Starting off in Stellies

Hey guy,

Well, I went wine tasting on Wed when I went to Stellies side. Here's a breakdown of the farms I visited:

I started off at Vriesenhof. The girl there kept apologising for everything, it was hilarious. They had a Pinot Noir there, which was actually quite cheap, but sold out very quickly because of it, so didn't get to taste that one, but I did taste the older, more expensive one, which is easily loved. They had a very nice red Cape blend which had a great nose and was well-priced, as well as a ridiculously cheap Muscat d' Alexandrie (priced at R30), which was quite accessible and perfect to go with cheeses. I bought a bottle for essentially R10, as they took off the tasting fee (of R20) if you bought a bottle.

Next I went to De Trafford, going down a long dirt road, until I saw the sign saying they are only open of Fridays and Saturdays.

I bounced back down the road and visited Waterford, which had a lovely tasting area, and it was very busy there. They also do a chocolate pairing (and tasting) with their last 3 wines. Their service there was incredibly professional and the only thing I was disappointed with was there poor spitton. Their wines were definitely made to lie down a good few years, most of them tasted a bit young with firm tannins, but with great potential, and a lot of the reds had already been lying in wait for a handful of years. The ones I enjoyed there were the Shiraz, the Cab Sauv and the Family Reserve (Heatherleigh). Unfortunately though, their wines were not cheap. I also liked their Chenin, which I thought was a perfect food wine. This was also the birthplace of The Jem, a R680 bottle of wine, which you could taste for R50. Having already heard about the wine, and being told it was an Ernie Els wine, I passed on that tasting, knowing I'd never be crazy enough to buy a bottle anyway.

Following the road, I stopped by Dornier. The tasting room moved from the building with the huge fish tank and signature curvy roof, to the restaurant at the top - which was terrible for smelling the wines as it was just down the corridor from the kitchen. That aside, I enjoyed the Cocoa Hill Red, which was definitely tasty, easy drinking and well-priced, the Cab Sauv was quite smooth and elegant, which got a rating of 'good' in my book, and an 'excellent' pinotage, more so because of it's fantastic nose than it's palate, but also well-priced.

Then, after missing a turnoff and going the really long way round, I ended up in Stellenzicht. The tasting room was tiny, elevated room and just outside was a beautiful landscape, which they didn't take advantage of at all. It was quite sad, actually. This was one place that I actually enjoyed their Golden Triangle Sauv Blanc, even though it was still not exactly my taste, I wouldn't complain if someone poured me a glass. They had an excellent wooded Semillon (9 months in wood), which left a lovely taste in the mouth, almost butter-scotch like a Chardonnay. The last really great wine that I enjoyed there was their Golden Triangle Pinotage, which had great acidity so left a nice long lingering full-mouth feel.

Only four farms on Wednesday, as I got a late start, and there were a lot of dirt roads to travel on.

Val.