Single varietal wines are largely created in the Haute Cabrière vineyard showcasing the intrinsic character of a wine varietal alongside its growing conditions and terroir.
But blending a wine is different – this is where people have the opportunity to create! This is something we've always loved as a cellar – bringing together sun, soil, vine, and man's creativity by pioneering new wine blends for South Africa.
The beauty of drinking a blend is in the balance of character and flavour. The cellarmaster will carefully harvest, vinify, and blend single varietal wines in the creation of something entirely new and exciting! As a cellar, we were the very first to produce a Chardonnay Pinot Noir blend as a still wine in South Africa – and it's still a favourite across the country! Inspired by this, we looked to create a second pioneering blend with Pinot Noir and incorporated Syrah for our Arnim Family Réserve.
Creativity is in our nature. We hope you enjoy these pioneering blends, created with passion, skill, and a little daring.
Pairing our pioneering blends
Inspired by the cooler winter weather and spending time together indoors, we're sharing some of our favourite recipes to pair with our pioneering blends. So gather round the table, and enjoy some delicious food alongside these much-loved favourites.
Chardonnay Pinot Noir + French onion soup
Perfect for the wintery weather, cosy up with a warm bowl of classic French Onion Soup – made from scratch – and a bottle of Chardonnay Pinot Noir. Perfect for mid-week meals and appetisers.
Arnim Family Réserve + Asian lamb shanks
In collaboration with Sam Linsell of Drizzle and Dip, dive into this soul-nourishing winter meal. The Asian influence beautifully complements the spice and elegance of this Réserve wine.
Ingredients
- 4 large lamb shanks or 6 small ones
- Olive oil
- 1 onion, dice
- 2 star anise pods
- ½ tsp five spice
- 1Tbs flour
- 500ml beef stock
- 1 Tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
- 1 Tbs minced garlic (about 3–4 cloves)
- 4 Tbsp honey (or brown sugar)
- 4 Tbsp soy sauce
- Juice from 1 orange (about 80ml)
- Pinch of chilli (or more if you like heat
Method
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celcius.
- Heat a glug of olive oil in a lidded oven-proof casserole or non-stick frying pan. Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper and brown on all sides until golden. Remove and set aside.
- Wipe the pan to remove any burned bits and excess oil
- Heat another glug of olive oil (about 2 Tbsp) in the pan and sauté the onions until translucent – about 4 minutes. Add the five spices and cook until fragrant.
- Mix the stock, ginger, garlic, honey, and soy in a jug. Juice the orange.
- Add the flour to the onions and five spices and cook until thickened. Add ¼ of the stock mix to deglaze and stir until thickened. Slowly add the rest of the stock and then the orange juice.
- Add the lamb shanks pack into the pan with the meaty side submerged in the liquid and put a Iid on the pot (or transfer to a casserole dish and seal with foil). Bake in the oven for 1.5 - 2 hours depending on the size of the shanks. Small shanks will be falling off the bone ready at around 1.5 hours. Check and just keep cooking until this stage.
- Serve with mashed potatoes and cooked greens such as bok choi, tender stem broccoli or green beans.
*add 2 tsp of wasabi to your mashed potatoes to make wasabi mash