The Winelands

We are now at the point of the story of my trip in Africa that will take me a long time to write about because yesterday was one of the most delightful days of my adult life. I will have to roll the memories around in my head as I recall the delicious flavors, smells and sights of yesterday. The Winelands of South Africa are an epicurean smorgasbord. We made the decision to rent a car and pick our own wineries after much debate back and forth for pros and cons. It went something like this:

Tour Company pros - don't have to drive and worry about drinking too much at tastings, they have relationships with wineries and may get to places you wouldn't have though of, don't have to worry about directions.

Tour Company cons - could be stuck on a bus with loud and belligerently drunk people for hours, limited number of stops and time to spend at each stop, may only stop at big commercial wineries that have relationships with tour operators.

Self-designed pros- can go to as many as we can handle in one day, can pick out ones that were recommended to us by locals, can stay as long as we want, can eat wherever we pick, can do whatever kind of tasting we like.

Self-designed cons - have to worry about drinking too much, someone has to drive, we may miss some good wines because we don't really know what we're doing or have any relationships.

In the end, it was worth it to get the car because we were able to visit seven wineries. Since Mark is very nice and doesn't like wine quite as much as I do, I was the chief taster for most of the day and the chief organizer for which wineries to visit and where to eat. I had a good buzz going for most of the morning but it was the most delicious kind of buzz you could have. I started to wonder if i was really tasting the wines I drank or if I was only semi-drunk off of how fabulous the weather, the countryside, and the food were.

We started at Fairview winery in Paarl. Those who enjoy wine may have come across the "Goats do Roam" label. It's a (pretty great) pun on the famous Côtes du Rhône region in France and it's big burgundies and lovely sauvignon blancs. Fairview had a lot of goats and some of the best goat cheeses I have ever eaten to offer with their strong flight of wines. They offered a few of the Goats do Roam, some of the flagship wines, and some they have under another label as well. Mark was quite taken with the goats and their cheeses, and I was thoroughly pleased by a nice soft Chenin Blanc that I decided to take home with me. The next stop in Paarl was KWV. While the tasting was not the idyllic country side setting, the wines were very nice. They had a nice semi-dry sparkling wine that I took to, as well as a pinotage that they age in toasted oak for a few months and it has a distinctively mocha flavor and aroma. I can only dream of how it will taste with dark chocolate.... mmmm.

The next town on the list was Franschhoek which means French corner in Dutch. I instantly felt smitten with this region. It was the most picturesque of the three and it was also the most reminiscent of Provence. From the craggy landscapes to the gorgeous vistas and delicious food, it took me back to one of my favorite places on earth. It certainly didn't feel like Africa. We stopped at the Boschendal winery which was maybe the most beautiful we visited. All the estates are whitewashed stucco with thatched roofs, wrought iron gates, beautiful lawns, and these pine trees that grow in a very appealing and artistic way. I have to think they are trained to grow that way, but then, maybe pine trees are different in Africa. Boschendal also had nice wines, but I didn't buy any there. I loved all the sauvignons that I tasted and I thought if I kept buying everything I liked, I would never be able to get it all home. The next stop was Graham Beck winery where the tasting room looks like the sleekest of bistros with black marble and silver everywhere. They had the largest varieties of tasting menus, one of just champagne which was hard to turn down. Here they use the Méthode Cap Classique which is very nice and exactly like the traditional champagne method, but of course, the French won't allow anyone else to call it méthode champenoise. They had very nice champagne but I ended up going home with a merlot which I found to be very smooth and spicy. I actually can't wait to get home and start cooking to match these wines and have some nice dinners.

The next stop was all the way across town but it was perhaps the best stop of the day. I had been searching for the perfect place to have lunch on the wine day. I wanted a place that wouldn't break the bank but would provide a certain charm and fit with the rustic elegance of the day. I have to say that the last two days, the guide that I brought over with me has come up huge with two recommendations. Yesterday it was La Petite Ferme. Nestled into a hillside overlooking the Franschhoek valley with a garden and a view to kill for, a small dining room that was full of sunlight, and gorgeous smells from their herb garden, as soon as you pull up you know you're in for a treat. All the tables are right by the floor to ceiling windows giving on to the view of the mountains and the valley and the garden in the back. We started with a cheese platter. They make all the cheeses on the farm. It was maybe the best decision we made all day. They served brie, pecorino, gorgonzola, and a peppered havarti with garnishes of raw almonds, strawberries, preserved figs and a melon preserve which I would have hated had it not been so absolutely phenomenal against the creaminess of the brie and balanced out the strong flavors in the gorgozola so well. I had never tasted anything like it and I will remember that lunch for as long as I live. The dishes that came after it were equally delicious but the simplicity and beauty of the tray of farm cheeses that began our meal will stay with me for a long time. I also had a lovely pumpking creme brulee afterwards which had the most perfect brulee crust on the top I have ever seen. I hope that someday I can create meals that are this lovely and simple.

After lunch it felt like nothing could get any better than that right there. We pressed on to the Lanzerac estate which I wanted to visit because of it's beautiful locale. We got there and they were closing so we were a bit rushed but because of that, the tasting was complimentary. I got a pinotage. In the afternoons I felt like I needed to buy more reds since I had found more whites that I had liked in the morning. Lanzerac is probably a place you would want to savor more than we were able to. They had all different kinds of pairing tastings, with chocolate and cheeses, but we were only able to do the wine. Next we were sort of racing the clock to get in a few more before they all closed. We heard one close was open until 5, and it was 4:30pm. We raced over to Overgaauw and met its lovely and kind proprietor and chatted with her about our day. I enjoyed their table red wine and felt obligated to purchase one since we were the only ones there and we stretched their opening hours a little bit. (Can I add here that I didn't pay more than $10 for a bottle all day? I bought a LOT of wine and spent no more than $50 on all of it.) Then it was on to Neethlingshof. They had a huge complex with a restaurant and the most beautiful boulevard of trees that served as its entrance. The huge pine trees bent over each other to form a sort of natural pine cathedral ceiling as you are driving in. It's gorgeous. We loved the wines as well. They had some amazing reds and I bought a few bottles there as well.

I was so sad to leave the gorgeous wine country of South Africa. I was ready to drop everything, leave my degree unfinished and just stay. Franschhoek is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and I will never forget it. I will have trouble drinking the wine I brought back with me because those tastes and flavors will be the souvenirs and I will want to cherish them forever. We watched the Dutch take on Uruguay at the hostel and called it a night after Robben put in the go-ahead. It was a day for the books.