southern French feel with cassoulet and garlicky Toulouse sausage, the other distinctly northern in its Alsacienne use of apples to complement the sanglier – both were excellent. Hands down winners.

The rivalry was good natured and humorous throughout, the wines – both Simonsberg and Paardeberg – excellent and the conviviality utterly unforced. Looking out over the full Vondeling dam mirroring the mountains and sky beyond, it served to reinforce my belief that there is surely no more fabulous place to be on a stunning winter’s day than the winelands of the Cape.