Winter is the best time to indulge in great food and good wine! Nicolson's Country Cafe has a July line-up that is timed just right. Winter 2011 will be remembered as a chilly one in Hilton, making warming meals and red wine even more desirable!
On Saturday 16th July it's their Winter Dinner with Live Musician Roger Hopley! Join them for some easy listening in a warm & cosy atmosphere with Jonty's Casual Set Winter Menu designed to Comfort & Delight the senses. There is a cover charge of R35 per head for the Live Musician. Come along and join us for a drink, great relaxing music & scrumptious comfort food! BOOK NOW!
THEN'.on Wednesday 27th July Nicolson's are hosting a Groote Post Vineyards Wine Tasting.
Join Nick Pentz, owner and director of Groote Post Vineyards at Nicolson's Country Caf?? where we will present delicate Pairing Tastes to accompany each wine.
About Groote Post Vineyards' Peter and Nicholas Pentz farm on a 4000 ha property, Groote Post, up the West Coast, 1 hour from Cape Town outside the town of Darling. Our family has been involved in farming for 100 years, mostly in the dairy industry.
Up to 1993 strict grape production quota restrictions were in place, which prevented vineyards being planted at Groote Post. With the abolishment of these quotas in 1993, we decided to diversify our farming operations into grape production. After very extensive soil tests the best soils were identified to plant to noble cultivars. The soils are all deep, well drained, moisture-retaining Hutton and Oak leaf types. 120 ha have been planted to date and include Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Weisser Riesling, Semillon and Chenin Blanc. Our wine production is 65% white wine and 35% red wine.
The vineyards are situated on the southern slopes of the Darling Hills, 5km from the Atlantic. The Darling area has seen a tremendous amount of investment in new vineyards and wineries in the past 10 years. The area is seen to be one of the upcoming areas of quality wine production in South Africa with its tremendous soils and Atlantic ' influenced cool climate.
The first 3 years production of grapes was delivered to a local cooperative winery. The grapes were vinified separately up to the blending stage. This gave us a good idea of the superior quality grapes being produced off our property resulting in an equally good wine and thus spurred us on to build a winery.
At the end of 1998 we renovated an old 18th century fort to house our 500-ton winery. The property also has two 18th century homes, which are both national monuments, the Manor house of which was the shooting lodge of Lord Charles Somerset, Governor to the Cape in the early 1800's.
Our aim is to produce world-class wines, giving attention to every detail from the vineyards through the cellar and on to marketing of our wines. Lukas Wentzel is the winemaker and has now completed 11 vintages at Groote Post, prior to which he was assistant winemaker at La Motte Wine Estate. Our pursuit for excellence has been rewarded
Wines being showcased on the night are:
GROOTE POST THE OLD MAN'S SPARKLE ON ARRIVAL
METHODE CAP CLASSIQUE BRUT ROSE
GROOTE POST SAUVIGNON BLANC 2010
GROOTE POST RESERVE CHARDONNAY 2009
GROOTE POST RESERVE PINOT NOIR 2008
GROOTE POST MERLOT 2010
GROOTE POST SHIRAZ 2008
It's R85 per head for tasting menu & wine tastings. Bookings essential as usual folks!