Cape Crusader

Franschhoek, Stellenbosch and the Wine Route

Our last trip of the Holiday was into the wine country. Stellenbosch is considered the capital of the Wine Route, with Paarl and Franschhoek included. The first wine farm we visited was Fairview near Paarl. Fairview's has a beautiful rose garden which included a rather strange spiral tower for goats (this appears on their wine labels)?? You have to see it to believe it. We tasted a number of wines, Sauv Blanc, Merlot, Sab Sauv and a fantastic Sweet Red as well as some cheeses. Following Fairview we visited Seidelberg next door where we had a fantastic lunch. Seidelberg's restaurant had a perfect panoramic of the Paarl valley which stretches out towards Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, the wine farm also has a glass blowing studio and all the glasses and light fittings were crafted on site. The Stellenbosch Hotel was our home for the night and where we retreated for the afternoon to stroll the tree lined avenues that perfectly frame the 17th Century dutch architecture.

The following day we got up at a respectable time and headed to My flat mate Tamo's cellars in Franschhoek. Home of Pierre Jourdan and Haute Cabrière wines, the beautiful Cabrière Estate, situated on the banks of the Franschhoek river, was granted to the French Huguenot refugee farmer Pierre Jourdan on the 22 December 1694. The photo above is a chandelier in the cellar made from Don Perignon bottles to celebrate the birth of Tamo's brother Tarquin. Following a tour of the cellar we sat down for an extravagant tasting session. We enjoyed a number of Cape Classiques (sparkling Wine/Champagne)as well as an extremely good Pinor Noir. Below is the table we sat on with the other guest that day. During the tasting we witnessed another sabering, if you remember i spoke about sabering in one of my previous entries. All in all the Cabrière estate was the highlight of our trip. After lunch in Franschhoek we visited one last wine estate called Simonsig, also renowned for their Cape Classique before heading home for a well deserved rest. Tastings can really take it out of you ;-)

posted by Cape Cornetto @ 10:05 PM