The 24^th of September will see en-masse gathering around the great South African braai, Ukosa or Chisa Nyama depending on culture of origin, all in the name of national pride; while at Delheim wine farm in Stellenbosch, the home-fires will burn throughout the week.

National Braai Day, or Heritage Day, is a call to all South Africans to stand together and celebrate the things that make us unique. At Delheim, the Garden restaurant will serve delicious lunchtime braai-kos (cuisine) from Monday September 19^th until Sunday September 25^th. The pinnacle of activities will take place on Braai Day itself, when live ambient music will play from 13h15. Clear views of Table Mountain (weather dependant of course!) will form a fitting backdrop to the proudly South African scene.

Those who haven’t done so are encouraged to visit the National Braai Day website and Facebook page: the latter offering lamb giveaways and other goodies throughout the week. Weekly bonus giveaways of 12-bottle cases of Delheim wines will reward lucky Facebook fans, while others will win tickets to the National Braai Day event at the farm.

Those who’d rather not take the chance of entering the draw are invited to book at restaurant@delheim.com, or phone 021 888 4607. Tickets for the day are priced at R150 per head, while the standard braai lunch menu will be R130 per head.

The three course braai-kos menu starts with a choice of grilled brown mushrooms stuffed with garlic and blue cheese, or smoked Weskus snoek pâté, and Delheim’s delicious freshly-baked farm bread. Mains will be a medley of a succulent braaied Karoo lamb chop, traditional boerewors, marinated chicken sosaties, chakalaka, salad and veg – potato and mealie of course – and what home-grown meal would be complete without koeksisters for dessert?

Phone 021 888 4607 or e-mail restaurant@delheim .com to book.

Tandy Sinclair's delicious Dried Mushroom & Apricot Biscotti

Dried Mushroom and Apricot Biscotti

Ingredients:

50g butter

225g cake flour plus a little extra for shaping

150g castor sugar

pinch of salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

100g dried mushrooms, I used whole ones and cut them into slices to retain the hint of a mushroom shape. The Nouvelle ones are already cut up!

75g dried apricots, sliced

2 extra large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius.

Melt the butter in the microwave and cool slightly.

Sieve the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder into a large bowl.

Add the mushrooms and the apricots and mix in well.

In a small bowl whisk together one of the eggs and the yolk of the second egg, the vanilla extract and the butter.

retain the second egg white and whisk slightly to break it up in case you need it to bring the dough together.

Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the egg and butter mix into it.

Stir until it forms a dough, you might need to add some or all of the left over egg white to achieve this.

Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces.

Very lightly dust a work surface with a little flour and shape into 2 logs, each about 20cm long.

Cover a large baking sheet with non-stick baking paper and place the logs on it leaving plenty of space between them.

Bake on the middle shelf for 40 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch.

Remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes.

Using a sharp knife slice the biscotti logs on the diagonal into slices and arrange standing up in a single layer on the baking sheet.

Return to the oven for 20 minutes to allow them to crisp up.

Biscotti ingredients - before

Biscotti ingredients - after

Let’s be honest, if you read my blog you’ll know my food thoughts are less than conventional, so when a PR company like Erica Meles PR sends you an invite for a wild mushroom forage with leading mycologist Dr. Adriaan Smit, director of the South African Gourmet Mushroom Academy, I’m there!

This invitational was held in conjunction with Delheim Wine Estate and South Africa’s leading commercial supplier of exotic mushrooms, Nouvelle Mushrooms as part of their ‘Mushroom Week’ initiative, highlighting of the use of wild & exotic mushrooms in cuisine.

Regular readers will know that I’m no stranger to exotic mushrooms, in fact I can’t recall when I last bought traditional ‘button’ mushrooms.

I’ve written about exotic mushrooms before in my guest post for Cape Town Magazine and also in my Farm to Fork post with chef Neill Anthony and in most cases the mushrooms called for in the recipes on the blog are exotic. So come Tuesday morning I arrived kitted out for our expedition, stopping in for a coffee and home-made rusk at Delheim’s Garden Restaurant, our ‘base-camp’. Upon arrival I received a warm greeting from Delheim Marketing Manager, Nora Sperling-Thiel, an avid forager herself.

Delheim’s Mushroom Week will last until 10 July. Visit the wine farm to learn about wild mushrooms and try their delicious wild mushroom dishes.

Winter has long seen a flurry of fungi harvest activity at Delheim wine farm in Stellenbosch; the rare and delectable Boletus Edulis mushrooming overnight in secret locations scattered around the pine forest on the farm. These have been shared in the past with lucky Delheim restaurant patrons who happened to book on the days that the mushrooms popped up; their harvester Delheim owner-family member, Nora Sperling-Thiel.

Although popular with customers – many of whom are amazed at their texture and flavour – Boletus are as rare as they are delectable; appearing only when the weather is ideal for them to sprout. Coupled with their rarity is a fear of the unknown that wild and exotic mushrooms present, having been scarcely available in South Africa in the past.

Feeling that home cooks were missing out on a health-giving delicacy, Nora has teamed up with Schalk de Beer of Nouvelle Mushrooms, Hemel en Aarde Valley, to offer a steady supply of exotics via the Delheim restaurant.

The initiative kicks off with Mushroom Week 2011, held at the Delheim farm from 4-10 July. An annual event to make the most of wild mushrooms on the farm, a variety of dishes will be available at the restaurant, complete with sample displays and pairing suggestions with Delheim wines.

Two gourmet mushroom dishes will be on the menu permanently, with punnets of fresh exotics and recipes for use at home available for a limited time. Pairing  recommendations will be made with the Delheim wines, closing the loop on easy and fabulous fungi for home entertaining. The restaurant offerings will include Baby Spinach with seared Nouvelle King Oyster mushrooms, and creamy tagliatelle with Nouvelle Exotic Mushroom Mix.

Bookings can be made at the Delheim restaurant; email restaurant@delheim.com or telephone 021 888 4607. For those out of town, Nouvelle Mushrooms can be found in the Woolworths fresh food aisle, while the Delheim wines for pairing can be found on the wine shelves.

For further inspiration and ideas, visit the Nouvelle Mushrooms website, at www.nouvelle.za.net.

Michael Sperling better known as "Spatz" Sperling (photograph by Toby Murphy)

Author: Jeanri-Tine van Zyl

Published: 24 March 2011 in Wine Magazine

This is important to know.  Sperling means sparrow, with Spatz being the diminutive, affectionate form. “A Spatz can come from nowhere, and it sits where it shouldn’t,” tells the man who is nicknamed after this “little naughty bird”. Spatz Sperling smiles at his analogy, sitting upright in his plush, olive-coloured chair in his Delheim home. Vera Sperling, his wife, weaves in and out of the room like a bird herself, clucking and teasing, but also guarding and praising the man who, she admits, “is an icon”. (“But please don’t tell him he is a legend, he’s got a big head already!”) In 1975, Spatz named a patch of vineyards on top of Klapmutskop, to the north-west of the farm Vera’s Cruz (meaning Vera’s Cross), after this ever-present figure in his life. “It commemorates the cross and suffering I’ve had to bear since marrying Sperling,” she teases, but they seem as inseparable as swans.

Read more: http://www.winemag.co.za/article/wine-legend-the-story-of-spatz-sperling-2011-03-24

Delheim's lantern

Delheim made a virtual lantern to support Earth Hour – go here to make yours:

http://www.earthhour.org/kids/MakeALantern.aspx

Your lantern is a symbol of hope and represents your support for a sustainable future.

Remember to also turn off your lights for one hour on 26 March 2011 at 20h30 no matter where you are on the planet.

PROGRAMME

BLIND WINE TASTING COMPETITION FOR MOTHERS

Come and test your skills!

Prizes:

First:  A magnum of Delheim Pinotage and a Delheim “Ageing to Perfection” sweater

Second: A Bird Feeder, a bottle of Delheim Spatzendreck wine and two Delheim glasses

Third: A bottle of Gabriele fortified red wine & Gabriele chocolate

LUNCH

German gemütlichkeit is the order of the day in this garden restaurant in its

stunning setting with a view clear across to Table Mountain in the distance. 

In case of rain, we will move to the cosy “Downstairs” Cellar.

Set Menu:

A complementary glass of wine from our “Lifestyle” range

(Sauvignon Blanc-Chenin Blanc 2009, Pinotage Rosé 2009,

Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz 2008, or Spatzendreck Late Harvest 2009)

~~~~~

Butternut & Orange Soup

served with freshly-baked farm bread

~~~~~

Oven-Baked Franschhoek Salmon Trout

served on rocket with grilled vegetables & baby potatoes

OR

Cape Malay Chicken Curry

served with basmati rice, a poppadum & mango salsa

OR

Balsamic-Infused Pork Fillet & Sweet Peppers

served with savoury mashed potatoes

(vegetarian option available on request – please specify when you make your reservation)

~~~~~

Mascarpone Cheesecake topped with Apricots in a Delheim “Natural Sweet” wine reduction

~~~~~

Coffee/Tea

Blind tasting competition, set lunch and complementary glass of wine – R150 p/p

______________________________________

Kiddies Menu (under 12 yrs):

Bratwurst Roll or Fish Cake

served with potato chips and tomato sauce

and

a Gabriele Chocolate Brownie

A glass of Fruit Juice or Sparkling Grape Juice

R50 per child

Booking essential at Tel: (021) 888-4607, or make your reservations at restaurant@delheim.com

The Phoenician ship in Table Harbour

Delheim is very excited to be associated with the Phoenician Ship Expedition currently docked in Cape Town (www.phoenicia.org.uk). This expedition is seeking to rediscover and document the secrets of ancient Phoenician mariners by attempting to recreate one of mankind’s greatest exploratory voyages, the first circumnavigation of Africa by Phoenician mariners in 600BC, in a replica Phoenician/Mediterranean vessel. 

The Phoenician Ship Expedition launched from Arwad, Syria in August 2008, sailed through the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea, and eventually docked at Yemen. Phase Two, launched in August 2009, saw Phoenicia rounding the Horn of Africa and sailing down the east coast. Negotiating the dangers of the Cape of Good Hope was a critical point in the expedition, but the ship is now safely berthed at the Victoria & Albert Waterfront. 

The Phoenicians were regarded as ‘rulers of the sea’ and their trading activities reached as far as Cornwall for tin, and India and China for spices and precious goods. Delheim has loaded some of its Muscadel 2008 with this ship’s cargo to follow its ancient trading route back to Syria. 

The Muscadel grape is the world’s oldest known grape variety – it has been cultivated and harvested in the Mediterranean for more than 3000 years and some wine historians say it was the first grape to evolve. It was certainly the first grape to be used in winemaking. 

In ancient times, Muscadel grapes were used mostly for making raisins, and Roman physicians prescribed them to cure anything from mushroom poisoning to old age! So valuable were these raisins at the time that two jars of them were worth one slave. Pliny the Elder called Muscadel the “grape of the bees”, as they are uncontrollably attracted to the powerfully sweet odour, the result of a tendency to rot slightly on the vine, with the berries developing a very soft skin and a high sugar content. There are over 200 varieties of Muscadel grape and the wine made from it was known to ancient Egyptians, Arabs and Africans. 

The Phoenician voyage will continue up the west coast of Africa, through the Straits of Gibraltar and across the Mediterranean to return to Syria, where the special wooden box of Delheim Muscadel 2008 will be handed to the First Lady, Asma Assad, an avid supporter of the expedition. 

A white Muscadel was the first wine ever made at Delheim in Stellenbosch in 1948, so it was particularly pleasing that the 2008 Muscat de Frontignon was so outstanding. Harvested late in the season at 34.3 Balling, it comprised an exceptionally good mix of healthy grapes, raisins and berries that were packed with botrytis. 

Whole bunches went directly into the press for overnight skin contact, after which fermentation was induced by the addition of a selected yeast strain, and at the desired sugar level, fortification took place. To respect the fruit, no wood treatment was given, and only 3 320 bottles were produced. 

Back in 1948 it was very difficult to source proper wine bottles, so Delheim’s first wine was presented in a beer bottle instead. Only a small quantity of the 2008 Delheim Muscat is being sold – again in beer bottles – exclusively in the Delheim Downstairs Tasting Cellar at R95 per bottle (please contact orders@delheim.com for more information).

UPDATE – 14/4/2010:  The ship has just left St Helena where it has been berthed for a week, and is now headed for the Ascension Islands.  When it crosses the equator, the crew will be holding the traditional “crossing the line” ceremony, complete with “King Neptune”, and the Captain has promised to toast Delheim on that occasion with a bottle of our Grand Reserve.

Update – 23/4/2010: Captain Philip writes: “We have made pretty good progress over the last few weeks and are now approaching the equator- some 350 miles. At our recent speed that will mean we should be there on Sunday. However the winds will probably drop over the next day or so and it could be Monday before we are there. In any event I’ll send you an email when we are a few miles/hours off. If we reach it at night time we will have the ceremony the next day. Will send you some pictures of certain members of the crew being initiated by King Neptune and of the consumption of your lovely wine afterwards.”