Just 20 minutes from Cape Town lies a wine valley with rolling hills and flourishing vineyards that produce some of the country’s most award-winning wines.
This is where you would find Durbanville Hills Wines. On top of the Tygerberg Hills with breathtaking views of Table Mountain, Table Bay and Robben Island. These are all landmarks synonymous with Cape Town.
Durbanville Hills presented Winter of Wander, a series of food and wine evenings paired with their Collector’s Reserve wine range. The dinner event took place at The Tangram restaurant overlooking spectacular views of Table Mountain and Table Bay.
Nothing like sitting down and the menu takes you tastebuds on a culinary trip to Peru. A sensation to the palate and the combinations of flavours were out of this world.
We were welcomed with a glass of Durbanville Hills Sparkling Wine as Peruvian sounds fill the air together with a beautiful sunset backdrop. Made with 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes. It’s refreshing and delightful with a fresh burst of flavour and layers of fresh tropical fruit with aromas of kiwi and gooseberry. The freshness follows through with a burst of tiny bubbles that awakens the palate with a slight hint of sweetness balancing the lively acidity.
Martin Moore, Cellar Master at Durbanville Hills, kicked off the evening sharing his stories about his trips to Peru, the geography, Peruvian cuisine, Aji (Peruvian chilli pepper) and how it gets added into a variety of dishes, to the classic Peruvian Pisco Sour Cocktail.
About The Collectors Reserve Range
The Collectors Reserve range is a play on the art side, a play on the collectors side, a play on the reserve side. It is a unique range specially crafted by the winemakers using only the finest grapes from Cape Town’s best vineyards.
Cape Town being Cape Town, prominent landmarks were handpicked to connect city culture with viticulture. Each landmark becomes a distinctive story which can be found on the back of the respective bottles.
We started off with Chancay and Pisco Sour. Chancays are sweet, soft rolls, sprinkled with sesame seeds and flavoured with a hint of anise, served with a spicy yet flavoursome eggplant dip.
A pisco sour is an alcoholic cocktail of Peruvian origin that is typical of the cuisines from Peru and Chile. The drink’s name comes from pisco, which is its base liquor, and the cocktail term sour, in reference to sour citrus juice and sweetener components. We were treated with a Pisco sour made from Durbanville Hills 10 Year Old Brandy.
Paired: Durbanville Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2021
Aromas of grapefruit, guava and passion fruit on the nose with a crisp, refreshing mix bowl of tropical fruit flavours, citrus and ends with a lingering freshness.
STARTERS
Ceviche or cebiche, a Perivian dish typically made from fresh raw fish cured in fresh citrus juices. This is refreshingly light, bright, spicy and delightfully zesty. A combination of different flavours and textures that makes your tastebuds sing with joy.
Choras a la Chalaco – Choritos are mussels, and “a la chalaca” means “Callao-style“. It’s a simple Peruvian-style steamed mussels, covered with a vegetable corn medley. This went down a treat.
Chicharrones – Delicious fried pork with an onion salsa. The crispy skin, the tender fat and meat right underneath make it absolutely delicious and morish. It’s heaven in every bite.
Paired: Collectors Reserve Chardonnay 2018 and Collectors Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2019. The Chardonnay is a full bodied wine with all the characters following through on the nose. It ends with a fine fresh acidity which adds focus to the wine. Rich citrus flavours develop, which are complemented by subtle oak notes. The Sauvignon Blanc is an elegant wine with lime, sweet apricots, oak spice and vanilla with a creamy texture. Combination of pineapple, apricot roll, dried mango, green apple, cinnamon and vanilla flavours on the nose.
MAINS
Peruvians call it Lomo Saltado. I call it steak and chips. Loaded with tons of savoury Peruvian flavours, perfectly traditional seared steak strips, chips and typically served on a bed of Arroz Blanco (steamed white rice) and Alverjitas Secas (dried peas with onion salsa). Can’t think of a better way to eat steak and potatoes together!
Paired: Collectors Reserve Merlot 2018 and Collectors Reserve Pinotage 2018. The Merlot offers velvety tannins on the palate with sweet, red fruit and vanilla on the after taste and chocolate with cherry on the nose. It was my favourite one. The Pinotage is a full-bodied wine with grippy tannins, cinnamon, sweet plum and a lingering after taste.
DESSERT
Guerguero is a Peruvian pastry delight filled with Dulce de Leche. Utterly delicious and so addictive.
Suspiro de Limena is a Peruvian dessert that originated in the city of Lima. Creamy, caramel like pudding (dulce de leche) is topped with a meringue and sprinkled with a touch of cinnamon.
Paired: Cape Honey Bee Noble Late Harvest
A delightful combination of honeycomb, dried apricot and pears with figs on the nose. Full bodied but an elegant style of Noble Late Harvest with flavours of citrus, honey, dried fruit and figs on the palate.
About Durbanville Hills Wines
The location of Durbanville Hills’ cellar, a mere 20 minutes from Cape Town’s city centre, offers not only a spectacular view of Table Mountain and Table Bay, but also an extraordinary terroir with an almost endless variety of slopes, soil types and micro climates.
Although the area of Durbanville is among the coolest wine-growing areas in the Cape Winelands, Cape Town offers warm weather with plenty of sunshine allowing winemakers in and around the city to have more fun with red wines. The red wines crafted here benefit from the valley outskirts and opposing northern slopes which provide ideal warmer conditions for slow and proper ripening of the grapes and together with the cool maritime breezes and swirling mists, results in wines that truly reflect the unique location of Durbanville.
This was the last Winter of Wander for the year, but from 3 October they start their summer program with Sundown Sunday.
Sunday Sunset Concerts At Durbanville Hills
Durbanville Hills is arguably one of the most view-drenched spots, especially during sunset. As the sun dips across the vista of Cape Town, with a cocktail or glass of wine, the breath-taking kaleidoscope of colour and nature, offers you a front-row seat to summer.
End the weekend with a wine down at Durbanville Hills with your favourite people. The Sundown Sundays takes place every Sunday (from 3 October 2021 until 27 March 2022) from 15:00 until 18.00. You can look forward to top-class local entertainment, wine tastings with special stations for the Durbanville Hills Honeysuckle Demi-Sec Sparkling Wine, and a beautiful sunset guaranteed.
The Olive Grove will serve its popular hake and fries, cheese and charcuterie boards, fresh oysters, sandwiches and wraps, Chef’s black board specials, and incredible cheese cake and brownies.
Bookings essential and space is limited. Contact 021 558 1300 or send an email to info@durbanvillehills.co.za to reserve your front-row seat to summer!
Categories: Durbanville Hills, Winter Of Wander
