Erinvale: A secret rich in history and good food – always a seductive combination

Tastes of Erinvale. (Photos: Supplied)

By Lin Sampson

19 Jan 2024

Teaming up with the renowned Lourensford Wines, Erinvale Estate invited us to their posh Winemakers’ Dinner in the heart of the picturesque Helderberg region.

We felt lucky to be invited to Erinvale Estate’s Winemakers’ Dinner where two South African renowns, Lourensford Wines and chef Stefan Bekker, teamed up for an evening of culinary sorcery.

The Erinvale Estate Hotel is in Somerset West 30 minutes from Cape Town – a geographically magical place surrounded by the ancient mountainscape of the Helderberg and vistas of vineyards.

We all felt we had peeked at a secret, and although low-key, the location is rich in history and luxury, always a seductive combination.

The decor is, I think, deliberately on the traditional side with black and white framed photographs, soft lights and fashionably plaid carpets. It reminded me of a smart house in Edinburgh in the nineties, or a First Class lounge on a luxury cruise ship.

It provided a backdrop for the superb and innovative cooking of Stefan Bekker, known in South Africa for his humbleness and his artistic and miniaturist attention to detail. His dishes (he also makes a lot of the tableware, such as the plates himself) are as good to look at as to eat off.

Winemaker Timothy Witbooi, left, and chef Stefan Bekker. (Photos: Supplied)

Throughout the 10-course pairing and taste menu, the optics were stunning – an old vine root, dotted with small bites, a trumpet of artisan cheese, fingers made of lime, cucumber and celery and dusted with citrus vodka.

These aromatic sprays – a new culinary hack which I am determined to copy – were brought to the table by master distiller Rolf Zeitvogel of Triple Three.

The sprays are an inspired and easy culinary tip for the cook who wants a standout dish; the alcohol dissipates, leaving a subtle aroma on the food.

The house, now a hotel neighbouring the Erinvale Golf Course, spans three centuries and, like most old Dutch houses, has travelled a hard road. It’s suffered the ravages of time and fire, rising magnificently from the ashes like a phoenix and is now part of the National Trust (US) – a big kudos.

The estate was originally part of the famous Vergelegen Estate but has rappelled over the rough terrain of the Cape Dutch house history – divorce, bankruptcy, land division – and has come to rest as a perfect hotel and restaurant.

The renovations of the old house have been done with care and imagination, with an innovative Art Deco atmosphere (that lends a 1930s glamour) with its modish walls in what a guest described as “1975 pantihose colour”.

I urge you to try the restaurant, because Stefan is a chef who cooks for your enjoyment, not his ego, which is rare among chefs.

The staff at Stefan’s are so great that by the end of a 10-course menu, they feel like family. We fell in love with Lupho, half-Xhosa and half-Swiss, who has real rizz.

The hotel and restaurant in their newest form date from 1994 but remain unobtrusive.

Although only the first course was labelled an amuse-bouche, the entire 10-course tasting menu tantalised the taste buds in tiny, surprising bites.

Every course was accompanied by (paired is the culinary word, which, of course, I dislike) a Lourensford wine introduced by the charming and laidback winemaker at Lourensford, Timothy Witbooi, a well-known Cape name.

Those who savour wine in our group fell for a champagne-lookalike Cap Classique 2018 brut from Lourensford and served with the first course; crisp and light, it is easy on the taste buds and reasonably priced. All wines were available at a special price for those attending the event.

Another unusual and rare wine was the Limited Release Viognier 2022. Our wine expert said, “Often used as a blend, this wine has now come on the market and is proving popular because it is something different.”

However, she admitted that her favourite is the Lourensford Chenin Blanc 2022. Paired with zesty finger lime and fresh salmon, “it has a lively taste on the tongue that goes right down into the throat, almost to the solar plexus.”

Pud was rose panna cotta, a sunset-coloured red velvet delight served with MCC Nektar, a big favourite, and a real love match.

Tastes of Erinvale. (Photos: Supplied)

For Cape aficionados (of which I am one) this was a serial Cape night perfect for visitors to our stunning country, caught in the crucible of the beauty, the wine and the history of this spectacular part of the world.

As every winemaker knows, even the tiniest crumbs from this exotic location will contribute towards making our wines prized around the world. DM

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