South Africa’s most awarded wine now here
By Marge C. Enriquez
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:49:00 08/20/2008
MANILA, Philippines—It is believed that wine consumption is among the signs of the times. “When the economy is good, everybody goes out to drink to celebrate. When the economy is bad, everybody goes out to drink to forget. It’s only when the economy is wishy-washy that people tend to hold on to their money and not spend so much. We tend to like the extremes, but we must prefer that everybody is happy and drinking for a nice reason,” said wine consultant Stewart Dovey as he sipped his dessert wine.
The occasion was Nuvo restaurant-bar’s first wine dinner that launched Nederburg, the most awarded wine brand from South Africa. Nuvo’s owner, Louie Ysmael, brought in the best dessert wine in the world.
Nederburg wines come from Stellenbosch region, which is also the center of South Africa’s wine industry.
Dovey explained that with the coastal winds along the Western Cape, the grapes ripen slowly, hence the more concentrated flavors.
New World wines are increasing in popularity because of their high quality, born out of research and technology.
The dinner started with an aperitif wine, a Riesling which Dovey described as “dry” with a mineral taste. The light floral notes and the sweet, citrus tastes excited the palate.
The diners also took Nederburg Sauvignon Blanc, whose crisp acidity complemented the toasted goat cheese and mesclun salad, topped with grilled aubergine and Parma ham and the seafood chowder with garlic croutons for texture.
“As soon as you smell the Sauvignon Blanc, it’s got beautiful aromas of guava that’s very good with salads and the seafood,” said Dovey.
Main course
The main course was US beef tenderloin with side dishes of buttered vegetables and potato gratin. Black peppercorn sauce was served on the side. One had a choice of Nederburg Pinotage or the Cabernet Merlot.
The Pinotage is a hybrid of pinot noir and hermitage and suggests the aromas and flavors of plum cherry and oak spice.
Nederburg’s Cabernet Merlot, a South African specialty, calls to mind the deep scents of tobacco leaf and mocha on the nose balanced by the lightness of fruit and the subtlety of vanilla on the soft palate.
“The Cabernet Merlot is a specialty. It’s in the background cherry and fig notes. It’s the only wine in the world that reminds you of stewed bananas,” said Dovey.
On the soft fusion of Cabernet Merlot, Dovey explained that as one of South Africa’s largest wine producers, the company takes pockets from various vineyards to produce the best quality wine.
“The Cabernet Sauvignon grape has a thick skin,” Dovey said. “The flavor can get quite harsh and too complex. To mellow the notes, you need a merlot that is a thin-skinned and soft grape. It has blueberry jam and sweet cinnamon notes. If you put that sweet white fruit in with the cabernet sauvignon, you settle it down. This is a beautifully smooth but full bodied red.”
“It doesn’t have too much of the sharpness of the cabernet, yet it’s robust with the lightness of the merlot.”
The elegant blend was the perfect accompaniment to the luscious steak.
Dovey added, “All grapes share DNA with other fruits, vegetables and herbs. Chardonnay has aromas of pineapple while the Sauvignon Blanc always tends to have green pepper. When it opens, it tends to ripen and gets guava notes. Riesling always has a mineral background, it’s sweet. It doesn’t have much residual sugar but it has residual fruits coming out through it. Chardonnay tends to be more papaya and pineapple range.”
The star of the show was the Nederburg Noble Late Harvest, touted as the best dessert wine at the International Wine Challenge in London. Its name was derived from the fact that the climatic conditions give rise to a parasitic fungus called noble rot which increases the sugar content and intensifies the flavors of the grapes. “It’s got a more viscous note,” said Dovey.
The high quality wine was matched with the chocolate mille-feuille, a rich dark and white chocolate mousse layered with chocolate flakes and accompanied with fresh fruit ragout and velvety chocolate sauce.
Ambience
The wine dinner was enhanced by Nuvo’s ambience. Dovey pointed out the attention to details that made the restaurant of world-class standard.
“If you want a good piece of meat, you have it cooked rare. It’s got that melt-in-your-mouth, high-quality meat. Some restaurants cut their steaks much too thin. As soon as it is on the griddle, it’s already medium. A nice thick piece of steak allows you to savor a beautiful softness inside,” he said on his Angus steak.
“I like the way the sauce was served on the side. Some restaurants drench the steak with the sauce. You never get the chance to taste the meat. We have the choice to put on the sauce as much as we want or as little as we want to. That’s the sign of a high-quality restaurant that allows you to mix and match for yourself.”
Dovey also commended on the staff training. “In most restaurants, the staff tends to be confident with food menus but the wine menus take a lot longer time for them. They need to understand how to pronounce the names. They need to be confident in serving wines. When they come to work in a five-star restaurant, they need to train. Here, the staffers feel confident in what they are doing. They speak with sincerity, not by rote.”
Aside from the choice linen and flatware, Dovey also noted the correct wine glasses. “A lot of restaurants use little wine goblets which are fine at home. When you’re in a restaurant you want to be able to swirl the wine, enjoy it and relate with the wine.”
Over the years, Ysmael has cultivated a sophisticated palate and an eye for detail which is reflected in his businesses. Despite the rising cost of living and stiff competition, Nuvo’s restaurant-bar in Greenbelt 2 is thriving. The expatriates with their stronger currencies have been keeping the establishment busy. Women dress up and meet their dates at Nuvo’s newly renovated mezzanine designed by Atelier Almario.
The fact that Nuvo has reached its sixth year, longer than the regular restaurant life span, is occasion to celebrate.
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