GREAT WINE, GREAT TIME

I was honoured to again be a judge for the prestigious 2022 Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism Awards. It celebrates innovation and excellence in wine tourism in eleven of the greatest global wine regions. Heading up the restaurant category gave me the privilege and pride of experiencing gastronomy at many top wine estates. Congratulations to Creation Wines, winner of this category, and also of the Wine Tourism Services category.

AN IMMERSIVE EPICUREAN EXPERIENCE

Creation offers finely-curated, sensory experiences in which the food and award-winning wines share full stage. Taste, music, fragrance, memory and lighting innovatively stimulate your senses. Heritage and health are carefully considered. Their offerings extend from breakfast to blackboard, and six-chapter pairings to simpler boards. There’s genuine commitment to sustainability and sourcing ingredients on the estate and from the local community, and to showcasing South African cuisine and culture. The Creation Tasting Room draws discerning visitors, local or international, with impressive and widespread marketing, to enjoy a varied and memorable gastronomy adventure. Here is a wine estate that, if you only had one day in the Western Cape, would be a perfect choice.

Find the link to the video here and e-booklet here to meet my fellow judges and the winners. Tune into FMR Fine Foods on Saturday 16 October at 10h45 as I interview Carolyn Martin of Creation Wines.

THELMA AND LOUISE’S BIG BIRTHDAY FESTIVAL

My good friend Anne (aka Thelma) celebrated her milestone birthday two weeks ago. We kicked off with a spectacular spoil (she’s worth it) – dinner at La Colombe, a fitting feast. After a whirlwind of special moments that followed we brought the fortnight to a close with three days in the Overberg.

En route, Thelma and Louise had a pit stop at Pajamas & Jam Eatery in Somerset West, where an oasis of eye-catching, drool-worthy cakes and sweets fuelled our appetites before we ordered a tasty lunch – my salmon poke bowl was sublime.

We sped to Liberty Books in Elgin to stock up on reading fodder for our retreat at Mosaic Lagoon Lodge in Stanford. What a find, here nature came to greet us in every moment of the three days.

Our final feast was lunch at Origins at the Marine Hotel in Hermanus. Chef Rudi Blaauw pulled out all the stops. Back to work, back to reality and grateful to have had this hiatus before what promises to be a busy time, thankfully, in the restaurant industry. Watch out for more about the Overberg in our Summer Gourmet Guide.