Hi weirdos,
I recently had the privilege of trying out the Festive Story of Creation which is unique food and wine pairing at Creation Wines. I have been to this estate prior to this and jumped at the opportunity to try out the Festive Story menu when my fellow colleague Megan Richards a.k.a “The Authenic Girl” invited me to join her.
Creation wines is situated in Hemel-en-Aarde in Hermanus; an hour and half drive from Cape town. Creation wines was founded in 2002 by Jean-Claude (JC) and Carolyn Martin who took up the challenge of establishing a winery in a remote corner of the Walker Bay Wine Region. Having both being born into pioneering wines families, seems they make quite a formidable team. We had the pleasure of meeting Carolyn Martin who is such a humble, knowledgeable and compassionate person.
The Festive Story of Creation, as the name suggests it brings a feast of fabulous flavours to the table, all artfully orchestrated with our wines to make the taste buds hum with pleasure! In the spirit of spring renewal, the Creation Culinary Team brings you five delectable courses artfully paired with eight award-winning wines. Fresh, locally sourced produce and inventive combinations are imaginatively presented to offer a unique taste adventure.
For Chapter 1 of the Festive Story of Creation we tasted a full bodied Creation Sauvignon Blanc 2018 with crisp acidity. For this sensorial tasting we then tried the Creation Sauvignon Blanc Semillion 2017 which has a saltiness to it and smells like the sea breeze. A sensorial tasting helps stimulate the senses for the tasting ahead.
Chapter 2 of the Festive Story of Creation was a beautifully presented watermelon gazpacho, sour cream, fuchsia and sorrel paired with Creation Grenache Noir Viognier 2018. The leaf looking dish it is served in was inspired by a leaf from the wines picked from their vines; they used it to create a mould for the plate. This was a very interesting dish.
Chapter 3 was my absolute favourite meal of the 6 chapters. Comprised of tofu, onion tagliatelle, pickled sea lettuce with cucumber in citrus butter emulsion. Pure heaven to my taste buds, I really would drive out to Hermanus for this dish alone! It also paired perfectly with the Creation Reserve Chardonnay 2017.
Chapter 4 of the Festive Story of Creation was a strong competitor for first place, not to mention its my favourite wine from Creation wines – The Creation Reserve Pinot Noir. Made up of shiitake mushrooms, potato and leek purée, celery and chive dust, braised leek, reseve pinot, cherry jelly and violets. The flavours and textures in this dish make its quite exquisite.
Chapter 5 of my vegetarian Festive Story of Creation was created with charred cauliflower, liquorice aparagus, onion purée, chocolate jus, beetroot shoots, cornflowers and sumac. I loved how the flavours complimented eachother in this dish. Paired with a full bodied Creation Syrah Grenache with intense flavours of ripe plum, umami, black pepper and tapenade; this was a formidable combination.
The last Chapter did not disappoint; we all love when Festive Story has a great ending. I am not a fan of cheesecake but this coconut and walnut cheesecake was delectable. So much so I wanted more! Made up of lemon verbena, gooseberry gel, raspberry coulis and truffle, this delicacy complimented the Creation Viognier well; it balanced it out beautifully on the palate.
Overall, the Festive Story of Creation was a tantalizing food and wine pairing. It was one of the highlights of my year in 2018. I would definitely recommend you give it a try! Whether you are vegan, vegetarian or pescatarian; they have you covered. This experience is R565 for a 5-course pairing with 8 wines. It is absolutely worth every cent!
You can find out more here:
Telephone: +27 28 212 1107
Email: info@creationwines.com
Website: https://www.creationwines.com
Until next post,
xx Miss Dhanusha
Disclaimer: I was invited to try this experience, this has no bearing on my opinion.
