Renzie Visits Cav at Bonifacio High Street

another fine food adventure with Renzie Baluyut.

I've always wondered what Cav was all about. I've attended quite a few events over at Mag:net Cafe in Bonifacio High Street, and I've always noticed Cav right across the street, but never had the chance to check it out until recently.

I have to thank guys for Future Trade International for inviting me over for lunch a few days ago to check out some of their wines.

Which is what Cav is really all about. Cav is a fairly new restaurant up in Bonifacio High Street, run by Swiss-born Chef Markus Gfeller (the 'G' is silent), that offers some rather sophisticated food, which I suppose is paired up with their wine recommendations.

The establishment also has a cafe area (where you can just hang out with your friends) and a wine bar (with quite an assortment of fine South African wines, just for the occasion). And then you have this interesting wine dispenser which allows you to sample wines with an easy touch of a button- so you can try out several tasting servings until you find the right wine for yourself.

As it turns out, the affair was a little luncheon get-together for Future Trade distributors, partners and clients, and there were only a few media-folk around, as much as I can tell. Nevertheless, we took the opportunity to check out Cav, and check out the wines freely flowing from the dispenser.

I'm a complete noob when it comes to drinking wines- it's something I just got into recently, so yeah, I might know something from what I've read, but I have no idea how to pair wines with food. Fortunately, the good people of Future Trade were on hand to share some tips and pointers, so half of the afternoon was more of an education in wine appreciation for me.

Also present was winemaker Linley Shultz, who welcomed the group and talked about the Two Oceans, Nederburg and Fleur du Cap wines we've been sipping and sampling all afternoon.

Lunch was served presently, and we started off with a Crab Meat & Avocado Tian on Chive Vichyssoise, this one paired with the Two Oceans Semillon Chardonnay.

For the main course, it was a choice between the Grilled Prawn on smokey Orzo with aged Balsamic Baby Harricots verts, which would be paired with the Nederburg Sauvignon Blanc, or the Coffee roasted Rack of Lamb with Pumpkin Puree and Black Olive Essence paired with some of Fleur Du Cap's Unfiltered Merlot.

Next, we were served some Aged Davao Goat Cheese, which was then paired with the Nederburg Special Late Harvest.

Capping off a pleasant lunch was some Orange Cheese Cake with Chocolate Ice Cream, which was also paired with the Nederburg Special Late Harvest.

Shout out to Mulong Torres for comparing notes with me over lunch. Special thanks to our hosts for the afternoon: Stewart Dovey, Eric Kahn and Sally Co of Future Trade International. Also there with us were Jeremy Cheah and Linley Shultz of Distell, and Chef Markus Gfeller of Cav.

If you'd like to have your own wine-tasting party at home, you can go right ahead and check out the wines from Future Trade International's portfolio. You can go ahead and get yourselves some wines from the Two Oceans, Nederburg and Fleur du Cap labels. FTI has a wide range of wines that can sell as low as P175 per bottle to as much as P17,500 per bottle. You may call them up at (+632) 671.8694 or 671.8434, or you can check out their website for more information.

Cheers, everyone!