Recently, we sat down with our Goathsed Chef SJ Nel, the inventor of our beloved pies, to find out more about his love for food:

Tell us a bit about your background?
I have Northern Cape roots and was fortunate to gain experience in British, Swedish and a few South African kitchens.

What is your favourite dish to eat?
Cooking all day does not create cravings for anything fancy. A simple freshly baked roll with sausage, coleslaw, mustard and a beer is what I love. I guess that’s why I particularly love making a good pie too!

What is your favourite dish to make?
I am guilty of crowd pleasing and therefore our most popular dish at The Goatshed Restaurant is Braised Fairview Lamb.

What are the most interesting things happening in food right now?
Real top notch ingredients, being prepared simply, served informally, with amazing attitudes, leaving small footprints.

What is your food philosophy?
Getting your hands dirty to bring together flavourful ingredients, from sustainable sources, taking care of the environment while helping people.

What are your guilty pleasures?
Dry aged T-bone steak with a generous piece of fat, matured cheeses and red wine.

Most bizarre thing in your fridge right now?
My wife, Lisa, is keeping me healthy with a variety of nutritious smoothies so I will have to say some of those ingredients – like coconut water, cocoa nibs and organic granadilla pulp.

What is your favourite food memory?
“Potjiekos” with my father, mastermind snack platters with my mother, traditional “padkos” roadtripping with my three sisters and mushroom risotto for my one and only Lisa.

Two flavours that shouldn’t go together but do?
Goats’ milk and caramel.

Advice you wish you were given as a young chef?
Listen to all your mentors, good and bad, you will definitely learn something.

The post Goatshed’s Favourites | Interview with Chef SJ Nel appeared first on Fairview.

This July, Fairview has teamed up with our long-time friend and favoured food blogger and chef, Nina Timm from My Easy Cooking, to bring our Fairview visitors two different cooking demos. Expect to enjoy delicious snacks and learn easy and fun recipes using Fairview’s homegrown ingredients. The concept of these events is for everyone – whether you don’t know how to boil an egg or can make a soufflé from scratch – with the main goal being to learn the value in using farm fresh, farm to fork ingredients and how to incorporate Fairview’s range of artisanal products into your everyday cooking. Check out the information below, and make sure to book your tickets!

EVENT 1:
7th July: Saturday morning Cheese Demo in our Fairview Deli

This demo is for any and all visitors to the Fairview Tasting Room!
There will be 2 sessions: 10am and 11.15pm, each 1 hour long.
4-6 recipes will be covered during each session

Recipes will include:

Mini Cheese fondues with tempura broccoli
Sushi stacks
Camembert poppers with tomato chilli jam
Greek salad with crumbed feta
Free range Boerewors
Fresh bread, olive oil and butter

Cost: Free! 
Limited Spacing: Just come early to secure a spot 

EVENT 2:
14th July: Cooking with Fairview & Nina Timm
Food demo followed by lunch at the Goatshed Restaurant 

Fairview and Nina Timm invite you to come join us in an exclusive, limited seating session aimed at showcasing various recipes using Fairview cheese, followed by a delicious Goatshed light-style harvest lunch that incorporates our freshest, wholesome ingredients. Guests will start at 11am in the Cheese Deli to learn from Nina as she creates her delicious, cheese-full creations and pairs them with our finest Fairview wines, before moving through to the Goatshed at 12pm, where tapas-style fare will be served alongside Fairview wine. This event is ideal for any foodie who is craving an informative and fun session, delicious food and wants to walk away with an inventory of ideas to make at home!

Kindly note: If you are interested in attending this event, please book tickets below. Space is limited.

Recipes will include:

Food Demonstration Menu – 11am

Tomato Tarte Tatin with goats cheese
Free range roast pork belly
Lemon posset with berry could and shortbread biscuits

Lunch Menu ( family style sharing plates ) – 12pm
Roast pork belly
Lamb shank pie
Free range Boerewors
Greek Salad
Green beans with Cheese Crumbs
Roasted vegetables with lemon, olive oil and garlic
Fresh bread

Dessert
Lemon posset with berry compote and shortbread biscuits.

Cost: R195 per person including the food demo and lunch
Limited Seating: Only twenty 20 tickets available
Tickets available via Quicket.

We look forward to seeing you there! Until then, For now, have a look at some of the tasty meals that Nina Timm has concocted using Fairview’s cheeses or check out her website here for more information:

Introducing Nina Timm

Easy Cheese Fondue with Tempura Broccoli

Spicy Lamb Goats cheese Pizza with fresh figs

Spinach Soup with Tempura Cheese

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Mother block vineyards are just like what they sound – the first vines to be grown in a region that give rise to the rest of the same variety’s vines in that region. At Fairview, we are very fortunate and proud to have the original mother block of Viognier, planted in 1997 by Charles Back.

Charles desire to bring the aromatic white variety to the Cape stemmed from a visit to France’s Rhône region in 1989. During his trip, he tried Viognier for the first time, and explains how he was immediately struck by the unique nature of the wine, with its intriguing balance of fragrance, deep fruit and austere structure.

“I knew at once that the terroir of the Cape would be well-suited to Viognier, and as we tasted the wines I was thinking about the soils and sites that I was fortunate enough to have found come across over the years,” shares Charles.

When he returned to South Africa, Charles carefully started the process of sourcing the vines to bring to South Africa – a lengthy, complicated and often laborious process. It’s not easy bringing a foreign vine to local soils! But being determined, by the early 1990’s, Fairview was harvesting fruit from our Viognier vineyards.

Today, our trellised Viognier vines grow on the slopes of Paarl Mountain, on decomposed granite soils. Despite the beating summer sun, the resilient grape results in full, ripe and healthy grapes, and after maturation in bottle, shows its well-loved subtle perfumed fruit and great mouthfeel with every vintage.

In 2017, we celebrated 10 years of bottling this varietal. Our Fairview winemakers enjoy sculpting this variety into various styles, including as a single variety (try our Fairview Viognier), as well as being the frontrunner in our unique Brut MCC, and a leading component of our celebrated Nurok white blend. It’s even featured in our Goats Do Roam White Blend and Goat Roti!

Viognier is very flexible, working in a wide variety of seafood, roasted or grilled chicken, pork, spicy flavors and Asian cuisine. A Malay curry with delicate spice and dried fruits is particularly delicious when paired with Viognier. This Mother’s Day, our recommendation is to grab yourself a bottle (or two) of our very own mother block wine, Fairview Viognier, and celebrate!

The post Our Mother Block | Viognier appeared first on Fairview.

After re-imagining our annual Goatshed Dinners, the Regional Revival Range Chef’s Journey will most definitely be our flagship event of the season! Coming up on the 27th July 2018, the Regional Revival Range showcase will be a culmination of our chef’s finest culinary talent and our winemakers crafted bottlings. The goal is to deliver a true farm-to-fork philosophy, offering a real taste of our homegrown produce and beautifully paired wines.

In case you’ve missed it, the Regional Revival Range consists of the following 6 wines:
1. Fairview Brut MCC
2. Fairview Drie Papen Fontein
3. Fairview Nurok
4. Fairview Homtini
5. Fairview Extrano
6. Fairview Caldera

This food-friendly showcase of unusual styles and cultivars gives our talented winemakers an exciting avenue to challenge traditional viticulture and winemaking and produce regionally-inspired, blended wines with a Cape twist. At Fairview, there is a tale to share behind everything, none more so than our wine. Our Regional Revival Range brings storytelling to the fore, blending together adventurous grape varieties with cutting-edge winemaking. Inspired by wines of the Old World, the range takes these traditional regional styles and brings them alive to local palates by integrating an unexpected Cape twist. Rising in popularity since its inception, our Regional Revival Range is beloved for each bottle’s characteristic label design and food pairing compatibility.

Here is a breakdown of the menu you can expect to enjoy on the evening:

Bread
Bread & condiments

Full circle Pork
Pâté en Croûte

Beef
Shoulder ragout & Tortellini

Lamb
Lamb neck cottage pie, lamb jus and parsnips

Dairy
Yoghurt Panna Cotta

Cheese selection

***

R375 per person
Wine Pairings included

Click below to purchase your tickets.

The post Regional Revival Range Chef’s Journey | Goatshed Dinner #5 appeared first on Fairview.

As mentioned in our previous post here, our Goatshed Dinners are back this year with a revived twist!
This year, we’ve decided to introduce a strong relationship between the food and wine pairings, by complementing the Goatshed Dinners to our most food-focused wine range, titled the Regional Revival Range.

The Regional Revival Range consists of the following 6 wines:
1. Fairview Brut MCC
2. Fairview Drie Papen Fontein
3. Fairview Nurok
4. Fairview Homtini
5. Fairview Extrano
6. Fairview Caldera

Each wine is brimming with a decorative label and enticing story to tell, as well as orientated with a specific wine region in mind. Take for example our first dinner coming up on the 25th May 2018: The Homtini Italian Dinner.

Homtini translates as a ‘difficult passage’ in the long-forgotten Khoi language. The Homtini pass, near Knysna, winds its way through indigenous forests. This was once the home of our winemaker, Anthony de Jager’s Italian ancestors, the Rabbolinis, who were silk farmers from Northern Italy. They immigrated to South Africa under the misconception that mulberry trees grew in abundance. On arrival they discovered that no mulberry trees existed, but through tenacity and hard work, they tamed the land and ultimately prospered in other trades, including wine-making.

The wine is a Tuscan-style blend of Italian variety Sangiovese, integrated with a touch of Cabernet Sauvingon and Merlot. The wine is crafted to go perfectly with Italian-style dishes, such as tomato-based sauces, breads and cheese. Here is a breakdown of the menu you can expect to savour on the evening:

Antipasti

Selection of cured meats [ Mortadella, Salami, Coppa, Pastrami ]
Freshly baked breads [ Ciabatta, Focaccia ]
Mozzarella, tomato & herb pesto salad
Goats’ cheese & caramelized onion Bruschetta
Fegato d’anatra (duck liver) paté
Pork, fennel & sage

Primi
Mushroom Casarecce

Secondi
“Bistecca alla Goatshed”
Roasted Sirloin, polenta & Mediterranean garnish

Dolce
Tiramisu

Try your hand as pizzaiolo in between courses at our wood fired pizza oven station

***

R325 per person
Wine Pairings included

Click below to purchase your tickets.

The post Homtini Italian Evening | Goatshed Dinner #1 appeared first on Fairview.

At Fairview, there is always a story to share behind everything, none more so than our wine and food. For this reason, this year our Goatshed Restaurant will host its popular annual Goatshed Dinners throughout the winter period, but this time around, we’ve added a more focused twist. To enhance our delicious farm-to-plate dishes, we’ve curated a wine and food pairing using wines exclusively from our food-friendly Regional Revival Range.

Fairview’s Regional Revival Range brings storytelling to the fore, blending together adventurous grape varieties with cutting-edge winemaking. Inspired by wines of the Old World, the range takes these traditional regional styles and brings them alive to local palates by integrating an unexpected Cape twist. Take for example our Fairview Brut MCC, a bubbly made in the traditional Méthode Cap Classique style, but using completely non-traditional varieties Viognier, Grenache Blanc and Grenache Noir. All of these award-winning wines are designed to pair with fine fare, and so our winemaking and Goatshed team will be joining forces this year to create a menu that is orientated around one particular wine from the range at a time.

Starting with the Homtini Italian Dinner on the 25th May, the offering will highlight the Tuscan roots of the Homtini Red Blend wine to be paired effortlessly with delicious Italian-style cuisine. The same can be said for all 6 dinners, paired with a matching theme that links to each of our wines’ regional origins. The dinners will culminate in the Regional Revival Range Chef’s Journey evening, during which time Chef SJ will take the highlight meal and wine pairings from our other 6 Regional Revival Range focused nights and create a culinary experience to be truly savoured.

Now don’t fret! Naturally, we would never take away our ever-popular and much loved Fairview Shiraz and Free-Range Shank evening. This will still be held on the 15th June, perfectly in line with SA Shiraz Celebration week! With this said, we encourage you to come and join us on one of the other Revival dinner nights to experience something a little different.

Tickets include a hearty three-course meal prepared by the Goatshed’s much-loved chef, SJ Nel, as well as beautifully paired Fairview Regional Revival Range wines to complement each dish. Fairview’s own farm fresh, free range meat and cheese will feature on the menu.

Tickets cost R325 per person, including wine. The cost for the Chef’s Journey on the 27th of July is R375 per person, as the evening will include a more broad offering and a more substantial wine offering.

Should you wish to book overnight accommodation, Fairview recommends the following neighbouring farms:

Belair: www.belair.co.za/belairWP

Email: info@belair.co.za

Diamant Estate: www.diamantestate.com

Email: info@diamantestate.com

Tickets will open for booking from April 2018, but have a look at the dates below in the meantime and offerings, to whet your appetite:

MAY:
25th May – Goatshed Dinner 1
‘Homtini Italian Dinner’

JUNE:
08 June – Goatshed Dinner 2
‘Nurok Morccan Dinner’

15 June – Goatshed Dinner 3
Fairview Shiraz & Free Range Lamb Shank

JULY:
13 July – Goatshed Dinner 4
Drie Papen Fontein Curry Evening

27 July – Goatshed dinner 5
Regional Revival Range Chef’s Journey

AUGUST:
24 August – Goatshed Dinner 6
Caldera Greek Dinner

SEPTEMBER:

7 Sept – Goatshed Dinner 7
‘Brut MCC Old World Evening

28 Sept – Goatshed Dinner 8
‘Extrano Spanish Dinner’

The post Our Goatshed Dinners Are Back – With A Revived Twist! appeared first on Fairview.

Recently, Flight Network included our tasting room in their ‘fool-proof’ guide to spending 72 hours in Cape Town! We’re so excited to find our Fairview Tasting Room among those on the bucket list destinations! .

According to Flight Network, which is Canada’s leading online international travel agency, travel experts scoured Cape Town for only the best destinations to fill a 3 day getaway with imagination and excitement. The Mother City offers so many wonders to its guests, but Flight Network narrowed down the list to make every second count. According to them Fairview will “sweep you off your feet every second you’re there”.

The writer spoke of our delectable atmosphere, infusing our guests with the exquisite wines for an afternoon of splendour. Our variety of wines are also expertly matched with cheeses to wine and dine the senses. Flight Network’s writer remarked on the friendly environment Fairview offers, perfect for everyone to bond over a delicious array. All travelers and guests who visit us at Fairview know we do things differently. Ingrained in our mission, we hope to achieve a natural, holistic lifestyle which is present in how we create our wines.

With our recognition as a must in a 72 hour Cape Town adventure, we are so excited to welcome new guests to our home. Come visit us for an afternoon of wine tasting led by our knowledgeable hosts and see exactly why our guests with be making more stops here!

Click here to read the full Flight Network article.

The post Our Fairview Tasting Room Recognized as a “Cape Town Necessity” appeared first on Fairview.

Guests will be seated at a long table set under a vine canopy where they are encouraged to mingle with those around them over trendy sharing platters prepared and conceptualised by the Goatshed restaurant head chef, SJ Nel. The menu will feature some of Fairview’s finest artisanal produce, including generous servings of its renowned cheeses, breads, olives, charcuterie and homemade preserves. In the spirit of the bounty of the harvest, guests will be able to help themselves to a bottomless supply of Fairview’s new young wines, which they can tap straight from the vat in true farm style.

“Harvest is an incredibly important time of the year for us and it is certainly a time to acknowledge the efforts that go into carefully crafting our wines with elegance and complexity. This year we celebrate the 21st harvest of our Viognier variety for which we have the mother block in South Africa. We ask those who have shared in Fairview’s journey and successes to join us at our new Harvest Table Lunches,” says Charles Back, owner of Fairview Wine and Cheese.

Fairview Wine and Cheese presents this exclusive feast as a chance to explore the Goatshed’s newest offering. Tickets cost R255 per person and can be purchased via Quicket. Tickets will include the lunch and Fairview’s newest harvest wine.

For more information on the Harvest Table Lunch, please contact the Goatshed restaurant on 021 863 3609 or at goatshed@fairview.co.za. For more on Fairview and its wine and cheese products, visit www.fairview.co.za.

The post Drink Wine, Eat Well and Merry! Goatshed’s Harvest Lunch Table 2018 appeared first on Fairview.

Firstly, the soil is cleared and plowed. After that, careful measurements are made in order to ensure that the rows of vines are as perfectly straight as can be. This allows for easier harvesting later on. As you can see, measuring out an entire block is quite a process in itself!

Donald Mouton, our farm manager, gave the Cinsault planting team a short lesson on the effect that differently dug holes have on grapevine root systems.

In some heavier soils, unless one digs a hole in just the right way, the roots can become constrained and aren’t able to grow in the way that they should. This impacts the ability of the plant to absorb nutrients from the soil, which in turn affects the health of the vines, and ultimately the taste and quality of the wine.

Finally, the new Cinsault vines are planted! After all of the digging and measuring, seeing a field full of the final product is a sight to behold. These vines are destined to become bush vines, and will only be able to be harvested in 2020.

We’re already looking forward to it!

The post Planting a New Vineyard | Cinsault appeared first on Fairview.

Hi. I am Lyn, one of the longest ‘surviving’ staff members at Fairview. While attending Charles Back’s mother’s funeral in May 1998, I met Fairview’s then Marketing Manager, Jeremy Borg. He asked if I was still convening concerts at the Grande Roche in aid of Drakenstein Hospice. I replied in the affirmative but that I needed to start earning some pocket money to aid my volunteering efforts. He then mentioned Fairview was hiring. I applied and 2 weeks later was happily employed.

Tasting Room | Then

Tasting Room Team | Now

A month later, I mentioned to Jeremy that I felt guilty getting my job at a funeral! He brushed it aside saying, “Oh no Lyn, don’t be – the mafia do it all the time!”. Fast forward 19 years and I am still here and seem to be maturing like a good bottle of red – not yet having reached my expiry date.

Radical changes have occurred here at Fairview over the last 2 decades. When Charles lost his father in 1996, Fairview was the only farm that he owned. We now have several farms in all the major viticultural destinations and specific vines are planted in the terroir that serve them best. For example, our Sauvignon Blanc enjoys the cool breeze blowing off the Atlantic Ocean near Darling on the West Coast. Meanwhile, the Bordeaux classics like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are grown on Houmoed farm in the Firgrove area nearer False Bay and are therefore cooler than Paarl.

Changes in the Tasting Room have also been remarkable. The biggest change to my mind, excluding structural changes in the Tasting Room, have been the new varietals I can offer our guests. In 1998, I poured “the usual suspects” Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Pinotage, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Weiser Riesling (now called Riesling) and the then new kid on the block, Viognier.

Wine Tasting | Then

Wine Tasting | NOW

Charles has since uprooted many vines and planted more Mediterranean grapes that can withstand the heat and dry conditions in Paarl and Malmesbury. We now pour Spanish wines such as Carignan, Grenache Noir and Tempranillo, as well as Portuguese varieties such as Souzão and Verdelho. We’ve also updated a lot of our label design, with exciting blends such as Broken Barrel and Extraño.

From a small wine counter in a tiny room serving about 8 people at a time, we now have 5 dedicated serving pods which can accommodate 150 people. Where we were once a staff of 6, we are now a bustling team of 35 members handling over 1000 people a day in season. Our cheese tasting counter once held mounds of cheese samples that guests helped themselves to while ignoring Charles’s sign which read: “Bear in mind this is a cheese tasting, not brunch”. We have now updated our offering to include a curated cheese and wine pairing with 6 cheeses to match 6 wines, providing a more integrated and interactive experience.

Cheese Tasting | Then

Cheese Tasting | Now

At the entrance to the Tasting Room, a traditional garden has been built in memory of Beryl and Cyril Back. Trimmed hedges, a profusion of clivias, white roses and a pond full of Koi fish delight the eye. The trees are 20 years old now and provide shade and homes for many garden birds including the pin-tailed whydah, Cape sparrow, house sparrow, olive thrush and common fiscal to name a few. I watch the arrivals and departures of our migrating sparrows and swifts who leave for warmer climates in autumn and I marvel when they return back to their old nests in summer!

We forget to observe. We are often too busy on our mobiles taking group photos and selfies to see nature play out her amazing adventure. The drama continues high in the sky above Fairview where magnificent harrier-hawks, kites, goshawks, fish eagles and black eagles use thermals to elevate themselves while Lyn muddles along below. Here’s to looking up!

Tasting Room | Then

Tasting Room | Now

The post Fairview: Then and Now (1998 -2017) appeared first on Fairview.