The Wine Route

Continuing with my travelogue………being in South Africa and not doing the Wine Routes would have been unforgiving! Personally, this was the best part of the visit……..the wine tasting! Hic! ;-) Helen, an Afrikaner from Johannesburg and I drove down…. to some of the finest Wine Estates of South Africa.

Our first stop was NEETHLINGSHOF which is just outside the town of Stellenbosch. The long Pine Avenue leading you to the estate is simply stunning and pictures do not do justice. A picture of the same is reflected in the wine bottles from this estate. We stopped to click pictures for posterity and savoured the view to be locked forever in our memory.

We did our first wine tasting……

Joe was our Wine Guide……….is that what one would call him? Got our first tips on being a Wine Connoisseur……….. the tipping, the sniffing and the rolling of the wine. The RED and the WHITE wines ….Classic Cabernet Sauvignon, Lord Neethling Pinotage…. We tasted 7 or was it 9? different wines. We graded the wines to our liking…..taste, smell, …and Joe of course helped us in distinguishing what the wine was all about and why it was famous and won a particular award and many other things. Not having the heart for spitting such good wines out…. as “Wine Tasters” would do, we left Neethlingshof with a warm, nice & light feeling and a couple of bottles of wines!

Next, KANONKOP – where the big guns roar! That’s what they say and at the gate of the estate there is a huge canon placed and smaller versions scattered everywhere, once when you get in.

At Kanonkop our Wine Hostess ……….I’m trying out different names to call these Professionals………. was a lovely lady by the name of Tina. She took us through some of the estate’s famous red wines….and we now knew why Kanonkop Estate’s Pinotage is so famous!

At the entrance of the doorway there is an interesting inscription explaining what the Pinotage is all about!

“Pinotage is the juice extracted from women’s tongues and lions’ hearts. After having a sufficient quantity one can talk forever and fight the devil.”

Onwards, we drove to the MURATIE WINE ESTATE. The farm echoes old-world hospitality and the environment from the olden days…..as if left untouched……….complete with cobwebs!
We just looked around as we had decided not to taste any more…….we had to get back without getting lost……….Helen was driving while I was navigating……with a map on my lap!

At the gateway to the Franschhoek valley lies the legendary farm of Boschendal and this is where we headed finally. "Bossendaal" (wood and dale) farm, one of the oldest wine producers with a French viticultural heritage.

We soaked in the Art….exhibited (one could buy too!) right next to the café…….looked at the curios & of course the wines!

Lunch was at the Le Café.....outside in the dappled shade of the spreading oaks. Perfect weather & delicious food and far from the Madding Crowd!

After soaking in as much as we could we headed back via Franschhoek Town …………a day filled with wonderful experience that will live with us.... came to an end.