I celebrate Christmas in July with CWWU & Durbanville Hills

Last week Come Wine With Us hosted their 2nd annual Christmas in July event.  This year they partnered with the team from Durbanville Hills who created an extra special 4 course Christmas inspired menu, carefully paired with wines from their various ranges.

For those who haven’t yet visited the Durbanville Hills farm – you really should.  It’s only a 20min drive from the city center and they’re perched right on top of the Durvanville Wine Valley.  This means they have some incredible views of Table Mountain, Table Bay & even Robben Island.  They also have a beautiful garden, perfect for a summer picnic, and their tasting room is really modern & elegant.

Upon arrival, bestie Leigh and I realised that we had arrived pretty much dressed as twinsies… You see, to fit in with the Christmas in July theme, we were asked to incorporate a touch of red.  This was the result:

Not ideal… But hey, we did at least win a beautiful bottle of Rhinofields Merlot for our twinsie efforts:

Durbanville Hills Wine Maker and Cellar Master, Martin Moore, welcomed us with a short introduction into the area and the wines which are produced by Durbanville Hills.  They actually have 3 ranges:  Durbanville Hills, Rhinofields (which is named after the indigenous Renosterveld of the area) & their more exclusive Vineyard Selection.

We then headed upstairs to their restaurant (which boasts panoramic views just so you know) where Head Chef Louisa Greeff took us through the menu for the evening.

We kicked things off with a glass of Durbanville Hills Merlot Rosé 2015, followed by a prawn ceviche amuse-bouche served with celeriac purée and lemon dressing paired with Durbanville Hills Rhinofields Sauvignon Blanc 2014.

For starters we had a choice between a honey roasted gammon apple and almond salad paired with Durbanville Hills Rhinofields Pinotage 2012, or a smoked salmon, rocket, avocado, caper & tomato salad paired with Durbanville Hills Rhinofields Chardonnay 2012.  I went for the gammon.

For mains it was a choice between a roasted turkey galantine stuffed with cranberries, pistachio nuts & orange peel served with potato galette & mustard jus paired with Durbanville Hills Rhinofields Merlot 2011, or a grilled rack of lamb served with a cumin, cauliflower and potato phyllo tart and red wine jus paired with Durbanville Hills Rhinofields Shiraz 2011.  I went for the turkey.

We then finished things off with a fruit mince pie served with spiced poached apple and orange cream paired with Durbanville Hills Rhinofields Noble Late Harvest 2013.

This is what it all looked like:

While we were digging in we enjoyed some live music from Newton & Co and then there were also prizes for best tweeters, best dressed, etc.  But of course our twinsies prize was the most coveted of all. 😉

The evening also tied in with the spirit of giving as part of the proceeds from the evening’s ticket sales went towards the Durbanville Hills Workers’ Trust créche – To read more about the incredible work they’re doing, hop on over here.

This was yet another fun evening with the CWWU crew.  Their monthly events are always a solid celebration of good food, good wine & good conversation.

If you want to join in on the next one – do keep an eye out for their upcoming events on their website: www.comewinewithus.co.za.

To Durbanville Hills & CWWU I have to say a big thank you.  And to you guys I’ll say:  Hopefully I’ll see you at the next one?

xxx