Merry Christmas !

Elements

I love the architecture of Tokara Vineyards Estate in the Helshoogte Pass just above Stellenbosch - the raw concrete, steel & glass is contrasted with natural stone, bleached wood & shimmering water.

Yummy

A fine collection of tarts, pastries & chocolate delights in a small French patisserie in Carcassonne.

Summer time

The harvest is upon us, I have already pressed a few tons of Viognier and it is happily fermenting in the barrel - another 2 batches to go to build my 'assemblage'.  Soon I'll be harvesting Merlot from our mountain vineyards, the acid & sugar levels look good and hopefully I'll be crushing this on Friday or so.

Torte di Santiago

My second attempt at baking an almond tart, this time for my brother's 40th - it accompanied our Rusticus Barrel Fermented Viognier perfectly.

Grillled Canard

Duck (canard) breast grilled to perfection with an orange glaze, roasted mushrooms with gruyere and a fresh French salad.  All served on a boat floating on Canal du Midi in the south of France, with a glass of superb Rhone viognier and your soul mate by your side - blissful to say the least.

Tomatoes

This is probably my favourite fruit, berry & vegetable (or d. All of the above) - the vine ripened tomato.  So versatile and a key ingredient in so many dishes.

Crushpad

This is the guts of my antique grape destalker in the Rusticus Vintage Cellar, still in use and producing fine handmade wines in small quantities.

Tears of Wine

Soon my trusty old hand-operated basket press will be called into service again.  Currently the grapes are just smaller than pea sized on the vines, but come February they'll be full and ripe ready for the harvest.

Honey

Farm fresh honey from our own hives, sweet and golden - apparently this is the only natural product which does not go bad......so by that thinking it must be good for us?

Great Wines

Corbiere Market Day (France)