Rare and unique Limited Release collector’s item flaunts a new look

Stellenbosch Hills has made this season’s big reveal! Available now is the latest vintage of the well-known winery’s rare Muscat de Hambourg, a collector’s item as the only fortified wine of its kind in South Africa. Released exclusively in truly exceptional vintages, the wine was last available in 2020.

Stellenbosch Hills is just one of two commercial South African producers of the Muscat de Hambourg variety, but the only winery to bottle it as a single cultivar wine. The vineyard that produced it was originally planted in 1987 but had to be replaced in 2001. Today, the trellised vines cover less than one hectare.

Highlighting its exceptional quality and heritage, the winery released this latest edition with a brand-new sophisticated look. A new label communicates the sensuality and mystique of the wine and, now in clear glass that shows the magnificent sunset colours contained within.

This Stellenbosch Hills Muscat de Hambourg hails from the 2022 vintage that stood out for its cooler night temperatures, which enhanced flavour and colour in the resulting wine.

In glass, it is intensely fragrant with aromas of candy floss, boiled sweets, rose petals and violets. These tumble onto the palate in delicious balance and through to a long, satisfying and velvet finish.
The wine is perfect as an aperitif or after-dinner drink, served at room temperature in winter. It is equally tasty when presented over crushed ice, or vanilla ice cream and strawberries.

Originally developed in Germany, Muscat de Hambourg is a cultivar derived from a cross of Muscat d’Alexandrie and Frankenthal. Stellenbosch Hills makes the wine in a Jerepigo style, which means fortifying the unfermented grape juice to create a memorable experience-in-a-glass.
The Stellenbosch Hills Muscat de Hambourg 2022 sells for R110 and is available through the winery’s online shop, from the tasting room and selected fine wine outlets, countrywide.

For more information, visit the website, call 021 881 3828/9 or, email
info@stellenbosch-hills.co.za.
Also find Stellenbosch Hills on Facebook (StellenboschHills), Twitter @STBHills and Instagram @stellenbosch_hills.

The Stellenbosch Hills winery and tasting room is located at the intersection of the R310 and Vlottenburg Road, just outside Stellenbosch.

Pistachio, raspberry & white chocolate biscotti

(by Ilse van der Merwe www.thefoodfox.com)

Ingredients:

(makes about 60 medium size biscotti)

• 3 tablespoons (45 g) butter, softened
• 1 cup (200 g) sugar
• 2 XL eggs
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla essence
• ½ teaspoon (2,5 ml) almond essence
• 1 cup (100 g) peeled roasted pistachios, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups (280 g) cake flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon (1 ml) salt
• 2-3 tablespoons (30-45 ml) raspberry jam
• 150 g white chocolate, cut/broken into chunks
• 3 tablespoons extra pistachios, finely chopped, optional (for decoration)

Method:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and pre-heat oven to 180°C.
2. Whisk butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until well mixed. Mix in eggs one at a time, then vanilla and almond essence.
3. Stir in the pistachios with a spatula.
4. Sift dry ingredients over egg mixture, then fold in with a spatula until dough is just mixed.
5. Halve dough and roll each half on a lightly floured surface into a 25cm x 5cm roll. Using floured hands, pat each log gently to flatten it slightly, then spread one log lengthways with jam (leave the edges clean). Place the second log on top of the jam log and press lightly to fuse the two together. Pat out again into one long roll of about 50cm, then cut it into 2 and place the 2 rolls next to each other on a lined baking tray.
6. Bake until the flattened logs are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. In the meantime, lower the oven temperature to 160°C.
7. Slice each log diagonally into 1 cm slices with a very sharp serrated knife. Lay the slices about 1 cm apart on a cooling rack placed over the baking tray and return them to the oven.
8. Bake until crisp and golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
9. While the biscotti is cooling, place the chocolate in a microwavable container and microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in-between. Stop when the chocolate is warm but not fully melted – it will continue to melt on standing.
10. Dip the cooled biscotti in the chocolate, then in the finely chopped pistachios and leave to set on non-stick baking paper. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
11. To serve: dip the biscotti in Stellenbosch Hills Muscat as a special after-dinner treat – it will soak up a little of the wine, but remain characteristically crisp on the inside.
    

Categories: Stellenbosch Hills WinesTags: Cape Town, Cape Winelands, Fortified Wine, Media Release, Muscat de Hambourg, South Africa, Stellenbosch Hills, Wine