Tokara - bringing the garden inside

It was with a little trepidation that I accepted the first invitation to a physical tasting at a winery.  I have been keeping a low profile and not been out publicly much.

Tokara's annual tasting is an absolute pleasure to attend, and so I ventured out carefully to my first physical event after lockdown. It was one of the most gorgeous clear and sunny days to attend the launch of their new vintages;  the 2020 whites and the almost released reds.

Stellenbosch really is Cab Country - and with 66% of the plantings on Tokara being Cabernet Sauvignon, it makes sense that theirs is a block-buster. Surprisingly for such a young wine the 2018 Reserve Collection was very approachable already even though not yet released.

The 2020 Sauvignon Blanc was a stand-out for me - so vibrant and fresh and totally delicious... so look out for that one when it hits the shelves.

With a new take on their event, Tokara had shipped in Dan Nicholl to interview winemaker Stuart Botha for a light and informative pre-lunch activity after the tasting. Stuart seems to have settled in very happily at Tokara, clearly stating that he feels he has fallen with his bum in the butter.  Working at Tokara must be one of the pinnacles of working in the South Africa wine industry, with owners GT Ferreira & his wife Anne-Marie being inspiring custodians.  Tim Whitfield, assistant winemaker who has been at the farm for 3 years already, was saying they are all so inspired to work hard in order to make sure GT & Anne-Marie are happy.

Dan impressed us all by managing a faultless sabrage on their unusually shaped MCC.

What a beautiful lunch! The flower arrangements were so fragrant and gorgeous. The vegetable garden must be impressive as we had the brightest and most crisp luminous broad beans, courgettes, romanesco (very pretty broccoli) with braised beef cheek which just melted in your mouth. The very petite chef Carolize Coetzee really impressed us all.  Colourful, fragrant and delicious.

Thank you to the team at Tokara for hosting us for this sunny event where many of us media and trade could connect again after many months of being locked up.