It’s amazing how influential a setting can be on the mood of an event. In past years, Steenberg have held their flagship tasting in the more formal atmosphere of Catharina’s restaurant; this year, the less formal Bistro1682 provided a completely different vibe.

The more exuberant (louder?) vibe in the Bistro was much enhanced by the perfect Cape summer’s evening, the open plan design in which to enjoy it as well as the point of the event – sampling some of the cellar’s top wines with chef, Brad Ball’s tapas dishes.

The occasion also served to introduce the newly released Sauvignon Blanc Reserve and Semillon both from the splendid 2009 vintage (we’ll be reviewing these in more detail shortly); these were followed by Nebbiolo 2007 and Catharina 2006. Brad Ball’s choice for each of these respectively was roast tomatoes with goat’s cheese, gambas pil pil – prawns with garlic and chilli in clarified butter; charcuterie selection with foccacia with black truffle oil and a selection of cheeses including a camembert, witzenberger and gorgonzola.

Thanks to the sensible idea of serving all the dishes and wines at the same time, there was plenty of opportunity for mix-‘n-match.

But us motley group of trade and media assembled in the Bistro weren’t the only ones embarking on this pairing journey. There was a large virtual audience as well. Around sixty people had taken up Steenberg’s offer on a four-pack of the wines, armed themselves with the ingredients to prepare tapas similar to Brad’s and joined us on Twitter.

Here are some, Cape Town Girl and friends. Couldn’t agree more with the smiles over the first sip of sauvignon, girls, and, of course Goat’s cheese is a ‘horse and carriage’ match. But I’m saving some of those tomatoes for the Nebbiolo.

We ask for another bottle of Semillon, chilled this time – the first has warmed up too much and seems rather sullen. But Cape Town Girl & Co think it’s a ‘creamy hit’. Creamy, yes, but just so youthfully introverted, even the subtly chillied prawns don’t tempt it out of its shell.

Our corner of the table agrees this white duo will need a good few years to get into their stride.

Next up the Nebiola or Nebbiola if you’re the twitterers but if they struggle with the name, their descriptions are imaginatively accurate – ‘bloody tones, some iron – delish with the meats’ while ‘Madi says the Nebbiola is like riding a horse through iron ore mine eating a salted tomato’.

Christian Eedes and I discourse vigorously over how much mint is too much (too much in his opinion), while for me this is a Steenberg thumbprint and certainly not a sign of lack of ripeness. What I would like is a little more grapey grip, a little less oak vanillin, but I agree about the bloody, iron tones – and it does go well with the tomatoes as well as the meats, its savoury acid cutting through their fattiness.

Strangely, in the Catharina – a five-way blend, including merlot, shiraz and sometimes nebbiolo – the minty tones are very much dimmed but it’s not because of that I find the wine more interesting; it has beautiful balance, structure an deep and savoury flavour array – reaching more than the sum of its parts – with more to develop. The cheeses don’t give it its full due but by this stage after trying this with that and that with this, our palates are ready to call it an evening.

Judging by the enthusiastic response from both the real and virtual attendees, this type of event could encourage a whole host of newcomers to the enjoyment of wine.