Magnificent dishes, pairing
The Taste of the Cape Food and Wine Festival took place at the Beacon Bay Country Club on Saturday.
Four Topiary Wines were paired with dishes made by Chef Nash from Hari Kitchen at Topiary Estate in Masterclass on wine pairing at the festival.
Topiary Wine Estate in Franschhoek was originally a fruit farm called La Tramontane until 2005, when previous the owner built a cellar and a tasting room and launched Topiary.
A thorough soil analysis was conducted in 1998 before planting 20 hectares of vineyards, and the data was used to select delicious varieties, namely shiraz, cabernet and chardonnay.
The winery is able to process about 64 tons of grapes utilising a sophisticated sorting line to ensure the best quality grapes are selected.
To both remain true to the farm’s original fruit farm status and create a biodiverse environment, the remainder of the farm not under vine is planted to plum trees.
The Topiary Masterclass Pairing was an opportunity for Topiary Wines to showcase their best wines.
Even amateur wine drinkers were able to experience new wines and enjoy the different food dishes.
We learnt that the best pairing for a chicken-based dish was a rich red wine, and the best pairing for a pork belly-based dish was a red blend of cabernet sauvignon and syrah.
Chef Munashe Kwaramba of Hari Kitchen creates extravagant dishes that perfectly pair with the wines made at Topiary Estate.
Hari Kitchen is situated at Topiary Wine Estate.
Hari means clay pot, a traditional African dish, which is the inspiration to the African Flair cuisine made by Kwaramba.
The first dish was a Santorini tomato tartare buchu and mustard aioli golgapa crispy shell which was paired with a Topiary Wine Estate Rosé 2021.
The second dish was a Porcini mushroom arancini carrot and cardamom puree which was paired with Topiary Wine Estate Chardonnay 2020.
The third dish was smoked freerange chicked bruschetta fermented red pepper slaw which was paired with a Topiary Wine Estate Red Blend (Innocence).
12 hours Confit pork belly smoked pommes red wine Jus which was paired with Topiary Wine Estate Syrah 2016.