King of Valleys

Elegant cheese made of cow and goat's milk.

Serve with Bloodwood's 2005 Schubert (not available on bloodwood.biz, however, we have a small stash if you want to avail yourself of some. Please phone us or drop by the vineyard.).

The August birthday person is, well, august.

Astrologically speaking, they are Leo - the lion, king of the jungle, respected and impressive, king of the hill, top of the heap. A-number-one, top of the list. Their personalities are said to be strong and dignified, competent and naturally in charge.

And if you doubt that this is the case, just ask them...

Delicously fresh, light and healthy Guacomole and Smoked Salmon Rolls.

Serve with BLOODWOOD's 2009 Chirac

Continuing on the theme of healthy, wise and well, as all good Virgos do, this main will continue the process of nourishing your guests, contributing to their overall good health and wellbeing.                          

Best served with Bloodwood's 2011 Shiraz * New

Serve tea and coffee with fine dark chocolate, Virgo's favourite.

Just one piece of chocolate each (or pretend to forget to serve them altogether ~ your guests will be the better for it in the long run; it's a good thing Virgo's know what's best for themselves, and for everyone else as well).

Also by now the table and kitchen should be perfectly spotless and sterile, for your guests' enjoyment and relaxation, not because you want them to leave yet!

When attending a F.O.O.D. dinner many years ago featuring food by Charmain Solomon, I had hoped that she would have served an entirely Asian menu.

When I got home I discussed this with my BFF (Best Food Friend) and we started to come up with some ideas that we'd like to eat. I said something like a potato and panir (substitute goat's curd) samosa would be yummy, and Del added a dried fig chutney.

We made these for our Christmas celebrations and they were very tasty with our Bloodwood bubbly, Chirac. Now I've short cut the process to this delicous recipe: Homemade Potato Crisps with Tamarind Fig and Garlic Yoghurt.

Serve with Bloodwood 2009 Chirac

Cabernet and lamb are usually a match made in heaven. Our 2014 Cab Franc is young and sweet fruited, quite robust for a CF. Being a more medium-bodied red, it can cope with the combined richness of beetroot and the sweetness of pumpkin, with those fine but youthful tannins counterbalanced by the crunch of hazelnuts and the chewiness of underdone lamb.  Hope you agree it balances out and works...

Serve with Bloodwood 2014 Cabernet Franc * New

(In fact any of our family of Cabernet reds would suit this dish: e.g. Cab Franc, Merlot, Malbec, as well as Cabernet Sauvignon and Maurice).

Sweet and earthy to round the dinner off and finish with your cuppa.

Spring is the best time to use our tender green grape vine leaves that add an alluring lemony herbal flavour.

Serve with Bloodwood 2012 Riesling

Our Riesling is just made for fish and almost acts as a squeeze of lemon juice over the fish, while cleansing your palate.                  

Ah, Scorpio. Dear Scorpios are keenly observant, extremely independent, intense individuals, who are known to be loyal, passionate and persistent, dynamic and resourceful.  They exhibit a calm exterior, and are usually in a position of power, with lots going on below the surface.

My wonderful, generous, loyal Scorpio friends love intense (even bitter) extreme flavours and spicy foods. Their go-to comfort foods are beef cheeks and lamb shanks, more winter weather foods, so for our Bloodwood Scorpio Dinner Party we lightened things up a bit to suit this really warm spring weather we are already having.

Our zesty Scorpio menu melds fish, mushrooms, venison, citrusy cheeses, light vegetables and bright juicy fruits with plenty of succulent flavours to create a delightfully fresh dinner, perfect for a warm Scorpio spring evening.

À votre santé.

Pauvre Paris.