Dinner - Palisades (South Africa)

When I heard what the theme was for tonight's wine and dinner at Palisades, I was a bit skeptical. I have not had many wines from South Africa and much less had the chance to experience South African cuisine. I am happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised.

We began the dinner with the South African dish "Carrot Bredie" and the M.A.N. 2014 Chenin Blanc. The dish was really good and creamy, with hints of sweetness throughout. Pretty different than most other dishes I have had. The Chenin Blanc I found to be rather hot and acidic for my taste. Maybe too citrusy and extremely light-bodied. When paired with the carrot bred however, it was definitely softened and more likable. Perhaps the creamy sweetness of the dish masked the hotness that overpowered all other flavors in the wine when drank alone. Although it was not my favorite wine, it was a pleasant accompaniment to this simple South African appetizer.

Next, was the dish "Bootie" and Mulderbosch Rose 2014. I do not eat read meat, so I was not able to try the ground beef and egg custard, but really enjoyed the yellow rice. Like our waiter told us, I noticed the prominent use of spices over salt, especially in the rice. The saffron was both visible and tastable and other flavors in the rice also gave it a hint of sweetness. The rose however, I was not a big fan of. Not having had many roses, I suppose I expected it to be sweeter than it was. I found it to be tart and also too hot for my liking. I generally don't enjoy extremely sweet wines, but this one, although dry, just did not seem balanced and was a little offensive to my taste buds. Together with the rice, nothing changed much for me. I tried it a couple times, but was unable to detect new flavors coming through. The wine seemed to overpower the rice and they just clashed for me. Perhaps with the beef egg custard it would've been better. My friends did seem to enjoy it.

Lastly was the South African Pizza with the Ken Forrester 2014 Pinotage. As my first Pinotage, I did enjoy it quite a bit. It had a beautiful dark pink/red color and smelled of blackberries and cherries along with hints of strawberry. On the palate I also found it to be really hot with a long, velvety finish. The pizza was probably the most interesting pizza I have ever had, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Diverse with both textures and flavors, it was something I was not used to, but was very pleased with it. I also thought the pairing of it to the Pinotage was the best pairing of the night. The flavors in the pizza softened the wine very much and made it easier and more pleasant to drink.

Overall, I thought the dinner was a really good experience and would definitely like to attend another "Wines Around the World" night at Palisades. Although the cuisine would not have been my first choice, I ended up really enjoying it and grateful for the chance to try so many new and different things all in one great deal.