Taste Africa (Part 2 of the March 2013 Meeting)

Taste Africa (Part 2 of the March 2013 Meeting)

Otaihanga Boating Club, PartyPerfect Catering

Main Courses and Reds

WINE 2 - with Pap & Boerewors 

Kleine Zalze 2006 Pinotage

Most members picked this as a South African Red, with Graeme Yaeger hitting it right on the nose!

A SA Pinotage from the Stellenbosch region. 

Kleine Zalze 06 Pinotage – RRP $26.20 (from Ontrays) 14.5% Alc/Vol

In the making of the Kleine Zalze Cellar Selection Pinotage 2006, Johan Joubert of the family-owned Stellenbosch vineyard went back to basics following his philosophy of “quality begins in the vineyard”. He said “ The 06 Pinotage is a little like a lost son returning home – the variety has always been close to my heart, but it is sometimes difficult to handle. After a few years of experimentation, the approach we took in 06 finally resulted in the elegant cultivar fruit that we wanted to express”. Overall the wine shows excellent balance of oak, juicy and spicy fruit, and rounded tannins.

The Food: 

Pap and Boerewors (Farmer's sausage, also known as "Boerie") and 

Waterblommetjie bredie ( South African Edible Water lily or Cape Pond weed) Stew slow cooked with lamb.

Boerewors 

A traditional rustic farmer's sausage, made from coarsely minced beef combined with minced pork and spices (usually toasted coriander seed, black pepper, nutmeg, cloves and allspice). Like many other forms of sausage, boerewors contains a some fat, and is preserved with salt and vinegar, and packed in sausage casings. Traditional boerewors is usually formed into a continuous spiral, as illustrated above. It is often served with pap. Boerewors is very common throughout South Africa, as well as with expatriate communities in countries such as New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Ireland.

For our event the Boerie was cooked on authentic Namibian hardwood charcoal, obtained from Vince and Trish's Mitre 10 Mega establishment. This is a sustainable form of charcoal, harvested from intruder species that threaten the natural flora of the sub-continent.

Maize Meal "Pap" (Pronounced 'Pup"):

 An indigenous staple made from maize with consistency not unlike Italian polenta. Polenta is made from Corn, and has a yellow colour, wheras Pap (Maize meal/Putu/Shaba/Sadza) is made from Maize, and has a white colour. 

Pap, also known as mieliepap ('mealie-pup') in South Africa, is a traditional porridge made from ground maize. It is a  staple food of the inhabitants of Africa (The Afrikaans word "pap" is Dutch in origin, and simply means "porridge"). Many traditional South African dishes include pap, such as smooth maize meal porridge (also called slap pap), pap with a very thick consistency that can be held in the hand (stywe pap, as served at the event) and a more dry crumbly phutu pap.

A variety of savoury side dishes are used to accompany pap, often made from green vegetables, and flavoured with chilli or tomato. In the northern parts of the country it is eaten as a breakfast staple, with milk and sugar, but also served  with meat and tomato-stew (tomato and onion) at other meals, When having a braai (BBQ), stywe pap or phutu pap with a savoury sauce like tomato and onion or mushroom and cheese is an important part of the meal.

In the Cape-provinces it is almost exclusively seen as a breakfast food. Since mielie-meal is inexpensive, poor people combine it with vegetables. It can be served hot or, after it has cooled, it can be fried. Phutu porridge is sometimes enjoyed with spicy chakalaka (vegetable relish)  as a side dish with braais (BBQs).

 Waterblommetjie bredie

The name comes from the Afrikaans language and literally means 'small water flower stew'. It is made of meat, typically lamb, stewed together with the waterblommetjies (Aponogeton distachyos) flowers, commonly known as Cape pond weed, Cape hawthorn or Cape asparagus) which are found in the dams and marshes of the Western Cape of South Africa. The buds of are usually ready to be picked during the southern midwinter months of July and August, leading to their use in winter stews such as waterblommetjie bredie.

The taste of the stew has been described as much like stewed green beans with a hint of pumpkin.
Waterblommetjiebredie is a well-respected local delicacy in South Africa and popular with foreign tourists

September Meeting: PartyPerfect Double-Blind Tasting

Caterer: PartyPerfect Catering and Events Planning

Venue: Whitireia Polytechnic, Paraparaumu, Kapiti
Double Blind Tasting: Blind tasting of both food and wine 16 September 2012

Wine Master Stewart Macpherson opening the first wine, and allowing the 2nd and 3rd wines to breathe...

 Pouring the bubbly on arrival...

 The first members arrive

Wine 1: 
Akarua Central Otago Brut NV (Winemakers Tony Jordan/Matt Connell)

Akarua's first foray into bubbly production. All Bannockburn fruit, with 71% Pinot Noir and 29% Chardonnay, aged 18 months on its lees
" A lovely aperitif style of bubbly with weight and texture from the Pinot Noir component and a long creamy finish"

Though by some members to be French in origin.

Hors d'oeuvres :
Escargot in Cream and Spinach Vol au Vents
Quail's egg Crostini with NZ salmon caviar

Wine 2: 
Brancott Estate South Island Pinot Noir 2011
Aromas of ripe cherry and spice, accentuated with rich plum and savoury highlights. A typical Pinot Noir in Brancott's style, from premium South Island Vineyards.

"Rich, sweet approach, displaying ripe, dark berry fruits, subtle oak spice, velvety tannins and a long, concentrated finish."

Picked by most to be a Central Otago Pinot Noir

Entree: Eye Fillet of Ostrich in a cherry and sherry sauce

 Wine 3
La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904, 1998
In December 1999 the wine 90% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano - was transferred to casks for 4 years, during which time it was racked in the traditional cask-to-cask method every 6 months:

The wine was bottled in April 2004. In order to maintain its organoleptic components at its best, the wine underwent a gentle filtration process, so it could produce sediments with age.

"Brick red with iodine tints, medium robe. Intense aroma of leather, spices, noble wood. mentholated chocolate on a background of plums, raisins and sugared fruit. Very long and complex to the nose. Well balanced to the palate, with a good structure and a highly polished, silky and elegant tannins. Complex after-taste with a gentle and long-lasting ending."

Main Course:

 Petit Poussin stuffed with Jeweled Essente Basmati Rice with tomato and elephant beans

 Wine 4
Domaine du Mas Blanc,
Cuvee Dr Parc,  Banyuls

"Dark garnet red colour with a little mahogany, non-filtered. Ripe grapey, raisiny nose with red fruits, cooked, leather game and soft oxidative notes. Sweet on palate with full, soft raisin, sultana and nutty elements. Tannins give good grip, preventing cloying. Made from predominantly Grenache Noir"

Dessert:
 PartyPerfect Dark Ghana Chocolate truffle cake, served with Dark Chocolate Handmade Ice-cream, guava and pear

Tasting notes and quote: Stewart Macpherson.

"Wine is the most healthful and hygienic of beverages - Louis Pasteur"

Chef: Jeanine van Kradenburg

First pouring

This is the first pouring of the 

Kapiti Beefsteak and Burgundy Club.

Members of Beefsteak and Burgundy have enjoyed friendships and good food and wine since the inception of Beefsteak and Burgundy in Australia over 50 years ago.

Aims

• To provide information, education and enjoyment of fine wine and food in the pleasant company of fellow members.

• To achieve the above by arranging lunches and dinners, visits to wineries, wine-tasting functions, inviting wine makers and other experts in their field to address members, seeking new members and encouraging the formation of new clubs in Australia and overseas.