Dear Friends

Our magic Cape Town summer is in full swing as is evident by the ever-soaring mercury … even with the occasional rainy day that has come our way!

As CBD rule of thumb has it, temperatures are always a few degrees higher than in surrounding areas, so in doing our bit to take the edge off and cool things down a little we will be introducing ‘Sangria’ evenings. As of December, your visit to Caveau between 17h00 and 19h00 on Fridays will be met with a complimentary glass of refreshing Sangria!

Our hugely popular wine evenings will round off with “The art of the blend” at the end of this month, and will resume once again in May 2005. This will afford us the opportunity to investigate other entertainment possibilities for you this summer.

We look forward to seeing you all soon.

Till then... keep swirling!

Au Revoir

THE POPULAR PROFESSOR BLACK RETURNS

The third release of Warwick’s Professor Black Sauvignon Blanc is here with the new 2004 vintage. This charismatic wine has quickly become a favourite from coast to coast, with impressed tasters enjoying its balance of freshness and flavour

The grapes for Professor Black come from a specific site on Warwick Estate that the highly-esteemed Professor Black, horticulturist at the University of Stellenbosch, used to plant pear trees in years gone by. These were not just any pear trees however, but a hybrid that the Prof himself created and was later named after him.

This terroir’s promise for Sauvignon Blanc of exceptional character was subsequently realised and this wine was made in Professor Black’s honour. The grapes were harvested at different levels of ripeness and fruit character to ensure maximum fruitiness. The juice was then handled reductively throughout the winemaking process and fermented very cold in specially designed stainless steel tanks. After fermentation, the wine was kept on the gross lees for three months, blended and finally bottled in June 2004

The winemaker, Louis Nel, comments that the wine “shows an abundance of tropical fruit, gooseberry, mango and green fig flavours on the nose that carry through to the palate, which is rich and fruity with well-balanced acid; while the aftertaste is long and lingering with enough fruit to make you come back for more.”

JP’s Thoughts
This is a democratic and endlessly interesting sauvignon because it incorporates much of the sauvignon flavour spectrum: from tropical fruits to racy, flinty notes. It's diversity of flavour makes it very versatile - a good drink on its own and great for light dishes. Prof Black studied fruit trees and there is a type of pear named after him - so it's appropriate that pear notes feature in the wine!

Brendon’s Thoughts
Another "stunner" from Warwick. This very rich sauvignon blanc has very
prominent flavours of gooseberry, mango and fig. Lovely lingering after
taste. Drink it with fresh oysters, fish and salads. A superb wine for
this summer, it tastes like "more".

R140.00 per bottle

Honey glazed chicken breast with crispy couscous balls and corn salad

Ingredients

For the couscous balls 560g couscous 120g feta 10g chopped parsley 100g flour 3 eggs 120g bread crumbs 4 bamboo skewers For the chicken 4 chicken breasts (approx 190g each) 80 ml honey 40ml olive oil 120g humus

For the tomato concassée 3 tomatoes 400g blanched corn 160g baby onions (sliced) Juice of 1 lemon 10g ground cumin

Serves 4

For the Couscous

1. Prepare 560g couscous according to the directions on the package
2. Mix the couscous with the feta and chopped parsley and roll into 12 neat balls
3. Dip each ball into the flour and then into the egg and finally the bread crumbs
4. Deep fry when needed

1. blanch and skin the tomatoes and cut into even squares
2. mix the tomato, sliced onion and corn
3. Add lemon juice and cumin and refrigerate in small bowls

1. Season the chicken breasts
2. Heat the olive oil in a pan and seal the chicken breasts
3. Add honey to caramelise the chicken
4. Remove chicken from the pan and place in a preheated oven at 180°C fro 8 minutes

1. Place the bowl of corn salad on one side of the plate and make a stripe of humus on the other side
2. Slice the chicken breast and fan over the humus
3. Skewer the couscous balls (3 balls per skewer) and lay on top of the chicken
4. Garnish with pickled coriander

"Drinking good wine with good food in good company is one of life's most civilized pleasures." - Michael Broadbent