One of the many wine events stalled by the current C-crisis was the annual Chefs’ Lunch hosted by De Wetshof Estate. The De Wet family shares the opinion that the chef community plays a profound role in promoting the wine industry, and therefore deserves all the acknowledgement it can get from those producing el vino. Thus, since 2011 De Wetshof has annually hosted a dining and wining event for between 30 and 40 chefs. It selects a different restaurant for each occasion, and it is just a kick-back, eat-and-drink affair, usually turning into an early-evening party.

It has been particularly interesting to see which De Wetshof wines find favour among the alert palates of these chefs. These folk know of matters taste-wise. I am surprised not more of them are selected to appear on wine-tasting panels, as their range of flavour detectors, experiences of texture and aroma-sensors are, in most cases, superior to those of wine-tasters.

Time-after-time, when it comes to clearing-up after the lunch and counting stock, it has been the De Wetshof Nature in Concert Pinot Noir that has appeared to leave the most empty bottles behind once the boys and girls of the Cape’s cooking world have wandered-off into the cool city night.

When De Wetshof released the maiden Nature in Concert Pinot Noir from the 2002 vintage, South African consumers and critics were not nearly as aware of and engaged with Pinot Noir as the case is today. Hamilton Russell and Bouchard Finlayson had staked their claims in Hemel-en-Aarde, and Paul Cluver’s earlier Elgin expressions were available. Meerlust, Paradyskloof and Muratie flew the flag for Stellenbosch. Chamonix and Glen Carlou offered Franschhoek and Paarl, respectively. The 2005 Platter’s list just-on 40 Pinot Noir producers, but the focus and gravitas the grape carries today was then hardly palpable.