Nederburg groupies turned out in force last night for the opening of Razzmataj at the Pendock Wine Gallery @ Taj. Nederburg cellarmaster Razvan Macici curated six wines: a wooded Chenin, an ingenious white blend (my favourite), red blends in the style of the Rhône, Bordeaux and Italy plus a sticky. The exhibit confirms just how deep the quality offerings of this Paarl producer run. Nederburg were present at our first exhibition and it was a pleasure to host them at the tenth. Paarl producers really should get out more. If Oak City can entertain the punters at Summer Place in Johannesburg, the Pearls should claim the Mother City as their own. They certainly have the kind of wines Capetonians love.

Beautiful Kamini Pather, SA’s second Master Chef, brightened up the evening and was made a celebrity sommelier after an intensive wine course from Razvan. She receives her accreditation below at a slap up feed at Bombay Brasserie.

The recruitment of Kamini to the wine fraternity is excellent news for SA wine which has struggled for years in the wilderness of bowties and saggy green tracksuit bottoms. If SA consumers are happy to trust Kamini and her clan of chefs with their taste buds in the food department, isn’t it about time chefs broke through the strangle hold of nerds and anoraks and starting evaluating wines and advising on them for their customers? When will we see a wine panel womaned by chefs? With Kamini and the talented Vanessa Marx at Dear Me, its a scandal there is not one already.