Archive for February, 2012

For a delicious stew with a dash of South African, try this wonderful recipe.

Ingredients:

• 700 g stew beef
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 to 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 2 ribs celery, sliced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 cup Pinotage
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary, or a dash of crumbled dried rosemary
• 425 g small onions, or 10 to 16 ounces frozen small onions, thawed

Preparation:

Trim stew beef and cut in small bite-size pieces. Put in a food storage bag with the flour, onion powder, and seasoned salt; toss to coat well.

Heat oil in a large saucepan or over medium heat; add beef to hot oil and cook, stirring, until lightly browned. Add the onion and celery; continue cooking, stirring, for about 3 minutes. Add carrots, garlic, broth, wine, and rosemary; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add drained or thawed onions. Continue cooking for about 20 to 30 minutes or until beef is tender. Serve with biscuits or hot cooked noodles.

Recommended Wine: The Kumkani Pinotage will be the perfect wine with this meal.

Enjoy!

Source: southernfood

It’s almost that time again, the time for delicious wine at a mere fraction of the price.

The company of winepeople^TM ‘s famous Market Day Sale is happening at Welmoed Wine Estate from the 27^th of February to the 4^th of March.

Remember it is first come first serve, so be that early bird and catch the wine-worm!

Directions to Welmoed Wine Estate.

Here is the list of wines to look forward to. Purchases are only by the case.

It’s an age old tradition to pair wine with food. Everyone’s familiar with the idea of wine and cheese or wine and chocolate, but how about pairing wine with your braai?

The basic concept of pairing wine and food is to match the flavour intensity of the food with the wine you drink. For example a lightly flavoured piece of meat is complemented by a mildly flavoured wine. This way the flavour of one doesn’t overpower the flavour of the other.

When talking about the flavours of food, what better to you get than your assorted meats on an open flame? Also, anyone serious about a braai(bbq) knows about flavour, knows about patience, and knows that aroma can be as important as taste.

You have all sorts of braai styles, meats, sauces, wood or charcoal, shapes of the actual braai and of course – many different wines. It’s the perfect pair!

Here are a few thoughts on what works.

Try a Muscadel with spicy chicken wings or even with fish.

How about a Kumkani Lanner Hill Sauvignon Blanc with grilled chicken?

Kumkani Cradle Hill Cabernet Sauvignon pair remarkably well with sauced up ribs.

A Kumkani Cabernet/Merlot can bring out the best in grilled pork chops or a Shiraz with a smoked red meat.

Some do tend to follow the rule that red wines pair well with red meat and white wines with white meat. This is a certainly a helpful hint, but remember there’s nothing wrong with a bit of experimentation.

Next time you light that fire, think of which cork you pop.

Source: bbq.about.com

Harvest Update: Kumkani Pinotage 2012- Tasting during the pump-over

In the romantic month that is upon us, it’s essential to embrace our senses. Walking through a market, we are overwhelmed by the smell of flowers, brand new teddy –bears and helium filled plastic hearts.

How to truly appreciate ones senses, is to pair the two most important things in life – Wine and Chocolate. Some might think the pairing should be handled only by experts, but it’s easy and fun to do it yourself.

So, if you want a quick escape from this month’s busy festivities and do a wine and chocolate pairing from the comfort of your own home, here’s what you do.

Firstly keep in mind, you won’t necessarily find the perfect matches straight away, but that’s the best part. You have to keep on experimenting, which means more wine and chocolate.  A general tip is to match lighter chocolate with lighter-bodied wines and the stronger the chocolate, go with a more full-bodied wine.

Here are a few simple hints to get you started.

Try a Sherry with a nice buttery white chocolate.

A Pinot Noir or the medium bodied Merlot’s will compliment milk chocolate, a creamy mousse or even a chocolate accented cheesecake.

Muscats do wonders with mild milk chocolates.

The Kumkani Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot   is a marvelous match with dark chocolate.

To end things off, appreciate a well aged Port with a dark chocolate dessert or a truffle.

That’s the basics. So invite someone over, get creative and enjoy your palate.