How much? R45;
Where? Wederom Boutique Winery in Robertson 27 (0)23 626 4139;
Why? Dinner at Societi Bistro in Orange Street Cape Town last night started out in the front garden studded with more beautiful people that a French film. We took a chance leaving the decanter holding the inky black Shiraz on the wall. “Watch out for a tiny hand coming over the wall” warned Hayden Proud recently returned from bucolic New Zealand but in the end it was a howling South Easter that nearly removed the wine. Just as well that Tawhiri, Maori god of wind, left us our Shiraz as it was plummily fruited to an extravagant degree and went very well with both Sirloin and chicken liver pappardelle.

Before we were blown inside, chef Stefan Marais supplied some amazing canapés: mini lamb spring rolls in honour of Hayden’s sojourn among the Maoris and Samoans (both pronounced in a showoff way “Ma-ooris” and “Sa-moreans”), diced cucumber on a sorbet that called for a Hendricks gin martini and some homemade kettle fried chips. Which reminded me of an afternoon on Wederom farm with Almien du Toit, a raconteur who makes Oom Schalk Lourens sound like a Trappist monk.

Almien’s daughter trained as a chef in Stellenbosch and the family now offer catered weddings on the farm. “We had this poppie phoning from London to arrange a wedding in February. She didn’t want a sit down lunch but was very insistent about the canopies as the sun can get very hot in summer. She went on about them so much, I eventually told her we had plenty of trees on the farm and shade would be no problem.” I wonder who told Almien that canapés and canopies are not the same thing, even in Robertson.

Rating: ****

*****: Ataauhua (Maori for beautiful)
****: Biutiful (in Samoan)
***: Munumba (in Kattang)
**: Nani (Hawaiian)
*: Lekker