For more information on the
La Motte Estate click here.
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New season, more to experience!
Spring has sprung! Which means summer is just around the corner ... which in turn means that the lavender fields will be blooming at La Motte bringing more visitors to the farm, and all the while very exciting developments will see the light of day…
We have been hard at work for the most of 2009 extending our estate facilities and ensuring that our visitors will receive an even warmer welcome than before. We have built and inaugurated our new tasting room while the official opening of our restaurant, deli and museum will be in May 2010.
Watch this space in the Festive Issue for more about these and other projects that are on the cards.
For now ... happy reading!
Yours sincerely,
Hein Koegelenberg
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Franschhoek La Motte Classic Music Festival
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For the past six years the Franschhoek Classic Music Festival has been many a music lover's calendar highlight. This year, with the addition of La Motte as title sponsor, it is set to reach new levels of excellence in music, food and wine. The Festival takes place during the weekend of 30 October – 1 November. Clarinet virtuoso Matthew Reid and members of Camerata Tinta Barocca will present the opening concert, which will be held in La Motte's historic cellar on the Estate. The full programme is as follows:
FRIDAY 30 OCTOBER 19:00 - LA MOTTE
Matthew Reid (clarinet) with members of Camerata Tinta Barocca.
FRIDAY 30 OCTOBER 19:30 - DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH
Evening Song with Bronwen Forbay (soprano).
SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER 12 noon - DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH
Jacqueline Wedderburn-Maxwell (violin).
SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER 14:00 - DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH
Rising Stars: Young and talented musicians, all on the brink of promising careers, in a varied presentation.
SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER 16:00 - DENNEGEUR HALL.
The Classical Music Experience, featuring young local as well as visiting musicians from the festival programme.
SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER 19:00 - DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH
Piano Recital with Ben Schoeman.
SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER 19:00 for 19:30 - LA BRASSERIE
Belle Voci operatic troupe.
SUNDAY 1 NOVEMBER 09:30 - DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH
Sunday church service: Music for the Quiet, with piano, flute and viola.
SUNDAY 1 NOVEMBER 11:30 - DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH
Piano on a Sunday morning, with Christopher Duigan.
SUNDAY 1 NOVEMBER 12:30 for 13:00 - BREAD & WINE
Two pianos: four hands - eight hands. Internationally acclaimed husband and wife piano duo Nina Schumann and Luis Magalhães will play a selection of music for two pianos.
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SUNDAY 1 NOVEMBER lunchtime - AMBIENT MUSIC
Dieu Donne - Palm Strings Duo on violin and guitar
SUNDAY 1 NOVEMBER 15:30 - DUTCH REFORM CHURCH
Stellenbosch Libertas Choir – Jericho!
SUNDAY 1 NOVEMBER 15:30 for 16:00 - CAFÉ BON BON
Festival Finale: A high-energy, informal performance by festival musicians..
This three-day festival offers something for all music tastes. Make sure you satisfy yours.
Tickets are on sale now at www.webtickets.co.za, where you'll also find more information
about the Festival programme.
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Rose of the Month
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In 1995, Mrs Huberte Rupert, Hanneli Rupert-Koegelenberg's late mother, visited Ludwig’s Rose Farm to find a rose varietal worthy of being called ‘Hanneli Rupert’ in her daughter's honour. Since then, this cheerful rose – selected as Rose of the Month for July – has found its way into many gardens all around the country. It is an incredible performer, producing masses of straight stems, each with one perfect bloom. Before the firm petals have unfolded, the next flowering flush has sprouted in the leaf axles below – a hybrid tea rose, highly rewarding. The colour is a flush, deep coral to orange, while each petal has a cream-yellow reverse.
Huge plantings of the Hanneli Rupert rose will take place at La Motte during this month, promising a beautiful future display.
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Beautiful Blushing Brides
Of all the flowers featuring in La Motte's floriculture business – and in the Western Cape – Blushing Brides are arguably amongst the prettiest.
The story behind the name of these petite flowers is one of love and romance. It is said that local farmers would approach their loved ones with one of these flowers in their lapels when about to propose marriage. Apart from the obvious inference of the flower's colour, the reference to "blush" was derived from the fact that the suitor's intention was apparent to all who met him, much to the embarrassment of his bride to be. The story goes further that the more intense the pink colour, the more serious the intentions of the suitor.
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Small wonder that, throughout the years, Blushing Brides have been used to add that special touch to bridal bouquets.
Botanically known as serruria florida, the Blushing Bride was officially discovered in the Franschhoek Mountains in 1773 by Carl Thunberg. The flowers later disappeared from the scientific annals for over a hundred years and it seems that botanists of the day generally accepted that they were extinct. Their rediscovery, in 1914, can probably be credited to Prof Harold Pearson, director of the then one-year old Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Seeds were collected for future plants to be grown at Kirstenbosch, from where the distribution of seeds helped to establish commercial cultivation in South Africa and internationally. La Motte is passionate about the reintroduction of Blushing Brides into the Franschhoek biosphere, to grace the environment with their large white centres and soft orange/pink tips.
Also known as the Pride of Franschhoek, the Blushing Bride is a member of the Proteaceae plant family – a component of the South Western Cape region's floral kingdom. Proteaceae, so named by the famed botanist Linnaeus, is divided into fourteen genera, seven of which are of commercial importance. These include Protea, Leucospermum (pincushions), Leucadendron (cone bush) and Serruria (Blushing Bride).
Serruria florida has a high economical potential. It is easily grown from seeds, responds very well to pruning, is a fast grower and flowers within fifteen months of germinating. However, it is relatively short-lived and only produces a commercially viable crop for about three years. As a garden plant it is superb, provided its roots are not disturbed.
Blushing Brides were harvested on La Motte for the first time this year. The best time to admire them at La Motte is during June and July. |
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La Motte's horticulturist also a talented foody
In exploring the talents gathered at La Motte, personnel are invited to share their favourite recipes with colleagues and gourmets in general. Neels van der Linde invites us to go traditional with his truly South African “WATERBLOMMETJIE POTJIE”.
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Ingredients
• Basketful of “waterblommetjies”
• Enough wine to cover
• 4 tablespoons butter
• Dash of cooking oil
• 1,5 kg mutton (rib, neck, tails)*
• 4 onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• 8 potatoes (peeled and halved)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• Twig rosemary
• 2 cloves
• Juice of two lemons**
• 1 cup of water
* Try something different by adding smoked leg of pork. Then, two cups of La Motte Sauvignon Blanc (but only if you have the heart to spare it!).
** Instead of lemon juice, you can use a bunch of sorrel, finely chopped.
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Method
Start by de-stemming your “waterblommetjies” and removing tough leaflets. Rinse thoroughly under running tap. Now boil water in a medium-sized potjie, place “waterblommetjies” in boiling water, cook for 10 minutes and drain. It's important to rinse “waterblommetjies” once more under the tap. Now you're ready to prepare your potjie.
Heat the butter and oil in the potjie. Roast meat in this mixture until brown on both sides, but not done. In the meantime, slice the onions and bruise the garlic cloves, then add to the meat. Braise onion and garlic gently until golden but not brown. Arrange meat over onion and garlic and spread “waterblommetjies” on top, then the potatoes. Flavour with salt and abundant pepper and add twig of rosemary and cloves. Squeeze lemon juice over and add the water. Place lid on potjie and allow to simmer until the meat is done and the potatoes soft. Add water if necessary. Now sit back, relax ... and let the potjie decide the pace.
Serve with brown rice and turn into a feast with 2009 La Motte Sauvignon Blanc. Enjoy!
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For more information about La Motte please visit our website at www.la-motte.com |
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2009 Sauvignon Blanc released, with a
surprise on top!
The 2009 La Motte Sauvignon Blanc has just been bottled and has a surprise in store for all its admirers. For the first time, a screw-top has been chosen to protect the freshness of the bottle's gorgeous content. Following the global move away from cork, the new screw-tops will, no doubt, prove their value in preserving the flavour of this favourite until it finds its way into your glass.
This Sauvignon Blanc was produced from grapes originating from vineyards in various regions in the Cape wine-lands – Franschhoek (25%), Walker Bay (20%), Nieuwoudtville (20%), Darling and West Coast (20%), Durbanville (5%), Stellenbosch (5%) and Elim (5%). The Walker Bay and Franschhoek grape components are produced organically.
To many wine-makers 2008/2009 was the best-quality season in ten years, as proved by this Sauvignon Blanc. The wine has an attractive straw colour with a green tint and shows typical green apple and green bean flavours, supported by wild-grass. There are also underlying tropical sweet melon flavours and there is a lingering, refreshing after-taste on the palate. This Sauvignon Blanc will be a worthy addition to an already remarkable collection.
At the time of going to print this wine had just been awarded Gold at the Mundus Vini Awards in Germany, no doubt the first of many accolades in store.
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New tasting room
At La Motte we aim to keep up with the times. In fact, we consistently ensure that we stay ahead of the times. This means that we are constantly launching new features and facilities on the farm.
The first of a spate of new developments is our refurbished tasting room. The overall look and feel of this new estate feature room is conceptualized around the interiors, while simultaneously honouring the tradition, the heritage and history, the arts, wine, music and more for which La Motte is so famous. The La Motte credo of 'a culture of excellence' was one of the primary motivators behind the developments design aesthetic.
Guests to the farm will be made aware that an extensive portion of the new wine-tasting area is a renovation of the previous, so the room was not a blank canvas from where first-stage planning took place; there were already certain structures in place which have been incorporated into the new venue.
The primary feature in the main tasting area of the tasting room is the pillars that one notices immediately upon entering the spacious area, and which introduce a more modern element to the traditional-looking area. One of the design inspirations on this project was the German-born (1886) architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, whose work was extensively researched and who laid down the fundamental creed of structure and lasting relish for the honesty of materials working together. His 'less is more' principle and brilliance in combining steel, concrete, glass and bricks contributed to the final vision and plans for the La Motte tasting room.
The finished product will showcase not only the gorgeous pillars themselves, but the way in which they are covered, massive sheets of seamless glass panels, sandblasted with information on the history of the farm, buildings and wines of La Motte, again to emphasize the old and the new, the historical and the modern.
There is also a slew of new offices, a private tasting room for valued visitors and guests, plus the Rupert Vinoteque which will hold books belonging to and photographs of the Rupert Family, and which will be used for VIP tastings and meetings.
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Franschhoek
Calendar of Events
Franschhoek Uncorked:
10 and 11 October
Franschhoek La Motte Classic Music Festival: 31 October and 1 November
Franschhoek Cap Classique Festival: 5 and 6 December
Franschhoek Open Water Swim: 1 November at the Franschhoek Dam (Berg River Dam)
The Gem of Franschhoek Car Rally: 14 November at various venues in Franschhoek
Franschhoek Investec Private Bank Cap Classique & Champagne Festival: 5 December 2009
at the Huguenot Museum
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