Wine Tour 2007
Today has been one of the most stressful of my life. I woke just before 8 and did the usual morning activities of bathing and brushing my teeth before a quick breakfast at the wrap joint down the road from my backpackers. Right at 9 I (and 5 others) were picked up by Bruce Storey, our wineland tour guide. The other 5 were consisted of; a young couple of Bristol, England; an older couple from the Netherlands; and an idiot lady from Florida. I'm actually yet to meet a person whose company I enjoy that's from Florida. I don't mean to paint a whole state with the same brush, but I've met a bunch of Floridians and have been none too impressed.
Anyways, I digress. We departed and headed to the Fairview Estate and tried 6 (I got a seventh from the cute little lady behind the bar) different wines, followed by an unlimited opportunity to take part in their homemade goat and cow cheeses. Delicious. From there we continued on to the family owned Villiera Estate to tour their wine making process. This particular winery is known for their champagne, so we had a couple varieties of that. Actually, Champagne is a name that can only be applied to French wines (like Bordeux or Port) so in South Africa it's called a Cap Classique. After several wines there, we continued on to the Beyerskloof Estate to visit the home of the Pinotage grape. In the 1920s, some guy here in South Africa successfully cross-pollinated a Pinot Noir plant with a Hermitage plant to make the now famous Pinotage. After a nice lunch and a trip to the cellar at Beyerskloof, (and several glasses of wine, port, and cap classique, we continued to Tokara to try their wines. These guys were far more stingy on their tasters than the previous wineries which makes them lose a few points in my book, but their wines were pretty good.
At the end of the day, we finished at a Belgian chocolatier's in Franschenbosch. The chocolates were really nice and a good way to end a day of drinking.
All in all, today was pretty great and worth the $50 value. I got to try over 30 types of wines, ports, champagnes, got lunch, and ate some chocolate, so I can't complain.
Tomorrow I'll probably walk to a beach and sun bask for a few hours before getting ready for the Rugby World Cup Finals. I've yet to decide who I'll cheer for, but it promises to be a pretty good game.
Anyways, I digress. We departed and headed to the Fairview Estate and tried 6 (I got a seventh from the cute little lady behind the bar) different wines, followed by an unlimited opportunity to take part in their homemade goat and cow cheeses. Delicious. From there we continued on to the family owned Villiera Estate to tour their wine making process. This particular winery is known for their champagne, so we had a couple varieties of that. Actually, Champagne is a name that can only be applied to French wines (like Bordeux or Port) so in South Africa it's called a Cap Classique. After several wines there, we continued on to the Beyerskloof Estate to visit the home of the Pinotage grape. In the 1920s, some guy here in South Africa successfully cross-pollinated a Pinot Noir plant with a Hermitage plant to make the now famous Pinotage. After a nice lunch and a trip to the cellar at Beyerskloof, (and several glasses of wine, port, and cap classique, we continued to Tokara to try their wines. These guys were far more stingy on their tasters than the previous wineries which makes them lose a few points in my book, but their wines were pretty good.
At the end of the day, we finished at a Belgian chocolatier's in Franschenbosch. The chocolates were really nice and a good way to end a day of drinking.
All in all, today was pretty great and worth the $50 value. I got to try over 30 types of wines, ports, champagnes, got lunch, and ate some chocolate, so I can't complain.
Tomorrow I'll probably walk to a beach and sun bask for a few hours before getting ready for the Rugby World Cup Finals. I've yet to decide who I'll cheer for, but it promises to be a pretty good game.
posted by Brett @ 12:39 PM
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