Wine connoisseurs will tell you it’s the second round of fermentation that puts the fizz in the good French stuff. Delving even further, the swirl-and-smell-before-you-sip brigade insist that the smaller the bubble, the better the taste. So it goes without saying that the question of exactly how many tiny bubbles are in a bottle of champers is the sort of trivia titbit that could earn you bragging rights at a boozy brunch.
“Two-hundred-and-fifty-million bubbles,” suggests Miguel Chan, the group sommelier for Southern Sun’s some 90 hotels, referring to a recent study by a US university.
While more conservative estimates suggest it’s about the 49-million mark, one thing’s for certain: There are few better places to sip chilled Moët & Chandon from a tulip-shaped glass (sorry, like skinny jeans, flutes are so last season) than Sandton Sun’s San Deck.
It was late on Thursday afternoon, as the Joburg sky turned pink and tangerine, and we were gathered there for the launch of Southern Sun’s month-long Champagne Celebration, which wraps neatly around international Champagne Day, held each year on the fourth Friday of October. The hotel has been marking the occasion for 11 years, and clearly I have become a regular because black-aproned waiters Mduduzi and Sylvester greet me with a “Welcome back” and fill my glass.
Two other regulars for the pre-Champagne Day revelry were cute radio personalities Mamohau Seseane and Zweli Mbhele, while making an entrance after the sun had gone down was Minnie Dlamini. I discussed glassware with Tanya Heunis from Moët distributors the Really Great Brand Company (the tulip’s glass’ wider base helps the French sparkling wine’s aromas to develop, while its concave shape makes sure fewer of those millions of bubbles escape), and spoke about all things French with the hotel group’s PR gal Neo Mboniswa, who had just returned from the City of Light.
And if you were looking for effervescence personified, you needed to look no further than reality TV star Blue Mbombo, who floated into our company wearing an amber-coloured chiffon gown.
Eats to compliment the tiny bubbles? Methinks Marie Christine Giblot Ducray — an important local proponent of French culinary arts who sadly passed away last Sunday — would have nodded “oui” to the treats served to compliment the French fizz. These included fresh oysters drizzled with citrus and dill, serrano ham with goat’s cheese and artichoke slivers, duck confit served not in pancakes but sandwiched in baguettes, and Moroccan lamb wontons.
My only quibble? I could hardly taste the mushroom and smoked mozzarella in the arancini balls we tucked into.
Rice is the base for not only arancini balls but also another cocktail fare fixture: sushi. But how about sushi made with pap instead? Well, the finalists for this year’s White Star Miss Soweto pageant found themselves participating in a novel masterclass — led by chef Dumisani Lukhozi — where this Japan-meets-Mzansi dish was on the menu.
The cooking demonstration formed part of an event to celebrate the announcement of the 20 young women vying for the title, which is now in its 46th year. Hosted in conjunction with Sowetan S Mag, it was held earlier on Thursday afternoon at the Patio Room of the Johannesburg Country Club in Auckland Park.
Guests — including current Miss Soweto Mbali Khumalo, singing chef Lucia Mthiyane, celebrity realtor Thato “TT” Mbha and S Mag’s editor-in-chief Emmanuel Tjiya — heard from pageant director Collin Sithole about what to expect during the lead-up to the finale next month, while Bongi Mlotshwa inspired the finalists with her personal story as Miss Soweto first runner-up in 1987.
Earlier I chatted to Bongi about how her first foray under the bright lights helped set her on a path to becoming one of the country’s most renowned and awarded makeup artists. The two-times South African Film and Television Award winner, and mother of actress and fashion entrepreneur Enhle Mbali Mlotshwa, fondly remembered the generosity of Augustine Masilela-Chuene, who was named Miss Soweto that year.
“As part of her prize, Augustine won a weekend’s stay at the Parktonian Hotel in Braamfontein, and she invited me to join her. I had never stayed in a hotel before. How sweet was that!” she said.
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