April 3 Muizenberg: Winery Tour

Very early start 5AM, left guest house 6 AM, and train was not on time, but did come, and I got to the pick up point for the tour ok. Cornelia, our Xhosa guide was very good, and very friendly. The full day tour was great. We picked up folk from various hotels, and eventually left around 9 AM.  We were in a large mini bus, and 10 of us. It was a great day. Three tastings. The first with cheeses. The second after lunch, and the third before we left. I did not appreciate most of the wines. Some were quite nice, but I did not rave about any. Even the award winning red wine. At the last tasting they paired biltong with a certain wine, ( firstly, springbok biltong, then kudu biltong, then beef biltong.) The first two are wild game biltong ( jerky). The scenery was awesome, and the company was good. We stopped for lunch in Stellenbosch which is a delightful university town. Lots of shade trees each side of the road. Such a nice place. Great mountains in the background. Check out the pics. Got home at 7:30 PM!! It was a day of excellent weather, and I have lots more pics to show of this lovely wine growing place in the Western Cape

 First tasting: Zevewacht cellar, temperature controlled. White wine barrels above, red below. South African oak is not used.

 Below: second tasting location. Note Cape Dutch gabled architecture.

Above: first tasting location

Above: scenery

Above: Moeder Kerk, Stellenbosch. Gorgeous avenue of trees on each side of the road

Below: Nelson Mandela statue. Behind the statue is the second maximum security prison that he stayed in. They moved him from Robben Island, to this location as he was sick. I think he was released from here.

The vines below, no grapes, as the hot drought caused picking to be done earlier this year. Irrigation is used here too.

Below, lovely trees

Second location tasting below. One was a kind of champagne .

Below Dutch Gable architecture with thatched roof.

 Below: Stellenbosch

 Below: Huguenot monument in Franch Hoek....the French wine town

 Below: last wine tasting venue

 Below: great explanation of the process....wine vats

 Below: the three types of biltong

 And cheeses!!