wine estates

Gastritis may have messed with my joyous relationship with wine but it could not ruin the fun of visiting wine estates, which like our beautiful South Africa are diverse, unique, multi faceted and character rich.   They are also all set in chocolate box, pretty scenery, nectar for the soul. Unless you’ve been to Vergenoegd I bet you’ve never been …

A nasty altercation with gastritis reduced wine tasting opportunities on our last Cape trip, to mere lip wetting.  Visits to wine estates were therefore more focused on the full experience. We have never explored the Durbanville area much in the past and this time chose to remedy the omission.  Unfortunately we chose old years eve to sample the offerings of …

This evening Somerset West is eerie, the air is so thick with smoke you can taste it.  Unrelenting wind blows ash and grit into your eyes.  Tonight is our last night before heading home, right now I would prefer to be anywhere other than here.  I spent the day with my eldest son Heath, we played Putt Putt in Strand …

Visiting the wine estate Reyneke, we were guilty of a faux pas, unaware that tasting should be by appointment. None the less we were graciously accommodated between two bookings. The tasting was a friendly personal interaction where assistant winemaker Nuschka shared her knowledge and passion for what she does. Reyneke is a biodynamic estate. Not only are organic principles followed, …

I haven’t bothered to write about the last few wine estates which we have visited.  They have been quite forgettable.  Vines in abundance, check.  Lovely old buildings, check.  Nice wine, check, and so on.  Nothing has stood out enough to be remarkable.  Just when I was beginning to feel that wine tasting is all “been there, done that”, we discovered …

The setting of Winters Drift tasting station, puts the wine’s best foot forward before a sip is taken.  Train stations are imbued with an air of romance and a sense of adventure.  I had never heard of Winters Drift wines before but we noticed that they have notched up some impressive awards.  We particularly loved the Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir …

In days of yore, Cliff and I loved attending the annual wine shows held in Johannesburg, but since our small people arrived my attendance has been limited.  An extended visit by Cliff’s parents allowed us the opportunity to go to the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show together last night.  The merit / drawback of this show is that only award-winning …

As often the case, our decision to visit Bilton Wine Estate was driven by the children’s play area.  We have previously tasted and purchased Bilton wines at the Joburg Wine Show, but that was several years ago and we have never visited the estate.  Cliff did a full tasting and I took sample sips from his glasses.  The ‘Sir Percy’ …

On previous visits to the Cape we have ummed and ahhed regarding a visit to Die Bergkelder (literal translation, the mountain cellar), which falls under the large corporate Distell banner.  We decided to do the tour this time.  One can be put off by the fact that they also do an ‘Artisanal salt tasting’ which sounds a load like bs …

As a rule I prefer the family owned and run wine estates, still some of the corporately owned estates are well worth a visit.  The buildings and gardens at Neethlingshof are beautiful.  The wines are excellent, a rare instance where not one seemed lacking, each wine tasted was well above average.  I chose a single glass of Chardonnay and Cliff …