Waterford Estate wines are under the spotlight for our August Wine & Dine event in Signal Restaurant, paired with a 6-course dinner from the kitchen of Executive Chef Malika van Reenen.

To get a bit of background on the man behind the wine, here’s a little Q&A with Waterford Winemaker Francois Haasbroek:

Q. If you could do any other job in the world, what would you do?
A. I’d be a photographer for National Geographic

Q. What’s the best wine you’ve had to date (other than your own)?
A. That’s a tough one as there are so many to choose from. Give me a great Montrachet or any  bottle of Jean Louis Chave and I’m happy.

Q. Cork or screw cap?
A. Both are very misunderstood and screw caps still need to prove themselves on some fronts.

Q. What’s the best cure for a hangover?
A. Another bottle!

Q. Do you enjoy cooking and if so, what’s your speciality?
A. I love cooking and my speciality is to completely disregard recipes and cook whatever is in front of me.

Q. What would you order as your last meal?
A. A home-made lasagne.

Q. What can we expect from the 2012 harvest?
A. The white wines are the exciting ones to watch; because of the moderate temperatures between February and March, the wines are ripe but tightly structured and will age beautifully. For all the other wines, the alcohol levels are probably the lowest I have seen since 2004.

Q. Tell us one fun fact about yourself that not everyone knows
A. Why would I do that? Then everyone would know! I never get out of my seat on flights, whether it’s 2 hours or 16 hours.

Q. And lastly, any parting words of wisdom?
A. When buying your next wine, choose a producer, cultivar or region you’ve never tried before. There are so many great wines, that drinking the same one each time is boring.

Join Francois on the 30th August 2012 to sample some of his finest vintages paired with 6-courses of delectable food in the Signal Vintage Wine and Dine evening at R650pp.

TO BOOK: contact René on 021 410 7097 or email .

You may also reserve seats for any of the remaining Wine & Dine evenings and read about some of the winemakers already featured:

• 20th September with Bosman Family Vineyards
• 25th October with Iona Wines
• 29th November with Rustenberg Wines