6 Wines to go with 6 pancakes for Shrove Tuesday

Are you ready for a flipping good supper tonight? Me too and I’m not just going to indulge my sweet tooth, but also a savoury one as well. A pancake is the ultimate in versatility – you can stuff it, roll it, make it like a pizza and stack it as well. 

Try these combos for a delicious Shrove Tuesday treat.

De Krans ‘A Twist of Fate’ 2015 (R65 cellar door)
A cracking little wine punching well above its price, this is named for two mistaken plantings in Calitzdorp which actually turned out pretty well for the Nels at De Krans. Tinta Barocca instead of Shiraz and Tinta Amarella instead of Tempranillo laid the foundations for one of SA’s most successful port-style producers  and this wine celebrates happy accidents. Try it with a banting-friendly Bacon and Egg ‘Pancake’. 

Backsberg Merlot 2015 (R77 cellar door)
A nice, juicy, friendly wine with plenty of character and not too high a price – perfectly nails the description of this wine from Simon Back and his team at Backsberg. It’s got plenty of ripe-berried fruit and lovely soft spicy hints which will go really nicely with the herbs and creamy cheese of this Mediterranean Pancake Stack.

Perdeberg ‘The Ploughman’ Sauvignon/Chenin  2016 (R79.99 cellar door)
This is a great feel-good story from the Swartland and a very nice wine to boot. The Ploughman is Dappies Diederiks, a farm labourer and now owner thanks to an empowerment scheme at Perdeberg and the wine supports both Dappies and the local community. It’s 60/40 Sauvignon/Chenin and tank fermented so with plenty of zesty acidity to match Smoked Salmon and Buttermilk Pancakes. 

Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection Shiraz2013 (R115 cellar door)
I think this is my favourite ‘tier’ of the Kleine Zalze family – serious wines which nevertheless don’t take themselves massively seriously. It’s had a reasonable amount of new oak but just enough so that it is fragrant and aromatic and not so much that the tannins become dry or harsh which makes it a great partner for these tangy Pancake Rotis with Spicy Beef Filling. 

Stark Condé The Field Blend 2015 (R165 cellar door)
Oh my word this is delicious! An unusual blend of grapes (mainly Roussanne and Chenin with some Viognier and Verdelho on the side) all picked together from a single vineyard in the Jonkershoek Valley. Old oak adds richness more than flavour and the limey, lively acidity should be a great partner for Creamy Ham and Mushroom Pancakes. 

Neethlingshof Owl Post Pinotage 2015 (R190 cellar door)
This is a no-holds barred kind of wine with layers of black fruit flavour, twisted up with spicy sweet oak. It’s part of the Short Story Collection which celebrates the biodiversity of this estate and in addition, it’s the personal pet of Pinotage Association Vice Chairman and Neethlingshof winemaker, De Wet Viljoen so you can taste the love in this wine. It was a tough pairing but I think it has enough guts to go with these Chicken Pancake Parcels.