Wine Diva

Celebrate Women’s Day early – Ntsiki Biyela, Stellekaya’s dynamic and inspirational woman winemaker and Wine Diva, Caroline Lowings, will be hosting a ladies luncheon event on Saturday 25 July 2009, at the award-winning five star graded Italian Ristorante Ritrovo, in Pretoria.

Women who want to get out, be inspired, shake off the winter blues and learn a little something about the art of fine indulgence in red wine, good food and Lindt chocolate should bring your sisters, friends, and Mom and join the fun.

——————————————————–
Details of the event:
Diarise and book today!

Date: Saturday 25 July 2009
Venue: Ritrovo, Shop No 2, Waterkloof Heights Shopping Centre, 103 Club Avenue, Waterkloof Ridge, click here for map
Time: 11:30am to 3:30pm
Cost per person: R250

Early Birds: Book and pay by 19 June 2009 and you’ll stand in line to win one of two gift packs of Stellekaya wine and Lindt chocolate.

Reservations required, limited seating!

Booking can be done by emailing wineclub@winediva.co.za or,
Phone Caroline on 083 263 2660

Wines can be ordered on the day.
——————————————————–

Stellekaya Winery
Stellekaya is a specialist producer of hand-crafted fine red wine from the Stellenbosch area. Stellekaya means home of the stars – Stelle is Latin for star and Kaya is iZulu or iXhosa for home. The wines chosen for the luncheon are easy-drinking and perfectly paired with the food options and Lindt chocolate. Ntsiki says, “All red wines are different and I enjoy seeing people’s reactions to them. I encourage people who are new to drinking red wine to start off with something lighter and fruiter such as our Hercules and then take it from there. A person must learn to walk before they can run and the same applies to wine tasting and drinking, don’t start with the blockbusters if you are not used to red wine”. Read more about Stellekaya and Ntsiki.

Wine and chocolate pairing
Ntsiki Biyela will share with you her inspirational winemaking stories, and also lead you through the nuances of pairing good red wine with every woman’s best friend, Lindt chocolate:
Stellekaya Hercules with Lindt Extra Creamy Milk
Stellekaya Shiraz with Lindt Extra Fine Dark
Stellekaya Merlot with Lindt Pear.

Italian fine dining
Then you’ll discover the beauty of Italian food with Ritrovo’s fresh contemporary cuisine. Fortunato Mazzone, co-owner and well-known chef, is extremely passionate about food and wine and promises that “you can taste the passion and happiness in [his] food”. Fortunato has an impressive culinary resume and has created the most scrumptious menu to show off the easy-drinking Stellekaya Hercules, Merlot and Shiraz red wines.

————————————————-

Here’s what to expect on the authentic Italian menu:

Starter paired with Stellekaya Merlot
Option 1: Tagliatelle with 4 meat Ragu, or
Option 2: Organic Rocket salad with Parmesan shavings, Avocado
and grilled marinated Zucchini with mint in special golden balsamic vinaigrette

 Main course served with Stellekaya Shiraz
Option 1: Chargrilled Tuna served rare
with tomato, garlic and coriander salsa with crunchy vegetables, or
Option 2: Fillet with porcini mushroom
with garlicky fried peppers and truffled mashed potato, or
Option 3: Melanzane alla Parmigiana – layers of Baked Aubergine
with parmesan, mozzarella and Neapolitan sauce.

 Dessert paired with Stellekaya Hercules
Option 1: Torta al Cioccolato with reduced berry and Strega coulis and Lindt sorbet, or
Option 2: Flourless Pistachio Cake with Chocolate Ganache and peppered berry sorbet.
————————————————-

Please note that you will receive a welcome drink and a glass of Stellekaya wine per meal course, as well as tasting quantity of wine for pairing with the Lindt chololates, all inclusive. Any beverages and coffees over and above will be for your own account.

More about Ritrovo
Ritrovo Ristorante is one of SA’s Top 10 Restaurants, has been recently been awarded Rossouws Restaurant Guide Highest 3 Star Rating, and is the first recipient of the South African Tourism Grading Boards Platinum Star Award.

So invite the women in your life and come along and celebrate. Diarise and book today, it’s not to be missed. Take a look at the fun we had at the ladies luncheon in Feb 2009 in Stellenbosch.

Wine Diva and Stellekaya promise you a Joburg winter’s night to remember – with a distinct fusion of red wine, food and chocolate flavours at Kutya Restaurant in Fourways on 24 July 2009.

You’re invited to chase away the winter blues with us…
Stellekaya’s dynamic woman winemaker, Ntsiki Biyela and Caroline Lowings, Wine Diva invite ladies and gents to enjoy an evening of Stellekaya award-winning red wines paired with a delicious mix of Kutya’s South African fine cuisine. You will also have the opportunity to indulge in a Stellekaya wine and Lindt chocolate pairing.

——————————————————————————–
Diarise and book today!
Date: Friday 24 July 2009
Venue: Kutya Restaurant, The Buzz Shopping Centre , Corner Witkoppen and Douglasdale Road, Fourways
Time: 6.30 for 7pm to late
Cost per person: R250
Early Birds: Book and pay by 19 June 2009 and you’ll stand in line to win one of two gift packs of Stellekaya wine and Lindt chocolate.

Reservations required, limited seating!

Booking can be done by emailing wineclub@winediva.co.za or,
Phone Caroline on 083 263 2660

 Wines can be ordered on the evening.

 ——————————————————————————–

About Stellekaya Winery
Stellekaya is a specialist producer of only red wine from the Stellenbosch area. Stellekaya means home of the stars – Stelle is Latin for star and Kaya is iZulu or iXhosa for home. Ntsiki will talk you through the cellar activities surrounding the making of Stellekaya wines, a sort of light-hearted “virtual” cellar tour.

A South African Fusion of Stellekaya and Kutya
Kutya restaurant is situated in Fourways, Johannesburg. Kutya – iXhosa for food – is an elegant yet informal setting, with a pianist providing the relaxed and sophisticated background ambience. This fusion of Stellekaya wines and Kutya food flavours should not be missed. Winemaker and restaurant owner met last week to dream up and pair off a menu of wine and food to delight your senses. Note that the wine pairing may change slightly, as Ntsiki and Ben are still creatively sharing ideas with what will be most flavourful.

—————————————————–

Here’s what to expect on the menu:

Starters
Marula and apricot cured Springbok Carpaccio accompanied by mixed greens
and finished with apple cider dressing
(with Stellekaya Shiraz)
or
Fried camembert
crumbed and on a bed of greens accompanied by a cherry tomato compot
(with Stellekaya Hercules)

Main course – choice of one of the following options:
Option 1 (with Stellekaya Cape Cross)
Beef short rib curry (Mild) with basmati rice and condiments

Option 2 (with Stellekaya Cabernet Sauvignon)
Grilled marinated chicken de-boned half chicken in a spiced chef’s marinade
served with wholegrain mustard mash and fresh garden salad

 Option 3 (with Stellekaya Hercules)
Grilled Pacific cod with spicy cous cous,
roasted baby marrow and finished with a lemon butter sauce

 Option 4 (with Stellekaya Hercules)
Vegetable pastry wrap grilled vegetables of the day
with mozzarella wrapped in puff pastry covered with a napolitana sauce

 Dessert
Assorted dessert platters (milk tart, lemon tart, apple pie, baked cheese cake)
Assorted cheese platter and crackers

 Drinks
Please note that you will receive a welcome drink and a glass of Stellekaya wine per meal course, as well as tasting quantity of wine for pairing with the Lindt chololates, all inclusive. Any beverages and coffees over and above will be for your own account.

 Wine and chocolate pairing
Ntsiki will take you through a Stellekaya wine and Lindt chocolate pairing:
- Stellekaya Hercules (with Lindt Extra Creamy Milk)
- Stellekaya Shiraz (with Lindt Extra Fine Dark)
- Stellekaya Merlot (with Lindt Pear)

 —————————————————–

Goodies and giveaways
- Everyone attending the event will receive a fun-filled goodie bag.
- Early birds stand a chance of winning Stellekaya wine and Lindt chocolate gift packs, see below.
- Stellekaya is owned by Dave and Jane Lello, and Jane is also the director and owner of the fine jewellery company, Rockprincess, also located in Stellenbosch. Jane has generously sponsored 2 pieces of jewellery (thanks Jane!) as giveaway prizes for the ladies attending the event.
- Lindt chocolate has also come on board and will be sponsoring samplers for the goodie bags and tables.

Bonus E-Booklet
After you have booked and paid, you will receive an edutaining e-booklet before the event, which will tell you all about Stellekaya, their woman winemaker, their wines, and wine and chocolate pairing. This will ensure that you get the most learning and fun out of the event.Please pass this on to your friends who may want to come along and enjoy the evening, it promises to chase away the winter blues!

Welcome to winter. It’s the perfect time for snuggling up to some good red wine, which is exactly why Wine Diva and Stellekaya are shaking off the winter blues, dusting off our warmest boots, packing in our woolie coats and a-coming round the mountain to Joburg and Pretoria in July 2009 for 1 night and 1 day only.

Ntsiki Biyela, woman winemaker of Stellekaya’s exclusive range of red wines, together with myself, will be hosting a Stellekaya Wine Diva dinner (for ladies and gents) in Joburg on Friday 24 July 2009, and a Stellekaya ladies luncheon in Pretoria on Saturday 25 July 2009. There will be lucky draws, giveaways and goodie bags to accompany the most delicious red wines paired with a scrumptuous 3-course meal, together with a wine and Lindt chocolate pairing.

Take a look at the fun we had in Feb 2009 at the Cape Town event and don’t miss out:

Ladies Luncheon Feb 2009

So watch this space for more details, or simply email me on wineclub@winediva.co.za to put your name on the early bird pre-booking list; and you know that early birds will always be rewarded!