15th March 2008, Stellenbosch & Wine Routes, South Africa
After a full breakfast at our B&B, we were collected by Stewart and Pam for a day in wine country. First though we went to a craft market in the town where they were staying with Stewart's sister, Somerset West and we then visited a very arty designer shop which sold the super pewter ware present in our B&B. Beautiful though it was, this was mortgage territory! Next, we were given a tour of the classier parts of Somerset West which was a real eye opener. Houses we could have bought here for £500k would have been about £5-6m in most of north London and £8-9m in Hampstead. We are talking serious 6 bed properties in half an acre apiece with great views, gated grounds and triple garages.
So, around 11.00am we commenced our trip to the Stellenbosch area. First, we went to Vergelegen, a fabulous country estate and vineyard on the edges of Somerset West which was originally the home of one of the early bigwigs in Cape Colony until he was driven out. In more recent years it had been in private hands until recently when it was purchased by an international corporation. The advantage of this was that its primary function today is as a place to entertain important international clients so the place has to be maintained in as pristine a condition as possible. We toured the house, the library, the gardens and the, of course, the wine tasting room. We paid a nominal charge, ranging from 12p to 60p to taste a glass of wine which was brought to us on mats with numbered areas to match the selections we had made. After a very pleasant further half hour tasting we bought a bottle of wine and left this fine estate for our next port of call.
We went then to the Avontuur Estate some five or six kms from Vergelegen. This was unusual in being very low key - but more particularly in being a vineyard doubling as a stud farm which M & P were looking forward to - seeing the fine horses being part of the agenda. Unfortunately, they were going to horse sales within the week and had to be protected from any external presence. Hence, we couldn't see the horses. However, we did taste the wine. But this time were attended by two young ladies who brought whatever wines we wished to taste at no cost whatsoever. Needless to say, we tasted a number and also purchased a couple of 6 packs of white and a couple of fine bottles of the 2003 Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon. The only mistake we made - but were not to know at the time, Rita having told us on our return to the B&B - was not to take lunch at this venue. Apparently, it has a reputation for doing great meals and they were serving on our arrival. Still, there's always another time.
Finally, we went to Spier which has a reputation for being the more commercial of the Stellenbosch wineries. Indeed it was, but in the best possible taste. It is organised to take a couple of hundred cars and a dozen or so coaches, but it was not too busy when we arrived about 2.00pm. We started with the wine tasting which was organised to take volume punters. First, we had to purchase a 'package' which was either one of the straight wine options - 5 plonks, 3 middling or 3 specials - or the mixed wine and cheese packages. This came with a tick list - so every wine tasted had to be ticked off the list and was only served at the bar. No waiter service. This actually suited D & S. So whilst M & P sat at a table, venturing up only when a new glass was required, D & S stood at the bar and tried to sound knowledgeable about the wine. This had its own rewards as their efforts generated free tastings of the specials - which were running at about £16 a bottle. After a very boozy hour we passed through the commercial centre with the predictable sales opportunities and we found the excellent delicatessen where we purchased all the necessaries for an excellent picnic which we took on the lawns overlooking the lake; ciabatta bread; ham, cheese and salami fillings (butter pats of course); a bottle of rose; crisps; and D even gorged on a pecan pie - much to M's irritation as she had fancied a lemon meringue. Having pigged ourselves we belatedly sought out the wildlife park; but it had closed. Nevertheless, we saw some wild birds from the outside and were lucky enough to see one of the female cheetahs who was being prepared for an evening presentation at a flash hotel. She was tethered like a dog to a leash and brought out through the gate and right in front of our eyes, literally 2 m away from us, placed in the back of a small van. D was tempted to say what would have happened had the van crashed, or whatever, but since these animals are indigenous and wild, the answer is probably - not a lot that didn't happen anyway.
After this brief interlude we headed towards Stellenbosch itself, a delightful little university town about 10 minutes up the road from the Spier winery. We wandered round the town for about an hour looking at the church and turn of century colonials buildings and M & P went shopping for various bits and pieces. The place was very Afrikaans. It would have been pleasant to have spent more time here but the truth is, this was all expended at the wineries and it would soon be dark. We returned to Gordons Bay where S & P dropped us off. We were tired but M insisted on a meal, which was a good idea. We had been told that the steps opposite our B&B dropped straight into the harbour but this was not quite correct. They ended on the road some way away and we didn't know which way to turn, quite literally. Anyway, we went downhill - this seemed logical - but we were going in the wrong direction. After a delightful walk along the coastal footpath we could see that we were heading for the place we had eaten the previous evening. So, although it was getting late, we retraced our steps, carried on and arrived at the harbour by the naval college where S had been trained many years earlier. We went to an excellent eatery, M thinks it was the Merchants Tavern, not arriving until nearly 9.00pm, got a table without too much bother - but being a Saturday it was busy and continued to be so until 10.30pm - and had a nice meal. Something for Tasmania to learn from if it wants a tourist industry - you cannot stop serving evening meals at 8.30pm; its too early by at least an hour. An excellent day, and all the better for our walking out for nearly an hour without in any way feeling unsafe.
