Charity lunch at Vivat Bacchus with Kaapzicht Wines and the Pebbles Project

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Vivat Bacchus, despite it’s Latinate name, is a wine bar and restaurant in Farringdon specialising in the wines of South Africa. Begun in the mid 2000’s by Gerrie Knoetze,  there are two branches in London, the other being at London Bridge.

Vivat Bacchus mainly serves food influenced by Cape cuisine but also has British and modern European influences.

I was there last week for the launch of the partnership between Kaapzicht Estate wines and the Pebbles project. The Pebbles project is a charitable cause in South Africa that “…works mainly with the children and families in the Winelands farming community of the Western Cape…” From the 1st of June, 50p from the sale of every bottle of Kaapzicht Estate wines and Vivat Bacchus’ own label wines will be donated to the project.

Kaapzicht is currently involved in the following projects in conjunction with the Pebbles Project:

Kaapzicht Kindergarten, Kaapzicht Soccer and Sports Club, Kaapzicht After School Club (ASC) and the Horse Riding for Handicapped Children project.

Danie Steytler, Jnr,  a fourth generation wine maker at Kaapzicht and a long time friend of Vivat Bacchus was on hand to tell us more about the project and of course, talk wine.  Danie studied wine making in Stellenbosch. The winery is family owned and located outside of Capetown. They first became involved with the Pebbles project when they bought an old school house in the 1980’s and converted it into a community centre and creche for their workers and their families.

Lunch

Sesame seared Carpaccio of Yellowtail Tuna paired with the Kliprug Chenin Blanc 2015. Danie prefers a more oxidative style of winemaking for this Chenin. The grapes come from old bush vines and it is barrel fermented. The result is a full wine, rich in the mouth but at the same time still retaining freshness and fabulous with the fatty tuna.

Grilled Ostrich Steak with Biltong Crust. Sadly, due to the problems of Foot and Mouth Disease in Africa, Vivat Bacchus can no longer import South African game but they were able to source the ostrich from Spain. I loved this steak, it’s probably the best ostrich I’ve ever had, perfectly cooked and not tough or gamey. Paired with the Kaapzicht 2015 Pinotage. 

I can’t get over how good this pinotage was. I’ve never been a big fan of pinotage but this wine definitely has made me change my mind. Full of berries on the nose with a bit of vanilla, medium bodied, mouthwatering with tasty red fruit flavours. AND none of the burnt rubber or pongy notes that were a feature of the past. I asked Danie about that and he told me that they are working hard to get rid of those characteristics. It is difficult however, becauese the best way to do that is through canopy management but as so many of the vines are bush vines, it can be difficult. I’m happy to report Kaapzicht seem to have overcome that particular problem.

The last course was a cheese board paired with the Vivat Bacchus Estate Red 2013. A blend of shiraz and cabernet sauvingon with a tiny bit of petit verdot thrown in for colour and texture. It’s Vivat’s entry level red but you’d never know by tasting it, the quality if very high. A delicious way to end the meal.