The Royal St Andrews Hotel’s Thistle Restaurant is cementing its reputation as the province’s top wine specialist after winning a Diamond Diners Club Wine list award (2024), thanks to sommelier and food and beverage manager, Robin Hyde.
Hyde’s extensive knowledge of wines and food pairing is the main factor behind the hotel’s latest wine list award which is confirmation from the prestigious rating organisation that this establishment has a fine and well-thought-out wine list that complements the menu.
The hotel’s regular guests are aware of the joy of having a well-matched food and wine occasion from time to time; the award is a big plus for the establishment and its venue that caters for a world-class dining experience, the Thistle Restaurant.
Diner’s Club hosts various award categories. The Icon Award is top of the list, followed by the Diamond Award and Platinum Award.
“[Martin] Bekker (the late developer and hotel owner) really really loved wines and one year Diners Club sent us correspondence saying that they had noticed we had a new restaurant and would like us to apply for the different awards. Mr Bekker decided to put our wine list forward as a result,” said Hyde.
Hyde said the first two years the hotel received a platinum award and every year (except during Covid lockdown) a Diamond award.
“In the Eastern Cape we are the only restaurant who received a Diamond award,” said a proud Hyde.
“The award has basically to do with wines that are accessible to everyone, having some foreign wines from each region and wine that is curated properly. To have a shot at winning, you need to have cellar wines, old vintages, and different sized bottles. So we have magnum, half-bottles and normal size bottled wines. And we really work hard at keeping this up.”
Hyde says the hotel is very fortunate to have reputable wine suppliers throughout the country.
“Another factor is we try to introduce guests to wine through our Thistle Thursdays, where we do food and wine pairing … and every four to six weeks we try to get an actual wine-maker here to address guests.”
The popularity of Thistle’s wine and food pairing evenings is evidenced by the fact that these occasions have been fully booked up with guests.
“I am also very lucky in that I go to Cape Town twice a year, and there the wine suppliers organise visits to the wine farms to interact with and taste new vintages, he says. A lot of reading and research goes into it too.”
Knowledge
The fact that Hyde worked on the iconic Blue Train, at Cape Town’s prestigious Mount Nelson Hotel before taking up a position at a Constantia wine farm for 12 years, working under established winemakers such as Andre Badenorst, Andre Rossouw, and John Loubscher adds a string to his bow when it comes to the knowledge of wines. He also holds a diploma from the Cape Wine Academy.
”I was lucky to go in to the wine cellars … I really learnt a lot and we had something called the sommelier’s club where we met every Monday … tasting wines with other people and learning more,” said Hyde.
“One of the most important things we have learnt (at Royal St Andrews) is that there is a whole new market for wine; people who didn’t really have access to wine and who are not familiar with the nuances of wine. They are learning about wine and coming into the market. I love sharing with people interesting things about wine as I dread voraciously on the subject, and what is interesting to see is having people coming back to sample wines and the turnout at our wine and food pairing evenings.”
Hyde said the long-term objective of hotel founder Martin Bekker was to make Thistle a destination restaurant – “and wine plays a huge part in that”.
“It also helps and I love it that we (at the hotel) are given the freedom to do things as long as we explain what we are doing and why. The award really is great publicity for us and opens up a new market for us as we have attracted new following of wine enthusiasts.”
Hyde said the Royal St Andrews Hotel’s wine list was overhauled every year with the process beginning in February and registration to be included among the entrants for the prestigious award being finalised in July.
- This article was first published in Talk of the Town, January 16, 2025. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
