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Whether it’s a sociable braai or multi-starred fine dining, wine is a natural partner to food, with the wide choice of varietals, blends and styles offering choices as diverse as the dishes they might be served with.
The whole food-and-wine pairing story can get a bit obsessive, over-complicated and over-wrought.
At its simplest and best, the flavours and textures of each lift and complement each other; sometimes a particular seasoning in a food will amplify a particular flavour in the wine or a wine will offer a new way to taste a food ingredient — that’s the harmony we’re looking for.
Leopard’s Leap, well known for easy-to-enjoy quality wines at everyday value, developed their Culinaria range specifically to offer food-and-wine lovers a set of wines created for mealtime enjoyment without having to overthink it.
The wines were initially developed for the menu at the Franschhoek restaurant and only available there but, happily, they’ve since spread the distribution wider around the country and they’re really well-priced, all under R200.
The latest feather-in-the-cap for the Culinaria wines is a trio of wins at the National Wine Challenge, with the Bordeaux-style Grand Vin 2021, the 2024 Pinot Noir and the 2024 Chenin Blanc all placed in the competition’s Top 100 of SA list.
The Culinaria Grand Vin 2021 took home the Red Wine of the Year and Grand Cru National Champion Best in Class awards.
“This Bordeaux-style red blend has always been a popular choice and the exceptional recognition for the 2021 vintage confirms that we are not imagining the elegance of its style and the versatility of its food pairing ability,” Leopard’s Leap chief executive Kobie Lochner said:
Like the Culinaria Pinot Noir 2024, the Grand Vin also achieved a Double Platinum medal, while the 2025 Culinaria Chenin Blanc was awarded Double Gold.
All three wines are also rated 4* in the Platter’s guide.
Together, the two reds offer a great contrast and options for different styles of food, especially warming winter comfort foods.
The full-bodied Grand Vin, a classic blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot, is all about complex layers of red fruit, cassis, tobacco and a hint of cedar-wood-spice.
A smooth palate with lingering juicy berries, ripe tannins and elegance make it an excellent partner to bold red meat dishes, whether steak, roast, braai or a hearty casserole, and it’s especially good with lamb.
By contrast, the Culinaria Pinot Noir’s elegance is of the more delicate, ethereal kind, underpinned by typical pinot umami savouriness.
Opening with aromas and flavours rather like a strawberry garden — the sweet-sour crunch of the fresh berries, the smells of leafiness and the earth they’re planted in.
That delicacy turns out to be deceptive, because there’s some serious complexity and depth going on in the flavours and silky mouthfeel, the wine medium-weighted, which is what makes it great with foods with delicate and umami flavours.
Smoked chicken, seared duck breast, wild mushroom risotto would be great choices.
The 2025 Culinaria Chenin Blanc, made from Voor-Paardeberg vineyards known for some exceptional chenins, has the texture and weight that elevates it above easy everyday, and makes it work really well with food, but it’s also really enjoyable on its own.
Ripe tropical fruit and yellow peach balance with refreshing white fruit such as pear, while touches of sweet spice, oak and a fresh chalky minerality contribute structure and complexity.
Fragrant, rounded mellowness, with that streak of acidity holding it all in balance, and its character makes it one of those unusual white wines that work well with tomatoes and vinegar-spiked salad dressings or spicy mayonnaise.
It’s also a very suitable tablemate for Asian dishes across the spectrum, Cape Malay-style in pickled fish or breyani, and fish and shellfish.
In the midst of all the sophisticated dining experiences in Franschhoek, Leopard’s Leap is a great place to stop for a warm, relaxed, family-friendly vibe with burgers and pizza in the garden or warm contemporary farm-style restaurant.
The weekend rotisserie lunches are famed for an array of meat and sprawling harvest table of seasonal salads, veggies and sides, along with their equally-famed braaibroodjies paired with chenin blanc or pinotage for a gourmet take on a local SA favourite.
The various levels of Leopard’s Leap wine ranges are widely available locally.
For the Culinaria Collection, Preston’s Main Rd in Walmer has the Grand Vin at R169 and the Pinot Noir R189, and other wines in the range (including a Pinot Noir Chardonnay blend, Cap Classique sparkling wine and Natural Sweet Chenin Blanc) are available on request.
For the month of July, Leopard’s Leap is offering a 10% discount on any six bottles of the Culinaria wines bought at the tasting room or online at https://www.leopardsleap.co.za/collections/culinaria-collection.
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