24 September 2006
Postcard from Stellenbosch
Our guidebook has not been written to encourage peace of mind. “South Africa”, it states, “has weak drink-driving laws, and does not enforce them anyway. So be prepared to take evasive action if you see someone driving erratically. The police will just look on, but the most they will do is perhaps offer a hand to rescue a car from a ditch”. We’re off to try a few of the wines in Stellenbosch and although after reading this I’m still going to spit the wines out after tasting them, it does not make me feel more relaxed about driving.
Overall wine consumption in South Africa is apparently declining – as it is in many countries – but production is at an all-time high, with the balance being taken up by exports, which are doubling every 5 years or so. 25 years ago, there was really only one well-known vineyard – KWV – which sold its mostly rather indifferent wine around the world. There are now hundreds of vineyards, and the number is growing all the time, as is the quality. There’s even a book, the Platter’s guide, which reviews South African wines and is published every year. “You may call it a book, we call it our bible” as one vineyard owner put it. The book is getting fatter every year, and there are signs of new wineries opening up. I even get excited about the idea of buying a 30 hectare wine estate in Franschhoek, asking price £1M, until Pamela points out that enjoying wine consumption is not necessarily a good apprenticeship for wine production.
We start by exploring Hermanus, which looks like a cross between an American coastal town and somewhere on the English South Coast like Worthing. It’s attractive in an odd, poorly built sort of way. We visit the Wine Village, a shop which has reputedly has the largest range of South African wines. The manager, Paul, is a man after my own heart; he starts by asking me to explain what wines I like and why, so that he can build up an idea of the best wines to recommend. I could spend a fortune in this shop and, as they ship to anywhere in the world, perhaps I will… “This is the wine for you”, he says as he lovingly strokes the label of the extraordinary Chocolate Block, “but I’m going to need to work on the owner to allow me to sell it to you – it’s so rare”. Sadly, shipping from South Africa is uneconomic at the kind of quantities I’m interested in – about 100 Rand a bottle. Sea freight becomes worthwhile from about 400 bottles, but that’s too many for me.
The accommodation is a delightful Bed and Breakfast in central Stellenbosch, called the Villa Grande. It’s more of a hotel, even to the point of (soon) having its own in-house restaurant. After the financial excesses of the Grootbos, this is great value. The owner is a keen wine buff, points us in the direction of some good vineyards and lends us his copy of the 2006 Platter’s guide. He even recommends the Wijnhuis (Wine House) restaurant, where the wine list is enormous and the waitresses all quite happy to be chatted up by Michael.
We start the tasting at Thelema, a relatively new winery (it’s not even on the map). The girl managing the tasting sports the rather implausible name of “Chateau”, and she knows her stuff. The whites are excellent, with 2 crisp Sauvignon blancs and an unusual lightly-oaked Chardonnay called Ed’s Reserve. The reds are also good, with 2 Merlots: a standard one which at 90 Rand (£7) is better value then their award-winning reserve at 225 Rand (£17); two Cabs both of which are fantastic (one is intriguing in that it has a slight flavour of mint and is most unusual) and a well-made Shiraz. This is a great start.
The neighbouring vineyard is Tokara, which is a bit chi-chi with manicured grounds including waterfalls, modern art on in the entrance hall and a top-class restaurant attached to the vineyard. There’s even an open fire in the tasting room, which interferes with one’s palate during tasting. Despite this, their two ranges of wine – Tokara and Zondernaam – are both good and the latter in particular, excellent value.
De Trafford was unfortunately closed, but we were able to try a number of their consistently excellent wines in the shop. Rust & Vrede (means Rest and Peace), was another high-point, including a tour of the cellars, which were simple bins with chalked board identifying the wine: the way it should be. We also bought the 2004 Pinotage from Kanonkop, which was released the day before our visit. It’s one of the very best of this varietal, which is unique to South Africa, and supposedly originally a graft of Cinsaut vines onto Pinot Noir roots. The wine is luscious and fruity, possibly to be confused with a Shiraz to an inexperienced palate.
The only disappointment of the day was Ernie Els, where a celebrity sportsman has teamed up with a local winemaker to produce good wines, which are over-priced, limited in range and served in a snooty atmosphere. But overall we had an amazing time.
The best wine we tried was probably the Chocolate Block. It’s an intriguing mixture of Rhone grape varieties (Syrah, Cinsaut etc) with Cabernet Sauvignon, creating an intense chocolate taste.
Stellenbosch itself is a delightful town, whose white buildings are mostly turn of the century Dutch architecture. The University taught exclusively in Afrikaans until about 10 years ago, but has now started teaching more and more in English. With 10 official languages, the South African education system could easily be a quasi-social barrier, so a move to English in Higher Education seems like a good move.
Next stop: Bushman’s Kloof, a nature reserve.
Overall wine consumption in South Africa is apparently declining – as it is in many countries – but production is at an all-time high, with the balance being taken up by exports, which are doubling every 5 years or so. 25 years ago, there was really only one well-known vineyard – KWV – which sold its mostly rather indifferent wine around the world. There are now hundreds of vineyards, and the number is growing all the time, as is the quality. There’s even a book, the Platter’s guide, which reviews South African wines and is published every year. “You may call it a book, we call it our bible” as one vineyard owner put it. The book is getting fatter every year, and there are signs of new wineries opening up. I even get excited about the idea of buying a 30 hectare wine estate in Franschhoek, asking price £1M, until Pamela points out that enjoying wine consumption is not necessarily a good apprenticeship for wine production.
We start by exploring Hermanus, which looks like a cross between an American coastal town and somewhere on the English South Coast like Worthing. It’s attractive in an odd, poorly built sort of way. We visit the Wine Village, a shop which has reputedly has the largest range of South African wines. The manager, Paul, is a man after my own heart; he starts by asking me to explain what wines I like and why, so that he can build up an idea of the best wines to recommend. I could spend a fortune in this shop and, as they ship to anywhere in the world, perhaps I will… “This is the wine for you”, he says as he lovingly strokes the label of the extraordinary Chocolate Block, “but I’m going to need to work on the owner to allow me to sell it to you – it’s so rare”. Sadly, shipping from South Africa is uneconomic at the kind of quantities I’m interested in – about 100 Rand a bottle. Sea freight becomes worthwhile from about 400 bottles, but that’s too many for me.
The accommodation is a delightful Bed and Breakfast in central Stellenbosch, called the Villa Grande. It’s more of a hotel, even to the point of (soon) having its own in-house restaurant. After the financial excesses of the Grootbos, this is great value. The owner is a keen wine buff, points us in the direction of some good vineyards and lends us his copy of the 2006 Platter’s guide. He even recommends the Wijnhuis (Wine House) restaurant, where the wine list is enormous and the waitresses all quite happy to be chatted up by Michael.
We start the tasting at Thelema, a relatively new winery (it’s not even on the map). The girl managing the tasting sports the rather implausible name of “Chateau”, and she knows her stuff. The whites are excellent, with 2 crisp Sauvignon blancs and an unusual lightly-oaked Chardonnay called Ed’s Reserve. The reds are also good, with 2 Merlots: a standard one which at 90 Rand (£7) is better value then their award-winning reserve at 225 Rand (£17); two Cabs both of which are fantastic (one is intriguing in that it has a slight flavour of mint and is most unusual) and a well-made Shiraz. This is a great start.
The neighbouring vineyard is Tokara, which is a bit chi-chi with manicured grounds including waterfalls, modern art on in the entrance hall and a top-class restaurant attached to the vineyard. There’s even an open fire in the tasting room, which interferes with one’s palate during tasting. Despite this, their two ranges of wine – Tokara and Zondernaam – are both good and the latter in particular, excellent value.
De Trafford was unfortunately closed, but we were able to try a number of their consistently excellent wines in the shop. Rust & Vrede (means Rest and Peace), was another high-point, including a tour of the cellars, which were simple bins with chalked board identifying the wine: the way it should be. We also bought the 2004 Pinotage from Kanonkop, which was released the day before our visit. It’s one of the very best of this varietal, which is unique to South Africa, and supposedly originally a graft of Cinsaut vines onto Pinot Noir roots. The wine is luscious and fruity, possibly to be confused with a Shiraz to an inexperienced palate.
The only disappointment of the day was Ernie Els, where a celebrity sportsman has teamed up with a local winemaker to produce good wines, which are over-priced, limited in range and served in a snooty atmosphere. But overall we had an amazing time.
The best wine we tried was probably the Chocolate Block. It’s an intriguing mixture of Rhone grape varieties (Syrah, Cinsaut etc) with Cabernet Sauvignon, creating an intense chocolate taste.
Stellenbosch itself is a delightful town, whose white buildings are mostly turn of the century Dutch architecture. The University taught exclusively in Afrikaans until about 10 years ago, but has now started teaching more and more in English. With 10 official languages, the South African education system could easily be a quasi-social barrier, so a move to English in Higher Education seems like a good move.
Next stop: Bushman’s Kloof, a nature reserve.
# posted by DavidF @ 18:31 
