The new Alto Wine & Biltong Tasting is not to be missed!

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Situated along the elevated northern slopes of the Helderberg Mountain, Stellenbosch, Alto Wine Estate features a portfolio of five wines - all of which feature in the new Alto Wine & Biltong Tasting.

The pairing has been curated by Alto winemaker Bertho van der Westhuizen and award-winning food writer and stylist Vickie de Beer. Each flavour pairing highlights a characteristic in the wine, while simultaneously demonstrating its versatility. You can now learn how to pair your Alto wine like an expert with the Alto Story of Flavour!

Alto Rouge for example, is partnered with barbecue-flavour biltong.

“Grilling meat over the open flame lends additional weight and texture,” says Vickie. “This demands a full-bodied, full-flavoured wine like Alto Rouge. The aromas of cigar box and oak spices in the wine enhance the smoky, spicy and tangy flavours of the barbecue-flavoured biltong.”

Smoke is applied as an ingredient in pairing with Alto Shiraz. “Alto Shiraz, with its good tannic backbone, can bear the added weight that smokiness lends to any dish. The delicate spicy quality, married to a dark fruitiness, makes it the perfect accompaniment to the smoky biltong.”

The rugged tannic structure of Alto Cabernet Sauvignon makes it a perfect fit for salty, naturally-cured biltong with a trace of fat. For Bertho, the latter softens the tannins and enhances the red, plum fruit and sweetness in the wine.

He also discovered how the process of fermentation releases more umami flavours in full-bodied, well-aged wines like the Alto M.P.H.S, which is used for the fourth pairing and named after the farm’s founding winemakers. “The intensity of flavour in this rich wine is well matched with umami foods like the Alto red wine biltong with Parmesan and white truffle,” Vickie adds.

For the Fine Old Vintage & Sweet pairing, sweetness in wine balances salt and acts as a foil to rich foods. “That’s why the Alto Old Fine Vintage pairs well with soft, silky Gorgonzola – like the Alto red wine and Gorgonzola biscotti – or rich duck liver pâté,” she says.

Indulge in the Story of Flavour with the Alto Wine & Biltong Tasting at the estate tasting lounge on the farm at a cost of R120.00.

Further explore the Alto Flavours and its recipes at www.alto.co.za/recipes-pairings/.

Win one of three Alto wine hampers worth R540 each! Enter here.