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A soup festival in Durbanville? The first thing that came to mind when I heard about the festival was a picture of old 'tannies' in aprons standing in a school hall decanting watery soups into polystyrene cups. This image did not excite me. Then I actually read what the festival was about and found out that it was about gourmet soups, with top class wines, and artisanal breads. Now that sounded a lot more like my cup of soup. No offence to soup-making 'tannies' in Durbanville, but chefs on a wine farm take the cake.
It was a beautifully-sunny winter's day in the Cape, and it was with ready stomachs that we went out to the Valley. One thing that surprised me about this area is how close to town it really is, and also how beautiful the area is. If you want to get out of town and into the country for the day without driving for more than hour, the Durbanville Wine Valley is perfect.
Deciding to break convention we started with a chocolate and wine tasting before heading into our soups. Kate from Durbanville Hills took us through the pairings while we gazed over Table Bay. They had paired Durbanville wines with chocolates from an artisanal chocolatier in Knysna. My favourite of the parings was a spicy Cape Malay milk chocolate with a Durbanville Hills Shiraz, apparently it's the most popular and I can see why. It tests the palate and gives you something new and unusual to try, with the chocolate and Shiraz bringing out the spiciness and flavours in each other.
I had a chat with Kate about the farm and their involvement in the festival. It was the third year of the festival and they've received a great response for the festival and were booked up well in advance, although the farm didn't have a busy feeling about it which was great. I had expected it to be like other wine festivals I've been to where you simply feel part of a swarm devouring wine and foods. Maybe it's just the quieter nature of the Durbanville Wine Valley, but it felt more relaxing and enjoyable which is what you want from a food and wine festival especially on a winter's day.
There is thought of expanding the festival and making it a weekend event in the Durbanville Wine Valley. I hope they do this so more people can enjoy the festival, but without adding too much busy-ness.
Next we headed to De Grendel for their soup and wine, and managed to get lost for about 40 minutes, a rather inconceivable feat when you consider that De Grendel and Durbanville Hills are about 10 minutes from each other. We didn't get too frustrated though, how can you be when you're driving through this beautiful countryside with a warm winter's sun on your dashboard and stomach full of chocolate and wine.
Eventually we got our bearings and arrived at De Grendel who, like Durbanville Hills, really do have a beautiful view of the Cape area. We took our seat, got a glass of wine, and got told the menu options; a choice between minestrone and lamb and leek. I decided to start with the lamb and lentil, because well its lamb and lentil and because I have a rather negative memory of minestrone from my childhood. Too much water, too much celery, and too many un-souped vegetables.
The lamb and leek was amazing. This was no tannie's soup in a polystyrene cup I can tell you; this was good, hearty, refreshing soup. We sat eating the soup, dipping the home-made breads overlooking the De Grendel dam with Table Mountain as its backdrop.
However in order to get the full experience I decided to try the minestrone as well, and I am so glad I did. To be honest my opinion of minestrone has been forever changed. While the vegetables remained quite un-souped, and there was celery involved, it was just so filled with flavour and goodness. I felt like my batteries were being recharged with every spoon of soup.
Nothing could have been better on a Sunday afternoon after a busy weekend than relaxing at a wine farm enjoying well made soups, wines, and breads. I'm definitely looking forward to next year's Soup, Sip and Bread Festival.
Lamb and lentil soup
If you couldn't make it out to the Soup, Sip and Bread, here's a recipe to be able to make the lamb and lentil soup yourself.
In a large heavy based pot brown the onions, garlic, ginger and lamb for about 10 minutes. Add the turmeric and cumin and continue to cook for a further 10 minutes, and then add the carrots and celery. Cover with cold water and add the lentils, butternut and bay leaf, simmer for about 3 hours on a low temperature till the lamb is soft and the lentils are cooked. Remove the lamb from the pot and allow to cool, shred the lamb. Season the soup with salt and pepper and add the chopped coriander to the soup. Add the lamb back to the pot and serve.
