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Creation Wines Winter Journey Pairing Menu launched to coincide with the start of the Hermanus FynArts 2024 Festival, a 10-day festival celebrating creativity in all its forms – visual, musical, literary and culinary’. Creation has supported FynArts since 2011, and this year the award-winning wine estate near Hermanus hosted an exhibition entitled The Journey, showcasing the art of Red Hot Glass. This world-class glassblowing studio has been producing exquisite glasswork for over 25 years. It is responsible for some of the biggest glass installations on the African continent, and its sculptures and other glass objects furnish many of the world’s finest homes. ‘In exhibition at Creation, you will see pieces that reflect the duality of life,’ says Creation’s creative director, Carolyn Martin: ‘Light and shadow, chaos and harmony, fragility and strength.’

She also explains how glass art inspired Creation’s new Winter Journey Menu: ‘Just as glass symbolises the transient nature of existence and the inevitability of change, consider how a wine’s flavours transform as it breathes, or how a dish’s taste profile changes as it cools down. Glass reflects light, just as wine reflects the terroir where the grapes were grown. In glass art, harmony is achieved through the interplay of light, shadow and form. Similarly, harmony and balance are required in wine and food pairing. At Creation, we craft our menus with care and precision, just as a glassblower shapes molten glass into art.’

As always, the Creation chefs have also taken their inspiration from nature. The new pairing menu is about 80% plant-based, but some of the ‘chapters’ (courses) also feature the freshest local fish and sustainably sourced beef, game and poultry.

Chapter 1 – ‘Vivaldi in a Glass’ – is all about the texture of silk, pairing Creation Viognier with Agedashi Tofu, Vegan Dashi and Crispy Ginger. ‘ABC (Absolutely Brilliant Chardonnay)’ is the title of Chapter 2, which pairs Creation Reserve Chardonnay with roasted Fennel Bulbs, Leeks, Radish and Wild Garlic, or with the addition of Grilled Trout and Trout Caviar. Delicately perfumed and resplendent in red velvet, Chapter 3’s ‘Prince Charming’ is Creation Reserve Pinot Noir, matched either with Springbok, Celeriac, Pea, Goat’s Milk Cheese and Chocolate Jus, or with Cauliflower, King Oyster Mushrooms and Cashew Cheese as the heroes of the plant-based option. Chapter 4 is ‘Oh So Umami’, pairing Creation Syrah, Grenache with a healing broth made from either Bone Marrow or Shiitake Mushrooms in anticipation of the final chapter, ‘Sweet Temptation’, a joyful dance of rich chocolate and hazelnut flavours with Creation’s Fine Cape Vintage port-style wine. You can expect a few other surprises, secure in the knowledge that Creation’s menus are all based on Ayurvedic principles and checked by an integrated medicine specialist to make sure you feel good.

There’s an alcohol-free pairing menu for those who are driving or abstaining, and the Kids Menu allows for plenty of creativity, such as build-your-own waffles, sweet or savoury. Not forgetting the à la carte menu and a delicious breakfast menu, too. Creation’s Winter Journey Menu can be enjoyed for R1185 – R1395 pp, and booking is essential.

Email reservations@creationwines.com or phone +27 28 212 1107, specifying your dietary requirements: standard, vegetarian, plant-based or pescatarian. Trust your palate, explore, and enjoy the journey!