Monday, January 17, 2011

Travelogue: Wine Country

Jess writes:

We arrived in Stellenbosch on a late, December (yet summery) afternoon – it was difficult to be entirely frustrated by the complete lack of proper directions to our backpacker as we were surrounded by unbelievably beautiful Cape Dutch buildings and oak lined streets. Stellenbosch, South Africa’s second-oldest European settlement (established in 1679), still looks today like a Victorian blast from the past, and is pretty amazing… even just to be lost in.

When we finally arrived at Stumble Inn, we set up our comfortable “base camp” for our 5 Day Wine Country Tour – easily the most anticipated trip for Adam. We had heard of the Pinotages, the Chenin Blancs, the food, and the scenery… but now we were finally here! And even though it was already past midday, we figured, why wait?? So back out we go to start our touring…

Wine Country Tour – Day 1:

After a brief lunch at Java Café of smoked salmon wraps and cold drink (ahh, the food is already proving to be up to the hype!), we followed the map up the main road from Stellenbosch to L’Avenir, an easy jaunt from downtown but with an almost introductory status in the wine region – good views, good Pinotage, good service. And more than ‘good’ it was! From the driveway, we looked out upon the rolling hills and jagged grey and black mountains of rock that surround the entire valley. Bright purple, orange, and yellow flowers were in bloom and the greens were as bright and diverse as the summer could muster – grasses, trees, shrubs, and vines – like a water color backdrop on an oil painting! The tasting room at L’Avenir was almost equally as impressive, with huge black & white photography of the local, day-to-day life – cows being herded into pens, large village women picking grapes in the vineyards, the sun setting behind the last-lit trees – as well as the obligatory stack of bottles (but these were filled with rose, which made for a pretty cool effect) and some barrels strewn about the room.

The woman there suggested that we make a stop at Muratie Estate, just up the road, even though we would probably forego their tastings that specialized in sweet wines. The winery, she explained, was one of the oldest in existence and had been left, quite literally, untouched while still in operation. This was worth a visit… We pulled into an field that served doubly as a parking lot and walked up the unmanicured paths to the main building. Entering the winery itself was like walking into a themed Disney ride – with suddenly cool air, cold and moist rock walls, and an abundance of cobwebs that looked to be older than even the crumbling foundations outside. The tasting rooms were built with arched stone and decorated with everything from animal skin rugs to realism-style paintings in gawdy frames. And while we did choose to pass up on the tastings (Adam decided anything that smelled this old simply could not provide a pleasant tasting experience!) the look around alone was well worth the time!

Wine Country Tour – Day 2:

A late morning stop at Mila’s Cake Shop for the biggest and fluffiest croissants with bread and jam, accompanied by extremely strong French-press coffee, and then we were off…

Day 2 would be spent almost entirely in Paarl – and area with the least amount of literature and only a handful of well-known vineyards. This would certainly turn out to be a day of happenchance!

We headed straight to Nederburg, the only winery listed in both The Wine Bible and Lonely Planet as a must-see in the Paarl region. The drive out there took us through meandering townships and oddly situated villages, leading us to wonder whether or not Paarl would be worth the visit at all. But upon entry into the Nederburg Estates, we enjoyed a leisurely drive through more familiar, vineyard-esque terrain to the expansive Nederburg visitor and tasting center. We spent a couple hours there enjoying two different ranges of tastings (from their “Manor House” to their “Winemaster’s Reserve” selections) and chatted at length with one of the proprietor’s about the growing styles of the regional grapes, the history of the Paarl estates, and her suggestions for other top picks.

After Nederburg, we made a quick stop at Fairview Winery with the intention of experiencing their well-known lunches at the Goatshead Eatery. With lunchtime in full-swing, we opted only to look around and take in the unique lure of Fairview – a goat turret with wrap around stairs that serves as a goat tower marking the center of the estate. And yes, it houses actual goats which are the mascot of Fairview’s trademark “Goats do Roam” reserve wines! How clever!

With the thought of food still on the brain (or rather, stomach), we wandered further up the road to another local suggestion – Seidelberg Wine Estate. Seidelberg’s location is atop one of the higher ranges in Paarl, lending to incredible views of the vineyards and valleys below. In their old-style tasting room we enjoyed some interesting whites before opting for a relaxing picnic of meats, olives and cheeses on their grassy front lawn, overlooking the scenery. Ahhhh…

Making our way back to Stellenbosch, we took another road with gorgeous views of the western edges of the wine region. In the far distance, hidden partially by late afternoon haze, we could see the large white cloud beginning its descent over Table Mountain in Cape Town. The “Table Cloth”, as they call it, was a pretty magnificient image to end our second day!

Wine Country Tour – Day 3:

We headed out early to make it to Franschoek in time for the first tastings of the morning. This, after Stellenbosch itself, is one of the top-rated wine valleys in the region, with at least a dozen of suggestions from The Wine Bible, Lonely Planet, and winery locals – not to mention the rave reviews about their food (they were settled by French Huegenots, afterall)!

First to Boschendal Winery – a staple amongst the Franschoek vineyards, known largely for its intriguing blends. The impressive, tree-lined entry led to fields of bush grapes and young vines below some of the parts of the valley’s mountain ranges. The tasting room itself was set along one side of a grassy quad, flanked by Cape Dutch buildings and a stable – pretty impressive!

After a quick drive through town to get our bearings, we made our way to L’Ormarins (or Anthony Rupert Winery, as it is now known) and took the rather lengthy drive up the hills to their main visitor’s center… which, to our surprise, was also an antique and exotic car museum!! We meandered a bit and marveled not only at the two Ferrari Californias, Aston DB9, and Jaguar XKR (Adam obviously knew the actual models, not myself…), but also the nifty selection of antique Buicks, Fords, and Cadillacs! From there, we were taxied even further up into the hills to the actual winery, with a tasting room perched amidst an old Dutch estate with incredible views of the Franschoek valley below. Our tasting there was perhaps one of the most informative, with stories about how wines were named after friends of past vintners and tales of adventure during the L’Ormarins legacy.

With empty stomachs, we headed just up the road to Moreson to try out their new Bread & Wine restaurant and it’s acclaimed charcuterie menu… oh yes, acclaimed it is!! With a couple glasses of white in hand, we munched away the rest of the afternoon on salamis, hams, soft & hard cheeses, hand-made and spiced butter, artisan breads and, of course, plenty of olives! Oh yum!!

As evening was approaching, we began the journey from one valley to the next, over the mountains, to Stellenbosch. On our way, we noticed that DeLaire Winery was still open for tastings, and since we had heard so much about their incredible views, we figured a quick stop for some sunset photos might not be a bad idea. This, surprisingly, was one of our best stops of the entire Wine Tour Week… the views from DeLaire – the highest situated vineyard in the entire region – were unbelievably breathtaking and the sun setting over the mountains cast shadows and a pink glow over the green hills, purple flowers, and rolling vineyards below. Yeah… pretty amazing! And the outside was just the beginning – inside, DeLaire was more a modern art museum-turned-tasting-venue with massive oil canvasses, sculptures, water features, and ornate lighting fixtures. It was difficult not to walk around the entire area – both inside and out – without a gaping mouth. But the views and décor were only a bonus! Because on a whim, Adam decided to do a tasting while I was snapping away a gigabyte or two of photo space and, again, much to our surprise, these were some of the best reds we tasted all week!! I will let him do the full explanations in his post on tastings, but suffice it to say that we were both taken aback!

Finally back at “base camp”, we stumbled away from The Stumble Inn for some grub in town and, per usual, we were indecisive on what to eat, so we wandered until something caught our eye: Japanese Tapas. Yes, we could do that. Genki – a Japanese restaurant, with a rather old Japanese sushi chef – was set back in a courtyard amongst niche storefronts. Its interior posted mirror-mosaiced walls, bamboo texturing, and an unbelievable amount of pink and red Chinese lanterns lighting the ceiling. Again yes, we could do that. We ordered reasonably light since we had already pushed the limits of our budget on Franschoek that day, but decided upon first bite that this was some of the best Japenese food we had ever had… ever! We both ordered simple starters and rather light meals, but as we were quick to discover, there was nothing simple or light in this Japanese – my miso soup was the most unbelievably complex and flavorful miso concoction, the sashimi salad was divine with the freshest cuts of salmon and line fish in a spicy sesame dressing, the tempura prawns were enormous and perfectly battered, and of course, the sushi and nigiri were perfection. Yes, we did do that. In fact, we did it again before leaving the area and would have fit in another visit if time allowed… it was that good!

Wine Country Tour – Day 4:

Today was our semi-pre-scheduled, whirl-wind tour of anything and everything Stellenbosch had to offer… and what a day!

First stop was at Kanonkop for some of the region’s most “classic” Pinotages and a quick spin around their small wine estate – the highlight of which was a quote above the entrance that read: “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.” Amazing!! The gentleman who assisted our tasting was particularly helpful and virtually planned the remainder of our Stellenbosch tour for us, with suggestions and honest opinions on the very long list of potential stops for the day.

Per suggestion, we made our next visit to Simonsig Vineyards, for another style of “classic” Pinotages, as well as some of the region’s only sparkling wines. Their tasting room boasted some of the most interesting décor to date – with chandeliers made entirely out of china serving sets (yes, think plates, bowls, and saucers) and a mélange of photography, drawings, and oddly chosen sculptures. Nevertheless, we did get to see Simonsig’s “classic” side when one of the proprietors opened a sparking white wine bottle with a saber… impressive!

Next up was Bellevue Estate – along with Muratie, one of the oldest in Stellenbosch, established in 1701 – and looking probably not much different than it did in its first few years. The tasting room was small, dusty, and smelled of years and years of crushing, fermenting and bottling. Outside, there were large expanses of open green fields where vineyards once stood (they are now further up on the hills) and Morgen horses have now taken the place of red and green grapes.

After what seemed like an indeterminably long drive, up unkempt dirt roads, following small and virtually illegible signs, we arrived at our fourth stop of the day – Mooiplaas Winery. As we pulled into their small dirt lot, almost a half hour after leaving the main road, Adam and I were fairly convinced that this would not be worth the time and effort it took to get there. We were, quite happily, very wrong. Mooiplaas’s out-of-the-way and way-the-hell-up-there location makes for some of the most interesting and incredible whites in the entire area. In particular, their Chenin Blanc (which again, I’m sure Adam will discuss in much more detail) was by far the best white wine I have ever experienced… and that’s saying a lot coming from a girl that has a strong preference to her beloved reds. We were also the only visitors at the tasting room upon our arrival, so the tasting manager was keen to explain – in quite a bit of detail – the ways in which their whites compared with others in the region, versus reds in the region, and how this was all done with certain growing, bottling and aging techniques. And did I mention that they had my favorite tasting room of all? Entirely stone – with large stone slabs for tasting tables, a rugged stone wall extending to the height of the ceiling, and beautifully marbled and naturally chipped stone floors. Cool, stark, and yet one of the most inviting rooms I’ve ever seen. What a great stop!

Last but not least, though mostly in search of food, we made a stop on the outer edges of Stellenbosch at Kleine Zalze. This long standing estate has been producing easy drinking wines since 1695, but unfortunately, their restaurant was overpriced, so we did not stay long. Shame.

Back in town, we had made reservations at a local, ‘must-dine’ restaurant called Volkskombuis & De Oewer. We felt a bit like Anthony Bourdain in “No Reservations”, but having been in this country for almost a year and never trying traditional, Afrikaans (Cape Malay) cooking, we figured we would give it a go. Not to mention, this place is suppose to be the best of the best… so why not? The meal: we started with a popular appetizer of schnook (shredded fish and spices), Adam ordered the ox-tail strew, and I ordered a tasting tri of chicken pie, bobotie (a spiced mince), and a ‘water lily’ (read as: meat) stew… what a feast of meat!! I could only get about a third of the way through my mean before I was about to burst!!! And while it was a great culinary adventure, I’m not so certain that we would ever have the ‘urge’ for that style again. Nevertheless, we found a lot of pleasure in discovering that there is one nationality that can officially eat more than Americans… and they do!

Wine Country Tour – Day 5:

Our final day in Wine Country was a wrap-up of ‘must-sees’ and ‘must-dos’ that we had not quite yet fit in. But it was, nonetheless, one of our most relaxed and enjoyable days in the region.

First, a stop at Tokara in the early afternoon to take in the views (it is situated in an area similar to DeLaire) and absorb the modern-art-lovers-esque style of the winery itself. While walking down hallways lined with canvasses painted in various varietals of red wine, reading the branches of the sculpted “Poetree” (read: “Poetry Tree”) outside, and marveling at the largest no-casing clock I’ve ever seen (Dad would have loved this one!), we enjoyed not only a free tasting of Tokara’s interesting reds, but also some of their incredible olive oils. Rosés, bread, and olive oil – now that’s what I call brunch!

From there we headed straight back through downtown Franschoek to make a reservation at Café Bon Bon, located in the Kleine Dauphine Wine Estate. This lunch, planned weeks in advance, was my belated birthday feast, saved especially for the French cuisine stylings of the Franschoek valley. We sat on the patio leisurely, enjoying a birthday lunch of meats, cheeses, olives, breads, butters (oh, and that was just the starter…), as well as artisan salads and pork belly! Yummy!!

Headed back towards Stellenbosch, we made one final stop at Vrede en Lust Winery, with their long, stone entranceway and amazing tasting room vista views. This was one of the most impressive tasting rooms we had seen yet, with long mahogany tables decorated with white orchids, overstuffed leather couches beside tables with antique estate books, and a breeze patio leading directly into the vineyards at the foothill of the mountains! All the women in the tasting room wore fashionable, bright red, dresses and were well-versed in the colorful history of the estate. The wines themselves ranged from chilled whites, to bold reds, and even a blush blend called “Jess” – how nice!

Once we had arrived back to “base camp”, we spent a lazy evening at The Stumble Inn with some fellow, now-familiar, travelers and made one last outing to my new favorite stop in town – a gellateria that served a dark chocolate and orange ice cream confection that was purely divine!! Adam also partook in some spirits at the Inn’s local haunt – The Trumpet Tree – for one last taste of Stellenbosch’s buffet of offerings to wine-lovers, food-lovers, and travel-lovers alike.

Thus – filled to the brim with Pinotages, Chenin Blancs, and high-growing blends; bursting at the seams with breakfast pastries, charcuterie plates, Japanese Tapas, and don’t forget the gelato; and feeling as though we had experienced a complete immersion in the astounding beauty that is the vineyards, hills, and mountains of South Africa’s wine region… we contentedly fell asleep on that last night.

Goodnight Stellenbosch. Goodbye Wine Country. Thanks for the indulgence of a lifetime!!

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