“A vibrant sunset lighting up clouds in cerise, views over bush and ocean all the way to J-Bay, watching grazing buck and zebra, a glass of Cap Classique in hand – it’s hard to believe you’re just a few minutes away from Gqeberha suburbia.
The occasion was a debut wine tasting and food pairing event at African Flame Lodge, a private nature reserve between Lakeside and Seaview Road, and judging by the joyous response of the approximately 15 guests, sure to be the first of many.
Conversation, laughter and wine flowed around the lodge’s high-ceilinged dining room kitchen, with frequent visits to the wide balcony to catch the sunset and any last-minute game sightings (which included an owl passing at arm’s length) as night fell, while owners Lize-Mari and Abie Strydom served up a succession of small, delicious plates to accompany the tasting of Silverthorn bubblies and Oak Valley wines.
The creativity that went into the pretty plating and the menu, drawing mostly on the farm garden on the premises, reflected the Strydom pair’s creative flair and passion for good food and company – Lize-Mari is a well-known visual artist and Abie is better known to “alternatiewe” Afrikaans music fans as Abel Kraamsaal.
Leigh-Ann Smith of Invino Wines presented the intimate, informal, sociable wine tasting with a focus on the stories behind the wines, each one an opportunity to learn something new about wine and where these were made.
We were welcomed with the story of the “benevolent, wise and powerful” African Dragon which, according to myth, spent its time in ancient history “whimsically skywriting with smoke”, and is depicted on the Silverthorn River Dragon label against the Riverformed backdrops of Silverthorn Wines in Robertson, where John and Karen Loubser exclusively make a range of top-rated Cap Classiques.
The River Dragon (Platter’s 4*, R280 at Preston’s Market, Walmer) is as intriguing as its intricate label — made from Colombard vines over 40 years old, a grape more often hidden in white blends or used in brandy-making.
I’ll admit not being a fan of the single varietal Colombards I’ve tasted before — a bit sweet-sour and far too much guava for my liking — but the River Dragon Cap Classique is something else entirely. Fine bubbles tickle the nose and palate, the light golden colour flashed with a lime-green hue, the flavours of lime and green apple on light toasty nuttiness delightfully zippy, crisp and more-ish. A very classy glassful.
Oak Valley wines are grown in the high-altitude mountains of the Groenlandberg, with their interesting names reflecting the nature of their environment in a cool climate known for delivering wines of clean, intense fruit purity and concentration, with distinctive steely minerality.
Oak Valley Fountain of Youth Sauvignon Blanc 2025 (R109.90, Preston’s) is a personal favourite for its aromatic and clean fruit with floral and herbal notes, distinct lemongrass and a lick of stoniness.
Telling the story of Elgin’s frequent cloud covering the bowl-like valley keeping things cool and developing flavour concentration over a slow ripening period, Beneath the Clouds Chardonnay 2024 (R169.90) shows abundant fruit of baked apples and pears, melon and nectarine. A light hand on wood influence lends aroma and complexity but lets the fruit still shine through.
The sauvignon blanc and chardonnay are rated 4* in Platter’s, with the two pinot noirs that followed scoring 4.5*.
Sounds of Silence Pinot Noir 2025 (R169.90) did for the tasters what this grape so often does — its light, bright red colour a deceptive introduction to deep, rich flavours.
Served with beef carpaccio with homemade mustard-horseradish mayonnaise, capers and parmesan, the rich silky meat and spiky flavours in the accompaniments highlighted the freshness and bright acidity of the wine’s succulent cherries, strawberries and pomegranate and its earthy savouriness.
Partnering wine and dessert can be a tricky affair but the hosts’ crisp pavlova with strawberries, basil, vanilla cream, mascarpone and a dash of balsamic glaze just sang alongside Oak Valley’s upper-crust Groenlandberg Pinot Noir 2023 (R359.90).
A more serious pinot noir with layers of complexity and depth of flavour, bursting with ripe raspberries and cranberries, fynbos and warm spicy notes, succulent and silky.
Headlights catching a zebra youngster on the way out were a reminder that this had been a wine tasting not in the manicured Western Cape but close to home, where we have so many delights of wild nature and warm hospitality to experience on our doorsteps.
The reserve is home to numerous buck species, zebra, giraffe, warthogs and abundant bird life — no big felines except for the domestic black-and-white cat that holds sway in the lodge and seduces every human that crosses its path.
An ideal nature retreat from city hustle, African Flame Lodge offers self-catering accommodation in three luxurious double suites in the main lodge and one-bedroom flatlet.”
Sam Venter – The Herald