Women of Wines

Wine Girl

2009-06-03T12:35:00.000-07:00

An Extra-Ordinary Night

2009-05-25T01:25:00.000-07:00

The invite read "Out with the Ordinary, In with the Extra-Ordinary"... We knew we were in for something at the exquisite Asara Wine Estate and Hotel on Thursday 30 April...

Liezl Jonker, Mariska du Preez an Shelly Schulze

Charlotte met us at the hotel's reception with a glass of Asara Rosé. We then went to the tasting room via one of the hotel rooms - breathtaking!
In the tasting room we sampled some Sauvignon Blanc 2009 – paired with Smoked Salmon Trout crostinis & Salmon Tartar.
The 2009 was bottled a week before but already tasted yummy - perfect for the spring evenings later this year!
We then travelled on to the newly launched deli area where we had some Unwooded Chardonnay 2008 – paired with dried figs wrapped in duck & Goat’s Cheese crostinis.

Next up was the Vinotheque - the private cellar of the owner of Asara. Here we saw some priceless bottles never seen before and had the (infamous) Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc 2008 – paired with Seared Tuna on spicy mango salsa and Marinated Chick pea Salad spoons.

The highlight of the evening was the fine dining area, a private room where guests can soon enjoy exclusive dinners at Raphael's restaurant.
We ended the night with the following treats:
Bell Tower Estate 2004 – paired with peppered ostrich fillet and red onion confit
Noble Late Harvest 2004 – paired with honey, cinnamon & white chocolate truffle
Spirit of Chenin 2004 – paired with Opera Cake with dried apricot and coffee sauce
Pineau de Charentes 2004 – paired with Rich dense chocolate cake, with raspberry coulis and white chocolate shard.

Moms and daughters at the April Women of Wines: Charmaine Murray, Natalie Murray, Elna du Preez, Mariska du Preez, Karen Veysey and Anita Freter.

The schedule for the remainder of the year:
Thursday 25 June: Lovane Boutique Wine Estate {Gail Gous}
Thursday 30 July: Stellenzicht {Lucille Jacobs and Guy Webber}
Thursday 27 August: Lourensford {Janine de Roubaix and Wim Braak}
Thursday 24 September: Mulderbosch {Erina Cillié}
Thursday 29 October: Diemersdal {Inge Heuer}
Thursday 26 November: Jordan {Rachel Erasmus}

For more pictures: Facebook

Women of Wines: May 2009

2009-05-17T06:10:00.001-07:00

Women of Wines May 2009 {Skoonheid en Wyn}
Thursday 28 May 2009
MolenVliet Wine and Guest Estate.
Sponsors: Laser Clinic, Karoo Water and Visi Magazine.

Please note this event is unfortunately fully booked.
Our next Women of Wines event is taking place on Thursday 25 June 2009 at Lovane Boutique Wine Estate.

The finest French night in the Winelands

2009-05-01T08:42:00.000-07:00

Women of Wines: March 2009 at Villiera {French Flair} with Celesté van der Merwe

The ladies showed up at Villiera dressed in their finest French outfits, Karen stealing the show with her bag of onions!

Celesté welcomed the ladies with the Tradition Rosé Brut NV. After everyone arrived, we were treated to a cellar tour - the first for WOW. Back at the beautifully decorated table, we sampled some of the Tradition Brut NV and the Villiera "king of bubblies", the Monro Brut 2004.

We were then treated to homebaked quiches (and I know they're homebaked, cause I helped bake them! ;) before we started with the whites. The Down to Earth White 2008, a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, is one of the winelands' best value wines (at R27.50 a bottle)! This was followed by my personal favourite Chenin, the Cellar Door Chenin Blanc 2005.

We then sampled some delicious cheeses, breads and fruit sticks before trying 3 of Villiera and Domaine Grier's reds. Domaine Grier is a French vineyard owned by Villiera and they import some of their reds from there. First up was the Domaine Grier Syrah 2006, a stunning Shiraz matured in French Oak barrels for 10 months. We then tried the (local) Villiera Shiraz 2004. A true gem! The last red for the evening was the Domaine Grier Galamus 2006, a Grenache 30% Syrah 40% Carignan 30% blend. This wine is worth visiting the farm for!

And because ladies love their sweet things in life, we ended the evening with the Cellar Door Noble Late Harvest Riesling 2005 served with Marí's delicious Cheese Cake. (*Note: if you need sweet things, contact Marí!)

To see more photos of the evening, go to the Facebook photo album
Thanks to Wine Magazine for sponsoring magazines for the goodie bags!

April WOW: Asara... {Out with the Ordinary, In with the Extra-Ordinary}

2009-04-25T06:59:00.000-07:00

Join Van Pepper Wines for an unforgettable Women of Wines on Thursday 30 April at the 5* Asara Wine Estate and Hotel.

Women of Wines: March 2009 {French Flair}

2009-03-11T01:55:00.000-07:00

Our third Women of Wines event will take place on Thursday 26 March 2009 at Villiera Wine Farm. The event will be hosted by Celesté van der Merwe.

We've secured some great goodies for the goodie bags, so don't miss out! Only 24 places available. Book now: mariska@vanpepper.com

{With a little bit of Passion}... Pinotage Passion

2009-03-03T00:37:00.000-08:00

Our February theme set the tone for our second Women of Wines event at Beyerskloof: {With a little bit of Passion}...

The passion for Pinotage at Beyerskloof is so evident, it is contagious. We started off the evening with a glass of chilled Pinotage Rosé.
Our host for the evening, Efraim, is a brave man - taking 24 ladies for a wine tasting! ;)

Efraim, Shelly, Rachel (Jordan Wines), Celesté (Villiera Wines), and Lucille (LUSAN)

We started off with the Beyerskloof Sauvignon Blanc, followed by the delicious Beyerskloof Pinotage Rosé Brut 2008. The brut has some great fruitiness on the palate, and will definitely feature at lots of Van Pepper parties to come! We had some more Rosé and then we moved onto the real reason for being at Beyerskloof...

The Beyerskloof Pinotage reminds me of my brother's Trusty Rusty - a golf club who got that name, because it never failed. No matter what the occasion, a Beyerskloof Pinotage always goes down well. The Pinotage Reserve is a fantastic wine with mocha and chocolate flavours - lovely for winter! My favourite is the Beyerskloof Synergy, a Cape blend: 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Pinotage, 25% Shiraz, 7% Merlot - is a great red to enjoy with friends.

We were treated to surprise visit by the king of Pinotage himself, Beyers Truter, who presented Lucille Jacobs with a magnum of Pinotage for answering his very difficult question correctly!

Beyers Truter

The evening was ended off with some delicious food and great Beyerskloof goodie bags.

The Women of Wine ladies who attended {With a little bit of Passion}
Back (from left to right): Elza van Niekerk, Madeleine du Toit, Anita Freter, Janine de Roubaix,
Elna du Preez, Adrienne du Toit, Karen Veysey and Mariska du Preez (Van Pepper Wines).
Front (from left to right): Mercia Horne, Retha du Toit and Erina Cillié (Van Pepper Wines).

Thank you to Corné, who could unfortunately not be there, for all her trouble!

Women of Wines: February 2009 {With a little bit of Passion}

2009-02-02T22:43:00.000-08:00

Dear Woman of Wine

You are kindly invited to our February Women of Wines event.

Date: Thursday 26 February 2009
Venue: Beyerskloof Wine Farm
Time: 17h30 for 17h45
Cost: R75 per person (includes tasting, snacks, wine and gift)

Please RSVP by Wednesday 18 February: mariska@vanpepper.com
Please pay by Monday 23 February 2009.

Looking forward to seeing you there!
Women of Wines Team www.vanpepper.com

SUMMER Elegance... What a fruity affair!

2009-01-29T23:42:00.000-08:00

Days of wine and roses laugh and run away, Like a child at play. Johnny Mercer (1909-1976)
Days of Wine and Roses

Natalie Nel, Mariska Janse van Rensburg, Lucille Jacobs and Leslie Maliepaard

Thursday 29 January 10 lovely ladies (Natalie Nel from Avontuur, Mariska du Preez from Van Pepper Wines, Robyn Daneel from Sure Stellenbosch Travel, Charlotte Spicer from Asara, Mari Hanekom and Celeste van der Merwe from Villiera, Charlotte Terblanche from Lovane, Leslie Maliepaard from WineWeb, Lucille Jacobs from LUSAN, and Mariska Janse van Rensburg from Pink Salt Catering) went to Avontuur Wine Estate to attend the firt-ever Women of Wines event. And what an event it was! Natalie Nel, winemaker at Avontuur welcomed us with a Vintners Blend cocktail.

Natalie Nel, Avontuur's winemaker

We tasted 5 wines.
Sauvignon Blanc 2008
Lovely tropical aromas with hints of guava and asparagus. Quite a pungent nose. Natalie recommends serving this wine with salads and pasta.
Vintners Blend (88% Chardonnay, 12% Pinot Noir)

This wine has been a favourite of mine for a long time! Perfect for hot summer nights and serving with spicy food - Natalie recommends Tika Chicken. The butteriness of the Chardonnay and the hints of strawberries make this a great wine for girly evenings! Charlotte Spicer, Robyn Daneel and Mariska Janse van Rensburg

Vintners Red 2005 (80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cab Franc)
A delicious easy-drinking red wine, matured for 6 months in French oak. Perfect with Italian food!
Shiraz 2005
The favourite of the evening! This wine has spicy, earthy aromas and is so drinkable, we finished a bottle of two with our cheese platters! (Note: Try this with Avontuur's ostrich medallions - a realy gastronomic treat!)
Baccarat 2005
A Bordeaux blend from Avontuur's premier range. 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot. An absolute treat of a wine! Hints of ripe plums, blackberries, fynbos and tobacca and my favourite aroma - chocolate! ;) Best served with a robust read meat dish.After the tasting we had some gorgeous cheese platters and more of the delicious Shiraz. A great time was had by all and we are all looking forward to the next Women of Wines evening on 26 February at Beyerskloof.

Charlotte Terblanche and Mariska du Preez

Lucille Jacobs (front), Celeste van der Merwe, Mari Hanekom, Charlotte Spicer and Robyn Daneel

Women of Wines: January 2009 {SUMMER ELEGANCE... A fruity affair}

2009-01-13T01:27:00.001-08:00

Woon ons eerste Women of Wines byeenkoms by op Donderdag 29 Januarie 2009 om 17h30 saam met Avontuur se wynmaker, Natalie Nel.

Die aand gaan hope pret wees met die tema:
"SUMMER ELEGANCE... A fruity affair..."
Koste is R75 wat proe, eetgoed, 'n geskenkie en hope wyn insluit!

Laat weet teen 19 Januarie 2009 of jy dit wil bywoon.
Vir meer inligting, kontak Mariska: mariska@vanpepper.com

Women of Wines Schedule for 2009

2009-01-06T00:53:00.000-08:00

Thursday 29 January: Avontuur with Natalie Nel. Theme: SUMMER ELEGANCE (A fruity affair...)
Thursday 26 February: Beyerskloof with Corné Truter. Theme: {With a little bit of Passion}
Thursday 26 March: Villiera with Celesté van der Merwe {French Flair}
Thursday 30 April: Asara with Charlotte Spicer
Thursday 28 May: Molenvliet with Mariska du Preez, Mariska Janse van Rensburg and Ockie Oosthuizen
Thursday 25 June: Lovane with Charlotte Terblanche
Thursday 30 July: Stellenzicht with Lucille Jacobs and Guy Webber
Thursday 27 August: Lourensford with Janine de Roubaix and Wim Braak
Thursday 24 September: Mulderbosch with Erina Cillié
Thursday 29 October: Diemersdal with Inge Heuer
Thursday 26 November : Jordan with Rachel Erasmus
December: Krone (Twee Jongegezellen) - date to be announced

Welcome to Women of Wines

2008-12-18T04:26:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the blog of Women of Wines.

We are a group of ladies from the Stellenbosch area who share a passion for wine; be it working in the wine industry or just enjoying to drink wine!

Commencing in January 2009 we will get together once a month at a wine farm to drink some wine (obviously) and have some fun.

To join the club, or for more information, contact: mariska@vanpepper.com

PS: Our schedule for 2009 will be posted here soonest!