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/

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.

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


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/

Swartland saving France

Adi is on his way with Eben and Chris to introduce the French to Swartland wines soon. Between THIS & 2011 Swartland Revolution poster I’m seeing WAY too much skin…



The One-Day-Only invasion on Saturday October 15th will include two events.


First, a FREE tasting with 3 classes: 
one to introduce Swartland with Eben’s wines, 
one with Chris & Stéphane Ogier (our imported guest at 2010 Revolution)
and one with Adi presenting our wines. 


This will take place in a wine cellar in the Latin Quarter of Paris starting at 3pm.

Secondly there will be a wine dinner with a menu to pair with Mullinuex and Badenhorst Wines in a secret location.

Anyone interested in participating can contact Raffi Gabeyan via email at raffi.gabeyan@gmail.com

Lunch of Origin: Swartland

The menu from our first open day, prepared by Adi’s mom Judy Badenhorst and a few hardworking friends and family members.


Wine + water and bread + butter
A salad, delicious, of beetroot, radishes and baby spinach and red onions  with goats cheese and finished with a balsamic, mustard and honey dressing (The crunchy green things  are pumpkin seeds)
Green garden salad with a salsa verde dressing (fancy name for a green herb dressing) with capers and anchovies
There are two kinds of quiches (free range duck eggs used here) of caramilized onions one with gruyere cheese and the other with  smoked bacon
If that’s not enough then there will also be farm raised marinated chicken braaied to perfection on old cabernet sauvignon vines ( we have no use for cabernet here other than for braaing on). The chicken will be served with roasted root vegetables of carrots, parsnips, onions and above ground butternut.
And there is even dessert. We have made a jelly from Fernoa Pires straw wine 2009, a homemade custard and stewed rhubarb and apple.
Coffee and tea.

This picture, thanks to Santie le Roux:
more pictures, by our official photographer Maree Louw, coming soon!

Cottage life…

We told you a while ago that you can now come stay in the cottage on Kalmoesfontein by booking through Perfect Hideaways. This weekend we had our first guests; Lisa Fullstone and her family spent the weekend on the farm and sent us some lovely pictures.

In her e-mail, subjected “Kalmoesfontein – a boy, a dog, a farm” Lisa wrote:

“We had a lovely weekend, we really enjoyed the farm and the dogs! Our 5 year old Sam fell in love with the dogs and spent hours playing with them, he also got to meet Badenhorst 5 year old Samuel and they played really nicely together. 
 
We loved the farm, the dogs, the garden, Fortuin, the birdlife and mostly the peace and quiet.. and the VIEW!!! did I mention the view! and the Swartland heat, and the wines…”

Sound good? Then book your weekend and come enjoy it for yourself…

Washing barrels

Recently we told you about the new (old) barrels we bought for the cellar and how Razvan at Nederburg gave us a few tips on how to clean them. We have started to move the smaller barrels out of the cellar and have washed out the new (old) barrels.

As you know, everything we do on Kalmoesfontein is a family affair, so it was no surprise that little Ana Kalander wanted to keep an eye on her dad while he performed this important task.

Quality control, Paardeberg style~