Food & Drink. Travel. Est. 2005
Eating and drinking abroad and at home. Sometimes I get sick too.
It’s difficult to escape Swartland. Though not the prettiest of the Cape’s wine regions, the wines are so bloody good. I’m talking about those made with minimal intervention. City on a Hill The City on a Hill 2016 is one that knocked me off my perch. Bold, textured, savoury, spicy and with none too much acid, it’s also comparatively low alcohol at 12.5%. The viognier brings that dirty edginess of tropical fruits that balances out the acid of the chenin […]
The Kloof Street old vine chenin blanc from Mullineux Family Wines is terrific value costing about R90.
The attraction of the Sijnn saignee is as a chilled summer quaffer with a light pinot noir like weight.
Hogan’s Chenin Blanc is a wine with rich savoury and pear flavours. It is a stunning chenin blanc from Swartland in South Africa.
I’m here with two friends who once (or twice) a year fill their freezers with antelope and warthog. They are not trophy hunters and no antelope horns adorn their walls. They are nose-to-tail eaters who will also cure skins for the floor and use the intestines for sausage casings. The killing of animals for meat is an emotive issue. Most of us shop at Supermarkets and buy neat bright read packs of meat produced in industrial quantities presented on polystyrene […]
I was never an Australian in the first place despite citizenship and a passport. I moved to Australia from London in 1995. Why on earth would I do that on the cusp of Cool Britannia? Well, the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence. Including in South Africa, specifically Jozi as I like to call my new home. I’ve written a post on Medium about this. you can take a look here.
One month in Lisbon. That’s some 90 meals. Quite a few I prepared at home. What is remarkable is how cheap fruit, vegetables, meat and fish are in Lisbon compared with Australia. Peppers and onions are sweet and cost pennies. Tuna and Swordfish are about €12-€13 a kilo. It’s a shock to the system. With cheaper ingredients, property and labour costs it is understandable that Portugal has plenty of quite cheap eats. I say quite cheap as Lisbon isn’t as […]
There’s no rushing balsamic vinegar. It’s a slow process that takes between 12 and 25 years and there are only some 48 accredited families that do it in Modena. Last year I was lucky enough to visit one of the local producers Acetae di Gorgio, in the attic of their family home. Yes, I know it seems weird but since the middle ages balsamic vinegar is made in the warm attics of family homes in small quantities. Acetae di Gorgio produces only a […]
There’s a lot to love about drinking in Lisbon. First are the rooftop bars and goldfish bowl gin & tonics infused with spices (usually cinnamon) and some fruit and citrus. The wines of the Duoro are amazing. The much maligned green wine – vinho verdhi – which isn’t actually green but sharp and refreshing is perfect for a summer’s evening. Everyone loves port but do you really want to drink a rich aged deep red port mid-summer? I became addicted […]