Bottle of Wine
Trip Start
Aug 21, 2009
1
25
52
Trip End
Nov 09, 2009
Cape Town, South Africa
Saturday, October 3, 2009
It is just after 9 AM when we arrive at our first winery, Bloplass, famous for its port which has won many medals. Oh well, one shot in the morning and you're good for the whole day, right? We sample 3 wines and 2 ports and leave with a Viognier and a Reserve Port, the latter which will eventually make its way back to Canada (we feel it is that good).
Feeling fortified we start our travels on the fabled wine route, route 62, and venture towards Franschhoek and Stellenbosch. Our next stop is at Graham Beck wineries, a relative young winery, only 25 years old. We sample 6 wines but there is nothing unique or special that appeals to us. Then it’s an impromptu stop at Overhex, a private seller which deals mainly with overseas clients. This winery has more promise, and we pick up a Shiraz and a pinotage (and yes, at wholesale prices).
Now it’s on to the N11 and south to Cape Town. We travel through a 4 km. (2.5 m.) long tunnel through the Huguenot Mountains north and west of Cape Town. The Huguenots are impressive, probably rising as high as 3,350 m. (11,500 ft.).
We arrive at our hotel, the Protea Breakwater Lodge, about 5:15 PM. The hotel was originally a prison, established in 1859 to house long term male convicts who worked on the construction of the breakwater in Table Bay (the harbor for Cape Town). Today much of the building has been leased by the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business (GSB) which had its own buildings in the Victoria & Alfred (V&A) waterfront (so named after the two basins in Table Bay, the Victoria Basin and the Alfred Basin) demolished to make way for the construction of a new football (soccer) stadium for the 2010 World Cup. The Breakwater reminds us very much of London House and London School of Economics.
The rooms are very dormitory-like and there are meeting rooms and lounges affiliated with the GSB on every floor in every one of the three buildings that the hotel operates. Our room consists of a small queen-size bed, a desk and extra chair. It overlooks Table Top Mountain, situated just north of the downtown area and it is a great view.
Tonight we are all on our own. We decide to go to the V&A waterfront for a visit and select a restaurant. There are many to choose from (52 in fact) and we end up at Mitchell’s Brewery (from Knynsa) for a casual, small dinner and a few new beers to try (Milk and Honey, Scottish 90 Schilling, Raven’s Stout). It’s satisfying but the day-long drinking binge is taking its toll and so it’s off to bed as there is a full-day excursion tomorrow.
The next day starts with a good breakfast, although it is cafeteria style. High winds are forecast for this afternoon so our guide decides that it is best to go to Table Top Mountain right away. It is a very good decision as it is clear and cloudless, and not many tourists, when we arrive. We travel in a cable car that rotates as it rises up the 1,067 m. (3,500 ft.) ascent to the top. There are no towers on this route either which means the four cables transporting the one car up and one car down simultaneously are incredibly strong. Swiss made and installed.
The top of the mountain renders extraordinary views of Cape Town, Lion Mountain, Signal Hill, Camp’s Bay, and other points along the peninsula. It is extremely windy on top, and quite cooler. We are on the top for one hour before heading down.
From Table Top Mountain we drive to and throughout the Cape Hope peninsula, starting with the Constantia area where they planted the first grape vines over 350 years ago. There are absolutely stunning views but the wind is also ferocious. By the time we get to Cape Point (the point which separates the Atlantic Ocean from the Indian Ocean), it is blowing between 50-70 km. (30-44 mi.) per hour on a steady basis with gusts up to 80-90 km. (50-55 mi.) per hour. It is difficult to take a picture let alone maintain your balance. It is like being in a mini hurricane, without the rain. It is the windiest place we have ever been to. Cape Town is also very windy and our guide says that Cape Town is like a baby, "when it’s not windy, it’s wet".
From Cape Point we make our way to Simon’s Town, then to Boulder’s Beach (where the South African penguin has taken over the beach from humans and no one knows exactly why), and then to Muizenberg where there are shark spotters posted high above to alert the surfers in False Bay (so called because many sailors thought they were in Table Bay instead).
It is a full day from 8-4 and we relax for awhile before heading off to the African Craft market and other shops along the V&A. We stop at Den Anker, a Belgium restaurant and bar, and have an Anker Bier, fermented enroute from Belgium to Cape Town and made especially for this restaurant.
As this is our last day as a group, we decide to go to a restaurant that specializes in African cuisine -- Karibu at the V&A waterfront. We have a great time and the food is, again, outstanding. Rose has kingklip, a dense white meat fish that is similar to tuna, and Boyd has snoek for an appetizer (a pate made from a local barracuda fish) and venison medallions consisting of warthog, springbok and kudu. What a fitting finish for this trip! Afterwards we head to Mitchell’s Brewery for a nightcap of Old Wobbly, an 11.7% ale. We think Old Wobbly might be a bit overstated in its impact but nevertheless a good finish to a great night.
Wednesday we spend saying goodbye to our fellow travelers, having a haircut, catching up on the internet and communications and moving to our next hotel, the Cape Town Lodge, recommended to us by fellow travelers on our South American cruise. Upon arrival, we are told that we are going to be in the loft suites with a view of Table Top Mountain. This is a significant upgrade from what we booked and we can’t wait to see what it entails. We are on one of the two top floors with an unobstructed view of Table Top Mountain. The room is very large (48 sq. m. or 517 sq. ft.). There is a king-size bed, telephone, satellite TV, balcony, two working desks, and full kitchenette facilities including fridge, microwave, toaster, and sink, plus an extra high ceiling. Totally idyllic.
Right on the corner where our hotel is located is also a liquor store that stocks many different brands and styles of wine, and the same for beer. We discover a new brand of beer, Birkenhead, so named after a ship that wrecked along the eastern coast. We try all of their styles, including pilsener, stout, honey blonde ale, lager, and every one of them exhibits an undeniable taste of butterscotch (diacetyl) that should not be in the flavor of the beer. It wins points for consistency though.
For dinner we go to the African Café which is only two blocks from our hotel. The African Café is on the top 10 list for restaurants in Cape Town. It is a fixed price meal and consists of 16 different dishes (appetizer size although you can eat as many or as much as you want) from all over Africa (namely Morocco, Ethiopia, Congo, Zambia, South Africa). There are also two deserts, both from Morocco. The staff are dressed in full costume including face decorations. It is a true African food, cultural and visual experience.
We arrange for a driver to try some wineries in the Stellenbosch area on Thursday. There are over 300 wineries in the region. Just try to pick a few is a daunting task.
We choose four wineries, based on recommendations we received in Johannesburg and from our waitress at the Karibu restaurant. The country side is rolling hills and extraordinarily beautiful. We start by going to the Waterford winery, a really young winery, only 10 years old. We try 2 white wines and 3 red. They pair the three red wines with three different types of chocolate. Wow, an incredible high and it’s not even 11 AM.
Our next stop is at a winery started in the mid-1970s. It is called Delheim and we have had at least four recommendations for this winery. We try 12 different wines at this winery (there are so many good ones to choose from) but two really stand out. But we have no more room for wines in our fridge and/or luggage. What a pity.
From Delheim we travel to the Paarl region and go to the Fairview winery. This winery produces the Goat Do Roam series of wines. They also have a cheese factory on site and you can sample 6 wines and 10 cheeses at the same time. The wines are pretty good, but the cheese is unbelievable, especially the vineyard blue, which is so creamy, and the Boland Blue, a cheddar and blue cheese combination. Both are going back to the hotel with us, along with some fresh bread and balsamic dip. Yummy.
Our last winery is an iconic one in the Stellenbosch region. It is Kanonkop and it is just approaching its 108th birthday. Over the doorway leading into the tasting room there is an inscription that says, “Kanonkop’s wine is the juice extracted from women’s tongues and lion’s hearts. After having a sufficient quantity one can talk forever and fight the devil”. Kanonkop only makes four wines and their Cabernet Sauvignon has already sold out (in just 6 weeks) so that leaves just 3 wines to try. Kanankop is renowned for its pinotage and it is astonishing. We can’t believe how many good wines we have had.
The number of wineries in the Stellenbosch region and its beauty is almost overwhelming. Its magnitude and splendor is fantastic and so much better than our memories of the wineries in Chile.
Now picture this. It’s nearing sunset and the sun’s rays are catching the last cable car coming down Table Top Mountain which we can view from our balcony. There is not a cloud in the sky and our patio doors open to the sea air. Our coffee table supports an open bottle of white wine and a new beer from Stanford, just north east of Cape Town, as well as fresh cheese and bread. What’s going to happen next?
We decide to have dinner in the hotel which has the Butcher’s Grill, another famous restaurant in Cape Town.
We spend Friday walking through the Company’s Gardens and throughout the downtown area, including the African flea market in Greenmarket Square. We treat today as a shopping day while our laundry is being processed for the next leg of our journey.
Tonight we decide to have a non-African dinner and head to a Thai restaurant for dinner. Pack the laundry and finish the blog stories for tomorrow. It’s a long but pleasant day. We have hardly had a cloud in the sky in Cape Town since we arrived 3 days ago, and the temperature is a comfortable 27 C. (81 F.). This is about as cold as it’s going to get for the next while. We are truly enjoying every moment of it and having a bottle of wine a day. As the song goes from Loverboy, “Lovin’ every minute of it….”
Saturday presents yet another cloudless day (fourth in a row), full of sunshine and warm temperatures. We head off to the V&A for one final visit and then onward to our next hotel where we will meet our group for the tour to Namibia, Botswana and Victoria Falls. We’re excited as another new adventure awaits us.
