Newsletter 17 - January 2006 - Caveau Wine Bar & Deli

In This Issue

Jean & Brendon's Welcome

Welcome!

Wine Review
Haute Espoir - Rose 2004

Recipe
Herb gnocchi with porcini and parmesan

Dear Friends

Happy 2006!!

We trust you all had a wonderful festive season and are ready for the year ahead!

Unlike the year before, we at Caveau decided to take the Christmas period off and as a result are now thoroughly refreshed and prepared to take on the year with a vengeance!! With the holidays still in swing for many, in particular our tourists, we have been thrilled to welcome many new visitors to Caveau … As always, it is wonderful to meet new people and introduce them to the delights that we have on offer here. We have also been delighted to see many of our dedicated locals still swinging by! For those who have come from abroad, please travel back home safely and we look forward to your return. For those of you who will remain in this special corner of the world, we hope the holiday-to-work transition is not too harsh.

Being situated right in the heart of the CBD, we are just on many of your doorsteps, so when your stress levels begin to soar and you feel like a few moments away from the office or out of the traffic, you know where to find us!

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Till then... keep swirling!

Au Revoir

Petit Caveau

Wine Review - Haute Espoir - Rose 2004

Having finally obtained our alcohol trading license, Caveau will be able to serve as a wine merchant as well as wine bar and deli in the New Year. At Petit Caveau you will be able to buy wines that appear on our wine list and even some that don’t! From time to time we may even be lucky enough to get our hands on something really special!!

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.

Haut Espoir is a family owned winery, nestled in the picturesque mountains at the end of the Franschhoek valley. Meaning “high hopes” their aim is to produce premium, carefully crafted wines in a farm and winery environment that is in harmony with nature.

Owners, Ian and Anne Armstrong lived in Budapest for a few years, and when friend and winemaker, Nikey visited them there, he was forced to drink Hungarian Rosés – traditionally made from Kekfrankos or Kekoporto grapes, amongst other varietals. Fortunately, Nikey enjoyed it enough to be inspired to make his own style of Rosé from Shiraz.

This rosé is a dynamic styled wine produced in limited quantities (only 800 bottles). As a result, it has rapidly gained cult status, with pre-orders for this particular vintage forcing the Armstrongs to hang up the “sold out” sign even before the final labeling run!!

The combination of the Shiraz grapes and fermentation in French oak lead to upfront strawberry flavours, complimented by black pepper and cherry. The wine is full-bodied and has a dry finish and lingering after taste.

To be enjoyed in its youth at any time of the day and can be partnered with a wide range of meals or snacks. Venison, fish and cheese are a perfect match!!

(Incidentally, this wine also has a reputation for producing babies, evidenced by the sharp rise in infants amongst close friends who happened to have indulged in a bottle or two – perfect, perhaps, for upcoming Valentine’s day?)

Jean’s Thoughts
5 years ago there were only 1 or 2 decent roses to be found on our wine market – especially one with a dry and clean palate. From good prices to high expectations, more options are now available. This one in particular is aiming for high note... but it is worth it.
A dry shiraz base wine which suits our South African weather beautifully...

Brendon’s Thoughts
An exceptionally dry pink made from Shiraz. Good colour and a lovely nose. This flavoursome full-bodied rose is a superb “food wine” to be had, in my opinion, with fish or carpaccio. I have found myself drinking quite a bit of it this summer…

At Caveau: R 120.00 per bottle

Caveau’s Friends in Wine

Herb gnocchi with porcini and parmesan

Every now and then, Caveau receives stock at a reduced or “special price”. This may either be in order to move produce a little faster or due to wine farm promotions that may be running at the time. At Caveau we feel that our patrons should be the first to experience the benefits of such kickbacks and we have in turn decided to run monthly specials.

This month, our special offering is Uva Mira’s 2004 single vineyard chardonnay. The fruits used in the making of this Chardonnay were harvested from only the best situated and most meticulously tended single vineyard on the Uva Mira estate, and the winemaking procedures followed combine the preciseness of the farm’s exacting standards with the passion of the team that shaped this vintage. This chardonnay has achieved highly regarded accolades including a gold medal at 2005 Michelangelo International Wine Awards, a silver medal at the 2005 Decanter World Wine Awards and a silver medal at the 2004 South African Young Wine Show. It displays fragrant citrus, lemon and lime and is fruit-filled, curvaceous, and fun with just the right delicacy of touch. Orange blossom and peach fruit fill the glass, with tender wisps of smoky vanilla, and a wink of flamboyant grapefruit. The aromas and flavors blossom with some swirling, leaving the taste of sweet cream in your mouth.

Available from Petit Caveau for only R 80.00 per bottle, should you be interested in purchasing this wine for your own private collection or just to enjoy with friends and family, please feel free e-mail your order to: info@caveau.co.za

Herb gnocchi with porcini and parmesan

Ingredients for gnocchi

5 large potatoes, washed
100 ml Olive oil
500 ml flour
125 ml flour (for dusting)
50g chopped Italian parsley
1 egg white
2 egg yolks
20 ml oil
Salt & pepper

Other Ingredients

400 g porcini mushrooms (cleaned and sliced)
˝ lemon
200 g washed rocket
100 g freshly grated parmesan
50 g butter
20 g chopped Italian parsley
50 g basil pesto
200 g cocktail tomatoes
50 g toasted pine nuts

Serves 4

Method for the gnocchi

Rub potatoes with oil and seasoning. Bake at 180°C until soft (approx. 1 ˝ hours)
Remove potatoes from the oven and allow to cool slightly
Mash the potatoes with olive oil and add eggs
Pass the potato mixture through a fine sieve
Add parsley and 500ml flour and work into a soft dough
Roll into finger thick logs and cut into little sausages
Blanch in boiling salted water – when the gnocchi starts to float to the surface, remove and plunge into ice water
Blanch in boiling salted water – when the gnocchi starts to float to the surface, remove and plunge into ice water

Method for the rest of the dish

Cut the cocktail tomatoes in half and fry in a hot pan until soft
In a hot non-stick pan, add the gnocchi and fry quickly until golden brown
In a separate hot pan, fry the porcini mushrooms until brown and then squeeze the juice from ˝ a lemon over
Mix the tomato, gnocchi and porcini in one pan and add the butter and chopped parsley
Place the gnocchi mix into 4 large bowls and sprinkle with parmesan and pine nuts
Place a bundle of fresh rocket in the middle and drizzle with pesto

The Vine Room

The Vine Room, Cape Town’s finest and most exclusive private dining venue is finally open for bookings. As opposed to our more casual fare, the menus that we will be designing for this venue are of “fine dining” standards.

Should you be interested in making any bookings, please feel free to contact Gabi on gabi@thevineroom.co.za or on 083 284 6754.

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


Caveau Wine Bar & Deli - Newsletter 17 - January 2006	(021) 422 1367