Beautiful. Spectacular. Picturesque. Stunning. I could go on and on about the uniquely gorgeous landscape that makes up South Africa’s wine country. Mike and I were floored by the beauty at every turn (unreal views despite cloudy weather during our time…I cannot even imagine if we had caught a sunny day.) Thanks to this phenomenal scenery and surprisingly quaffable (to pay tribute to Sideways) wine, we thoroughly enjoyed sipping our way through Stellenbosch and Franschoek, the two towns that make up South Africa’s wine country.
As you may have picked up from other blogs (or spending an evening with me), I am a bit of a wino. So, when Mike agreed to spend our final two days in Africa wine tasting, I was ecstatic. It turned out to be the perfect exclamation point to our tremendous two months on this continent. South African wine country is easy to get to so we hopped in our trusty Chevy Spark rental car and drove through the mountains from the Garden Route until reaching our first destination: Franschoek.
Franschoek, one of the oldest towns in South Africa, was founded by the French Huguenots and still retains a very French feel (maybe one of the reasons I fell in love with it!). Set in a valley between the dramatic, towering Franschoek mountains, it is now known as the food and wine capital of South Africa. There is not much to do in in this touristy village other than eat, drink, and admire the views from the many wineries or quaint Main Street…but that was fine with us. Mike and I only spent half a day here and we basically picked our tasting stops at random. Each winery had a good mix of sparkling wines, whites (Chard, Sauv Blanc, and Semillion heavy), and reds (the area is known for Pinotage and full of great Shiraz and Cab). By the time we wobbled into town, we were disapointed to learn that most of the world renowned restaurants only serve lunch in the off season and were therefore closing. (I can actually sense my foodie friends shuttering by our lack of advanced reservations). So, even though we missed out on what would have been a great meal, my frustration quickly faded when we pulled into our quaint B&B in Stellenbosch.
We opted to stay in the more affordable and busy Stellenbosch – only a 15 minute drive from Franschoek. It has a vibrance that only a college town can possess and a small downtown area surrounding the university full of cute cafes and cozy restaurants. While its views are not as imposing, it is still lovely. After being enthusiastically greeted by two university students working at our B&B, we dined on comfort food at a local bistro and called it an early night to gear up for our next day of tastings.
For our day of wine tasting in Stellenbosch we took suggestions of a local that we had met the day before. She had suggested a good variety of stops: Rust En Vrede (a highly awarded winery/restaurant), the modern Ernie Els winery, Murate (an old, historic vineyard), and Delaire Graff (for the views and ambiance). We were not disappointed by the South African hospitality, delicious wines, or scenery.
And Mike did a great job being the designated driver (I was more than happy to down any of his unfinished pours). The only slight hiccup was on our way to our last winery of the day when we passed a makeshift breathalizing station on the side of the road. Even though Mike was fine to drive, it was still nerve-racking to approach the check point not knowing if they would chose us for a random test. Luckily, they opted to let the “red rocket” (our name for our rental car) pass. Unfortunately, this prevented Mike from imbibing much at our last stop. Don’t worry though, I was able to pick up the slack (leading me to take the picture below).
Our time spent in South Africa’s wine country was just as much about the ambiance and views as the wine. I cannot say enough good things about the beauty held by the dramatic mountains, lush vegetation, rolling vineyard hills, and faultlessly constructed buildings. It was the perfect way to end our African adventure and convenient as a day trip from Cape Town or the nearby Garden Route.
Oh, and, love the RED ROCKET!!!
OMG…this blog made me belly laugh picturing the two of you trying to look sober. Oh Kat, I am sure we could easily classify Mike as a wino also!
Kat, this post makes you sound like all you do is drink wine while your sober husband drives you around, hahaha!
Trying to picture a quasi-sober Pally and well-imbibed Kat scampering around in the Red Rocket…..must have been a riot!