A Good Evening, A Good Creation

Wine & Food Pairing with Creation Wines at De kloof Restaurant - 14 October

So you enjoy good wine, good food and golf I hear you say? Well then you should visit the new hotspot in Pretoria - De Kloof Restaurant is situated at Waterkloof Golf Estate. So whether you just need to visit the driving range (as do I after yesterday’s frustrating round of golf!) and enjoy a couple of exclusive and damn good quality beers with some mates after, or treat a special someone to fantastic food, excellent wine and a scenic backdrop with amazing sunsets, De Kloof Restaurant is the place to be. I was invited to a wine and food pairing dinner by Charl Whitlock of Dekloof Restaurant, which was hosted by the lovely Carolyn Martin of Creation Wines. People, dine at this place and buy any of the wines in the Creation range and you will be pleasantly satisfied with orgasms in your mouth. mmm... perhaps perfect and fair game for that awkward first date, use it, don’t use it ;)

Right, back to the order of the day - 6 amazing dishes and 6 amazing wines to complement each other:

Luderitz Oysters, cucumber spaghetti, peach & pickled sorbet paired with 2011 Creation Viognier

You know Beechies peach & apricot gum? This Viognier smells exactly the same. Its fruity and smooth, but don’t let its ‘delicate’ nature fool you, it will gladly stand up to food and these oysters are a perfect match. A couple more of these oysters and that first date will be on a different level.

Basil crusted seabass, served with saffron & lemon risotto, asparagus, fennel beurre blanc paired with 2011 Creation Sauvignon Blanc

Complex flavours with passion fruit, granadilla and lots of greens. It’s a young wine and the balance of fruit and acidity will allow this Sav Blanc to age a couple of years. Great with the seabass!

Pan-seared Irish scallops, pear puree, pain d ' epice paired with 2010 Creation Chardonnay

It’s big, smoky but yet lime fresh, need I say more? This is the first time I have had scallops and I have seen Bear Grylls chowing these things on his show. I'm sure he will prefer scallops De Kloof style together with this fresh big Chardonnay. Charl, I think you should Tweet Bear and invite him for dinner. But then again, does he have taste buds left??

At this point we break and have a freakin amazing palate cleanser: Olive oil sorbet. It’s so good and so refreshing. I wonder if this will cure a hangover? I think it actually could... The event so far is great. There is a buzz around the restaurant which is fully attended. Charl and Carolyn have been excellent hosts with everything running smoothly to a tee. Carolyn’s input regarding the wine making process and info about the farm has been extremely interesting and informative.   

Duo of smoked veal sweetbreads & slow-roasted veal brisket, served with a shitake (glad I typed that correctly) mushroom ragout, vanilla pomme cigar, rosemary jus paired with 2010 Creation Pinot Noir

Aah, we onto the reds... this is elegance in a glass with red berries, spice, forest floor and mushrooms. Again beautiful pairing! I'm also starting to wonder if the Chef can do anything wrong? Nope!

Black Olive crusted rack of lamb, fresh broad beans, sun dried tomato & balsamic jus paired with 2010 Creation Syrah/Grenache

Now this is my favourite dish and definitely my favourite wine of the night! A lovely Rhône-style blend which is big and juicy with fruity plums. Its smooth and very versatile. The lamb and wine fit like a glove. I’ll have another round of each please!

Dark chocolate fondant, blackberry (not the phone) & Merlot sorbet, black pepper tuile paired with 2010 Creation Merlot

Red berries in my nose which carry over to my palate too with added savoury & chocolate characters. Drinks easy like I enjoy a Merlot to be. Those that know me know I don’t have a sweet tooth, but the dessert is an explosion of WOW in my mouth. The pairing was interesting and it worked well although a Natural Sweet Wine or a Noble Late Harvest may have been slightly better.

I'm disappointed. Disappointed that the courses are finished and I need to leave shortly. Complements to the Chef! Now let me just get 1 more glass of that Rhône-style blend. Gulp, gulp, gulp...