The First International Chenin Congress
A large contingent of South Africans are in France attending the first annual Chenin Blanc International Congress. There are winemakers, marketers and academics - all attending or presenting - in the Loire, in Angers, France from 1 to 3 July.
The congress had lectures in the morning and tours to the winelands in the afternoons.
The Distell Inter Hotel Cookoff
It was a flurry of activity when we arrived - as the bread feedback was just happening. Such positive criticism for the young chefs - for the delicious breads which they made from the BioWheat flour.
The following hotels were represented on the day: Twelve Apostles, Southern Sun/Tsogo Sun, Radisson Blu, Lanzerac, La Residence (SILO), Spier and Grootbos.
The De Wetshof Experience
Chardonnay is of course De Wetshof's calling card and when second-generation Johann de Wet (now CEO) starting asserting his style at the Robertson estate, he introduced the Limestone Hill un-wooded Chardonnay in 2016 which in fact won Double-Gold at the Veritas for unwooded Chardonnays. The delicious sea-some nature of the wine pairs perfectly with oysters, which we enjoyed with the 2019 vintage at the annual launch of the wine. With the wine having won the Oyster Wine of the year in Japan recently - there seemed to be no better choice to match with the wine!
The Old Mutual Trophy Wine Tasting
The Old Mutual Silver, Gold & Trophy award-winners presented their wines to a very buzzy crowd on Thurs 20th June. Seems that SONA was not enough to draw people away and there was much ticking off of lists and 'Did you taste the xxxx?' going on!