We are of the considered (and totally unbiased) opinion that dry rosé is the perfect wine for a hot summer’s day. Less acidic than sauvignon blanc, yet sufficiently zesty to refresh and invigorate the palate, with gorgeous berry fruits, it’s great with most al fresco meals.

Rosé was first produced at Cloof in 2002, as a result of Christopher van Dieren’s experience in Provence, where juice is drawn from big-berried Cinsaut and other red grape varieties soon after crushing in order to concentrate the remaining juice. The brief skin contact leaves the juice slightly pink. This portion is fermented as if it were white wine, while the remainder follows a traditional red wine route. The success of our first vintage, based on Cinsaut, with a little Pinotage, encouraged us to use all our Cinsaut for rosé in 2003. This wine, the 2003 Groene Cloof Rosé, was selected for service on KLM Business Class.

For the SA BBQ Championships we paired this wine, labelled as Cloof Bosstok Rosé (bosstok is Afrikaans for bush vine) with a sirloin and minted green bean and potato salad.

The sirloin is trimmed of all fat and sinew, sliced lengthways (i.e. with the grain) into three equal pieces, and then marinated with sliced onion, garlic, Dijon mustard, thyme and rosemary. It is grilled over very hot coals, so that the exterior crusts slightly, leaving the inside pink and juicy. Just before service these pieces are thinly sliced (across the grain).

The green beans are blanched, and tossed with a dressing of olive oil, garlic and lots of chopped mint. The baby potatoes are boiled, sliced in half, and then sautéed (olive oil is fine, but duck fat gives a much better result).

Toss the beans and potatoes, and then top with the sliced beef. We added a dollop of hollandaise (a bain marie over hot coals is not the easiest culinary manoeuvre we’ve had to perform!), and on occasion have also gently fried the marinade to use as a post-marinade for the beef.