Yesterday evening, the warm north west wind was blowing which is always a sure sign that twelve to twenty-four hours later a serious Winter storm will blast the Cape Of Storms. We simply had to get down to our jetty to enjoy a glass of red wine and the full moon on this Indian Summer night.

Red wine substitute

After unpacking the wine cupboard and closely examining dozens of bottles of white wine we came to the realisation that we were clean out of red wine. Not even a bottle of plonk was on hand.

Then inspiration struck. After ransacking the not-to-be-disturbed, keep for a special occasion wine stash in the bedroom cupboard, two bottles of splendid red wine were unearthed – Steenberg Nebbiolo 2008 and Steenberg Catharina 2007 no less.

Sure, the Nebbiolo was to be relished at a future dinner party when I would serve it with osso buco to wine fundi friends and sure, we had decided that the Catharina was too young to be appreciated fully and needed more bottle maturation.

The decision as to what last night’s special occasion was, seemed too great for either of us to take.

Let lady luck decide – heads and we crack open the Nebbiolo, tails we make two mugs of hot chocolate.

Did the coin land on its side?

We drank our hot chocolate in silence in the balmy night air and then went to bed.

P.S.  Watch this space for that Nebbiolo review.