Grape Tasting & Pairings:

We love cheese and wine pairings, but have you ever done a grape tasting? Now you can with all the varietals of grapes found in store!

Print out this awesome infographic to do a grape tasting at home with your friends and family. It’s also a great game to play with the kids one night, plus it’s a healthy game! They get to eat and taste grapes, and talk about them to decide which is their fave. Click here for the infographic.

If you love entertaining and would like to set up a Grape Fest pairing night, then we’ve got some ideas to help you out:

To start:

Buy a bunch of a few varietals of grapes at Food Lover’s Market, including white, red and black! Layout out the grapes on a beautiful plate of wooden chopping board. Check our beautiful Grape Festival infographic to get a better idea of all the different grapes available and invite some friends over.

You can either just taste the different grapes together or you can pair them up with wines, cheese, deli meats or even something from the bakery.

The kids will also love to do a grape tasting, have some fun with them and see which grapes they love most.

If you are pairing the different grape varietals with some foods, then here are some options to start with:

• Regal grapes and Scarlotta grapes can be added to your green salad and pair beautifully with  Just cut them in halves and that’s it, a crisp sweet taste to your healthy meal. Add a touch of balsamic glaze and goat’s cheese.
• Ditch the strawberries for our grapes…Serving champagne? Serve our muscat flavourful grapes as an appetizer with your champagne. Grab a bowl of Sweet Joy grapes, soak with two glasses of champagne and cover the grapes with sugar, freeze for over 3 hours and serve when your guests are ready to get bubbly.
• Starblush grapes: A musky flavoured Hanepoort that will pair well with a light Rose or a Rum & Raisin Ice Cream.
• Arra 15 or Waltham Cross will pair well with Walnuts.
• Red Crimson or Scarlotta grapes with pair beautifully with Edam or Gouda
• Sweet Joy Grapes have a slight muscat flavour which pairs well with Champagne.
• Sweet celebration!! Add these red seedless grapes to your cheesecake recipe for some great colour and sweet flavour.

RIBEYE STEAK & MIDNIGHT GRAPE SAUCE

Steak night coming up? Add our Midnight beauty grapes to your shopping list for a crispy yet sweet red wine reduction.

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 ml Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons of Brown sugar
• A glass of red wine
• A handful of Midnight beauty black grapes
• 2 stems of thyme
• Cup of hot water
• 1 teaspoon of chopped garlic

Instructions:

1. Add brown sugar into saucepan with hot water and stir until sugar dissolves
2. Add Worcestershire sauce, chopped garlic and glass of red wine, stir until the sauce starts to boil
3. Chop your grapes into halves and add to the sauce with the thyme
4. Mix thoroughly and drizzle on steak.  Serve while hot

WATERMELON CANAPES:

Ingredients:

• Watermelon cut into squares
• Chopped Sweet Celebration red seedless grapes
• Crumbed Goat cheese

Instructions:

1. Plate your square watermelons.
2. Spread the chopped grapes on top of the watermelon
3. Sprinkle the goat cheese and garnish with mint leaves