Rather than eating out, despite their involvement in wineries with fine eateries - Haskell Vineyards has The Long Table, a restaurant and cafe concept Rianie Strydom helped conceive with chef Carli Els; Ernie Els Wines boasts the Big Easy Restaurant - the Strydoms prefer to entertain at home.
Say Rianie: 'We have a very social group of friends, outside of the wine industry. But we’d like to make time to get together even more regularly. The idea is to start a supper club, each taking a turn at hosting at each other’s homes.'
'Having lost a close friend, I realise how precious time and friends are, and that we need to make time for one another.'
A three-week mid-year 4x4 holiday to Namibia with four families and 13 children saw Rianie leaving the rest of the group on the smaller dunes of that country's coastal desert and heading for the top of notorious sand-boarding challenge Dune Seven, taking quite a tumble at the bottom.
'Ai, my wife must always try and go one better,' sighs Louis. A competitive nature will out, but it's all about pushing boundaries, exploring, learning more, getting better. She is her own toughest critic.
At school this active, restless spirit tore it up on the hockey field; nowadays it's running and mountain-biking. The Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour is on her to-do list after a hiatus of several years.
'But body-boarding is my best,' she says. 'I love the sea and take the kids to the beach whenever I can.' On holiday, it's Arniston and Victoria Bay; at home it's the Strand on nearby False Bay. A collection of boogie boards and surfboards in the garage attests, as does the kitchen wall portrait of mini-me daughter Danielle on a windswept beach, alongside those of her two brothers in the desert.
Having got Haskell up and running and eased into a consulting role, she's become less frenetic. 'I’m spending more time kids; it's important, especially as they near high school. I thought I'd enjoy having more time, but I've realised that, to be happy, I need to be busy; I get bored too quickly. And l'll never be able to not be making wine.'
She already has small quantities of cabernet, merlot and shiraz from Strydom Vineyards in barrel. She's also been working with sauvignon blanc and sémillon. 'I’m waiting to see how they turn out before I release anything.' Only the best is good enough. 'But I'll definitely release a red and a white eventually. Whether they're Bordeaux blends or not, is another matter; I'll be guided by the quality and styles of the wines.'
Right now she's focussed on plating her vegetarian rnoussaka in rather elegant little rounds, after painstakingly layering the various elements in miniature spring-form baking tins. 'Ag, maar kyk hoe mooi lyk dit!' [Look how lovely it looks!]
Suddenly, wiping her hands on her apron, she declares she has the solution to maintaining the yin and yang of winemaking in the Strydom family: that delicate balance between polar opposites, inexorably linked
in the natural world by interconnected and interdependent forces. 'Louis will look after the vines; I'll make the wine.' She pauses. 'But if he wants to make some too, then we'll each have our own label reflecting our individual style and image: maybe R. Strydom and L. Strydom. You know, like M. Chapoutier...
But unlike the Rhône vintner who transformed the ailing family business by buying out his grandfather Marc and firing father Max and brother Marc, this redoubtable but warm-hearted winemaker, wife and mother will undoubtedly plan any possible similar family wine venture more circumspectly.
'I'm a semi-vegetarian: I love salads. I'm always looking for creative salad recipes. Now I've started reading recipe books!'
No meat moussaka with mushroom and potato recipe by Rianie Strydom paired with Haskell Vineyards Pillars Syrah wine....
Rianie Strydom’s ‘porcupine’ roast lamb with lemon, garlic and bay leaves recipe paired with Haskell lV Bordeaux-style red blend....