Wine Tour
In short: |
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| Duration: | 9am - 5pm Mondays-Fridays |
| Included: | Four tastings, cellar tour & light lunch |
| Farms: | Tokara, Fairview & Seidelberg, 4th farm open for negotiation... |
| Cost: | From R600pp |
Featured wines:
Shiraz, Pinotage, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon
Featured areas:
Paarl, Stellenbosch, Drakenstein Valley, Helshoogte Pass
South Africa celebrating 350 years of wine making excellence in 2009! 2 February 1659 Jan van Riebeeck tasted our first vintage, and he never looked back...
"The hippopotamus, he is not one going, "Cool beans. I am a hippo." No way, Jose. So he try to paint the stripe on him to be like the zebra, but he fool no one. Then he try to put the spot on his skin to be like the leopard, but everyone know he is a hippo. So, at certain point, he look himself in the mirror and he just say, "Hey. I am a hippopotamus and there is nothing I can do about it." As soon as he accepts this, he live life happy. Happy as a hippo. You understand?"
- Claude, Along Came Polly 2004
How to choose a wine farm out of literally the hundreds on offer? You have to choose, and after many painstaking days of research drinking wine and lazy lunches, I've come up with a plan that should suit every taste.
Middelvlei's the first stop. Why? It's authentic. It's beautiful. It's got turtles! Avoid the ducks, assorted goats and other animals while sampling some of the local fare. We make furious mental notes and ask intelligent questions, at this point still in charge of all our faculties.
We do a driving tour through Stellenbosch, if there's time we might stop at famous Oom Samie's shop. I show you the University grounds, the town centre and the Old Church.
We then tackle Helshoogte Pass and go for a tasting at fabulous Tokara. It's gotta be good if the place is the pet project of one of South Africa's richest men GT Ferreira. At this stage we're experts, so we sniff our Chardonnays approvingly while pretending to be unimpressed with the spectacular views.
Time for lunch! Seidelberg is great for views in summer, and awesome for a cozy tasting room in winter. We taste more great whites and reds while we feast on a massive platter of meats and cheeses.
Finally, Fairview. Cheese. Wine. Cheese. Wine. And some goats. The place is a must on any wine tour, and a fitting end to a great day!