A cool Summer Sunset is a special time of day whether you enjoy it from a rooftop with city sounds in the background, watching the stretching shadows of the savannas on a safari holiday or perhaps just soaking up the last bits of daylight in your own backyard.

Sunset is synonymous with cocktails and canapés and this is where we get all excited. We think Chenin Blanc is the ultimate sunset wine. We also think  it is the ultimate canapé wine! You need a versatile wine when you serve a variety of finger food at a cocktail party. Did you know that canapés differ from hors d’oeuvres in that they are more or less bite-sized and served on top of bread or a pastry base so that they are easy to pick up and enjoy? And of course, Chenin Blanc is also all about being picked up and enjoyed…

Just imagine beautiful little shrimp canapés with a refreshing glass of 2018 Leopard’s Leap Chenin Blanc catching the last golden rays of the sun, a slinky Chenin Blanc Martini wine cocktail to complement your sequin dress or perhaps a beautiful glass of the sophisticated 2016 Culinaria Chenin Blanc when you light up the fire to braai some appetizers!

Invite a few friends over and enjoy your sunset with our recipe for Pork Belly Sosaties – perfect with a bottle of your favourite Chenin Blanc.

Vietnamese-style Pork Belly Sosatie Recipe

Ingredients

1 kg cooked pork belly

90 ml dark soy sauce

60 ml fish sauce

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1 teaspoon grated garlic

juice of 2 limes

175 g soft brown sugar

1 red chilli, seeded and finely chopped

1 cucumber

Method

Cut pork belly into 5-cm squares.

Combine the soy sauce, fish sauce, ginger, garlic, lime juice and brown sugar in a saucepan.

Melt the sugar over a low heat.

While stirring, cook until syrupy, then remove from the heat to cool slightly.

Toss the cubes of pork belly with half a cup of the marinade in a bowl and leave to marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes. Mix the remaining sauce with the chilli and leave at room temperature to use as a dip.

Heat the oven to 200 °C. Line a baking-tray with baking-paper.

Stand the belly pork pieces skin-side up on the tray and roast for 20 minutes until golden, sticky and caramelised.

Using a potato peeler, cut the cucumber into as many strips as there are pork belly chunks.

Ruffle each strip onto a wooden skewer and leave in the fridge.

To serve, skewer each pork belly piece with one of the cucumbered skewers.

Arrange on a platter with the bowl of Vietnamese dipping sauce.