Breakfast in South Africa, Not!

Don't count your eggs until the grappa is served...
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A supplier dropped off a bottle of grappa and a bag of delicious coffee this morning at my office. I’ve never bought from Marquee Selections, but Bryce has been running me down for about 4-5 years, now, and finally, we had a meeting a few weeks ago. (I know, I can be a pain in the ass sometimes for my suppliers, but I do get inundated with meeting requests and if I do not really buy from the distributor then it can often be a waste of time - so I defer a lot.)

With Bryce being from South Africa and repping a portfolio of ZA wines, I told him my South Africa arrival story.

I had the good fortune to travel to ZA in 2009. I was with another Bryce on that trip, and we were headed to a winery in Stellenbosch. I won’t say which one but it starts with Ken and ends with Forrester.
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Traveling from Hartford through Amsterdam to our landing in Cape Town, we were a bit famished on arrival. However, it was in the evening and a Sunday, so we headed to our accommodations in Stellenbosch. Promises were made about a well-stocked kitchen when we arrived, so we were not too concerned.

Upon arrival, we met up with the proprietor who showed us to the guest house. Giving us a quick tour he said to help ourselves to anything we could find as he opened the fridge to see what was about. (The door to the fridge opened toward us and blocked our view but we were still confidently under the impression it was stocked.) The owner said to come on over to the main house for breakfast in the morning, as he walked out and left us for the night. We headed to the fridge to see what we could dine on.
On further inspection, we discovered the fridge contained one half-full bottle of Chenin blanc, a stick of butter, and half of a lime. Good times.

In the morning we headed to the main house at a reasonable hour and knocked. No answer. We waited. Knocked. Poked our heads around the windows. No one.

About 15 minutes on, we were about to leave when the owner came down the drive and welcomed us with a big smile and lots of good cheer. Says come on in and let’s get you some breakfast. We go into the beautiful Dutch Cape and get the quick tour that basically involves moving straight through the building and out the back to the big patio overlooking the vineyards and horses.

The owner continued the conversation with us from the kitchen where we heard what sounded like pots and pans and things knocking about, all of us assuming breakfast was on the way. After a bit, the owner came out with a huge tray that contained espresso for each as well as small glasses and a bottle of grappa. We had both. After a few minutes of chit-chat about our plans and whatnot, the owner bids us a great day and he will see us later that night for dinner. But where is the food?

No food. We had to go search out for something to eat. Just grappa and espresso since the airplane food nearly 24 hours prior. But the trip got better from there and we did have a great time with delicious food, often.

So my supplier listened and did a really nice thing by giving me a very generous gift. I emailed him back saying he won! We are currently booking a tasting and a dinner and I am considering what wines I can possibly use by the glass in my locations.
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Persistence wrapped with generosity, and very good products. Who knew that these techniques could actually work?

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To view the entire portfolio and website for Marquee Selections, click here.

​To learn more about Ken Forrester Wines in Stellenbosch, click here.

To learn more about Stumptown's delicious and often jidder inducing coffees, click here.

​To learn more about the fantastic grappi from Distilleria Gualco, click here.