Wining and 'sometimes' Dining
One of the joys of visiting South Africa is to visit the beautiful wineries. Where we stayed, in Somerset West, we had three we could reach in about 5 mins in the car.
Vergelegen
Vergelegen is the first place we visited on our trip to Cape Town and it would be the first place we would return to if we go back. With its secure setting, manicured grounds and lovely Stables Restaurant it's a must-do. We visited several times and enjoyed the walking but also sitting under a spreading camphor tree reading a book. Entrance fee was 20 Rand for 2 people.
Lourensford
Lourensford is across the River Louren from Vergelegen. It is more commercial than its neighbour. It was busy at weekends when it hosted an indoor market, mostly food stalls. It had padel tennis courts, a massive pick your own flower greenhouse, an OK Restaurant, a gin distillery, a motor museum, ice cream shop and a nice cafe in addition to the obligatory Winery. We even spotted a Lebanese Restaurant tucked away. We bought a nice bottle of red on our first visit for about £4. We went to Lourensford a few times. Entrance is free and parking was about 20 Rand.
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| Ice Cream at Wedgewood |
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| Pick and pay florist |
Morgenster
Morgenster was another near neighbour to Vergelegen, it shares the same entrance drive. Turn right after the narrow bridge. We went there for coffee and cake initially. I bought a bottle of their Bordeaux style wine. I did a mini-tasting and chose one to my taste to enjoy back at the cottage. The Restaurant was good, we went one evening with D&D and sat out on the terrace overlooking the lake.
Spier 1692
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| A local resident - a Swee Waxbill |
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| No sun cream required here |
A baking hot day when we visited Spier. We turned left before Stellenbosch and cut across to Baden Powell Drive where we turned right. It was the weekend so a lot of families were in evidence. Security problems mean that a lot of the locals must living behind high walls and I can imagine places like Spier are a godsend. There are lots of open areas for kicking a ball or having a picnic. Quite a large and extremely popular wine-tasting area. I bought a bottle to takeaway that I subsequently enjoyed. We sat out on a shaded terrace and had a light meal. A nice zero alcohol beer was my lunchtime tipple. It was a privelige to walk around its manicured grounds and view its many sculptures and beautiful Dutch Gabled properties.
Guardian Peak
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| Living the high life |
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| Peak experience |
On the day of our return from Aquila we stopped off at this lovely Winery Restaurant. The food at Aquila had not been great and there are very few suitable stopping places on the way home before Stellenbosch. Guardian Peak had been recommended to us and this was an excellent opportunity to check it out. We turned left up the Annandale Road once we had fought our way past Stellenbosch. It was 3:10 by the time we arrived. We were starving! We were really concerned, or terrified, that we would be turned away as we knew that lunchtime closing was at 15:30. No problem, we were assured that as long as we selected from the menu quickly we'd be okay. We both chose fish of the day and I was recommended a bottle of Afrikaans Chardonnay. I just had a glass and took the remainder back to base. We had a lovely meal with a splendiferous view of the mountains. Guardians Peak is a peak on the Stellenbosch Mountain. Everything was just right and it topped off our safari trip splendidly. We did try to go back to the restaurant for our final meal in South Africa but we were too late and it was fully booked - darn it. The posh Rust en Vrede is close by, as is Ernie Els wines.
Oak Valley and Elgin Market
We took the N2 over the mountain to Elgin Station. This is a brilliant place. We were really surprised at the size and quality of the beautiful Art Deco building that was originally an Apple warehouse. Quite a variety of food and craft stalls. We found out that there is steam train from Cape Town that operates at the weekend. That would be fun.
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| Waiting for the train |
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| Our sharing platter - a bit like a sophisticated Ploughmans |
Just up the road from Elgin Market is the Oak Valley winery. We hadn't booked for lunch but decided to try our luck. It was beautiful location with lawns shaded by tall trees. The original owners loved the English Oak and planted over 4000. Sadly the Oak tree is under threat in South Africa from a beetle! At many of the wineries we visited we witnessed the passing of these beautiful trees. They looked more healthy here but its probably only a matter of time before felling is required. We were made welcome at Oak. It was Sunday and they were fully booked but they could offer us a sharing platter? Ooh, yes please! We had a great table overlooking the Pool and thoroughly enjoyed the delicious plate of meats and salads that they delivered. We felt very privileged to be there.
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| Lunchtime view |
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| Our wine prize - Pinot Noir |
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| Shady customers |
South Hill Winery
We decided to explore further and discovered South Hill winery down a dirt road. It was smaller scale but we had a pleasant stop and, happily, they served beer. They have made of feature of a portion of their grape fields by turning them into a maze. It was probably not intended for big kids but happily we were able to escape before dark. As a prize we awarded ourselves a wine cooler which happened to include a bottle of their Rose.
Our wine cellar at the cottage was developing nicely!
We had to drive past Stellenbosch to get to Babylonstoren. It was a baking hot day, lots of traffic and road works. We arrived at the same time as a massive group. We felt as though we had joined the tourist treadmill. After paying for entry and getting a map we headed straight to the Greenhouse Restaurant. This was the only restaurant available to us. We were concerned we would have to queue again but we were ushered to a table quite rapidly. We had a nice shady spot but not the best food. A burger was the only option for me and it wasn't great. TW had Gnocchi. Lots of fruit and veggies to see in the gardens. Has a sister site in Caste Cary
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| Roll out the barrel |
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| Not seen this before - a fish tank extension to a lily pond |
The medical gardens were close to the Greenhouse and worth a look and very interesting to see what plants could save us from if required. Walking further we saw a massive variety of fruits growing and were grateful for any shade they offered. We inspected the wine production cellar and also the area where they manufacture balsamic vinegar. The visit was topped off by an audience with a family of Donkeys.
Our route home took us through Stellenbosch. It was a good scenic road but very busy in town. We were stuck in traffic jams for quite a while. Lots of students out running and cycling. We parked up in the centre and had look around. It was really nice. Smart buildings and shops. People sitting out at tables on the pavement enjoying their dust busters after work perhaps. All seemed very civilised.
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