Monday, October 31, 2011

More pictures from our first open day.

"We few, we happy few." - Shakespeare's Henry V


Here are some pictures of the lucky guests who got tickets in time for our first ever open day on Kalmoesfontein. Lunch is served!





































Forests, Harrods and other stories from the North...

Some news from the United Kingdom and Europe.


One of our loyal customers in the UK, Mark Bedford, sent us a picture of him enjoying our Secateurs Red Blend in the forest after foraging for some mushrooms.


He writes:
"Here is the picture of me on a day’s wild forage – leaves, berries, wood pigeon, a few fungi – in a big forest in Oxfordshire, just last Saturday. Your wine went very well with seared wood pigeon breasts gently poached in a hawthorn, sloe and rosehip syrup, all from berries picked an hour earlier. Outstanding tucker and great wine match – though I had to share my bottle with other foragers who had not done the same detailed forward planning since ‘bottle of red wine’ was not in their kit list!"


Proof that our wine even tastes great from a plastic cup:

 In other parts of the Northern Hemisphere we are very proud to have our Family Wines and Secateurs on prominent display in Harrods in London and Berlin:



 As for us back home, we are excitedly counting down the days (11) till The Swartland Revolution. Bring on 11.11.11! 

Friday, October 28, 2011

We are now officially Fine & Rare



This week London based Fine + Rare, recognized and respected as one of the largest and most successful international fine wine traders, took their first step into recognising fine South African wines. We are honored to play a role in changing their perception and hope this is the beginning of a blossoming relationship.


I quote:

"Last week we had one of the best tastings that we've ever had in FINE+RARE's offices courtesy of 3 of South Africa's most pioneering winemakers. Instead of sticking to Old World traditional methods like many of their peers, Adi Badenhorst (AA Badenhorst)Duncan Savage (Cape Point Vineyards) and Albie Koch (De Toren) have their eyes firmly fixed on the horizon. The tasting took all our preconceptions about South African wines and blew them out of the water!
Please take our word for it: these wines are complete knockouts and come very highly recommended."

They also have some flattering things to say about Adi (the hairy one) including the word 'gifted'... ...
There are some great deals on our wines for anyone anywhere, so have a look at the full story and deal here/

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Wine Legends past present and future

In the final (printed) issue of Wine Magazine (Sept/Oct 2011) they featured "South African Wine Legends" Past, Present and Future without whom they can not imagine the winelands.

Adi (a future legend) and his father-in-law Jan 'Boland' Coetzee (a present legend) BOTH made it into the selected few, among greats like Tony Mossop, Charles Back, Günter Brözel, John Platter and neighbour / fellow Swartland Revolutionary Eben Sadie.

Although we believe Adi already has legend status, we are honored.




The Badenhorst Family would like to bid a fond farewell to Wine Magazine, that has been with us for almost 2 decades. We thank you for the support, exposure, positive ratings, up to date news and your contribution to the South African Wine industry as a whole. Hamba Kahle, and good luck with your new online ventures.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Proudly Swartland Products

Below, all the contact details for the suppliers who filled our "Plaaswinkel" with their amazing products at our Open Day last weekend.


Camphill Village Malmesbury
Tammy Mulder
t.021-571 8600

Cara Brink (macaroons, baked goods & more)


Colleen Lesch jnr (Clothing Design)
c. 073 2266815

Duvets, chickens, organic beetroot etc
Colleen Lesch snr
c. 083 457 8999

Growing Paper
Roxanne Vorster
c. 071 472 7173

La Rhine Slaghuis / Butchery
Christo Smit
c. 073 182 4840

Meant to be Design and stationary
Elsje Burger 

Porseleinberg Organic Eggs
Callie Louw
e. callie@porseleinberg.co.za

Prince Albert Olives
t. 023 541 1687



Ruf & Tuf recycled toys
Ron Sheridan
t. 083 425 1930




Trevor Rinkwest Antiques 
Trevor Rinkwest
c. 082 7277433



Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Confit Lamb Shoulder in Secateur’s Chenin

 Laurent Soragna of Wine and Only made this amazing Confit Lamb Shoulder using our Secateurs Chenin Blanc. 







Ingredients
For that recipe you will need (serves 4 meatlovers like me, 6 regular people otherwise)
-          A whole lamb shoulder (1.5 kgs or more) bone in
-          Fresh Thyme
-          Fresh Rosemary
-          Some nice pepper (I would suggest Sichuan, but a good Madagascan one will do the trick)
-          A bottle of AA Badenhorst Secateur’s White (the most critical part of the recipe!) or more…
-          Maldon salt
-          A good olive oil
-          2 whole garlic heads
-          Patience
-          Love
-          And 5 hours…

Preparation
  1. Take your shoulder out of the fridge and leave it at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, preset your oven to 90-100°C (no more, this is one of the key elements!). If you’re not sure about your old oven, put a small bowl with water in your oven. If after 20 minutes, it starts boiling…your oven is wrong…lower it down. We want the meat to “confit”, it has then to be just a little below boiling point!
  2. In the meantime, open your chilled AA Badenhorst Secateur’s white. Have a little sip! Put back in the fridge. Go to step 2
  3. With a sharp knife, cut the thyme and rosemary until fine.
  4. On a board, rub the lamb with olive oil, then salt (don’t be shy, the salt will help get the skin crispy), crushed pepper, and the herbs.
  5. Transfer to a large plate and put in the oven. Add the garlic (break the heads into pods, but leave the skin on)
  6. Have another sip of Secateur, you deserve it!
  7. Let the meat in the oven for 1 hour. By then you should have a little rendered fat. Baste the meat with it.
  8. Add about 20 cl of Secateur on top of the shoulder. (I know it’s hard…)
  9. From now on, baste the meat once every 30 minutes.
  10. You don’t have to drink leftover Secateur every 30 minutes, but I highly recommend it!
  11. Put another Secateur White in your fridge…You never know…
  12. After 3 hours of cooking, wrap the shank (only the shank!) in aluminum foil (to prevent it from getting dry). Take the garlic pods out, they should be soft and golden. Put them in a bowl.
  13. Have another sip of Secateur.
  14. After 4h30-5 hours, your meat should be ready, almost melting in your mouth. The Chenin mixed with the rendered fat will have coated the meat, leaving a shiny gloss on it…Let it rest 15 minutes in your oven (opened door) to release the juices.
  15. Serve the meat very quickly and enjoy with a red blend from AABadenhorst (a perfect match!)
  16. As side dishes, you can either serve a nice homemade mash (potatoes or sweet ones, with the added confit garlic pods), green beans, or whatever you like. There will be no sauce, so you can always serve with good French mustard.
  17. Enjoy with friends

Some tips :
-          I guess you could do the same with a leg of lamb, but the meat of the shoulder is fattier helping it to “confit”.
-          Serve it whole on your table for a maximum wow factor, cut it and put the slices on a hot plate as the lamb fat tends to congeal quite fast.
-          Adapt the cooking time to your oven
-          Have fun
-          Have another sip of Secateur’s white before serving if you’re unsure about your dish…

Laurent Soragna

Official pictures - Lunch of Origin Swartland

Neighbour, friend, photographer. Maree Louw is our favourite and first choice photographer when it comes to events.

Here are some of her pics from our first open day on Kalmoesfontein this weekend:







 

 


for more visit her blog here: http://naturallightphotography.co.za/view/blog/families/badenhorst-family-wines-open-day-swartland/