New must watch series: I’ll Bring the Wine

Looking to binge-watch a new series? Why not make a meal of local cuisine!

South Africa, 17 March 2022: Move over Chef’s Table and Parts Unknown. There’s a locally made cooking show that’s causing quite the stir, both at home and abroad.

I’ll Bring The Wine is a brand new five-part series presented by Nederburg and hosted by acclaimed South African food writer and restaurateur, Karen Dudley.

Having recently released the final episode, it’s the kind of binge watch that’ll leave you salivating for more.

From the dry plains of the Karoo to the lush, rural foothills of Kwa-Zulu Natal, from chicken feet terrine at a five-star restaurant in Cape Town to slow-cooked tongue in the heart of the Midlands— the eye-watering cinematography in I’ll Bring the Wine meets mouth-watering gastronomy, blended together with nuanced precision.

“Getting to explore our rich, diverse South African culinary heritage whilst witnessing some of our best chefs reimagine traditional dishes has been an absolute privilege,” says Karen. “For years and years, we’ve been looking to other people and places to express our identity, often feeling a little awkward about our indigenous dishes,” she continues. “In this show, we step outside of categories and definitions, and celebrate everything that we are and have to offer.”

In the final episode of the series, two impossibly different places meet on one plate: a rugged stretch of coastline, home to the world’s only truly wild oysters, and the parched desert plains of the Karoo, home to a variety of buck that still roam free, as they have for millennia.

It’s the mighty surf & turf, Mzansi-style, and nobody does it better than Knysna Oyster expert, Charles Van Tonder, and Venison fundi and Karoo native, Annatjie Reynolds. Like the surprisingly sublime pairing of smoked wild oysters with tender venison rump cooked under an open fire, the combination of Karen’s astute insights and each chef’s incredible skill and passion blend together to create a show that is quite simply, unlike any other.

“It takes a special discipline, restraint and imagination to honour tradition while adding another dimension,” comments Nederburg winemaker, Zinaschke Steyn. Indeed, like the dishes on display, each carefully chosen wine reflects the same fusion of tradition, innovation, and unique South African flair.

To watch the first episode of I’ll Bring the Wine, click here!

Watch the trailer: