Last: South African wine industry coming of age despite 1600s' origins
South Africa and its wines are classified as new world, but considering the history of their industry, which dates to the 17th century, it's the oldest of the new, if that makes sense. Things really began with the arrival of the French Huguenots in the late 1600s, fleeing religious persecution in France, and their arrival ushered in a new tier of winemaking skills. Things progressed swimmingly thanks to newfound knowledge coupled with ideal terroirs, only to have the ugliness of apartheid crush their burgeoning export markets.
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It takes a long time to recover from atrocities; a lesson the world seems doomed to repeat. Apartheid ended in 1994, but it took roughly a decade before their wines began to resurface in export markets. I've visited South Africa and explored its wine regions, and the key regions that include Stellenbosch, Paarl, Franschhoek and Constantia are among the most picturesque on the planet.
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South Africa's claim to fame is Pinotage, a red grape variety created by Abraham Izak Perold, a professor of viticulture at Stellenbosch University. He decided to cross two French varietals, pinot noir and cinsault, although nobody is quite sure why. It's kind of like crossing a dog with a cat – amusing, sure – but the result can be an animal with conflicting ideologies. While some wineries championed it as a local specialty, others felt obligated to grow it in the shadow of Bordeaux varietals, most notably cabernet sauvignon, which can be exceptional.
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I should note there are some very good examples of pinotage, although the better examples tend to be north of $30, but it's worth splurging on one of those. They can grow pretty much anything in South Africa, but for white wines, they have adopted chenin blanc as the wine they hang their hats on. The grape is native to France's Loire Valley, where it makes racy, mineral-driven wines that can age for decades in the right hands. The South African versions tend to be a little rounder and not quite as steely, but that's not a bad thing. The diversity of terroir in South Africa allows them to produce excellent examples of chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, syrah and cabernet sauvignon. If you're looking for a substitute for your favourite Napa Valley cabernet – and many are – South Africa is a good option, particularly the ones from the Stellenbosch region.
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Montreal Gazette
a day ago
- Montreal Gazette
Crazy about vegetables at this local farmer's market
News By The tables were stacked with carrots and beets, their greens still attached, with Japanese eggplants and Lebanese cucumbers, with Tokyo turnips and Chinese cabbage. There were circles of garlic scapes and bunches of cauliflower, yellow and green zucchini, cherry tomatoes in different colours and larger tomatoes, fennel and onions, pails filled with bouquets of wildflowers — and much, much more. The produce had been harvested that morning or the previous day and the air was heady with the scent of basil and strawberries. The scene was the Thursday afternoon produce market in Prince Albert Square in Westmount's Victoria Village. It's run by Complètement Légume, an artisanal organic farm in Mirabel owned and operated by three women — Amélie Rodier, Stéphanie Ethier and Gabrielle Jobin-Richer — and worked, in large measure, by women. It was barely 2 p.m., the market had just opened and the line of customers waiting to pay and holding full baskets, for the most part, was already snaking around the tables. 'I love the product,' said Sara Popa, a regular. 'The produce is much fresher than what I find elsewhere and I find the price point fair. I also love the neighbourhood vibe: It's just so authentic.' Notre-Dame-de-Grâce resident Gabrielle Wener, another regular, was there with her husband, realtor Michael Marjaba. Wener is a naturopath and 'eating healthfully is a priority for me,' she said. 'What's great here is that everything is in season. I don't have to choose: Everything is fresh and delicious.' Stéphane Dupré, a regular who lives a block over from the market, said: 'Their produce is amazing, fresh, organic and affordable — and the women are super-knowledgeable and helpful: They bring so much to the community: It's a real gift to the neighbourhood.' Complètement Légume produce is certified organic by Ecocert Canada. Rodier explained that, in French, 'complètement légume' is slang for 'a little bit crazy.' 'Working in the farming business, you have to be a little crazy,' said Rony Cukier, a developer who has served as a mentor to Rodier and her partners. 'Farming is very, very hard work.' When they started their business in 2017, the three knew little about farming. As colleagues at Profiteausol in Mirabel, which provides support and guidance to agricultural producers in adopting sustainable farming practices that are also profitable, they worked with farmers, but not as farmers. Jobin-Richer had studied agricultural technology and Rodier had experience in project management. 'We had a lot to learn,' said Ethier, who had studied business administration and biochemistry. It started, as so much does, with opportunity: An investor in two Westmount restaurants who knows Cukier said he was looking for a small patch of land to rent for a farm-to-table initiative for the establishments. Cukier owns a piece of farmland in Mirabel in partnership with other people. It was rented to a longtime tenant, Ethier's father — his company, les Gazons Ethier, grows grass — but Ethier was willing to carve out a corner to rent to the women. That first season, in 2016, they grew produce for the two restaurants. The following year, they established Complètement Légume. 'They worked really hard and had a burning desire to learn and to succeed,' said Cukier. 'I was happy to mentor them and encourage them. For me, it was a wonderful thing to help young entrepreneurs with a strong work ethic and to watch them flourish.' The Complètement Légume farm moved to a larger space — 0.8 hectares — equipped with electricity, a greenhouse and an irrigation system and began to offer produce baskets. They started with 30 baskets and grew. Today, as part of the Family Farmers Network, they deliver about 180 baskets per week in Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, Mirabel and Prévost. They also produce more than 40 varieties of vegetables for restaurants, including Taverne sur le Square in Westmount Square, MacTaverne Auberge + Pub in Val-David and Les Arts Gourmets caterers in Prévost. 'Complètement Légume supplies 75 to 80 per cent of my produce the whole summer,' said Stephen Leslie, chef and co-owner of Taverne sur le Square. 'I organize my menu around what they produce: What they bring is so much better than what I could buy at the market. 'Their arugula reminds me of being a kid, when we used to grow our own arugula and it was peppery and bitter. You put that on somebody's plate and you know you are serving something that you have confidence in. The eggplant they grow is almost sweet. People say, 'It's so good.' Same with their zucchini,' Leslie said. 'As we get to midsummer, you can barely see the kitchen, it's stacked so high with produce: Any cook who comes through the door says, 'Chef, this stuff is amazing.'' In addition to the Prince Albert Square market, Complètement Légume is at the Val-David summer market in the Laurentians on Saturday mornings. The women are partners, but only Rodier is involved full-time. Ethier and Jobin-Richer have jobs elsewhere and are there one day a week. Officially, Rodier takes Sundays off, 'but, really, it's seven days,' she said. Five of the farm's eight employees are women. The Community Events division of the city of Westmount helped Complètement Légume set up in Prince Albert Square in 2022, once the plan had been approved by the city's then-director-general; today they do their own setup, arriving about 90 minutes ahead of time to set up tables and an outdoor canopy and to unpack produce from the reusable bins in which it is transported and set it out. Cynthia Lulham, who served on Westmount city council for 26 years, until 2021, initiated the Prince Albert Square project and that of another square, at Greene Ave. and de Maisonneuve Blvd. The goal was to provide a public place for events and a meeting place, she said. The first thing Prince Albert Square was used for was the Complètement Légume market — and the weekly market 'is exactly what I had hoped for,' said Lulham, who since 2023 has served as director-general of the association of Westmount merchants. 'The produce is amazing.' AT A GLANCE The Complètement Légume produce market in Prince Albert Square, at the southwest intersection of Prince Albert Ave. and Sherbrooke St. in Westmount, operates Thursdays 2-6 p.m. It will continue until mid-October. Related Stories from Montreal Gazette Columnists Brownstein: Atop a Walmart, Lufa's latest greenhouse is almost ready to harvest March 19, 2024 6:00 AM News Canada's only supermarket rooftop vegetable garden grows in St-Laurent July 28, 2024 12:13 PM Susan Schwartz montrealgazette 514-386-8794 Susan Schwartz, a native Montrealer, is a longtime reporter and feature writer at The Gazette.
Toronto Star
2 days ago
- Toronto Star
South African cooks join forces to make 67,000 liters of soup to fight hunger on Mandela Day
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Dozens of South African chefs, community cooks, caterers, and culinary students joined forces Friday in Johannesburg to make 67,000 liters (17,700 gallons) of soup to feed the hungry, in celebration of Nelson Mandela Day. First officially recognized by the United Nations in 2009, International Nelson Mandela Day encourages people to commemorate the birthday and legacy of South Africa's first Black president by volunteering for 67 minutes, which is equivalent to his 67 years of public service.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
South African cooks join forces to make 67,000 liters of soup to fight hunger on Mandela Day
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Dozens of South African chefs, community cooks, caterers, and culinary students joined forces Friday in Johannesburg to make 67,000 liters (17,700 gallons) of soup to feed the hungry, in celebration of Nelson Mandela Day. First officially recognized by the United Nations in 2009, International Nelson Mandela Day encourages people to commemorate the birthday and legacy of South Africa's first Black president by volunteering for 67 minutes, which is equivalent to his 67 years of public service. To mark the birthday of South Africa's former head of state, who was born in 1918, cooks all over the country made soup in their own kitchens to contribute toward reaching the target. At the Johannesburg-based HTA School of Culinary Arts, cooks chopped vegetables, added legumes and sprinkled in a kaleidoscope of seasonings to make hearty soups. They braised their broths from early morning until 5:30 p.m., when the final soup tally began. 'The 67,000 liters, it's our take on 67 minutes,' said executive chef and chairman of NGO Chefs with Compassion, James Khoza. 'I did a lentil soup with vegetables and a bit of chicken pieces inside. It's not your normal kind of soup where you boil everything, then you make the soup out of it. For me, I look at flavor and is it quality as well. 'I know the guys are on the streets sometimes, or the beneficiaries, people tend to just give them whatever they feel like giving, but …. guys like us who come from hotel business, we understand that what we must feed people must be of that level, highest quality, that they feel like they are worthy because indeed they are worthy, ' he added. Every year, South Africans volunteer their time on July 18, cleaning up public spaces, helping at schools or hospitals, or performing humanitarian work and making donations. For Chefs with Compassion, a non-profit organization that works to combat hunger and food waste, the food drive is 'a war against throwing away food and wasteful cooking,' Khoza says. This year marks the sixth consecutive year that they've rescued excess food from farmers and shops that would otherwise have been thrown out. Instead, the chefs use it to make large quantities of soup to offer to the thousands of Johannesburg residents who are food insecure. As part of her school's effort to add 300 liters of soup to the 67,000 liters that the collective aims for, Tyra Nyakudya, an 18-year-old college student, spent most of the day cutting vegetables and monitoring the soup pots. Although she was only six years old when the statesman passed away in 2013, she said his legacy of compassion and service remain in the memory because 'he did everything in his power to give back to the community, which is why we're doing this today.' South Africa is among Africa's leading food producers, but the 2024 National Food and Nutrition Security Survey (NFNSS) report found that 63.5% of South African households were food insecure, which translates to over 20 million people going without food every day and about 10.3 million tons of food being wasted annually. This is primarily driven by poverty, unemployment, and rising food prices, which are exacerbated by factors such as climate change and inequality. Hanneke Van Linge, head of Nosh Food Rescue, said the figures illustrated that food waste and food surplus is a huge problem, which should concern citizens every day. 'There's a lot of beautiful energy around Mandela Day specifically,' she said. 'But we would like to implore people, don't just let your involvement stay on Mandela Day.'
