In this case R&R is not Rock & Roll (and I like it) or even Rest & Relaxation but rather Riesling & Rabbit. And not the 1970s pop band either. The Rieslings in question were curated by yours truly and hail from Alsace and the cellar of Julien Schaal (below) who sells 6 million bottles of SA wine a year to KLM; Danie de Wet the famous winemaker from Robertson and Paul Cluver of Elgin, the Mountain Kingdom of Wine.

Danie is SA king of Chardonnay while Paul’s 2007 Pinot Noir shot out the lights at the Nederburg Auction last weekend and Shoprite/Checkers now sells it for R910 a bottle. His Riesling is even better, IMHO.  Julien’s French Rieslings are all 2012 Alsace Grand Crus while the SA ones are the local equivalents, from the save vintage. Everyone knows that Riesling is the most sophisticated white wine in the cellar while rabbit is like chicken, but it hops and doesn’t taste of fish meal.

The chefs are ready for Noah’s Ark as they come in twos: Jocelyn from the Table Bay Hotel, the uber-larney venue of the event and Jason from Frères Bistro, who doubles as the face of rabbit in SA.

This is Sunday lunch with a difference: a chance to drink great Riesling and eat rabbit from two different culinary traditions: France and SA.