THE 2010 Diners Club Winelist Awards winners for the Western Cape region put the spotlight on the Bosman’s Restaurant at the Grande Roche in Paarl, who won the award for best winelist countrywide jointly with Zachary’s Restaurant at the Pezula Hotel & Spa in Knysna. Glenroy du Plessis from Bosman’s Restaurant received the award as best wine steward.
According to chairman of the judging panel, Dave Hughes, many of the wine lists entered this year offered a wider choice in terms of price, with entry-level and mid-level wines now providing a proper balance for the award-winning ones at the top.
“These are establishments who understand that in the present economic climate offering value is key and has as much influence on the dining experience as the food itself. Another heartening sign was that restaurants seem to be increasingly offering wine by the glass. In my experience people don’t readily order a bottle of wine they don’t know. Wine by the glass gives them the freedom to experiment without having to commit themselves to a considerable expense.”
Hughes also praised the closer correlation developing between menu and wine list.
“Wine, after all, is there to complement the food, but for years wine-lists and menus were treated as unrelated offerings.
“Now more and more restaurateurs take a lot of care in assembling a range of wines they believe complement their food and then guide the patron by means of the wine list in making an appropriate choice.”
Diners Club Western Cape regional manager Jane Ledger said they were delighted by the sizeable increase in the number of entries.
