393. Cape Winelands

Where: Stellenbosch, South Africa
When: November 20, 2012 / December 1, 2012
With: Dave, Nic, David / Dave

On the only cloudy day we saw in Cape Town, we decided the best way to wash away the gloom was with some wine tasting in the Western Cape's winelands. While it hasn't quite got the fame of France and Italy yet, South Africa is making some fabulous wines (not that I'm an expert by any means as I will drink almost anything put in front of me). The two main types are Chenin Blanc (a white) and Pinotage (a red). The whole region, with its rolling vineyards and dramatic landscape, makes a picturesque setting, even in the gloomy weather. And the wineries are comfortable, not pretentious and not over crowded. A win all around. 

Our first vineyard was Waterford Estates. 

Their tasting came with chocolates as well, which made it way more exciting.

This pitbull wandered around the vineyard and the tasting room. He was a stocky little thing, and not very keen for attention, but he was pretty damn cute. 

Our second vineyard was called Asara. 

We had lunch at this lovely little place, where Dave and I got to sit in big cushy chairs while enjoying our meal. We pretended to be king and queen in our thrones...cause what else do you do sitting in these chairs?

While that day trip gave us a good first insight into what the winelands had to offer, we needed a full day of tastings to get the full experience. So a couple weeks later, Dave and I made an early morning drive out to Stellenbosch where we hired a guide to drive our soon-to-be-drunk selves around the area.

As the tour began at 9am, I am glad to say that we had a bit of sightseeing first rather than diving right into the wine tasting. We started in the small town of Franschhoek. The name means "French corner" in Afrikaans, and as you can guess, it was settled by French immigrants in the 1600s.  Franschhoek, along with Stellenbosch and Paarl, are three of the major towns that make up the wine region. Franschhoek is the smallest, but has a lot of character and has been up and coming with its wines. It had a lovely little downtown area. 

Some views down on Franschhoek.

Then it was time for our first couple of vineyards. Each one allowed a tasting of at least 5 wines, which is so much more than normal! The second vineyard we visited, Rickety Bridge, had some of my favorites. Sitting outside on a gorgeous day with those stunning views was lovely. Our guide sat and talked with us while we tasted, and while I'd normally find that really awkward (especially when he stays sober and I get progressively more tipsy), he was such a sweet old man with so many interesting stories about his life in South Africa.

We left the Franschhoek area and headed back towards Stellenbosch  On the way, we made a stop at the last prison that Nelson Mandela was held at. When he was released, after 27 years of total imprisonment, his exit was referred to as "his walk to freedom". A statue now stands at the front of this still operational prison. 

At this point, it was time for lunch. And good thing, cause all the tastings were starting to catch up with us and our empty stomachs. Our guide had called ahead to reserve us a balcony seat at a winery called Tokara, allowing us gorgeous views of the vineyards.

After lunch, we had just started to regain our composure when we found our guide at the bar getting another tasting ready for us. A tasting of 7 wines. The bartender was really friendly and actually gave us one extra sample of a dessert wine. A tasting of 8 wines. We were then really friendly right back at him and bought 3 bottles. Sadly, the large bottles were not for sale...or at least, that's what I told myself to avoid any future catastrophes.

Two vineyards left and we were feeling good. Number four was probably our least favorite, but had a beautiful setting and three bottles of wine for the price of $8. So we learned to like.

Our guide saved his favorite vineyard for last, and rightfully so. It was called Warwick. It had a beautiful back patio overlooking the water, and an extensive tasting menu. 

But easily, the highlight of this winery was the story of the wedding cup. The story goes that many years ago, a young princess fell in love with a silversmith. Her father forbade their marriage and had the silversmith locked away in jail. When his daughter refused to eat due to her broken heart, the king decided to make a deal with the silversmith. He said that if a cup could be made, out of which both a man and a woman could drink without spilling a drop, he could marry the princess. 

The end result was the wedding cup. It looks like a statue of a lady holding a cup over her head. If you flip her upside down, her skirt is hollowed out in the shape of a wine glass, and the cup over her head flips right-side up. This allows both people to drink from it. Now, anyone who drinks from the wedding cup will have a life full of love and happiness. It is also now the logo of Warwick wines.

So clearly our guide was off to fetch the wedding cup, and after 6 hours of wine tasting, we were asked to gather our coordination skills to drink red wine out of this contraption. Dave had it easy, cause he was allowed to touch the glass, but eventually, I got it. 

After the end of a long and exciting day, we said goodbye to our wonderful guide and headed back to our hotel. It was a beautiful inn in Stellenbosch that had the friendliest staff ever. Dave and I discussed in great length all the grand plans we had in mind that evening, once we took a little nap. Flash forward 14 hours later, it was morning and all we could do was get up for breakfast and start our drive back to Cape Town. Oh well, we had a lovely day, and definitely got the most out of the winelands (as well as 8 bottles). 

For the rest of our trip in South Africa, click here.