Newsletter 14 - October 2005 - Caveau Wine Bar & Deli

In This Issue

Jean & Brendon's Welcome

Welcome!

Wine Review
Nicolas van der Merwe

Recipe
Prawn and minted paw paw salad

Dear Friends

As the festive season fast approaches, we at Caveau have been busying ourselves with bringing to you all that is good in food and wine!
First to report is that our renowned winelist has recently received a platinum award by Diners Club International, an accolade not afforded to many! Along with our Conde Nast accolade earlier this year as one of the World’s 35 Cool New Night Spots, we are all delighted and are of course celebrating!!

Caveau has also extended itself to taking on the servicing of The Vine Room – a new and exclusive private dining venue in Heritage Square. The menus that we will be designing for this venue are of Fine Dining standards, as opposed to our casual fare renowned for its seasonal availability, quality and freshness. In doing so, this venture has afforded us the opportunity to broaden our scope as the “purveyors” of fine food!! A link to The Vine Room website with further details will be available on www.caveau.co.za in the not too distant future.

Our wine evening for this month is definitely not one to be missed. Themed “Garagiste Wines”, the focus will be on wines where the attention to detail in the winemaking process is great and the yield, small. There are bound to be some real treasures discovered in this one. Unfortunately, this wine evening will also be the last for 2005. We will of course be resuming them in again April 2006, and in the meantime we will be looking into other entertainment possibilities for the summer.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Till then... keep swirling!

Au Revoir

Petit Caveau

Wine Review - Nicolas van der Merwe

We are currently in the process of applying for our alcohol trading licence, that once obtained, will enable Caveau to serve as a wine merchant as well as wine bar and deli. In the mean time however, if there are any wines on our wine list that you would like to have for your own private collection but that you may be battling to find elsewhere, please do not hesitate to contact us and we shall try to source it for you.

Striking just the right note

Nico van der Merwe, noted winemaker of Saxenburg has of late been busying himself with producing a range of his own. With the prestigious red, Mas Nicholas at the head, Nico has added to his range by producing a unique blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc.

Considered to be similar to many Bordeaux whites, the sauvignon blanc/semillon blend is one that is rapidly gaining support by our Cape winemakers. In the case of this particular wine, the Semillon constituting 42%, has been sourced from the Schaapenberg area of Stellenbosch whereas the Sauvignon Blanc, constituting 58%, comes from the Robertson area – the result: a wine of substance that is easy to drink on its own whilst also being able to be a great accompaniment to warm weather dishes.

This wine has been striking just the right note with many winelovers – particularly those who find the straight sauvignon blanc too pronounced. Served at the correct temperature, this crispy blend displays a complex mouth feel and long fruity finish that will compliment any light to medium cuisine like salad and fish dishes. Perfect for this time of the year!

Jean’s Thoughts
Fantastic!! Finally a touch of European dryness in a Semillon. With one varietal often overpowering another, this wine manages to find a wonderful balance between Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Can be enjoyed alone but also stands up well to rich seafood and creamy sauces. This wine is produced in limited quantities, so hurry up while stocks last ...

Brendon’s Thoughts
An interesting blend of almost equal parts wooded semillon and unwooded sauvignon blanc. A very nice balance of the 2 varietals, showing how the typical characteristics of each can drink well together. I’ll definitely be working my way through quite a few bottles this summer. It’s a tough job, but hey, someone has to do it!!

Wine Evenings

Prawn and minted paw paw salad

Garagiste Wines

Small yield... Big Focus

Caveau will be holding their next and final wine and food evening for the year on the 25th October 2005.
In this tasting, we will be showcasing range of wines from some of our country’s finest garagiste wine producers.
JP Rossouw, renowned wine writer and host of our wine evenings, will guide us through this tasting focusing on what constitutes a garagiste wine and the influence that big focus has on small yield.

Wines selected for the tasting include:

Usana Savignon Blanc
Blyde Chenin Blanc
Katbakkies Viognier
Topaz Pinot Noir
Black Pearl Shiraz
Peter Bayly Port

In true Caveau style, these wines will be paired with the below menu:

Homemade gravad lax with warm blinis and condiments
Basil rubbed veal loin with apricot relish and mustard leaf
Trio of wild forest mushroom
Duck Magret with potato fondant and baby root vegetables accompanied by a berry jus
Goat’s cheese stuffed fig with a port syrup
Coffee and truffles

Further details of the evening are as follows:

Date:
25th October 2005
Venue:
Caveau Wine Bar & Deli
Time:
18h30 for 19h00
Cost:
R 220.00 per person
RSVP
(021) 422 1367 or info@caveau.co.za

Our intention is to keep these evenings as intimate as possible. We have therefore limited seating allocations, so booking is essential!

As per last year’s successful arrangement, full prepayment is required to secure your reservation.

Our banking details are as follows:
Bank: Standard Bank
Branch: Sea Point
Branch Code: 024 109
Name: Coalition Trading 145
Account: 071 075 011

Prawn and minted paw paw salad

Ingredients

20 tiger prawn tails, cleaned
1 ripe paw paw, cut into cubes
15g mint, sliced
1 lemon, cut into wedges
200g baby tomatoes, cut in half
200g cucumber, sliced
10g chopped parsley
1 avo, sliced
600g mixed lettuce

Serves 4

Method

Mix the paw paw with the mint and keep to one side.
Divide the tomato, cucumber, lettuce and avo between 4 plates.
Sprinkle Maldon salt and cracked black pepper over the lettuce.
Fry prawn tails in a hot pan for 5 minutes.
Squeeze lemon juice onto the prawns and add chopped parsley.
Arrange 5 prawns on each plate of salad and top with paw paw.
Drizzle any remaining paw paw juice over the salad.

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


Caveau Wine Bar & Deli - Newsletter 14 - October 2005	(021) 422 1367