How to combine food and wine
magic". Katinka van Niekerk accompanied her husband on diplomatic duty to New York when he was posted at the United Nations, as well as to Bonn and to the Court of St James in London. She has hosted countless diplomats, entertained high-profile delegations and done so with poise, elegance. . . and charm.
These qualities are now brought to bear on participants in Nederburg's food and wine pairing exercise. I witnessed her in action with four British tourists. Each stated preferences upfront: "I don't like red wine," said Jenny, an agony aunt for a British cat magazine, while Bob, who spends a few months at Boschenmeer Golf Estate each year, vowed that he "only" likes Shiraz. They all recalled at least one instance where food tasted like dust after a mouthful of wine, or vice versa where the wine had become acidic, metallic and just downright awful after some food.
A scant two hours later they were converts.
"Now I can see why people like red wine. I just hadn't tried it with the right things," Jenny admitted. "I can't wait to have a cocktail party and share this with my friends back home."
Bob, the ultimate "bloke", said he realised that serving salty snacks with wine like Shiraz was a definite no-no. "It does the wine absolutely no favours. And if I like a wine I tend to want everyone else to like it too - and I'm dismissive of people who don't like my choice. Not so any more."
Armed with "tools" as mundane as a salt-encrusted pretzel, a rocket leaf, slices of lemon and apple, Katinka could convert the most hard-hearted sceptic. Step
by simple step she demonstrates how certain flavour elements can make the wine and food clash horribly, leaving participants involuntarily screwing up their faces in horror, or combine to make them smile beatifically.
The Nederburg course is the synthesis of years of knowledge, gained through her years of experience with food and wine both at home and abroad. Anyone listening to her eloquent and sometimes dramatic delivery will acknowledge its inherent professionalism - harking back to her drama training at the University of Stellenbosch. "But I married a diplomat so never trod the stage in a professional career."
The Department of Foreign Affairs trained its diplomats in various languages, protocol, international law, diplomacy and even seating plans - but gave scant attention to the wives accompanying them. "So of course when it was your turn to host a dinner, you were absolutely terrified at the implications of having an evening flop - so you took the easy option ... and stole the ideas of other hostesses whose dinners you'd attended!"
There's a wistful look on her face as Katinka goes back in her mind's eye to those days living on 51st and 1st in New York. "It was the '60s and we bought and served French wines - everybody did. Even on a junior diplomat's salary we could afford the occasional bottle of Petrus in those days!"
But she wasn't satisfied merely replicating chocolate mousse with dry Champagne for dessert. "Even then I knew it didn't work - the Champagne was just too dry and acidic to cope with the decadent sweetness and texture of the chocolate mousse..."
Thus began her long journey to gastronomic enlightenment. In her search for knowledge she attended a cooking school "on 84th street", she recalls, "and there a world just unfolded for me! The course wasn't intense but it taught me the basics. So I started with small things, like changing the desserts I'd serve to be more flattering to the wine."
Armed with her newfound knowledge and a copy of Larousse Gastronomique she ventured forth ... to more cooking courses - with Kittie Kuyper in Pretoria on a home-stay and with Robert Carrier when in London. "Carrier took food and wine matching very seriously and he challenged us with Stilton cheese and foie gras. We'd give the 'normal' answer of port and Sauternes as a match while he'd opt for Burgundy, forcing us to think about flavours and textures."
Nowadays there's huge interest, particularly in food, and it's doing wine a good turn. People are keen to experiment with food because the likes of Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson and Ainsley Herriot have demystified the topic - and wine is seen as a natural accompaniment. "Yet many chefs who are passionate about food and incredibly creative are intimidated by wine," says Katinka. "I've got one young chef who approached me to help him match the sauces he's created. It was delightful to see the scales falling from his eyes! He can now see and taste when something works and when it doesn't.
"How often don't we go into a restaurant and we're offered a winelist and expected to order the wine before we've properly studied the menu? I would love to see the day when a waiter first asks the diners what they're eating before stepping in with some suggestions of which wines could complement the food they're having. 'Pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, olives and rocket, Madam? May I suggest you try a nice, crisp Sauvignon Blanc with that? The acidity will cope with the tart tomato flavour beautifully.' I can dream...."
Food and wine matching is a very logical thing, Katinka believes ("It's instinctive. Everyone knows when a flavour works or doesn't work."), and it's the reason she leapt at the opportunity to join Nederburg in offering the course, something she'd previously done for the Cape Wine Academy.
"Nederburg wanted to do something different - not offer visitors yet another cellar tour or tasting. They wanted to arm people with knowledge, not just about their wine but also with a usable skill that they could try out at home or in a restaurant. And it's interesting that the people attending are not only foreign tourists. The numbers of locals are picking up as words spreads."
"How to"
So often people are admonished "not to try this at home" or daunted by the sheer complexity of trying to replicate something seen in a magazine or on TV. Quite the opposite is true here, so get some friends together and have fun doing it...
The wines: a dry acidic white (Sauvignon Blanc), a wooded white (Chardonnay), a Riesling, a Pinot Noir (Nederburg Duet containing 70% Pinot Noir), a Shiraz, a Special Late Harvest, a Noble Late Harvest and a pot still brandy.
Plate one: a slice of sweet red apple (Royal Gala), a slice of tart green apple (Granny Smith), a slice of lemon, a few rocket leaves, a few salt encrusted pretzels, and small dish of soy sauce.
Plate two: butternut soup, undressed mixed salad leaves (including rocket) and smoked salmon.
Plate three: roast beef (Pastrami) with potato and rich brown gravy and Malay curry with chutney.
Plate four: Cheeses - goat's milk cheese, Brie, Gouda, a blue cheese and a sweet vanilla-flavoured biscuit or two.
The tastebud test
Try each of the following and then sip the Riesling: a bit of red apple (the
wine goes acid and thin), a bite of green apple (works because of the acid balance),
and then a suck on the lemon (the wine appears sweet!). A bit of pretzel and
Riesling? The salt kills the wine. As for the rocket leaf? Unremittingly bitter
... yet add a drop of lemon juice and soy and it's a different story because
the acid and salt ameliorate the bitterness and the combo works well.
Then repeat the whole process with the other wines before moving onto the other
plates.
The best partner for the butternut soup is the wooded Chardonnay because the
weight of the wine matches the weight of the soup, along with the complexity
of the flavours. The soup makes Sauvignon Blanc appear thin, Riesling acidic,
Duet bitter and yet it works well with the Special Late Harvest. Again it's
the flavour and weight working.
Smoked salmon: it's OK with Duet, nice with Riesling, creamy and delicious when
matched with Chardonnay and yet makes the Sauvignon Blanc taste acid and thin.
The Malay curry harmonises with the Riesling and Sauvig-non Blanc but clashes
with the Shiraz, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
And the cheeses? Contrary to popular opinion that red wine and cheese are a
match, cheeses generally prefer white wines with a bit of acid. Exceptions are
strongly flavoured cheeses such as Gruyère, Parmesan and aged Cheddar,
which beg for slightly tannic reds. Stilton and port is a given while Roquefort
and Noble Late Harvest is heavenly.
The vanilla biscuit is the final tester, and it's a firm no to the Chardonnay,
but yes to the Special Late Harvest. The Noble Late Harvest is too sweet and
apricot-driven but the pot still brandy is magnificent, all toasted nuts and
spice.
