FOOD & WINE PAIRINGS
Spier
21 Gables Chenin Blanc 2023 Retail price: R355
A fresh and pure style of Chenin Blanc. Ripe, juicy peach, pear, litchi and melon fruit aromas are balanced with notes of citrus rind and white coriander spice. The palate is youthful but wonderfully luscious, refreshed by lingering acidity and a dense fruit core finish that provides complexity and texture.
Pairs with the recipe on p57 Creamy Gochujang Mussel Soup
Balance Wines
Sweet Temptations Sparkling Wine
Retail price: R110
A salmon-pink colour with sweet fruit flavours of raspberries, cherries and strawberries. Enlivened by bright acidity.
Pairs with the recipe on p98 White Chocolate Burfee Cake
Eerste Hoop
Shiraz 2022 Retail price: R235
A full-bodied, award-winning Bot River red typically offering intense aromas of dark blackberries, plums, and white pepper, with smooth, well-integrated tannins. Expect notes of smoky oak, dark chocolate, and sometimes earthy hints of leather. It is highly regarded as a robust, complex, and high-quality wine.
Pairs with the recipe on p24 Citrus-Mint Lamb
Van Loveren
Christina 1699 Chardonnay 2025 Retail price: R180
Decadent and delicious, this is a well-balanced and generous Chardonnay that combines flavours of ripe peach, melon, tropical pineapple, zesty lime and rich vanilla spice on the finish.
Pairs with the recipe on p88 Macadamia-Crusted Chicken
94 | Winter 2026 • essentialflavours. co. za