Fact: we love wine and we spent last weekend expressing this love. Stellenbosch is a region of the Western Cape of South Africa that is synonymous with wine. On Friday afternoon, after a small dispute with the rental company, we hopped into our white automatic Nissan Tidda and took the 30-minute drive out into the country. It was nice having the ability and independence to have this little escapade and it was a great way to celebrate the end of classes.
We only had a little over an hour before wine tasting closes for most of the vineyards so we quickly went to one of the first places we saw. Neethlingshof was stop number one and we easily walked away with 6 bottles of wine. As we were leaving a man who was enjoying a cup of coffee jokingly asked if we had purchased each wine we had tried, little did he know that the damage had just begun.
After Neethlingshof, we went to the nearby Asara estate. Although wine tasting was closed for the evening, we were able to satisfy our sweet tooths with a chocolate tasting.
We decided to have dinner at the estate and while we waited for the kitchen to open, we all enjoyed a drink in the cigar and cocktail lounge as the sun set over the mountain. Dinner was absolutely amazing. The weekend was all about indulgence and we fully embraced that with three courses of delectable delights. Alex is still raving about her pumpkin and ricotta tortellini. Kristine’s kingklip put her in the clean plate club and Callie left room for a dessert that was described as an omelet of soufflés. Although we’re still unsure as to exactly what that description means, it certainly did not disappoint. After dinner, we waddled to the car and drove home, excited to be returning the following day.
With the fond memories of the day before, we were up and ready to go on Saturday morning. Our goal for the day was to visit five vineyards, have lunch in Stellenbosch and drive to Franschhoek, a neighboring town, for dinner. We missed the mark by one vineyard but we have no doubt that the day was still a success. Bergskleder was the our first stop where we toured the cellar and the distillery, as well as watched a 15 minute informative video that only Kristine enjoyed (she says she takes after her mother).
The wine tasting included 6 different wines. Both Kristine and Alex enjoyed the dessert wine however Callie deemed it far too sweet only half of a sip in. With three bottles of wine in the car, we were back on the road. Next stop was Stellenzicht. Bergskleder was focused on catering to the foreign tourist but Stellenzicht was off the beaten path, down a dirt road. This turned out to be one of our favorite stops on the trip. Our wine tasting, while it was quaint, was intimate and informative. The 40 minutes we spent with the young woman at the tasting taught us much more than the informative video and the wine, in our expert opinion, was superior.
Six more bottles into the car and we were off. After a quick stop, taking in the countryside, we ended up at nearby Stellenrust. As we pulled into the estate, we were greeted with Grecian-style pillars and statues. The employee who was colder than the statue outside did not warmly greet us. Perhaps she did not realize that we were there for more than the free tasting but even in the midst of her rushing us through, we walked away with three more bottles, two of which were only R25 (just over $3).
At this point in the day we were ready for lunch and we headed into ‘downtown’ Stellenbosch in search of a place to eat. After taking a quick tour of the town we stopped at the most crowded place, thinking crowds translate into high-demand of good food. This was not necessarily the case and our meal was nothing special but it did give us sustenance to continue on with our day. We took a tour of the city on foot, taking in the Dutch and English inspired architecture, stopped for ice cream and were back in the car without knowing exactly where the next stop would be.
As we drove toward Franschhoek, we saw a sign for Delaire Estate and as we drove by, we decided it was a place we had to stop. So we pulled a U-y and drove up the long, winding driveway towards the estate. This was by far the most posh of the vineyards we visited. With breathtaking views of the valley, we sat outside and enjoyed our last tasting of the weekend surrounded by the Cape Town elite.
We literally rode away into the sunset towards our dinner reservation at Reuben’s in Franschhoek. Alex had read about the unique dinning experience at Reuben’s from the always-reliable NYTimes and had us all excited for the meal. The chef changes the menu each week, so every dish is a special and all the ingredients are fresh and local. Once again we ended the day with an overly satisfying three-course meal. Alex had herb-crusted rib eye, Kristine had lemon grass Cape salmon and Callie had lamb curry. While all three dishes and our appetizers were a-mazing, we still were able to squeeze in dessert- one should never doubt our eating capabilities.
Even after the two (full) days, we aren’t fully Stellenbosch satisfied and a return trip is already in the works.
Our new wine cellar includes:
21 bottles of wine
4 Pinotage
3 Cabernet Sauvignon
3 Shiraz
3 Sauvignon Blanc
2 Rose
2 Chardonnay
1 Noble Late Harvest, Bergskelder dessert wine
1 Stellenrust Simplicity- Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz
1 Gewurztraminer
1 Cabernet Franc
If you happen to be one of the lucky ones, you may even get to sample some of this delicious wine with us once we figure out how we're going to get it back home!
As always,
Met Liefde Van Afrika
Callie, Kristine and Alex
P.S. (If you didn't get your fill of pictures from this blogpost, check out our newly uploaded images on our shutterfly account, apieceofcape.shutterfly.com!)
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