I'm fairly positive that after the past three days, my mom will be inclined to write me back into the family will after having been removed upon using the statement, "All wine tastes the same mom... its yucky!" at the age of eight. For those of you who don't know my mother's classy and careful taste in fine wines, let me just put it to you this way... we designed the wine cellar in our house before we added toilets to the floor plan. And as per usual, mommy dearest was right when she said all wine doesn't taste the same... boy am I proud to say was I wrong.
FRANSCHHOEK
This past Saturday, I woke up late, frazzled at the thought of having to depart in half an hour and in the meantime pack, shower, and fetch Madeline at her house. True to form... I had saved quite possibly every detail to the last minute. Jogging down Main Rd. in Rondebosch, I met Maddy at her place and then we continued further up town to our friend Brooke's house where the car was waiting to take us to Franschhoek and Stellenbosch... the wine lands :) Because the majority of American study abroad students had already left on overland trips throughout the country and then some, Maddy and I had decided that a tasteful (pun intended) weekend of wine sampling would be a nice alternative. Neither of us had ever done something similar (obviously because we are not legal yet in the States). Our friend Brooke had volunteered to join us on the first day of our grape-tastic excursion with a woman whom she had been extremely fortunate to find on her last outing in Franschhoek. Jackie, our driver and tour guide, was possibly the nicest and most precious woman I have met since arriving here. The entire day of driving, tours, and dining cost us less than $200 USD (and its still a 30 minutes drive to the vineyards)! The two of us bounced into Jackie's comfortable sedan, Brooke already relaxed in the passenger side seat. We were met with Jackie's lovable smile, sweet Afrikaner accent, and aroma of cleanliness.
After a 30 minute car ride of casual conversation and beautiful countryside, we turned down rows and rows of grape vines, barely starting to bloom under the gray blanket of clouds and looming presence of the mountains. We had made it to Franschhoek, where our weekend of flowing bliss had continently landed on a wine festival, "Franschhoek Uncorked!" Our first stop was Vrede en Lust. Ribbon-y posters fluttered in the casual wind as we walked up to purchase our weekend passes which would enable us to visit every participating vineyard in Franschhoek (with unlimited tastings I might add). The surrounding group of wine enthusiasts were a mixture of people dressed to pin and others in relaxed fleece sweaters and kakis. After being handed our passes, stamped with a map of the region, and our complimentary wine glasses, we entered the tasting room which was buzzing with servers in Oktoberfest-like uniforms and a jovial crowd of spirited tourists. The inside of Vrede en Lust was full of handsome wood architecture and seductively comfortable leather couches and fine furniture. It was an interesting mix of classic elegance and up-beat modernity. After sampling our fist round of about six different wines from a tasty Sauvignon Blanc to a savory Cabernet Sauvignon/ Merlot blend, we departed towards our next stop with eager spirits.
In between vineyards, Jackie would educate us about the history vineyards and the elegant complexity of how different wines were made such as Shiraz, which is grown from a sandy soil. Plaisir de Merle, the next stop, was among the largest, oldest, and prettiest of the vineyards. Colorful gardens and rich greenery softened the land of Plaisir de Merle. The wine tasting was held in a small out-door tent, right next to a home that had been constructed in, if I remember correctly, the 1700s. Iron tables and chairs where dispersed throughout the yard and a melodic violinist was casually strolling around the smiling wine tasters. There was a seductive smell of baguette and freshly-made crepes dancing through the air from a table laden with delicious home-made cuisine. We explored the old houses for a bit, marveling at the gorgeous architecture and aged thatch roofs, and then settled to taste the four samples of wine that were offered. The server, a young Afrikaner boy, took note of our accent and made sure to half-jokingly remind our designated driver to "keep left" on the highway. Good thing Jackie was South African, but thanks anyway! This wine list was among the most expensive, however not necessarily my favorite. Don't get me wrong, it was a fine mixture of mouth enticing flavors, however it was the atmosphere that I felt made my experience at Plaisir de Merle memorable. It was romantic, graceful, and picturesque. Jackie taught Brooke, Maddy, and I how to smell and "swish" our wine around in both the glass and our mouths as to extract the most of the complex taste lingering within our complimentary wine glasses.
Our next two stops were Allée Bleue and then Solms-Delta. Allée Bleue was possibly my least favorite, yet fun nevertheless. The high caliber of vineyards that we visited were all superb, so when I say my least favorite... it was still more than satisfactory. The land of Allée Bleue was flat an not nearly as colorful as Plaisir de Merle. However, its most memorable detail was the tasting room. It was large, open, covered with modern art and a fun blue color scheme. The wine was extremely tasty. After being mistaken for a South African by one of the flirtations Wine bearers who began rambling off in Afrikaans to me, only to stop at the sight of my twisted facial expression, he switched to English, laughing as he poured Chardonnay into my glass while saying, "American? Very cool... you know this is completely unlimited so come back for as many tastings as you'd like." Thanks dude, will do ;) This encounter became the entire theme of the weekend... flirtation. Be it with our food, our wine, or the people we met, our weekend was gracefully smothered with playful conversation. Solms-Delta, our next visit, was situated on an extremely old vineyard that the present owner had excavated, only to fine the remains of precious bones, tools, pottery, and foundation that had once met the land hundreds and hundreds of years ago. The owner had thus built a museum, "Museum de Caab," (Museum of the Cape), which displayed these precious finds and timelines of the region's history. Whilst walking through the museum, my eyes oddly glazed over a smooth piece of rock which turned out to be one of the old pieces of pottery that had surfaced due to excavation... a pretty neat piece of memorabilia! The tasting area featured a fun live band that consisted of a New York lead singer funny enough, and a large crowd of chatty individuals. The wine, I might add, was splendid. The three of us paid extra to taste a find blend of a bunch of things I can't remember which had nearly a 20% alcohol content... we knew then that food needed to happen next!!
The fifth stop was at Anthonij Rupert Wines, a winery with an exquisite display of vintage cars and racehorses. I only managed to taste one glass of their collection due to the fact that I moseyed over to the small dirt track lined with shiny old cars. I laughed as a faily drunk old women spilt a slight amount of red wine while climbing out of the car on the passenger seat, nearly sending the owner of the estate into a bit of a fit. He resisted with elegance, but I guess that just goes to show that fine leather interior and Merlot don't quite mix well. Next, our hungry tummies and hazy vision led us to Graham Beck Wines, possibly my favorite of all six estates. It reminded me of being in a Colorado Lodge. It was not nearly as crowded and we were able to enjoy a tasty meal sampling in front of a whispering fire and a relaxing air of acoustical talent from a musician who also dedicated his own version of "Sweet Home Alabama" to us American girls. The wine was divine, and the scenery was breathtaking, as per usual. That visit wrapped up our time in Franschhoek as the three of us, in our blissful states, returned to Jackie's car and headed back in the direction of Stellenbosch, the other side of the wine region where our hostel for the next two nights was located.
STELLENBOSCH
After saying goodbye to Brooke and our beloved Jackie, Maddy and I stumbled up to our hostel, skillfully named the "Stumble Inn." We checked into our dorm, filled with six beds but at that time only the two of us, and immediately crashed into a two-hour nap. After waking up, our appetites had returned along with a slight since of dehydration. At dusk, the two of us strolled through the seemingly empty town of Stellenbosch with its quaint architecture and found our way to Man'oushe, a Lebanese restaurant and bakery. The restaurant was semi-outdoors (it had an open front) and was filled with comfortable couches, tables, and a friendly staff. The most friendly of the staff, as it turned out, was the head chef and owner Jean, a jovial and witty Lebanese man who seemed to fall head over heels for his new American Girls. Since when did Americans become so exotic? Not once have more than three different individuals in a conversational setting who are eager to flirt with an American approached me. Trust me, I'm not complaining... even if one of them was a good-humored Lebanese chef. During our meal, Maddy and I were sent multiple plates of luscious fruits who Jean himself came over to cut and peel for us. Although we were overly-full, we couldn't resist humoring him and wanted to avoid hurting Jean's feelings, so we ate them all. From the conversation between Jean and the rest of the now full restaurant, I could tell that he kept a close relationship with his loyal fans. And quite frankly I'm not surprised, the food was amazing and he was extremely entertaining. The table of regulars sitting next to us laughed at our contemplating of how to fit in even just one more complimentary strawberry into our bursting tummies.
Afterwards, we ran into Jean on the street outside his restaurant prior to visiting a small bar for a few drinks and good conversation, who then invited us to his faux birthday braai (we were picked up twice by people trying to lure us in with the "birthday" excuse! haha). Sadly, we didn't make it but the two of us socialites lingered over to Nu'Bar, a club with great music and an overly chic crowd. Maddy and I danced, had fun conversation with a couple of guys who wanted to test my poor proficiency in Afrikaans, and de-energized the tired soles of our shoes. A fun end to a fabulous day! (can you believe I haven't even made it to Sunday yet!! Sorry for your sure to be tired eyes... but you have to admit, its been entertaining right?) OH BUT WAIT! THERE IS ACTUALLY MORE! Once Maddy and I had drifted off into sleep, we were soon informed that our dorm had more inhabitants upon hearing a jolting thud hit the floor right next to my bed. I heard a groaning figure in the dark, looked around, and sure enough, discovered that a few late night Brits had joined our room following our bedtime. Turns out, the drunk guy had thought he was sleeping on the bottom bunk and literally just rolled off the top of our bunk bed. Maddy and I spent the next half hour snickering uncontrollably in our bunks, every now and again hearing our laughter from beneath our buried heads in our pillow cases.
Spier Estate
We laughed a bit with the guys the next morning who as it turns out were passing through on their way to volunteer in Cape Town for a few weeks. The two of us then decided to explore a bit of Stellenbosch and to catch a good and heart breakfast. We wound up a deserted wine bar with an amazing breakfast menu. This was the first time I had drank a fine glass of merlot before 12pm with a mouthwatering breakfast sandwich. When in the wine-country right? It was in what looked like a lodge-attic hybrid cross. Our small table overlooked a quiet avenue. Later that day, we decided to catch a shuttle over to the largest of the Stellenbosch wine estates, Spier. And man, is Spier and estate. It housed a Cheetah refuge, a very cool restaurant named Moyo (which I had referenced in one of my past blogs), and a tasty selection of wines. Maddy and I indulged in all three. Following our tasting, we strolled over to take a peek at the lounging Cheetahs and then hoped over to Moyo for, oh yes, more wine and a relaxed atmosphere. Later retuning to Stellenbosch, we found ourselves in a Thai kitchen for dinner and then returned to the the Stumble Inn to unwind with some reading time and a nice nap... life doesn’t' get much better does it?
After a well deserved shower, we strolled over to a fun bar/restaurant called Cubana. It was relatively empty due to the fact that Stellenbosch is a college town and on Spring Break as well. Maddy and I ordered up a couple of Margaritas and apparently a couple of guys as well. We were sent a round of shots by a mystery man who later (faked a birthday excuse) and joined us with his laughter-provoking friend. Again... its that American charm isn't it? We sat at Cubana until closing, enjoying laughter and conversation, and then went our separate ways. I think that it's overly safe to say that Maddy and I managed to have an unbelievable wine tasting, food loving, and friend-acquiring weekend. We were fortunate to gain a room all to ourselves for the night and woke up well rested and ready for our sad journey back to Cape Town. We waved goodbye to our grapes and decided to catch the metro rail whose fist class consisted of empty benches... oh the luxury of South African's public transport.
And so that brings us to the end my friends. I'm currently suffering from a hand cramp due to this lengthy post at our trusty neighborhood coffee shop, a messy room and a pile of laundry waiting for me back at the house. I'll be sending you love again soon with a tale of the next portion of Spring Break that is up and coming, full speed ahead!
"In vino veritas"
In Wine is Truth - Proverb
xX Hopper Xx
