Petit Verdot is a floating restaurant on the Vaal River so I thought Societi Bistro on Orange Street, Cape Town, would be a good place to test drive the KWV Mentors Petit Verdot 2012. Sure not too many people have heard of the Vaal dining destination or the grape varietal, either. Perhaps if they hired a pricey PR outfit they’d get a Best Upcountry Floater Award from Eat Out magazine, that protection racket for publishers and PRs, and Up-and-Coming Cultivar from Platter.

As Eat Out parent Media24 closes dead-tree publications such as the Durban edition of the Witness newspaper, they’re clearly banking on chefs to keep the cash rolling in. And dishing out awards seems to be something chefs love.

Societi clearly doesn’t need to shell out for PR driven bums on seats or Eat Out Awards as it was wall to wall toned posteriors under Table Mountain last night. The posterior at my table was owned by artist Jan du Toit (above) and we were planning a special birthday next week at our DIRT Gallery in Castle Street. We’re talking real street food with rotis from the Egyptian next to Adult World and R5 fruit from the colourful vendors on St. George’s Mall. No Eat Out Awards here, even if Media24 maven Sumien Brink has a lair on the 4th floor of our Impala House.

I’m doing the wines for the birthday bash, so thought I’d start at the top. The Mentors Petit Verdot 2012 is wonderful. Intense Roundtrees’ Fruit Pastilles (the blackcurrant ones) with a creamy palate and exotic floral aromas. No spanspek here! It was excellent with the sirloin served rare with wilted spinach. Could this be the red equivalent of the Mentors Grenache Blanc, the top white Mentors IMHO?

Now that mentor Richard Rowe has returned to Australia, will the brand still be called Mentors, I wonder? Something I should have asked Johnny Copelyn when he stopped by the Pendock Wine Gallery @ Taj last Wednesday with Jayendra Naidoo to taste the white blends and niche whites (oops, Jayendra!) at our weekly tastings. Tomorrow its red blends and niche cultivars and we’re already up to 80 wines. It’s all go!