Once again, La Motte has been acknowledged by the Drinks International Wine Tourism Awards as Best Food and Wine Matching Experience. This achievement, as winner for 2015, follows La Motte’s previous win in 2013.

La Motte and Pierneef à La Motte Restaurant together offer a comprehensive Food and Wine Experience, introduced to guests in an array of experiences – from a food and wine pairings and thoroughly researched Cape Winelands Cuisine, to an innovative introduction of food and wine via the extended tourism offering on the estate.

“We are passionate about sharing our food and wine culture in a manner that both entertains and educates”, says La Motte CEO, Hein Koegelenberg, “and we are honoured to be acknowledged in the company of wineries from Argentina, Chile, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the UK and United States.”

The Drinks International Wine Tourism Awards aim at recognising estates that successfully implement wine tourism to support their main focus, which is wine-making. On La Motte being the winner in the category Food and Wine Matching Experience, the international judging panel commented: “Very focused, with a lot of thought and detail. There is a cookbook and good use of social media”. As Visitor Centre, La Motte was also Highly Commended for being “Classy and very professional”.

La Motte’s Food and Wine Matching Experience includes:

In the Tasting Room:

• Various wine tastings – visitors can choose between a wine tasting of the La Motte Collection (5 wines), Pierneef Collection (2 wines), all La Motte wines (7 wines), a comparative Shiraz tasting or Vintage tasting.
• A dedicated wine tasting ambassador guides guests through the tasting while providing them with printed information on the wines. The information is available in English, German, French, Spanish and Mandarin.
• A food and wine tasting experience developed by the estate chef and cellarmaster, is presented by a well-informed wine ambassador to guide visitors through a selection of sample-sized haute cuisine portions paired with La Motte wines, introducing guests to the best combinations.
• During harvest time, a harvest tasting introduces guests to the harvest process. It is concluded with a tasting of fermenting grape juice, wine and harvest-inspired bites such as Mosbolletjies (the traditional South African sweet bun made from the yeast of partially fermented grape juice), must syrup ( a reduction of sweet grape must), Something Savoury – based on a century-old recipe (a carrot fritter served with a piquant grape sambal) Something Sweet (white chocolate galette with nuts and grapes) and a Grape Flat Bread.

In Pierneef à La Motte Restaurant:

• Pierneef à La Motte Restaurant serves traditional regional Cape Winelands Cuisine to charm visitors with a truly South African experience and introduce restaurant patrons to South African wines.
• Guests are invited to enjoy breakfast (weekends), lunch (Tuesday – Sunday) or dinner (Thursday – Saturday) and have a choice between informal lunch at the stoep area, al-fresco under the age-old oak trees, fine dining at immaculately set tables inside, specially arranged cooking demonstrations and a Chef’s Table for an intimate function or celebration, as well as a tea menu and kiddies menu served in the lush, surrounding garden.
• Wine forms an inseparable part of the Pierneef à La Motte offering. Each menu item is created with a specific La Motte wine in mind, recommended with the meal, to ensure the best food and wine experience.
• Wines of the estate are offered to restaurant guests at cellar-door prices, while older vintages from the vinoteque and rare finds are also available. Other South African wines in styles not offered by La Motte are also featured, with a selection of imported wines and Méthode Cap Classique sparkling wines from all the main producers in the Franschhoek Valley.
• La Motte wines in the restaurant are available per glass, to encourage guests to explore wine and food combinations more extensively.
• A restaurant manager and wine waiter are on hand to guide guests towards the best food and wine matches.
• Menus are seasonal and feature locally sourced produce – several varieties of vegetables and herbs are grown in a biological garden on La Motte. During harvest-time, grapes are used in many interpretations.
• Different menus for lunch and dinner offer a selection of starters, main courses and desserts in various portions, while a daily speciality menu as well as a children’s menu are available. A tea menu with lighter options and confectionery is also popular.
• A Winelands Tea offers a selection of premium teas and an array of delicacies in the style of a “high tea”. A choice of sweet wine (traditionally called a “soet sopie”) or sparkling wine accompanies this special tea menu.
• Specific menus are designed for special occasions, such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, a French inspired menu during the Bastille Festival and Plaisir de France activities. National Heritage Day is celebrated with a programme featuring regional cuisine and invited chefs.
• Special food and wine events such as an evening of Vintage Wine & Venison, a Shiraz and Food pairing evening or Day of Sauvignon Blanc are presented by the cellarmaster, chef and/or invited experts.
• Demonstration kitchen. The open kitchen allows guests a glimpse of chefs in action and guests are invited to have a seat at the demonstration counter. Pierneef à La Motte Restaurant also participates in the local festival, Cook Franschhoek, focusing on food demonstrations and wine pairings.
• Passionate about traditional cooking and regional cuisine, recently appointed Chef Michelle Theron fits the Pierneef à La Motte Restaurant reputation for quality Cape Winelands Cuisine to a T. Enthusiastic about wine, she works closely with cellarmaster Edmund Terblanche, to ensure that the best wine suggestions accompany each individual dish on the menu. She can be seen preparing food in the open demonstration kitchen of the restaurant and is often the first friendly face to appear when guests enter the restaurant.
• A Chef’s Table in the restaurant encourages guests to work with the chef in developing food and wine combinations for an intimate and exclusive food and wine pairing experience.
• A cookbook, Cape Winelands Cuisine, based on thorough research of the origin of food in the Cape Winelands, was published in 2011. The original recipes were brought to the Cape by Dutch, French and other European settlers and were developed through the ages according to the availability of produce and ingredients, as well as influences from other cultures. The cookbook features these traditional recipes, amended for the modern-day kitchen and palate, while sharing interesting tales behind each recipe.

On the estate:

• Well-matched wines and canapés are served at the monthly classical music concerts presented in the historic cellar on the estate.
• A programme of talks on aspects of history, culture and art are presented on a monthly basis. Well-matched wine and canapés are served at these talks, while a special menu is prepared for attendees’ enjoyment after the talks. Where possible, these special menu’s are relevant to the topic of discussion – for instance at a recent talk on roses, the menu featured pistachio and rose chicken with La Motte Pierneef Syrah Viognier and tomato tarte tatin with goat’s cheese, balsamic and rose glaze served with La Motte Pierneef Sauvignon Blanc.
• The guided hike along the La Motte mountainside on Monday mornings is concluded with a picnic-style offering of La Motte Méthode Cap Classique with freshly baked apple-and-almond-flavoured muffins.
• A guided Sustainable Walk on Tuesdays takes visitors through the organically grown vineyards to the biological vegetable and herb garden that provides the restaurant with fresh produce. The walk is concluded with a tasting of La Motte’s organically grown Pierneef Sauvignon Blanc.
• The Historic Walk on Wednesday mornings not only introduces visitors to the history and Cape Dutch architecture of the estate, but also features a visit to the oldest working water mill in the area, where the production of stone-ground flour can be seen. The walk concludes in the La Motte Farm Shop, with a tasting of the selection of artisan breads baked on the estate.
• The weekly Sculpture Walk on Thursdays concludes in the courtyard under the oak trees, where visitors are treated to La Motte Méthode Cap Classique and Madeleines.
• On Friday mornings guests are invited to a Food and Wine Tasting in the Tasting Room.
• A quaint Farm Shop offers a range of artisan breads baked in the farm kitchen from flour ground in the historic water-mill on the estate, as well as delectable confectionery and a selection of cookbooks and recipe cards. Visitors are also welcome to make a selection from the array of cakes and tarts to enjoy with tea or coffee in the La Motte garden.

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