Dinner- Palisades (South Africa)

On Thursday, 7 of my friends and myself left right after Geography of Wine to head to Eggleston for the food and wine pairing dinner. Tonight's theme was South Africa and I was looking forward in particular to the Cabernet Sauvignon (this is my favorite kind of wine). I thought the drive was very interesting, especially in the pitch black. 

Outside the Palisades

All the wines we sampled tonight were from the Stellenbosch district of South Africa which makes up 14% of the country's wine production. The types of soil used in the vineyards vary from decomposed granite found on hillsides to sandy alluvial loam located on valleys towards rivers. One interesting point about Stellenbosch that the handout noted was the grapes are used for wine.

Interior of the Palisades

The moment we walked into the restaurant I knew  I would enjoy my time here. Our server for the evening was great and even better was his uncle who would periodically come up to chat with us. The inside of the restaurant had a cool appearance which I have rarely seen before. The brick interior and all the old tools displayed made the place very intriguing.

Andrew, Julia, and Bobby really enjoyed coming to dinner here!

Enough about that, lets talk about the real reason why we came here... the food and drinks! We started off the evening with an appetizer on the house which consisted of pita with a seasoning served with a side of hummus and tomato. It was very good but made me even more hungry while I waited for my dinner. 

Nice presentation of the appetizer

Now for the main course. Tonight's meal consisted of: Pumpkin Fritters, Biryani with Beef Skewers, and Apricot Chutney. The wine of the evening were Mulderbosch Chenin Blanc (2010), Ken Forrester Petit Pinotag (2010), and Graham Beck Game Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (2009). I began by meal by drinking the Chenin Blanc, which smelled of oak, citrus, and grass. I agreed with the description when it talked about the presence of "abundant peach and tropical fruit aromas with exotic floral notes." The taste of the wine as oaky, citrus, and had a good aftertaste with some nice heat at the end. I thought it was a light bodied wine, and the flavors became explosive when paired with the fritters and chutney. When tried with the chutney alone, there was a coating of oil left on my tongue.

Next was the Petit Pinotage... It smelled of dark red berries and cherries,oak, and petrol. It tasted of the dark red berries and oak with a little heat on the tongue with a lingering aftertaste. It was a medium bodied wine with a lingering aftertaste and I could tell that there was a slight presence of tannins. When paired with the fritter and chutney it added heat to the end. The description of this wine talks about it as "spicy mulberries, plum pudding and cherries, supported by smoky bacon nuances." I agreed with it except, I did not smell anything remotely close to smoky bacon. Next, I tried it with the beef there was no heat and when I added onion into the mix the heat increased. Lastly, when the Pinotage was drank with the beef, pepper, and onion it was bitter and hot afterwards.

Kristy giving the Pinotage a great sniff while Meredith is classing up the photo

The best was saved for last, Cabernet Sauvignon. The smell of this wine was dark fruits, hints of tobacco, and oaky and the taste was the same and  I thought it was a medium-heavy bodied wine. Added to the taste was smooth and it did not linger like that Petit Pinotage. This description give to us was dead on, "Great complexity of black berry fruit, dark chocolate and cassis on the nose, well supported by spicy mineral and cigar box flavors." I really enjoyed how much tobacco was present in this wine. When tried with all the vegetables it was very tart tasting. When the beef was introduced into the mix the taste was more complete and lingered on my tongue. Lastly, when paired with the chutney and fritter it left a lot of heat on my tongue for an aftertaste.

The meal of the evening, great presentation on my plate

The dessert was the great finale to my meal. The Orange Peel Cheesecake very tasty and the flavors were very subtle which I liked. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of it...perhaps I had too much wine? Haha. All in all it was a great evening! :) Good food, good wine, and great friends to share the experience with!

All gone!