Zest Restaurant offered a 5 course wine and dine evening with Warwick Wine Estate. It is a sensory evening with beautiful smells, dishes, colours and laughter. Warwick was there in all their glory showcasing three of their whites and three reds accompanied by food paired meticulously with it.
The host of Warwick was very knowledgeable and passionate about the award winning wines. Norma Ratcliffe is the owner of this phenomenal estate and was the first female winemaker hence all the connotations to lady in the names of the various wines. We started the ice cold evening off with Warwick First Lady Rosé that had a beautiful salmon hue with the perfect balance of fruit, acidity and tannins.
The gastronomic feast started off with a black pepper, courgette, peppadew and blue cheese tart, basil mandizi and wild rocket paired with Professor Black Sauvignon Blanc. It was a great pairing and it complemented each other very well. The wine was a new age Sauvignon Blanc that has more fruity characteristics whilst still some traditional notes that picked up the dish fantastically.
We were then treated to an interesting dish… Spicy chicken consommé with prawn crystal spring roll, crispy calamari, broad bean & shimeji mushrooms. It went well with the Warwick First Lady Chardonnay. The next dish was paired with Warwick’s First Lady Cabernet Sauvignon and went well with the beetroot, goats cheese terrine, braised beef rib tortellini, horseradish, Cabernet and citrus syrup. The wine was velvety and complemented the dish well.
Zest then pulled out the big guns with their smoked pork neck, black bean, caramelised onion and chorizo ragout that was paired with Warwick Three Cape Ladies. This food and wine combination was outstanding and every component of the food and wine was complemented.
The evening ended off with a walnut and chocolate cake paired with Warwick Pinotage. Just a pity there wasn’t more of this cake to eat! And no gourmet evening would be the same than to end it off with an Illy coffee!
Be sure to book your table for their next wine and dine evening on 26 June where Iona will be the host. The evening starts at 18h30 for 19h00. Call them on 013 007 006.
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