Canapés and wine pairing at Creation

My friend Kerry payed me a visit from Cape Town last week. Her only request was that we must visit Creation as her family loves their wine. It was a very easy request to partake in, as I also love Creation, and they are the yin to the yang of the Hermanus wine route. They are one of my show off secrets to visiting guests :)



Sunny day at Creation


We decided to enjoy their canapé and wine pairing. I've actually done the pairing two years ago and it definitely sustained its excellence since then. You can read about my previous experience here.They also won the Klink award for best food and wine pairing .

First wine of the day: Whalepod Rosé

We were seated in the beautiful tasting-room/restaurant that has an elegant yet relaxed atmosphere. The staff of Creation were very welcoming and well informed. Kerry and I asked a lot of question about the food and especially the wine and we always received satisfactory answers.

Can't wait to tuck in

The food and wine pairing components were the following at R125pp

• Pineapple and basil gazpacho with scallops. This was paired with their  Sauvignon Blanc 2014. The tropical fruit taste of the wine really brought out the pineapple flavour in the gazpacho. I am not a fan of cold soups but how the flavours of the wine and soup balanced off each other was interesting.
• Savoury short bread with pesto and tomato paired with Sauvignon Blanc Semillion 2014.
• Avocado and prawn with citrus and vanilla mayonnaise  paired with their Chardonnay. This was a very refreshing combination and one of my favourites.

Prawn, goat cheese, springbok loin and duck canapés

• Beetroot, goats cheese panna cota and lentil salsa paired with  Pinot Noir 2013. Hermanus is known for their delivery of excellent Pinot Noirs and Creation is no exception. This canapé was great but you could not taste the beetroot as the goats cheese overpowered it. I did not bother me as I love goats cheese and it has a known strong flavour.
• Cauliflower and gorgonzola soup with sourdough herbed croutes paired with Merlot 2013. The creaminess of the soup was balanced out by the smoothness of the wine.

Cauliflower soup

• Rare roast loin of Springbok on brown bread paired with a bordeux style blend of Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon. I love bordeux blends and Creations was a treat. It paired well with springbok as it toned down the 'gaminess' of the meat. The bread the springbok was served on did nothing for the canapé and I would prefer it rather on something else like a potato rosti.
• My favourite!!!! The braised pork belly wonton paired with Syrah 2012. I could have eaten hundreds of that wonton. I definitely want to plan a return visit to order that as a main meal. The Syrah was also our favourite wine and the bottle that Kerry purchased.

Pork wontons

 

• Buchu scented duck confit with Malay aioli paired with Syrah Grenache 2013. This was a great finish to our food and wine pairing.



6 of the 8 canapés :)

Kerry wanted to purchase some wine and we were unsure which of the last two we loved the most. Our tasting host was so kind to bring us the wines again and in the end the Syrah was the winner.

The food and wine pairing is a great activity that is well priced. Wine tasting at Creation is also one of the wine tasting spots where you are educated about the wine but not to the extent that it's overwhelming if you are a wine novice. They also use different glasses to serve the wine and this allows you to experience how much the glass that wine is served in determines what you taste. I though that it was just a fad but I now have first hand experience that it's not.

Chardonnay served in two different glasses

Other activities you can enjoy at Creation

• Chocolate and wine pairing: R75pp
• Tea and canapé pairing: R205 pp
• Walk through the vineyards of creation in the company of a guide: R95 pp
• 10:00 brunch and wine pairing: R375 pp is something I definitely want to do before my holiday ends! 
• Wine tasting
• Lunch

I would recommend that you always book if you plan to visit Creation as they are a very popular spot with locals and tourists. Trust me once you get there you do no want to be turned away at the door!



Located 7km down the Hemel & Aarde road, Hermanus
Contact them at 028 212 1107 or info@creationwines.com
Visit them

• Wine tasting 10:00-17:00
• Wine&Food pairing and lunch 11:00-16:00

For more information visit their website
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Tweet them @creationwines