Matthew cooks in Scotland

Matthew and Nicky Gordon headed for Scotland in October with vacuum-packed buchu stashed in their luggage. They were headed for Ardenoig Hotel, an establishment run by South African Pete Gottgens in the Scottish highlands which offers a unique combination of Scottish and South African hospitality.

Matthew was invited to cook at the Ardenoig Food and Wine Festival and asked to match the Haute Cabrière and Pierre Jourdan wines that were chosen to accompany the meal.

Matthew managed to create a spectacular line-up of dishes featuring the best of Scottish fare, with a South African twist. "We managed to source all the ingredients there, like substituting venison with Roe deer, but there's no substitute for that minty medicinal aroma of buchu, so I had to bring it in. Nicky was worried I would get stopped at customs and locked up for drug smuggling, but we sailed through without a hitch. I added it to the red onion marmalade which we served with the pheasant and it was a great success."

The rest of the menu included sugar-cured Roe deer with Brussels sprout mash, pea shoots and vygie jus; and seared scallops with broad bean puree, red wine fish jus and vanilla syrup. There was even boerejongens tart tatin with melktert ice-cream!

Ratafia with your Christmas Pud

Make sure you have a bottle of Ratafia in the fridge to wash down that Christmas pudding. It is a wicked combination, both are rich and sweet, yet the Ratafia just manages to cut through the syrupy pudding and will end off the meal with a flourish.

Order the Pierre Jourdan Ratafia now

...and now for something completely different

If you're not making a Christmas pudding this year why not make some Boerejongens with the Fine de Jourdan?

Matthew resurrected this typically South African treat. It is simply raisins soaked in brandy. He puts them into pastry turnovers and serves them with gingerbread parfait. But they are equally delicious served over vanilla ice cream, or eaten straight from the jar! Simply put a generous handful of raisins in an old jam jar and cover it with Fine. Leave it to marinate for at least 24 hours. Yum!!!

Premiere affirms that Haute Cabrière is no.1

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille and 75 of her team visited the Haute Cabrière Cellar Restaurant recently. The group spent an hour with Achim and Hildegard before the luncheon, sampling the Pierre Jourdan. Helen stuck with Appletiser, but Achim managed to persuade her to lop the top off a bottle of Brut with the sabre.

"For someone known for her feisty spirit, she was quite nervous," remarked Achim afterwards.

Haute Cabrière's new summer menu is a treat for the senses

One of the perks of working at Cabrière is the bi-annual menu tasting. Once Matthew has come up with the new dishes for the season, he invites us to sample a selection. We sit down at a long table, with a glass of each Pierre Jourdan and Haute Cabrière wine. Then each person is presented with a soupçon of the new dish, and asked to figure out which wine goes best with which dish. Needless to say, this arduous task (!) requires a lot of eating, and even more drinking - but, hell, somebody's got to do it!

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Please note the Tasting Room will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, while the restaurant will only be closed on Christmas Evening (25th). Otherwise we are open as usual.