Durbanville Valley's Popular Wine-And-Dine Series Is Back!

Winemakers and chefs of the Durbanville Wine Valley have teamed up again for another roaring wine-and-dine collaboration and this time intent on showcasing the best of local flavours inspired by autumn.

The event follows on the inaugural series held last year, which was completely sold out.

Now, once again, chefs from the region’s top restaurants will come together in designing and hosting a trio of dinners that shine the spotlight on local excellence. Wines from the region are part of the experience having been paired with the dishes, and will be presented by winemakers themselves.

For the autumn edition, the dinners will take place at a different venue each time, featuring different teams, dishes, and wines. Teams were given the theme of farm to table for their designs, which provides the opportunity to celebrate fresh, seasonal produce.

Among the tantalising mains diners may expect are dishes such as pressed pork belly served with quince, parsnip, raw honey, ginger; salted lamb rib pressé dished up with charred tomato, ginger, celeriac, shallot, pak choi; and, braised venison “Wellington”, fondant potato, charred shallots, baby carrots and a mushroom mousse. Desserts include an o-so-divine Valrhona millot parfait with Jerusalem artichoke, hazelnut, treacle, pear; warm pumpkin and a Rooibos and orange sponge served with spiced pumpkin purée, local raw honey-and-oat streusel, vanilla Bavarian cream and burnt orange ice cream; and, a pecan nut panna cotta with peach caramel, pecan praline and brandy snap crumb.

Drinks paired with these dishes demonstrate why Durbanville enjoys such high esteem too. There will be the opportunity to enjoy award-winning Sauvignon Blancs and other white wines from the region, as well as towering reds and exceptional brandies.

The Durbanville Wine Valley Autumn wine-and-dine collaboration takes place on three Wednesdays in May.

The details are:

May 11 at Klein Roosboom (Jéan Restaurant), featuring chefs from the kitchens of Jéan and Groot Phesantekraal, with a regional selection of wines presented by Maastricht;
May 18 at De Grendel, featuring chefs from the kitchens of De Grendel and Diemersdal Farmer Eatery, with a regional selection of wines presented by Altydgedacht; and,
May 25 at Durbanville Hills (Tangram Restaurant), featuring chefs from the kitchens of Tangram Restaurant and Nitida (Cassia Restaurant), with a regional selection of wines presented by D’Aria.

“We’re tremendously excited about this next edition of these collaborations,” says Natasha de Villiers. “Autumn is fantastic inspiration with its rich colours, but also as a time for bold, warm flavours enjoyed by the fireside.

“We’ve also tweaked the experience making it even more welcoming,” Natasha says.

“We’ve shrunk the groups of collaborating kitchens, which means chefs have a better opportunity to shine a light on their skills and the flavours on the menu.”

Tickets to the wine and dine experiences in May may be purchased online at http://durbanvillewine.co.za/events/

The event at Klein Roosboom is priced at R795pp; De Grendel, at R850pp; and Durbanville Hills, R665pp.

For more information about Durbanville Wine Valley, visit www.durbanvillewine.co.za or send email to info@durbanvillewine.co.za. Many of the wines from Durbanville are available for sale directly from the wine route’s website.

Tag and follow Durbanville Wine Valley to get the latest news about events. Use @DurbanvilleWine on Twitter and Facebook, Instagram.