La Motte Wine Estate has again been acknowledged by the Drinks International Wine Tourism Awards for Best Food and Wine Matching Experience. This is the second time La Motte has won this prestigious award after being the champion in 2013 as well.

La Motte and its Pierneef à La Motte restaurant offers a comprehensive Food and Wine Experience introduced to guests in an array of experiences – from dedicated food and wine pairings to 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 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 US.”

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

Please see Notes to Editor for an introduction to La Motte’s complete Food and Wine Matching Experience.

La Motte’s Food and Wine Matching Experience includes:

In the Wine 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-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 and 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 to also introduce restaurant patrons to South African wines.
• Guests are invited to enjoy breakfasts (weekends), lunch (Tuesday – Sunday) or dinner (Thursday – Saturday) and have a choice between informal lunches on 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 which is then suggested with the meal to ensure patrons have the best food and wine experience.
• Wines of the estate are available at cellar door pricing to restaurant guests, while older vintages from the vinoteque and rare finds are on the list too. Other South African wines in styles not offered by La Motte, also feature on the list, with a good selection of imported wines and Méthode Cap Classique sparkling wines from all the main producers in the Franschhoek Valley – revealing the focus of the area.
• La Motte wines in the restaurant are available per glass to encourage visitors to explore wine and food combinations more extensively.
• A restaurant manager and wine waiter is on-hand to guide patrons towards the best food and wine matches.
• Menus are seasonal and feature locally sourced produce of which many 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 offers a selection of starters, main courses and desserts in various portion sizes while a daily speciality menu as well as a children’s menu is 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.
• Special 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 special 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 Cellar Master, Chef and / or invited Experts.
• Demonstration kitchen – The open kitchen allows guests a glimpse of chefs in action and patrons are invited to have a seat at the demonstration counter. Pierneef à La Motte also participates in the local festival, Cook Franschhoek, focussing on food demonstration and wine pairings.
• Passionate about traditional cooking and regional cuisine, recently appointed Chef Michelle Theron fits Pierneef à La Motte restaurant’s reputation for quality Cape Winelands Cuisine to a T. Enthusiastic about wine, she works closely with cellar master Edmund Terblanche to ensure the best wine suggestions accompanies 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 entering the restaurant.
• A Chef’s Table in the restaurant encourages guest to work with the chef in developing food and wine combinations for an intimate and exclusive food and wine pairing experience.
• A cookbook based on thorough research of the origin of food in the Cape Winelands, called Cape Winelands Cuisine was published in 2011. The recipes arrived in the Cape with the Dutch, French and other European settlers and developed through the ages due to the availability of produce and ingredients as well as influences from other cultures. The Cape Winelands Cuisine cookbook reflects these traditional recipes amended for the modern day kitchen and palate while sharing the interesting tales behind each recipe.

On the estate:

Well-matched wine 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 to enjoy at the restaurant after the talks. These special menu’s stay relevant to the topic of discussion where possible – 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 goats cheese, balsamic and rose glaze served with La Motte Pierneef Sauvignon Blanc.

The Monday morning guided hike along the mountainside on La Motte 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 guests 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 introduce guests to the history and Cape Dutch architecture of the estate, but they also visit the oldest working water mill in the area to see the production of stone-ground flour. 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 under the oak trees in the courtyard where guests 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 and from flour grounded in a historic water-mill on the estate, as well as delectable confectionery and a selection of cookbooks and recipe cards. Guests are also welcome to make a selection from the array of cakes and tarts to have with tea or coffee in the garden.

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