Café 1999 and Bosman Family Vineyards

Author: Kasia Yoko
Date: 2014-02-28

Humbled In The Presents Of Brilliance

Ricotta stuffed Olives served on a bed of Marcelle's famous may, Butternut and Feta Raviolli in burned sage and vanilla butter sauce, herb braised Pork Neckjust the start to the night's menuCafé 1999the venueAntonia Bosman, 8th generation Bosman Family Vineyards sales managerMo the celebrity sommelier.

"Am I imagining it or is the wine getting better?" I heard someone ask. The wine pairing prepared by the legendary Café 1999 Chef and owner, Marcelle, in conjunction with Bosman's Wines, which took place last Wednesday night in Silverton Road in Durban was a humbling experience.

Bosman Wine, which is a member of Fairtrade and a recipient of many national and international awards, the Bosmans, an eighth-generation farming family, have tilled the land on their Lelienfontein Estate for over 200 years.

Hermanus Bosman arrived in South Africa in 1707 as a sieketrooster(consoler of the sick), but it was his grandson, Petrus Wilhelmus Jacobus (Pieter) Bosman, who became the first relative to farm Lelienfontein in 1798.

The Bosman story is a love story, I am told. Pieter bought the neighbouring farm on the advice of 'Lang Kootjie' (long bunk) Malan, the owner of the estate at that time. It wasn't long before Pieter fell in love with and married 'Lang Kootjie's' daughter, Sophie, and on her father's retirement, he bought Lelienfontein.

Some years later, a vine nursery was born, and very quickly the Bosman vines propelled the farm into its current role as a major supplier to some of South Africa's most renowned wineries.

"Wellington is the cradle of South African wine," Antonia Bosman tells me over a glass of their Optenhorst Chenin Blanc, a wine produced from a small bush vine vineyard planted in 1952. "More than 85% of the country's vineyards are planted from vines that are grafted here."

Antonia is proud of her family heritage and she tells me that what sets Bosman apart from other wine makers is that their wine has a social responsibility and is geared at sustainability and future Bosman generations.

The Bosman Family Vineyards are the custodians of their wines from their very roots.And I guess that's what makes them so special.

On the other hand what makes Marcelle's Café 1999 special is her ability to take wholesome sustainable ingredients and turn them into magic.

The evening ended with Dolce Primitivo 2009. This naturally sweet red wine has a bittersweet story of its own. Many years ago, an Italian prisoner of war who worked in the vineyards drowned in one of the farm's dams. To commemorate him, Bosman has always kept Primitivo (an Italian cultivar) planted around the dam's edge. They only produce two barrels of this very special dessert wine each year.

"Cabernet Sauvignon is so well suited for the slopes of the Groenberg Mountain here in Wellington and as a winemaker, my focus is really to capture the beautiful, pure, fruit expression of these special vineyards." Said Bosman Family Vineyards winemaker, Corlea Fourie.

Make it your mission to taste the wonders of Bosman wines and Marcelle's fantastic culinary magic, visit Café 1999.

Café 1999 and Bosman Family Vineyards

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