South African Wine Dinner

Wednesday, July 14, 2009

Sebastiani's Restaurant, www.sebastianis.net, hosted a South African Wine dinner tonight. I was looking forward to this dinner because of the menu. When I walked in to join friends Paul & Margie for the evening sitting at the table was Toby. She had fallen and broken her hip several months back and I was delighted and surprised to see her. She was still using walker to get around but was getting "stir crazy" at home and decided at the last minute to get out of the house. When she was in rehab I went and visited a couple of times. Once I snuck in a bottle of wine and a 2 glasses. She really enjoyed that.

The wine rep's were from Fairest Cape. They rep'd the dinner at Capone's last month also.

First course was "Ostrich Carpaccio" - thin ostrich loin with kiwi-cilantro relish and shaved parmegian cheese. This was served with a 2006 Villiera Estate Chenin Blanc. A nice dish with a nice pairing.

Second course was "New Zealand Mussels Au Gratin" - New Zealand musssels baked with garlic lemon grass and a splash of Saugivon Blanc and parmegiano regiano. Nice flavor, nothing overly exciting. Paired with a 2006 Villiera Estate Saugivon Blanc. Paired well together.

Third course was Zuppa di Salcica - South African venison sausage with lentils in a kale broth. This was my favorite of the evening. Good flavor and really paired well with the 2005 Westerland Estate Pinotage. Pinotage is not my favorite wine but it went exceptionally well with the venison sausage.

Fourth course was "Alligator Tenderloin all Balsamico" - alligator cutlets sauteed with a balsamic sauce with black grapes and sage and served with spinach rissotto. Paired with a 2000 Kaapzichi Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon. Alligator is similar to chicken in taste and texture. The sauce was good and the pairing was good.

Dessert was a Passion Fruit Mousse. Very light and a nice end to the meal.

The food at Sebastiani's is good. Not great but good. They do nice sauces, portions are good and the prices are always reasonable. At the wine dinners they are very generous with their pours. And they were very accommodating to Margie and substituted everything for her.

I think the pairing of the wine and food at this dinner was better than the dinner at Capone's last month