Wine and dine with the Steins

The Durbanville Wine Valley in the Western Cape was a hive of activity the past few weeks, with 12 of the wine farms in the area playing host to Jack and Charlie Stein – sons of the United Kingdom’s award-winning celebrity chef and restaurateur Rick Stein.

The Stein brothers were in South Africa shooting scenes for a 13-part TV series called Wine, Dine & Stein. The series has already been pre-sold to the UK, Denmark, Norway and Poland, with more countries lining up to acquire the show once complete. It will be shown in SA this year on a yet-to-be announced channel.

Created by JAG Communications’ Grant Bushby and Janine Walker, who also handle the public relations for the area, Wine, Dine & Stein finds the Stein siblings spending a day on each of the 12 wine farms that make up the Durbanville Wine Valley.

From tasting their wines, sampling (and helping cook) their food and embarking on a series of dares and challenges, it’s a lively introduction to the winemaking region.

Jack Stein prepares a meal during filming in the Durbanville Wine Valley. Picture: Grant Bushby

Some of the more interesting activities the brothers got involved with (while not eating and drinking) included paragliding off Hamburger Hill at Meerendal, firing the Big Bertha cannon at Signal Gun, taking part in a wheelbarrow race at Klein Roosboom, rounding up cattle with quad bikes at Groot Phesantekraal and wakeboarding at the Hillcrest quarry.

Other wine farms visited included Altydgedacht, Canto, D’Aria, De Grendel, Diemersdal, Durbanville Hills and Nitida.

Like his father Rick, Jack Stein, 38, is an accomplished chef and author and, apart from presenting TV series, he also oversees the kitchens of all 14 Rick Stein restaurants.

Brother Charlie, 34, works for The Vintner wine merchants in London and also helps taste and select all the wine for the family’s restaurants.

Charlie Stein during filming. Picture: Grant Bushby

Each 24-minute episode of Wine, Dine & Stein will feature one of the 12 wine farms in the Durbanville Wine Valley, with the 13th episode covering other activities of interest in the area, including a visit to the Durbanville distillery to see how rum is made, speeding down the tracks at Cool Runnings, Africa’s first downhill tobogganing track, and ending with a final lunch, where the Steins meet up with all their new friends at “Giggling Gourmet” Jenny Morris’ local eatery, Yumcious.

“I had the most fun I’ve had in ages filming this series and I can’t say enough about the warmth, hospitality and generosity of the people we met, not to mention the amazing food we ate and the brilliant wines we drank,” says Jack.

Charlie adds: “What I loved most about filming the series was that every wine farm in the valley offers something different from the other. From the small boutique, but utterly charming Klein Roosboom, to the bigger estate that is Durbanville Hills – but which still manages to convey a feeling of family.”

The show is currently in post-production.

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