Thursday, 11 October, 2007
Jenny McQueen & Associates
Bosman’s Restaurant, Africa’s first Relais & Gourmand, and its executive chef Frank Zlomke and head chef Jochen Riedel, have won the 2008 American Express Platinum Fine Dining Restaurant award, as well as the 10 year award for Bosman’s Restaurant and the 2008 Platinum Fine Dining Programme award.
Lannice Snyman, one of the judges, said: "I have also recently been involved in another competition and I need to put on record that if an award was to be given for the best winelist in South Africa, this award would go to Bosman's for 2007. A truly magnificent wine experience."
At the annual Diners Club Winelist of the Year Award, Bosman’s won the top Award of Excellence, while Bistro Allegro attained gold. This is the third year in succession that Bosman’s Restaurant has been honoured with this award.
One of the convenors of the Diners Club awards, Michael Olivier, former award-winning restaurateur and now food and wine specialist for Pick ‘n Pay, said that Bosman’s “offered the best wine experience in the country”.
He said that judges look for restaurateurs who go the extra mile, creating wine lists that are in harmony with the food on their menus, those that offer a variety of styles and breadth in terms of where the wines come from and wine lists that represent wineries both big and small.
According to the hotel’s general manager Garnet Basson, the aim is to "have the broadest spectrum of fine wines available from exquisite boutique wineries as well as the recognised larger estates".
“We have found that our regular guests as well as first time visitors prefer wines that they have never had the privilege of drinking before.”
Cellarmaster Mia Mårtensson and head sommelier Solomon Ross spend at least two months of every year exploring the Cape, visiting new farms, meeting new people and tasting new wines. Mia and her team try to have around 22 wines by the glass, including Champagne, sparkling wine, white wine, red wine, Cape Port wine and sweet wine available.
The menu is changed daily because of the vast selection of wines available.
Of the 520 different types of wines on the wine list, 95% are South African wines and 5% are international wines.
There are currently 33,000 bottles of wine on the estate, 26,400 of which are being matured in the maturation cellar.
At the Bistro Allegro, the wine list is specially designed as an accompaniment to the lighter menu choices – a broad selection which ranges from Champagne, rosé wines, Cape Ports, red and white wines from South Africa and overseas.