Marlvin Gwese is sommelier at the Cape Grace. Which makes total sense as his first name ends in “vin” which is French for wine. A nerd may wonder why our black magicians are tasting wine out of china cups instead of Riedel stemware from the Wine Lizard who is the local agent. The answer is, this is Cape Town and coffee starts off every venture, even at the Taj which looks like an Egyptian temple or a belly dancing salon when the new GM Sanjay Sood dims the foyer spots and scatters tealights all over the floor. Truly the east knows a lot about luxury but design is another matter totally.

The category this morning was New Whites and the sommelier selection is an interesting one:

Tokara Director’s Reserve 2012
Clos Malverne Chardonnay 2015
Drostdy Hof Premier Grand Cru NV
Neethlingshof Chenin Blanc 2016
Avondale Cyclus 2013
Kleine Zalze Chenin Blanc 2015

A selection which covers all price bases from the most expensive to Drostdy Hof. But then as Tinashe Nyamudoka from The Test Kitchen noted “I’m choosing wine with food in mind.” Watch out for these wines in our weekly column in City Press as well as the smallest wine column in SA which pops up in The Times each Wednesday, ads permitting.