Our first stop was in the town of Stellenbosch, the second oldest town in South Africa named for its founder, Simon van der Stel (Stellenbosch means Stel's forest). The town is lovely with its canal lined avenues and amazing Cape Dutch architecture.
Canals lining the streets of Stellenbosch
Cape Dutch Architecture in Stellenbosch
Our first wine tasting was at the Estate of Lanzerac Wines where we enjoyed a wine and chocolate pairing. L to R below: Chardonnay paired with lemon verbena chocolate, Rose paired with chocolate infused with actual roses (neither of us found this to our liking as the combination actually tasted like roses), Pinotage paired with chocolate covered cherry (our favorite on both counts), and Cabernet Sauvignon paired with a hot chili chocolate (also very yummy). Our last glass was reserved for a very special surprise -- a port that they have not yet named, but are testing out on various wine tasters. This, too was very good!
Lanzerac Winery
Wine and Chocolate pairing at Lanzerac Wines
Our next stop was at the Allee Bleue Estate near the quaint town of Franschhoek (keep up now: Franschhoek means French Corner in the Dutch language, but located in South Africa. Sounds a bit like some areas in the U.S.). This town was founded by the French Huguenots over 350 years ago.
On the grounds of Allee Bleue
At this winery, we sampled a Starlette Blanc, Isabeau, Starlette Rouge, Starlette Pinotage and a Shiraz. All of these wines were as enjoyable as the weather that day which was a sunny 70 degrees (or 21 C for those who can even begin to understand the Celsius scale). The nice weather allowed us to enjoy a nice lunch on the patio of a small cafe in Franschhoek.
Wine tasting at Allee Bleue
Our last stop on the wine tour was in the town of Paarl at the Anura Vineyards. Here we sampled a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Rose, Pinotage, Malbec, and Sangiovese.
View of the vineyard at Anura
Of the 3 estates we visited, Lanzerac was our favorite. It was well run, elegant and the service was fantastic. Our guide offered so much interesting information about the wines in the region -- too much to remember it all! One interesting fact to share, however, is that the Pinotage is a cultivar grown only in South Africa, and is its signature varietal. A professor of viticulture at Stellenbosch University crossed the Pinot Noir with the Hermitage in 1925, hence the name Pinotage.
Our last day in Cape Town ended with a fabulous dinner at Tasca, a Portugese-Turkish restaurant on the waterfront. Even though it was winter in South Africa, many of the visitors preferred to have their meals outside. Nearly every restaurant had propane heaters throughout their patio dining areas and blankets to enfold their guests if the breezes from the water became too cold. This was our first dinner without wine, but considering how much wine we consumed during the day, we opted for water with our meal followed by and after dinner cocktail for dessert (Wild Africa on ice for Lisa, and Cognac for Kathy). Cheers to our final evening in South Africa!
View of the Tasca patio from above
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