Lunch at De Grendel ranks among the best I’ve enjoyed in the winelands on my Eat Out 2013 rounds. Opened in early 2012, the new kid on the block in the Durbanville Wine Valley is set on a working cattle, sheep and wine farm with tranquil views of paddocks on the slopes of Tygerberg. Eating off Delft blue porcelain plates bearing the Graaff family crest in the homely dining-room is akin to dining in the intimacy of your hosts’ home. Sitting under a nostalgic photograph of Sir De Villiers Graaff dancing with Queen Elizabeth on her royal visit in 1947, I recalled doing my first big interview with the opposition leader as a trainee journalist in 1976. How time flies. De Grendel is a culinary collaboration with the Michelin-starred The Crown at Whitebrook (named Best Restaurant in Wales, 2011) under celebrity chef James Sommerin. Headed up by local chef Ian Bergh who has worked at La Colombe, simplicity is the hallmark of the contemporary winelands fare at De Grendel which showcases the earthy flavours of farm produce from hand-churned butter and home-baked bread to guinea fowl, free-range poultry and pasture-raised meats. Ingredients are given a modern, inventive twist - try devilled kidneys, sweetbreads with poached quail egg, and a signature quartet of pork (crackling, sausages, hash brown and belly). We enjoyed a superb tasting menu which pairs Charles Hopkins’ sublime wines with every dish by the glass - sold at cellar-door prices with no mark-ups (Hurrah!). The wine-list also showcases wines from “friends” in the Durbanville Wine Valley - and smartly sells cases under the banner “take us home with you”. The highlights were pan-fried scallops with De Grendel’s fabulous wooded Pinot Gris 2011, tender sous vide chicken with De Grendel Viognier 2012, mushroom risotto with shaved summer truffle and Winifred 2010 (flagship white blend) - and a pork platter with the earthy Pinot Noir 2009. The desserts were sensational - try the liquid popcorn with the new Sauvignon Blanc Noble Late Harvest 2012. The menu is a showcase for De Grendel wines - while the venue achieves a perfect sense of synergy as the home of the brand. Over a wine tasting, Charles Hopkins comments, “My obsession is with quality - and financial success. I want to make true-blooded South African wines. Many Cape wines are too phenolic, over-extracted, over-yielded, especially in warmer regions. We need to make fruitier wines but get it into the bottle at under 14,% (ABV). There is a place for single vineyard wines but I like to take components from here and there to create balanced blends which reveal geographic contrasts.” He demonstrates the fullness of dual regional blends with Koetshuis Sauvignon Blanc 2012 - a blend of Darling and Durbanville fruit - and Pinot Noir from Witzenberg and De Grendel. Lunch at Tokara was another highlight of my big eat in the winelands. Food guru Richard Carstens rules the roost at this high-lying gastronomic destination in Stellenbosch. One of South Africa’s most creative chefs showcases his innovative culinary style inspired by cutting-edge culinary techniques. The focus of a modern menu is on highlighting the natural flavours and textures of winelands produce - from quail, duck, trout, ostrich, chicken and lamb (sous vide) to seasonal vegetables (I once sampled his terrific study of tomato textures). Carstens’ art lies in his aesthetic treatment of the main ingredient which showcases layers of flavours on a landscaped plate. Signature dishes highlight his own culinary journey over two decades - in a signature Franco-Japanese trio of trout (raw, smoked and cured) and playful studies of simple ingredients like tomato, eggplant, carrots and apples. Slow-roasted watermelon carpaccio with olive oil “rocks” and custard is one of his finest dishes I’ve sampled. Jaap Correwijn, sommelier at Tokara, matches the wines of Miles Mossop with the complex compositions of Richard Carstens with great skill. I enjoyed the purity of a vegetarian starter of “dry-aged” carrot with spelt grain, curry oil, gorgonzola and white chocolate with richly textured Saskia 2009 (Miles’ blend of Chenin and Viognier). After an exotic Asian-inspired salad of turnip, pickled pear, ponzu, pumpkin seed and parsley emulsion with dashi and bonito - with Raats Original Chenin Blanc 2009, we moved onto smoked snoek ravioli with Tokara Director’s Reserve White 2010. Waves of flavour swept us on to a sunflower seed risotto with soya glazed mushrooms and mange tout tempura - paired to Paul Cluver Pinot Noir 2009 - and a fossilised (“poached, roasted and oxidised”) “fallen apple” which “expresses all the flavours of an apple fallen from a tree” declares the mercurial chef. Expect elaborate attention to detail in dishes enhanced by playful spheres (mange tout), foams (beetroot), custards (olive oil), purees (pistachio or ginger carrot), emulsions (spiced lemon and vividly green chlorophyll) or mustard ice-cream (in pea soup) in an arty symmetry which appeals to the eye and palate. The superb wine-list showcases Tokara’s own wines by the glass and a wide range of the Cape’s flagship labels with a selection of top French chateaux. The views are as spectacular as the food and wine - tempting with some of the best tasting menus in the Cape - and great attention to detail down to Tokara’s own olive oils with a tempting bread basket. The third great tasting menu I’ve enjoyed in the winelands this year was at Terroir. Master saucier Michael Broughton’s signature lies in simplicity, subtle combinations and respect for the natural flavours of locally-sourced ingredients and artisanal fare. The chef-patron saucier creates classic French country fare on seasonal menus in the comfort zone from sous vide pork belly with calvados sauce to springbok and home-cured bacon pie. His culinary style is deceptively simple but elaborately crafted on the plate. No short-cuts in the kitchen - from sublime breads, double-baked soufflé and handmade ravioli, gnocchi and tortellini to signature wild mushroom risotto. Every dish on the tasting menu is meticulously paired to a wine from the Kleine Zalze cellar. We started with a delicious roasted tomato cappuccino with truffle foam - and a duck tortellini with roasted chestnuts, walnuts and raisons in a celeriac puree. Our server was a credit to the kitchen - well-versed on all the ingredients, sauces and techniques as well as the matching flavours of the wines. Kleine Zalze regularly wins the Eat Out service award of the year - a richly-deserved title. By now, we’d moved from Klein Zalze’s earthy Pinot Noir 2010 to the Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2011 - a wonderful match enhancing the rich, creamy gorgonzola soufflé with poached pear and salted walnuts. The best was to come - the ethereal tempura squid with basil and herb gel and yuzu mayo - paired to the superb Family Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2010. The flavour combinations at Terroir are robust and earthy, transforming familiar ingredients with intense herbal gels, sabayon, foams and purees. Wood-smoked and forest-floor flavours are highlighted by the use of wild mushrooms, truffles and root vegetables to enhance the main ingredient - whether aged rib-eye, oxtail or pork belly. The chalkboard menu changes daily according to fresh, seasonal ingredients. The sous vide pork - soaked in an aromatic 18 hour marinade - was enhanced by braised apples, a cider and rhubarb sauce and baked macaroni sabayon. Who could ask for more? We finished with their legendary apple tart with calvados sauce and caramelised apples. Last but not least, I was wowed by the degustation tasting menu at Waterkloof in the Helderberg. The synergy between bio-dynamic and sustainable viticulture and the organic, free-range, home-grown artisanal focus of the menu at Waterkloof is, like Eight at Spier, a showpiece for contemporary winelands cuisine. Using their own lamb, herbs and eggs, Waterkloof sources produce from smaller wineland producers such as Healey’s Cheeses and About Trout - and organic micro-herbs and baby vegetables from The Leaf Lab in Stellenbosch. “Foraging is hot on the epicurean radar right now. Diners love the romance of knowing where the food that they eat comes from” says chef Grégory Czarnecki. The quality of the ingredients shows on the plate on a cutting-edge menu that matches every dish to a Waterkloof wine. The natural tastes and textures of fresh seasonal ingredients shine in classic dishes which bear chef’s commitment to simplicity and classic technique. We enjoyed rediscovering the joy of eating a soft-boiled farm egg (“freshly laid this morning!”) served with Jerusalem artichoke puree and wild mushroom (and Circumstance Chardonnay 2008) - and chef’s playful interpretation of croque madame with langoustine, quail egg and wakame butter. Chef showed his classic French training in exquisitely composed dishes of farmed kabeljou with Saldanha mussels tempura and sweetbreads with cauliflower puree in turmeric (Circumstance Chardonnay 2006) - and duck breast in liquorice jus with ribbons of corn, morello cherry and fig ribbons. Space does not allow for reviews of some of the other highlights of my big eat out at cellar-door restaurants in the winelands during 2012 but I have also enjoyed excellent tasting menus at Matthew Gordon’s new Harvest restaurant at Laborie, Cuvee at Simonsig, Bistro Sixteen82 at Steenberg, Cabriere in Franschhoek, Stables at Vergelegen and Chris Erasmus’s Pierneef at La Motte - and a few more besides. *The top twenty restaurant nominations for Eat Out 2013 will be announced in October 2012. For new reviews see: www.eatout.co.za | Graham Howe has been a reviewer for Eat Out for the last nine years - and is a judge for the new Klink Awards of Wine Tourism South Africa | Click to vote