Winter & Wine | Steve Moore

Wine is really the drink of all seasons but how does the way we enjoy it change when the temperatures change? We chat to Steve Moore of Nelspruit based restaurant Saffron to find out more.

By Benno Stander

Steeve Moore’s winter wine selection

Steve Moore of Saffron Restaurant in Nelspruit has spent his entire life in the food and beverage industry. In fact, his mother still has an essay that he wrote when he was 12 in which he tells that one day he will work in the hotel industry and will later venture into launching his own hotel brand. “Although I’ve always known what direction I wanted to go in, my focus has shifted somewhat from the hotel industry and now falls more on the food and wine market,” he explains.

“As a child I was very nosy and since my father was in the air force we travelled a lot and spent a lot of time in restaurants and hotels. One thing I hated was doors with signs on them saying ‘no entry’ or ‘staff only’ and I always wanted to know what was going on behind those doors,” Steve remembers.

Steve Moore of Saffron Restaurant in Nelspruit

When Steve moved to SA in 1983 he worked at the renowned Carlton Hotel in Jhb which was the best hotel in the southern hemisphere at the time. “It was there where I learnt about South African wines since I was a bit of a European wine snob at the time.”

“There are huge differences between the wines and South African wines are a lot more robust, a lot bigger, older and a lot more fruit driven because of the climate.”

“French and German wines are more subtle and earthy. Other than the taste differences South African wines also have higher alcohol percentages. A red wine here for example could easily have an alcohol content of 16-18% whereas in England it would generally be at about 12% and even less on white wines,” Steve explains.

I love wine, I love the idea of wine, I love the industry, the people and I love the passion that goes into the making of it.

“In those days good wineries were few and far between and it has been amazing watching the industry grow and mature over the past 20 odd years. Wine making here has become a lot more technical, scientific and professional. I honestly believe we have some of the best wines in the world in South Africa and I’ve always argued that even though the French definitely produce the best wines, they undoubtedly also produce the worst. SA on the other hand has a very good standard across the board and I am now a self-confessed ambassador of South African wines and have no imported wines on the Saffron wine list.”

A word on room temperature

This buzz phrase has been misleading wine lovers for a long time and according to Steve the truth is rather simple. The term ‘room temperature’ originally referred to the cellars underneath a monastery where wine was originally made and stored. There you are looking at about 17 or 18’C. Whereas room temperature in the Lowveld, in the middle of summer, can easily be 34’C. Red wine in particular does not like heat so don’t let anyone fool you into leaving a bottle of wine on your kitchen table in our ambient temperatures before serving it. “I store all my wines in a temperature controlled cellar that runs between 16 and 18’C so that by the time you take your last sip it shouldn’t be warmer than about 22’C.
It is particularly important in SA because of the high alcohol content which will have a bigger effect on you when the wine is warmer. That is also what makes drinking wine in winter so great since it doesn’t warm up as quickly as in summer,” says Steve.

Wine and ice

Good wooded white wines, like chardonnay, are great in winter. As for putting ice in wine, it is something that Steve would rarely do. “I do however sometimes put a cube in when I forget to put a bottle in the cooler and really don’t want to wait for the entire bottle to cool down before having a glass. But in such case I usually just put ice in the first glass and swirl it so it cools down. By the time the glass is empty the bottle should be chilled.”
“I know many people like drinking wine with ice and on occasion I’ve asked some wine makers what they think about this. Most of them agree that they really don’t mind how people enjoy the wine as long as they drink it.” According to Steve the truth is however that it does affect the flavour of the wine and it does water it down but in the end it’s up to you how you like it.

The perfect glass

With the choice of glass individual taste again plays a big role but according to Steve the experts all seem to agree that a good wine glass is light, thin and hasn’t got a thick round lip at the top. As for size, winter lends itself to bigger glasses as wine stays cooler longer. “Wine needs air so I always feel the bigger the glass the better.”

Steve’s favourite glass is one he got as a gift when working at the Carlton Hotel. It’s amazingly thin and light for its size and can take a whole bottle of wine when filled to the brim.

Steve’s list of must try wines for winter

Steve took the time to take a few bottles off the Saffron wine rack to tell us a bit more about what his guests will be enjoying this winter:

The current favourite: Glen Carlou Petit Verdot Tannat

Pieter Swannepoel, the regional sales manager for Glen Carlou often enjoys a glass of wine with Steve who usually has a mouthful to say about it. After Glen Carlou released this fine bottle it was first tasted at an event at Saffron Restaurant and the night before the tasting Steve got his first swig of the newbie.

When Pieter opened the bottles for the guests the following night he said, “Steve is very verbal when it comes to wine but last night when he tasted this one, for the first time ever, he was silent for at least two minutes. Then he couldn’t say enough about it.”

According to Steve it is, “…simply sublime and perfectly balanced. The fruits are brambly and it truly has everything you want in a red wine.”

It is best enjoyed on your own so you don’t have to share it. Savour it. If you share it make sure it is with someone who will appreciate it. Can also work great with rich food, red meat and hearty stews.

The easy drinker: Howard Booysen Pegasus Cinsault

This wine is lower in alcohol than most which adds to the fact that it’s an easy drinker. It is also quite unique as it is made from cinsault grapes, a different name for hermitage which is one of the grapes used in pinotage. It is fermented in stainless steel and is not wooded so in effect it’s a red wine made in a white wine style.

“It has very little tannins and is almost like drinking berry juice. It’s a light wine you could easily drink for breakfast, lunch and dinner and it goes with just about anything.” Enjoy chilled down next to the pool in summer. In winter it will go great with light Italian meals like risotto and pizza. It’s also affordable and a great everyday drinking wine.

For that special occasion: Glen Carlou Gravel Quarry Cabernet Sauvignon

Steve describes this as, “… a huge wine. There are more expensive wines but I feel that Glen Carlou is probably one of the most consistent wineries in the country and year on year you can be sure that you’ll be happy with what they put out. If you want to buy a wine to keep, this has got a good 10-15 years on it.”

The name Gravel Quarry comes from the fact that the wine is made from grapes that come from a selected section of a vineyard at Glen Carlou where the soil has a high gravel content since there used to be a quarry.

Good with warm food: Neil Ellis Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is known as the king of red wines and is generally very full-bodied with dark rich flavours. The bigger and richer the dish you are creating, the richer the wine needs to be that you want to pair it with otherwise one or the other will overpower.

This Neil Ellis will be great with something like oxtail, stews and hot and spicy dishes with lots of flavour.

Something else: Altydgedagcht Barbera

“Barbera grapes are traditionally grown in northern Italy and when I tasted it for the first time about ten years ago I didn’t like it much. But I opened another one last night and I must confess, I’ve changed my mind about it. I was really impressed with its full body and beautiful dark cherry and vanilla flavours and I am now convinced it will work great with big hearty and meaty dishes. It’s relatively unknown but my advice is look it up and give it a try.”