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Final food and wine. Cheers.
This is the end of my journey with you at the table.
It has been wonderful having you as my guest and I hope that you have enjoyed our meals and drinks together as much as I have.
I am preparing myself for bariatric or weight-loss surgery next year. I will continue to write about travel, but my limited diet won't allow me to write about restaurants or wines the way that I have.
I look forward to a healthier and lighter me. This is my gift to myself.
Speaking of gifts, here are some suggestions of tipple and foodie gifts.
What's interesting about the Graham Beck Sauvignon Blanc, given that I've written about wines from Darling and Durbanville recently, is that it is made from grapes from these areas from seven different vineyards. The grapes were handpicked and first tasted for ripeness and flavour development. I get that characteristic Sauvignon Blanc tropical fruit on the nose and lovely crispness after drinking it. You could gift a bottle (or case) of this with confidence.
Forget about paying through the nose for poncey French Cognac when our own KWV 10-year old has been voted as the Best Brandy in the World at the International Spirits Challenge, reclaiming the award it first won in 2007 and beating more than 1 000 entries in the process. If you must add Coke to it revel at least in the knowledge that you are doing so with the finest brandy. If you love the good stuff, explore Jorgensen's Distillery's Savingac Potstill Brandy. I drink their artisan gin and when they have stock available next I will buy a bottle of their brandy. Make arrangements to visit them in Wellington before you go.
I've mentioned David Nieuwoudt's fabulous Ghost Corner Sauvignon Blanc previously, but it gets another airing here as the perfect gift – it comes wrapped in a jacket of quality paper affixed by a gold label – how festive is that?
The Boschendal Grande Vin Blanc Sauvignon Blanc is another of the wines in the tropical-fruits-with-zesty-minerality style, but their Grande Cuvee Brut MCC scores higher points with me than some of the famous Champagne products. I prefer it over Moet.
Lindsay Hunting of Slaley olive oil says that any locally produced olive oil is far better than anything imported.
He mentioned hair-raising stories of how imported "olive oil" is mislabeled and adulterated. His Leccino-Mission olives blend is peppery and spicy, full of character, while the 100% Leccino olive oil is the perfect one to use for bread dipping. A foodie will always appreciate a gift of estate olive oil.
My favourite store, Le Creuset makes the best cast-iron pots and pans that will last a lifetime. They are costly so be prepared to pay upwards of R1000.
They have newly launched a range of wine accessories that are so affordable I'm even considering them as stocking fillers. I love their Champagne Star cork opener and their elegant yet inexpensive foil cutter. Their metal wine pump removes the air from opened wine bottles so that you can keep three bottles open at a time and not lose any quality to oxidization. It is the perfect gift for a wine lover. Le Creuset's brilliant staff will also wrap items for you.
We always associate Crabtree & Evelyn with skincare products, but they also have a super range of jams, chutneys, teas and melt-in-your mouth butter biscuits. Their packaging is so beautiful you don't even have to wrap them.
Thanks again for being with me. Happy holidays.
[20-Dec-11]
Brian Berkman
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