Wine extravaganza kicks off in East London

Charl and Desrae Joubert warm up at the brazier after sampling wines from 38 wine estates at East London’s Food and Wine Fair at the Beacon Bay Country Club. The fair is on between 2 and 9.30pm tomorrow (Saturday). Picture: Barbara Hollands

By Barbara Hollands

BUFFALO City wine lovers have been enjoying the fruits of the wine route without having to travel from farm to farm. Almost 40 wine estates are represented at this year’s East London Food and Wine Fair at the Beacon Bay Country Club and this year visitors have also been enjoying gourmet cooking demonstrations and receiving tips about wine and food pairing.

The annual Food and Wine Fair, which started on Thursday evening and ends at 9.30pm tomorrow (Saturday) night, has been a highlight of East London’s social calendar for 14 years and in March next year organisers Tri-Skye Corporate Communications will also stage the Food and Wine Fair in PE.

“The show has been doing so well in East London that the wine estates have been asking us to take it to PE,” said Tri-Skye owner Taryne Smith. “They know we put on a good show so they will follow us there.”

Smith said a full mock kitchen had been built at the Beacon Bay Country Club, where East London chefs from local restaurants have been giving demos of how to cook with fresh seasonal produce and how to pair wines with food. At 6pm tomorrow night visitors can learn how to make mushroom risotto in a cooking demonstration presented by Two Dogs Bistro chefs who will pair their dish with the correct estate wine.

Peckish wine tasters can fill up on wraps, sushi, curry and rice and as well as coffee and cake provided by a variety of on-site restaurants. “This year we have introduced the food lovers market to the show where visitors can sample and buy some of South Africa’s best delicatessen gourmet foods,” said Smith. These include deli meats and cheeses, olive oil, chilli sauces and biltong.

Tomorrow’s Food and Wine Fair begins at 2pm and ends at 9.30pm. Tickets cost R120pp (this includes a wine tasting glass), and are available from Preston’s at the following liqour stores: Beacon Bay, Vincent, Gonubie and Stirling.

Win two cases of SA Rugby wine from Ernie Els

THE Bokke may have drawn against England at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday but like their thousands of fans, golf’s “Big Easy” – Ernie Els – remains committed to the core in his support of the national team.

To celebrate the past weekend’s match, two MyWeekend readers can each win a case of Ernie Els’s rugby-themed wines. Now in its second season, the SA Rugby range is made in collaboration with SA Rugby by Louis Strydom, acclaimed winemaker of the Ernie Els Wine Estate. Els himself has been a keen supporter of Springbok rugby since he was a small boy.

Each case to be won contains six bottles of shiraz/cabernet sauvignon 2010 reds and six bottles of 2011 sauvignon blanc.
To enter, SMS the word BIGEASY to 40881. SMSes are R1.50 each, errors are billed and free minutes don’t apply. Avusa staff may not enter. Entries close at noon tomorrow (Tuesday June 26); winners will be notified before the end of the week. Prizes will be couriered to them. Entrants must be over 18.

Bay gets own wine estate

The wine farm at Theescombe is attracting a growing number of visitors. Picture: Mike Holmes

By John Harvey

TO the wine connoisseur there can be no more attractive prospect than a rare vintage, ideally born of the slopes of Burgundy or some other internationally heralded region of the viticulture world. While the Futter family’s operation may have some way to go in terms of finding its way into the noses of veteran sommeliers, it is no stretch to say it has secured that sought-after exclusivity factor so crucial to a vineyard’s credibility.
Welcome to Theescombe Estate Wine on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth – yes, Port Elizabeth.
Spurred on by the success of Cob Creek outside Jeffreys Bay in blazing a trail for Eastern Cape wines, Theescombe chief of operations Sandra Futter has soldiered on in her endeavours. “We moved to Theescombe about 16 years ago and have tried to grow various things without any great success. In 2006 my husband Roger decided we should plant a couple of vines,” Futter said.
“The first harvest was a disaster, but we decided to plough on.” The success of the estate is made all the more remarkable by the fact the couple had no previous experience as wine growers, relying on their own research and advice of others.
Only when it became clear their enterprise might be something more than a “hobby” did Futter obtain the necessary qualifications to practise professionally. “I am registered with the Cape Wine Academy and have completed courses through them,” she said.
“We have also been very lucky to call upon the advice of the guys at Cob Creek.”  The vineyard has between 3000 and 3500 vines which produce chenin blanc, pinotage, sémillon and cabernet sauvignon varieties.
Watching Futter at work in her small wooden “lab” testing sugar and PH levels it is clear she has fallen in love with the wine-making process, decanting beakers here and there and allowing light to pass through the glass to gauge the colour.
“Showing visitors how we go about making the wine is an essential part of our tour, which includes a stopover in the cellar, a tasting and a walk in the vineyards. I give small talks on what to look for and tips for wine-drinkers while they sample the wines or enjoy a snack platter.

“People are beginning to hear about us through word of mouth, and we are getting a few bookings every weekend. We are very positive.”

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday February 11, 2012.

Three-day wine show kicks off at Stadium today

By Louise Liebenberg

ONE of the country’s biggest wine shows is heading south today (Friday) in the form of an interactive road show at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. According to show director John Woodward, the three-day wine extravaganza is returning to Port Elizabeth thanks to the “overwhelmingly positive” response from both visitors and exhibitors when it was held here for the first time last year.

The Wine Show has become a highly successful event in Johannesburg, where it has been staged for the past six years. But the smaller Port Elizabeth version – known as the Wine Show Road Show Nelson Mandela Bay – surprised organisers and exhibitors alike with sales significantly outstripping that of the largest wine show in Cape Town in December last year.

“We had more than 2000 Eastern Cape visitors and the exhibitors achieved sales of more than R300000 – nearly 70% higher than sales reported by WineX in Cape Town last year,” said Woodward. “These are really impressive figures for a new show and proved to us the Eastern Cape was starved for attention from wine marketers.

“The show statistics also revealed Eastern Cape audiences were also eager to experiment with and taste new wines.”

This year’s show takes place from today (Friday) to Sunday, June 10 to 12, and will see nearly 50 of South Africa’s leading estates – representing every major wine-producing region in the country – showing off their vintages.

Winemakers and representatives from the various estates will also present free tutored tasting sessions throughout the weekend. Visitors may also buy wines at the venue. The show will feature wine producers ranging from boutique wineries to some of South Africa’s biggest estates and co-operatives.

Exhibitors will be located on both levels of the stadium’s World of Windows. Access Management, which operates the stadium, will provide catering, including sushi, on the top level and at the inner-bowl food court. Simonsberg will also have cheeses to taste and buy.

The show is backed by Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism and is open from 5-9pm today (Friday), noon to 9pm on Saturday and noon to 4pm on Sunday. Tickets are available from Computicket at R90 per person or at the door. Weekend passes cost R150 per person and special group rates of R80 per person apply for bookings of 10 or more people. All minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Access’s  marketing head  Buli Ngomane said secure parking next to the North End Lake could be accessed from the entrance at the corner of Fettes Road and the lake, next to the Boat Club. The cost is R15 per day.