Driving through the town of Robertson I noticed a sign from
a local Cellar advertising their white merlot. I am curious by nature and the
‘strange and new’ in particular captures my imagination. Advertising white merlot was like waving a
red flag at a bull for me. With this
in mind some weeks later, I decided to stop at a local wine shop and
investigate.
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| Towerwater Lunch |
I expected to find a white wine but discovered that it was
more like a pinkish straw colour. Walking through the wine shop I noticed a
bottle of Rooibos infused African Ruby Vermouth. Personally, I prefer extra dry
vermouth but I was curious about the indigenous botanical infusion of Rooibos
in this vermouth.
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| White Merlot |
I went home with my bottles of white merlot and a bottle of
African Ruby Vermouth for some experimentation.
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| Pea and Purple Broccoli Salad |
For lunch I made a pea and purple broccoli salad and served
it with coppa ham from the free range pig farm nestled against the Langeberg
Mountains on the edge of the valley. I stuffed the coppa with wild rocket
flower mustard that had quite a bite to it despite the flowers looking so soft
and gentle.
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| Coppa stuffed with wild rocket flower mustard |
The white merlot was citrusy and clearly a summer wine but
it complemented my lunch very well. I
could satisfy my curiosity in the best possible of settings on a balmy Saturday
afternoon.
The African Ruby Vermouth is a Cape West Coast product from
the heart of Rooibos country. The
vermouth is too sweet for my taste but I made a cocktail of the rooibos infused
vermouth adding gin, bitters and a squirt of lemon zest.
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| Rooibos infused African Ruby Vermouth |
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| Karoo Sunset |
I called it Karoo
Sunset because it reminded me of those red sunsets over the Klein Karoo town of
Calitzdorp.
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| Springbok Carpaccio with fresh pea and mint mayonnaise |
The canapés were springbok
carpaccio with a fresh pea and mint mayonnaise.
I decided on the springbok just to play with the Karoo theme.
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| Towerwater sundowners |
The
springbok complemented the Karoo Sunset and I enjoyed a well-deserved sun-downer
after a busy day.
What a culinary adventure! The fresh pea and mint mayonnaise is something I would never have imagined. Can't wait to try a Karoo Sunset!
ReplyDeleteDoes sound yummy! Surely Merlot would be white without the red skins added? It's like the mind wants to tell you its wrong!
ReplyDeleteThe white merlot normally has a brief skin contact. Durbanville Hills makes a rose that has a longer skin contact. It makes for a light enjoyable summery wine. White merlot has been made since the early 1990's I suppose we are just catching up on world trends.
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