September 1 is #CapClassiqueDay, a day set aside to celebrate South Africa’s premium sparkling wines. Cap Classique is made using Méthode Cap Classique (MCC) — the traditional method (as in Champagne) where the second fermentation takes place in the bottle. These sparkling beauties are made in a variety of styles, from grape varieties that you might expect and a few […]
James Downes met us in the tasting cottage at Shannon Vineyards on a crisp spring morning. The cottage was James’ home in his bachelor days and looks out over a beautiful garden, vineyards and waterway. All of it had been washed clean by early-morning rains. Click on individual photographs in galleries to view. Close to return to the post. Shannon […]
It was quite by chance that we came to visit Waterkloof Wine Estates located above Somerset West, an hour’s drive east of Cape Town. I had not heard of the wine farm until several years ago when we received a comment on one of our blog posts about South African wines.
The Tulbagh wine district in South Africa is a valley that is surrounded on three sides by a ring of mountains, the Obiekwaberg, Groot Winterhoek and Witsenberg mountains. Located over an hour’s drive north of Cape Town, it’s a bit out of the way but well worth exploring.
Aaldering Vineyards and Wines is an Estate winery located in Devon Valley, a ward within the Stellenbosch district is South Africa. It’s history is relatively recent compared to some wine farms in South Africa, having been established in 2004 with the purchase of 24 hectares. Aaldering’s first vintage was 2007, which they released in 2010.
Being the wine lovers that we are, we wouldn’t consider visiting South Africa without spending a few days wine tasting. We spent two days wine tasting in Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, Tulbagh and Swartland. On the third day we ventured out to a stunning farm in Somerset West. We have never toured such a beautiful wine region, and the wines were not overshadowed one bit by the beauty of the scenery. Join our tour of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch in this post.
Cape Town, South Africa is stunningly beautiful. It sits perched on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean in the southern portion of South Africa. Cape Town is located at the northern end of a peninsula which terminates at Cape Point. Sweeping beaches stretch along the Atlantic and are interrupted by a rocky shoreline. The ocean is blue-green and wild along the Atlantic.
The flying time between California and South Africa was a grueling 22 hours in length for us (not counting a 4-hour layover). We tried hard not to think how long a time that really is. To that end, we officially began our trip with a toast made with Graham Beck Brut NV, what else? We have had this delicious South African sparkling wine made in the Method Cap Classic style (South Africa’s Méthode Traditionnelle) several times. It is always delicious and just what we wanted to celebrate the beginning of what we expected to be an exciting vacation.
Pete and I have wanted to visit Africa for a long time. It’s something we have talked about over the years, often in the afternoon with a glass of wine in hand, in our back yard. Vacation day dreaming! But finally our plans turned from wistful thinking to planning…over a year of planning actually.
Our Thursday Night tasting this week consisted of six wines from South Africa.
We enjoy wine, food and travel. Pull That Cork is a chronicle of our wine adventures, the food and wine pairings we create and our travels which are increasingly organized around wine.
