A Trip to the Cape Winelands

Well, the 90-day rule just kicked in. Out of the blue, we received an email from Capetonians, Benjamin and Belinda, asking if we'd like to go for a ride with them out of the city to see the countryside and perhaps do a little wine-tasting. They'd been following our blog for awhile and thought we'd enjoy a respite from the marina and the frustration of  boat repairs. Boy, were they ever right! We'd spent a day in South Africa's winelands in 2007 and drove through on our trip back from Knysna this year, but we hadn't really explored the area … especially not with locals.

They picked us up at the yacht club promptly at 11am and we headed to Stellenbosch. Since we'd never met them before other than an email and a quick chat on the phone, it was a crap shoot as to whether our personalities would be compatible with theirs. They were a young couple … younger than our kids, in fact … hanging out with an old(er) couple. Well, our fears were unfounded. We chatted and talked and shared stories from the git-go. They were just starting a new family, had jobs, and a new house, but they had the dream of sailing off into the sunset sooner, rather than later. We had lots to talk about and beyond sailing talk, they were good tour guides.

Only about 50km (30mi) east of Cape Town, Stellenbosch was founded in 1679, the second oldest European settlement in the Western Cape. We strolled around this historic town with its pleasant oak-lined streets. Boutiques and galleries, restaurants and cafes were all bustling. Street art was everywhere.

Cape Dutch architecture is notable here featuring its white-washed walls, thatched roofs and ornately embellished gables.

With its fertile soil and Mediterranean-like climate (moist, cool winters; hot, dry summers), early settlers planted vines shortly after arriving. They had their priorities right! The Stellenbosch Wine Route was South Africa's first established wine route and boasts more than 150 members. The area is lush and scenic with a backdrop of the Stellenbosch, Jonkershoek and Simonsberg mountains. We stopped at Tokara for our first wine-tasting of the day. Alvin, our host, poured us a Sauvignon Blanc, then a Chardonnay, then two red blends, all of which were excellent. We munched vineyard-grown olives while enjoying the generous “tastes” of varietal wines.

In 1690, some French Hugenot refugees settled in Franschhoek (French Corner) and immediately set about putting their French viticultural skills to work. The ornate Hugenot Memorial is dedicated to the cultural influences contributed by this French Hugenots to the Cape Colony.

The venue for lunch was the Roca restaurant at the gorgeous Dieu Donné vineyards. Set high in the hills, the views were outstanding as we sipped wine with pleasant company and enjoyed a gourmet lunch of the line catch of the day and roast duck.

We lingered over lunch and the day was waning by the time we arrived at Haute Cabriere. We entered the cavern tasting room through large wooden doors.

This was a good place for our last tastings of the day. We tried two brut MCCs (method cap classique) … champagne! And finished with a Ratafia, a white, sweet fortified wine (brandy) that was perfect for the end of the day. I'm not sure we could have indulged in further tastings.

On our way home from Franschhoek, Benjamin suggested stopping at the Drakenstein Correctional Centre, famous for the prison where Nelson Mandela spent his last days of incarceration before his release in 1990. A large statue of Mandela, arm raised in the Black power salute, stands in the entrance to the prison.

The day ended with hugs and an invitation for dinner aboard Nine of Cups. Gotta love this 90-day rule. By the way, Belinda is a native Afrikanner and we learned a new, very versatile Afrikaans word: ja nee (YAH-neyah), literal translation yes/no, but it's common form of agreement. “We really enjoyed our day in the winelands, didn't we?”  Ja nee!

90 Day Rule Kicks In

 

Remember when I talked about our 90-Day Rule? Something unexpectedly wonderful happens to us about every 90 days when we're aboard Nine of Cups. Consider this, if you will. In July 2011, when we were visiting Fiji, we sailed to Palmlea Eco-Farms and Resort to visit with SSCA friends who own it. By chance, while there, we met Pauline and Denys, an Aussie couple who were visiting with their son and his family and enjoying time at the Palmlea Resort. We chatted, became friendly and exchanged contact information.

Fast forward to austral Spring 2012 when Nine of Cups and crew were in Kettering, Tasmania. We received an e-mail from Pauline and Denys. They were visiting another son and his family in Tasmania and happened to be only one town away. We had a great lunch together on Nine of Cups and caught up on each others' lives. They're a busy couple with extensive travel, family visits and major house renovations, as well as biking and competitive swimming, on their usual agenda.

Fast forward once again to Port Adelaide, South Australia … here and NOW. Pauline and Denys, we found out, don't live far away and they've been keeping track of us on our blog. Pauline called and offered use of her washer, a beach with no jellyfish, a local vineyard visit, a ride around the area and dinner at their home. How could we resist? Talk about fortuitous … and me just complaining about the laundry situation and jellyfish. Somebody reads … somebody listens! Wow!

We met at Saily's Pub at 0930 (no drinks, just a meeting place) and headed off for parts unknown to us with Pauline and Denys as our local guides. There's nothing like touring an area with folks who were born and bred here. They know all sorts of things you can't find in a guide book. We headed down along the coast through quaint beachside towns like Semaphore and Glenelg. It's still summer holiday for the kids here and lots of families are on vacation. At Glenelg North, we took a circuitous detour up sidestreets to visit the Old Gum Tree, the site at which South Australia was officially proclaimed a colony in 1836. It's a red gum tree that probably had large spreading limbs at one time, but now it's more of a memorial arch. The tree, long since decayed and dead., has been been encased in concrete.

We continued south along the coast, then turned inland to wine country. South Australia is noted for its wines and the McLaren Vale area has dozens of wineries with Cellar Doors (tasting rooms). We chose Haselgrove Vineyards for no particular reason other than it tickled our fancy. It turned out to be a fortuitous stop. The temperature outside hovered around 105F/40C and it hit us like a hot brick as we left the air-conditioned car. We were met by a gracious and knowledgeable host, Ryan. He offered a tour and, despite the heat as we traipsed up and down steel ladder-ways through a field of stainless steel vats, we learned more about wine-making in our 30 minutes with Ryan than we ever had before.

The barrel room was deliciously cool after the heat of the outside. Returning to the tasting room, we sampled a Pink Lady cider, then whites and reds and finally a lovely port decanted directly from the tasting room cask. We bought wine for dinner (and then some) and headed, on Ryan's suggestion, to a light lunch at Blessed Cheese in the town of McLaren Vale.

Rejuvenated and rehydrated, we headed down the Fleurieu Peninsula in hopes of finding cooler temps. The temperatures weren't much better, but the views were great.

We stopped at beautiful Horseshoe Bay, Port Elliot Beach and forced ourselves to have an ice cream cone at the Flying Fish Cafe in an effort to keep our bodies cool. We licked and lapped and marveled at the energy of young kids jumping off the pier … over and over again.

We drove to Land's End at the tip of the peninsula where the Port Jervis Lighthouse stands sentry. We watched the SeaLink Ferry depart to Kangaroo Island, but the island, usually quite clear, could only be seen faintly in the distance. We attributed the haziness to the heat and the residual smoke from recent bush fires.

On the way home, we had our first view of kangaroos grazing in a field. What better way to say welcome back to Australia?

Back in Adelaide at our hosts' home, I did a load of laundry and hung it out on the line while Pauline prepared dinner, Denys barbecued and David supervised. All in all, an outstanding 90 Day Rule kind of day.