{"id":8863,"date":"2018-12-05T11:39:22","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T09:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.melkkos-merlot.co.za\/af\/neil-ellis-pesto-wine-play\/"},"modified":"2022-08-18T11:43:34","modified_gmt":"2022-08-18T09:43:34","slug":"neil-ellis-pesto-wine-play-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.melkkos-merlot.co.za\/af\/neil-ellis-pesto-wine-play-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Neil Ellis, Pesto & Wine Play, Summer 2018\/19"},"content":{"rendered":"

As one leaves Stellenbosch, heading to Franschhoek on the R310, one encounters Helshoogte Pass. Now for my foreign readers, the literal translation of Helshoogte is hell\u2019s heights. And hellish it is. As I know only too well from cycling up it more times than I care to remember.<\/p>\n

All I did on these occasions was look down at the tar and pray for the pain to end. Had I glanced left, I would have seen the sign pointing the way to Neil Ellis Wines<\/a>, one of the gems of the Stellenbosch wine route. Last week I had a chance to rectify this oversight and finally take that left turn when I visited Neil Ellis to experience their summer 2018\/19 paired tasting offering \u2013 Pesto & Wine Play.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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We\u2019re spoilt for paired-tasting offerings in the Cape. Nougat, cheese, chocolate, roosterkoek, cupcakes… You name it and a paired tasting has been done. Which means that trying to come up with something new to amuse and delight isn\u2019t easy, but that\u2019s exactly what the folks at Neil Ellis Wines<\/a> have done. Working with a chef, they have come up with four fantastically unusual pesto sauces to pair with their wines. Though guidance is ultimately given on the ideal pairing, the idea is that tasters get to play and try the various pestos \u2013 which are served with pita triangles \u2013 with four different wines to find their ultimate personal combo. So much more interactive, this is downright fun.<\/p>\n

The four wines you get to taste as part of this pairing experience are:<\/p>\n