When I found out that Copper & Oak was starting to host wine tasting experiences in their gorgeous Guildford shop, I was very excited. And when I saw they would be hosting a Rustenberg wine tasting experience with the head winemaker from Rustenberg, Murray Barlow, I snapped up some tickets immediately!
Rustenberg Wine Tasting Experience at Copper & Oak Guildford
Set in the historic town of Guildford, Copper & Oak set up their second store in December 2022, in a building with a long-standing liquor background. It was previously called Chateau Guildford and is now home to one of the cutest and most historic bottle shops in Perth.
The wine tasting experience with Rustenberg Wines was hosted on Monday 10 June in their beautiful loft room above the shop, found via a narrow spiral staircase which oozes charm and history.
Despite being a Monday in the beginning of winter, the room was packed with wine lovers from South Africa and Australia alike.
The tables were set with tasting glasses, a menu of the wines we were about to taste over the course of the evening, and the first platters of several accompanying canapes to match our wines.
The Host
Head winemaker of Rustenberg Wines, Murray Barlow was an amazing host for the evening.
He regaled us with tales of the history of the Rustenberg estate from its establishment back in the late 1600s all the way through to their wines of today, weaved carefully with anecdotes about the people and vines one would never have known without meeting Murray himself.
The Wine
For our wine tasting experience at Copper and Oak, we were treated to 6 different wines from the range at Rustenberg – 3 white and 3 red. They were the Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Five Soldiers Chardonnay, Shiraz, Malbec and the RM Nicholson.
My personal favourites from the night were the Chenin Blanc and the Malbec, and a bottle of both made the trip home with me with a special discount from Copper & oak on all purchases made on the night.
The Food
The food, supplied by Oscar’s of Guildford (moving to Limeburners & Ginversity in the Swan Valley soon!), was designed to match the wines and came out at regular intervals through the evening as we moved from wine to wine.
It was incredible and all had some South African elements to them.
We started with a platter of biltong, droewors, bread, baked brie in tomato relish, pickled veg and a boerewors and pistachio terrine, which was delicious.
Other canapes included prawns on a spicy chakalaka relish, boerewors sausage rolls, mini vetkoek with a cheese mousse, lamb bunny chows, and finally, a mini milk tart served with glass of Tant Sannie se Melk Tert liqueur.
All in all, it ended up being a 6 course tasting menu which left everyone feeling quite content!
Overall it was a fantastic experience and excellent value for money.
Tickets for the Rustenberg wine tasting night were priced at $49.98 per person and for that you got a 100ml South African Bain’s Cape Mountain whiskey to take home, a guided 2 hour wine tasting experience with the head winemaker from the estate, 6 generous wine tastings, and a scrumptious 6 course menu of paired canapes.
If you want to attend a wine tasting experience at Copper and Oak, there are a few lined up, so to see what’s on, make sure you head over to the events page on their website, Facebook or Instagram page and keep an eye on upcoming events at their beautiful Guildford store.
I promise you that it’s well worth getting out on a school night to enjoy this unique experience!
No Comments