Festive season wine: insights from Boplaas winemaker Margaux Nel
Useful tips from a wine professional on how to survive a season for feasting and gifting
The festive season brings long lunches, family gatherings and a good deal of decisions about what to pour. To help with those choices, Boplaas winemaker Margaux Nel answers common questions about serving, pairing and enjoying wine over the holidays.
There’s also a mention of special wine experiences that Boplaas has planned.
Based at the award-winning Calitzdorp farm in the Klein Karoo, Margaux works across a range that includes still wines and Cape Port-style wines, with a special focus on Portuguese varieties. In the Q&A that follows, she offers practical guidance on topics such as choosing wines, serving them and enjoying them. She also points to the Boplaas wines and spirits she is pouring this December, with suggestions for both everyday entertaining and special occasions.
Her advice is aimed at hosts and guests alike, whether they are planning a Christmas table, a braai with friends or a quiet New Year’s Eve at home.
Do you have a traditional routine that characterizes your festive season?
For us, the festive season is also a busy time for work; as a family, we enjoy welcoming holidaymakers to our tasting rooms. I’m usually on the farm, popping into the tasting room regularly to chat with the visitors.
We do head to the coast on Christmas Day, where we spend the day with the family. I’m always in charge of the dessert! In the past, it’s been pastéis de nata, then a Dutch apple tart, who knows what I’ll come up with this year!
If you could drink only one wine during the big festive feast, what would it be, and why?
Wine and food are always major topics of discussion at this time of the year. I always make sure there’s a good bottle of port on hand. We then compare our Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve or Cape Tawny with the wines we brought back from Portugal this year.
Everyone usually brings along a special bottle, something that was particularly meaningful to them during the year, or something they’ve been saving specifically for the occasion.
We always start with seafood as a starter, so I’d likely choose one of the Rías Baixas Alvarinho wines I brought back from Spain this year.
What is the most unexpected food-and-wine pairing you have ever discovered or enjoyed at a festive table?
Alvarinho is just as enjoyable with a braai on a hot day as slightly chilled Touriga Nacional is. This just goes to show that wine and food pairings don’t always have to follow rigid rules!
What do you think is the biggest mistake people make when hosting a party?
My advice is to start early and plan well. Also, ensure that there is plenty of water available throughout the setting.
We usually serve a starter as a kind of "welcome meal." This often takes place outdoors, around the braai, where everyone stands or sits around, enjoying wine and socializing. Since the braai is our main meal, the people at the grill are usually still busy cooking the meat while everyone else is having a great time together.
Especially on our hot summer days, it’s important to drink enough water. I always say: every time a new bottle of wine is opened, have a glass of water! This usually works well for me, as I’m often the one pouring the wine.
There is also a distinction between the wine we taste and the wine we simply enjoy. There are always a few interesting bottles in the fridge that we’re tasting, while other wines sit on the table for pure enjoyment. My advice? Always keep an eye on what’s in the fridge, you never know what interesting wine someone might have opened!
Help! I’m a novice and want to gift a wine-loving friend a bottle that’s interesting but doesn’t look last-minute. What do I do?
Cape Port is always a winner. It can be enjoyed as a dessert or kept for a special occasion.
I would specifically recommend Boplaas Cape Tawny. Simply pop the bottle in the fridge before you head off to your hosts, so that it’s nice and chilled when you hand it over. This signals to the host or hostess that the wine is meant to be opened and enjoyed.
If no dessert has been planned, the Cape Tawny can serve as the dessert itself. And if the host or hostess has already prepared a special dessert, it pairs just as well. It’s a versatile gift that makes the occasion just a little bit more special.
What is the most forgiving wine for a host who must manage a dozen dishes and a dozen guests?
Tinta Barocca is a real crowd-pleaser. It has wonderfully soft tannins, much like a Merlot, yet offers enough character to spark an interesting conversation.
We also produce a lovely Boplaas Merlot, but I believe our ‘Ring of Rocks, our Portuguese-style red blend, is an excellent choice. It offers something unique and intriguing, while remaining a wine that pairs easily with a wide variety of dishes.
Which Boplaas wine do you think is the most underrated, especially during the festive season?
Boplaas Alvarinho definitely deserves much more attention. It is one of my personal favourites. It is reminiscent of Sauvignon Blanc, but with delightful peach notes that give it a distinct character of its own.
Then, of course, there is Ring of Rocks, our Portuguese-style red blend; a wine I would love to introduce to more people.
HEADS UP: A SPECIAL FESTIVE SEASON EXPERIENCE
There’s always good reason to visit the Boplaas tasting room in Calitzdorp. During the festive season, they traditionally open some of its older vinoteque wines and aged Cape vintage reserve ports. More activities are planned, so be sure to follow Boplaas on Facebook (@boplaasfamilyvineyards) and on Instagram (@boplaaswines).
Boplaas’s winning wines are available for purchase and door-to-door delivery, from www.boplaas.co.za.
For more information, email admin@boplaas.co.za, call 044 213 3326 or visit www.boplaas.co.za.