It’s Wine and Dine season at Signal Restaurant and this month the spotlight falls on Anthony Hamilton Russell, owner of Hamilton Russell Vineyards.

Have you always wanted to be a winemaker and did you start out as one?

Although I have made wine, I am not our winemaker. Being Proprietor of a Wine Estate requires being very close to the winemaking process but is really a very different career. My previous jobs were Investment Banking and Management Consulting (in London).

If you could do any other job in the world, what would you do?

Pretty much anything legal that did not separate me from my farm. 

What’s the best wine you’ve had to date (other than your own)?

Romanee-Conti.

What ‘cheap & cheerful’ wine would you recommend as an everyday drinking wine?

There’s nothing wrong with Chateau Libertas – and in its own way, it’s a South African classic.

Cork or screw cap?

Definitely cork – it’s a matter of beauty and tradition not functionality.

What’s the best cure for a hangover?

Lucozade

Do you enjoy cooking and if so, what’s your speciality?

I love it, but my wife, Olive, is really such a great cook (cook book and all!) that I am more about new ideas than implementation. If she lets me do anything, it’s dressings and salads!

What would you order as your last meal?

Wild oysters with a young Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet, followed by grilled lamb chops with an aged Comte de Vogue Musigny.

What food would you love to try but haven’t yet had an opportunity to?

Olive’s next new recipe. I would also like to experience one of those foraging in the wild “meals”.

Who would you most like to share a bottle of wine with and why?

My grandchildren (yet to come) at Braemar on Hamilton Russell Vineyards. It would mean I have lived a long life and that my dream of keeping the Estate in the family for at least 100 years is nearing fruition.

What’s the best thing about winter in the cape?

Fireside meals in the kitchen with great wine and good friends

And lastly, tell us one thing about yourself that not everyone knows

I can divine water.

Now that you know a little more about Anthony, join him and Executive Chef, Malika van Reenen on 25 August as they take you on culinary journey showcasing the finest wines and freshest ingredients the Cape has to offer.

Starting with canapés in the Library, guests can enjoy a 3 course menu at R330 per person. To book, please contact Rene on 021 410 7097 / renec@capegrace.com.