Badenhorst Family Wines

Adi Badenhorst makes wine the traditional way on Kalmoesfontein.

Eat, drink, cook and be merry…

Posted on June 2, 2013 by quietriotgirl

This week chef Matt Manning is hosting the first in a series of cookery classes at Eleven Kitchen Venue in Woodstock, Cape Town.

Matt will be demonstrating different ways to use one main ingredient. The first ingredient will be Mushrooms!

This hands on experience will give you the chance to get your hands dirty in the kitchen, cook with great seasonal produce, learn new skills and enjoy a fun evening with food and wine lovers alike!

Each course will be paired with wine from our Secateurs range and you will have the opportunity to buy the wines after the class.

When: Wednesday 5 June from 18h00-22h00

Where: Eleven Kitchen Venue, Boulevard Office Park, Searle Street, Woodstock.

Cost: R300 pp including food and wine.

What: The menu this month is as follows:

Amuse bouche
Mushroom veloute

First course
The ultimate wild mushrooms on toast, soft poached hen egg, roasted garlic and truffle aioli.
Second course
The perfect wild mushroom risotto
To finish
Lemon posset and raspberries

Contact Matt directly to arrange a booking

e. manningmatt24@gmail.com

c. 0762568654

t. @pommes_manner

The booking system works on a first come first serve basis so book early to avoid disappointment.

Eh, hello Canada

Posted on May 31, 2013 by quietriotgirl

If you are in New Bothwell, Canada tomorrow night (eh, who knows!?) you should go taste some of our wines paired with Bothwell cheese.

The cheese festival starts at 7pm in New Bothwell, Manitoba. Our Canadian importers will be pouring Secateurs.

For more info follow @martens_paul (the importer), @BothwellCheese (the cheese) or @BanvilleJones (the wine shop) on twitter.

AWE-some

Posted on January 21, 2013 by quietriotgirl

Featured in the new issue of AWE Inspiring News – the “Winter 2012/2013” issue – is some interesting takes on South African Wine and the rise of Chenin Blanc (something that is close to our hearts.)

This is the cover (certainly NOT how things are looking in the Swartland at the moment!)

A look at chenin, especially in the Swartland:

And some interesting facts on SA wine:

#WineGems

Posted on January 16, 2013 by quietriotgirl

Last night was the first Adi and Jasper show (as Justin called it) of 2013 – the WineGems tasting at &union.

A full house (Gemma says she takes 18 bookings, but there were at least 30 people squeezed into the bar) tasted both the Secateurs, the Family Red and White blend, the funky white and were also treated to (another) sneak peak of Jasper’s first offering – a red blend and a chenin blanc.

From what I see on twitter the crowd really enjoyed it. With Adi on top form – full of jokes and stories – and Jasper taking his time to tell the Muskeljaatkat story in detail – there were lots of laughs.

Some feedback on twitter:

Batonage: Awesome evening of wine tasting. @AABadenhorst wines and some Muskeljaatkat white and red @andUnionwine. Adi most amusing winemaker in SA.

Blackdelilah: Did I mention we had an AWESOME wine tasting @andUnionwine last night? Wines by @AABadenhorst & his able-bodied assistant, Jasper #goodstuff

JustLisa_Love: @AABadenhorst @andUnionwine – awesome left field tasting for our first#WineGems of 2013 – loved it!

darrynvdwalt: Best @andUnionwine #winegems in ages – haven’t laughed so much at a wine tasting. Legends! @AABadenhorst

LiLi1866: @AABadenhorst Best #winegems so far last night!! A stand-up comedy show & wine tasting rolled into one – amazing 🙂

I tried to tweet some of the Adinisms and quotes from the ‘comedy show’ – check out our twitter stream if you want to see more.

My favourites:

AABadenhorst: We work on psychological ripeness. You don’t wanna pick on a Friday for instance. – Adi, duh.

AABadenhorst: “This is not a pretty wine but it’s made to drink. We drink LOTS of this” – Adi. #secateurs Red

AABadenhorst: When is harvest over? Well the #oesAf party is on 22 March, so before then…

YES. We put some dates in diaries over dinner (at the ping pong table)

I also have dates for two tasting brunches, but I have a long waiting list to inform of that first. But watch this space for more details soon.

Thanks Gemma and everyone who showed up, tasted, laughed, bough wine and and and. Love you guys…

fine idea

Posted on November 19, 2012 by quietriotgirl

In the Guardian this weekend Fiona Beckett recommended the Tesco’s “Finest Swartland Shiraz” made by Adi, as a wine that has “financial advantage to stocking up. If you can nab something at a good price you can buy some to drink and some to keep.”

Read the article on What’s worth keeping? And what’s best drunk without delay? by clicking here.

Southern Guild 2012

Posted on November 15, 2012 by quietriotgirl

We recently sponsored some wine for Southern Guild’s 2012 exhibition Opening Gala and Design Foundation Awards. Southern Guild 2012 was a resounding success, broke all records of attendance at the Everard Read.

They have a very exciting line up of exhibitions in 2013 kicking off with Heavy Metal at the Woodstock Foundry CT, Design Days Dubai in March and Design Miami Basel in June.

Here are some photos.

Revolution already on the way

Posted on November 14, 2012 by quietriotgirl

Yes, this weekend past was the third annual Swartland Revolution. A weekend of great wines (from France, Germany, Portugal and naturally, the Swartland), fabulous food and lots of Swartland gees. Like one happy revolutionary observed: the right level of geeky/nerd/fun!!

Maree Louw, revolutionary wife, once again took some amazing pictures, and we gladly share them with you here.

Hiiii Eben

The first tasting, Quality First was presented by father and son team, Alain and Maxime Graillot who each showed three of their wines from France.

Adi showing Samuel some tricks of the trade.

Friday night BBQ at Bazaar, by Moerby Kultuur.

Die Baardskeerdersbos Orkes had everyone dancing. “Klein bietjie wyn, klein bietjie wyn” (lies, all lies!)

Adi and Callie in good spirits (especially considering it is 9am on THE Saturday)

Beer and worsrol break between Saturday morning tastings.

Lunch, by “the revolutionary moms” led by Adi’s mom Judy, was a huge success.

The Moms! (take a bow!)

And then there was the Swartland Independent Street Party, with 18 members pouring their wines in Short Street Square.

Including Jasper’s new venture, made on Kalmoesfontein – Muskeljaatkat!

And then it was over. Another great success, with attendees already asking “can I book for next year…”

Um, no, give us a chance to recover, celebrate summer, harvest and then once we’ve started planning, we can talk about another revolution.

Thanks for sharing in the experience!

More pics on Maree’s blog.

Those thirsty Irish

Posted on October 15, 2012 by quietriotgirl

In wine.co.za’s latest newsletter Graham Howe goes SA Wine-spotting in Ireland.

We’ll give it to those big drinking Irish, they have some good taste as Graham found our Secateurs Chenin twice while out and about.

1. “When travelling abroad, I always enjoy wine-spotting South Africa. The extensive wine-list by the glass and bottle at Nick’s Warehouse in the bohemian cathedral quarter of Belfast highlighted new listings of Kaapzicht’s Cape Diversity Chardonnay 2010 (at R60 a glass) as “a great example of un-oaked Chardonnay” – as well as Adi Badenhorst’s Secateurs Chenin Blanc and Cape Classics Chenin.”

2. “At Deanes – under Michael Deane, one of Ireland’s top Michelin chefs – I spotted Adi Badenhorst’s Secateurs Chenin Blanc (R350) on the blackboard as the preferred partner for seafood – and Boekenhoutskloof Wolftrap Red (R350) for meatier fare.

A long way from Kalmoesfontein in the Paardeberg, we were tempted by the pure citrus fruits and leesy texture of Adi’s bushvine Chenin – the perfect match for the local smoked salmon and the best lemon sole served with cockles, capers and new potatoes.”

It seems our Chenin is all the rage this month, with attention from Ireland to San Francisco and top 50 accolades from Decanter… Just in time for South African summer!

Blending in to stand out

Posted on October 8, 2012 by quietriotgirl

Wine writer Tim James and Wine Cellar recently had a blind tasting of French vs Swartland Shiraz-based blends.

James reports: “Shiraz-based blends, not too complicated ones but fresh and delicious, are my own “house red”. If they were eatable, then something between comfort food and an infallible quick-and easy dish; for when a challenge to tired tastebuds or tired spirits is not wanted. Modest wines – in the best sense of a word that is too seldom appropriate in a world of wannabes, of over-oaked, over-ripe, over-everythinged wines. And not too expensive.

So it was not only with the aim of learning something to pass on to others that I asked Roland Peens of the invaluable Wine Cellar in Cape Town to arrange a small comparative tasting of such wines. Half imported by him from the south of France, others from the Swartland – the region which has most assiduously promoted the style locally (including some grand versions but they were not what this tasting was about).”

He concludes that “Coming second by arithmetic, but first for me, was Badenhorst Secateurs 2011 – beautifully just what I wanted: plenty of flavour, but not sweetly fruity, harmoniously balanced with structure – a firm but gentle “grip” so the wine doesn’t flop around in your mouth!”

Read more on Tim’s blog by clicking here. The article also appeared in Mail & Guardian, 28 September-4 October 2012

#CapeWine2012

Posted on October 1, 2012 by quietriotgirl

Feedback on last week’s Cape Wine event at the Cape Town International Convention Center is looking very positive.

Reading through bloggers and journalists’ accounts of the week in the stormy Cape it seems they had just as much fun as we did.

According to Bizcommunity this year “was the show’s most successful expo to date with producer exhibitors up 15% and visitors reaching a record at just under 1500.”

Says chairman of Wines of South Africa (WOSA), Johann Krige: “Our industry has wowed the international wine community with an exciting and diverse range of quality wines and a fresh and inspiring approach that has demonstrated our world leadership in eco-sustainability and energy-efficiency among wine-producing nations. We showed very effectively that we are making better wines at all price points and that we are making wines, better.”

The Swartland Independent members all had a stall together in the back of the hall. Our funky stand attracted visitors constantly and seemed to be very popular.

“In the Swartland corner, it was exciting and very busy, especially with Adi Badenhorst there to make things happen” – John Ford, read more here.

Emile on Winegoggle simply says “dig the Swartland Grand Funk stand. Mohammed Ali poster and other non-vino artefacts. Cool dudes. I order some chickens from Callie Louw, Porseleinberg. Talk boxing with a chick from the Sandveld, goes by the name of Katrien.”

Rebecca Gibbs reports: “The Swartland has also been turning heads in the past five years and quality of the wines can’t be denied. The Rhone-like blends produced from old bush vines in this Mediterranean climate are original and interesting.”

“It was a jolly good wine show,” says Melvyn Minnaar, “Unlike other crowded wine shows where the ‘commercial’ aspects always seem to linger in the background (‘have you tasted this?, wanna buy some?), and tasters sometimes feel trapped by the expected eyes of the pourer, this show seemed to operate to a different vibe. A friendly fraternity.”

We had lots of fun living it up in the big city of Cape Town for a week. With the farm bakkie in rush hour traffic (once in sunshine with Helena, Eben and American buyer John on the back and once in pouring rain with no windscreen wipers…), dinners at Fork and Dias Tavern (just to keep it diverse) and lots of laughs with old and new friends.