Beer is the new wine in restaurant kitchens from Green Point to Greenside, as a new breed of malting men brings handcrafted artisan brews to South African palates. Here are five brewers you simply can’t ignore…
Jack Black Premium Beer; Woodstock
Ironically, it was his global experience in the wine industry that awakened Ross McCulloch’s palate to the pleasures of properly brewed beer, and after a few years flogging the fruits of the vine to Americans he and partner Meghan MacCullum sold up in Canada and opened Cape Town’s Jack Black.
“Jack Black is what’s called a pre-Prohibition style lager,” explains Ross in their no-frills Woodstock warehouse, where cases and kegs are being shipped out to thirsty summer drinkers. “It’s the full-flavoured style of lager that was popular before America’s Prohibition brought us the bland mass-market beers we see today.”
And Jack Black is anything but bland. The sweetness that comes from using pure malt in the brewing process – a recipe tweaked at a Vancouver microbrewery and adapted to local ingredients – is offset by three varieties of hops that produce a lager with “an elevated flavour profile and lots of complexity,” explains Ross.
“Our style of lager is also a stepping stone from mainstream lager to other types of beer,” says Ross. “After brewing the lager for three-and-a-half years we’ve introduced our Pale Ale, and we’re soon going to introduce a more bitter Indian Pale Ale.”
Few beer drinkers can resist an ice-cold lager on a hot summer’s day, but a bottle of Jack Black works just as well in the kitchen, says Ross: “Our lager works beautifully if you’re making beer-battered hake with fries, and our Pale Ale pairs really nicely with a good beef burger.”
www.jackblackbeer.com /021 447 4151
Triggerfish Brewing, Somerset West
“I like to brew beer and I love to sit down and talk to people about real beer!” laughs Eric van Heerden in the laid-back Triggerfish tasting room, where the bittersweet aroma of malted barley greets you as you wander through the wide industrial doorway. Set in the outbuildings of a decommissioned dynamite factory, it’s perhaps a fitting location for proof that big things come in small packages.
Eric spent seven years living in the USA in his former corporate life, so it’s not surprising that Triggerfish leans towards the American brewing tradition of full-bodied ales.
“But I also offer two English-style beers: a mild brown ale and a sweet stout,” says Eric of his range of eight brews which he happily offers for free tastings on weekends.
For Eric, who turned his home-brewing hobby into a business in late-2010, Triggerfish is less about volumes or profit, and more about sharing the joys of the brew with interested palates: “I’d like to expose the drinking public to a range of beers they perhaps aren’t familiar with... but I’m not inventing new beers here; these are all traditional beers brewed according to the established style guidelines.”
They may be international styles, but they are also perfectly pitched to accompany South African food, says Eric: “For delicate Malay flavours my fragrant Ocean Potion ale works well… it’s incredible with bobotie! The Bonito, with its light buchu aroma, is also one of my favourites as it’s very refreshing. The Hammerhead, with its high alcohol content, is good for taming a spicy curry.”
www.triggerfishbrewing.co.za/021 851 5861
Darling Brew, Swartland
You’ve got to be careful with Kevin Wood. Once you get him started on the merits of handcrafted microbrews versus commercial beers you’d better have a glass of the former to hand, as Kevin’s fervour for the finer side of beer drinking borders on the religious.
“There are small brewers out there making superb beers, and the public owes it to themselves to get out of their comfort zone,” says Kevin. “But we also need to change our drinking culture when it comes to beer: you don’t just down a Darling Brew, you savour it. You should drink our beers like you drink wine.”
And beer drinkers lucky enough to get their hands on a bottle – or a pint from selected Western Cape restaurants – seem to agree, with Darling Brew winning the award for Best Lager at last year’s Cape Town Festival of Beer. A stylish tasting room – the ‘Slow Quarter’ – in the Swartland town of Darling also opened in December, offering beer tastings and food pairings.
“Our Slow lager is certainly our best-seller,” says Kevin, “but the Native Ale and Bonecrusher wheat beer also stand their ground; they are very different.”
And daring to be different seems to be a hallmark of Darling Brew. Unlike many microbreweries, Kevin mostly uses bottle conditioning – instead of carbonating – to give his beer more depth of flavour and a finer bubble.
A perfect example is the alluring Black Mist, the only bottle-conditioned black ale in the country. With heavy caramel overtones it’s ideal for wintry days or as a ‘dessert beer’, and would work beautifully as a base for roasting pork belly. There are also plans to extend the Darling Brew range to include an Indian Pale Ale, so keep an eye out for the ‘Crimson Ghost’ in 2012.
“There are different beers for different occasions,” says Kevin emphatically, pouring off another half-pint of Native Ale. “You can’t please everybody, but we are trying to appeal to a new sort of beer drinker, someone who’s not afraid to experiment.”
www.darlingbrew.co.za/082 889 1175
Shongweni Brewery, Valley of 1000 Hills
Despite 20 years of home-brewing experience, Brian Stewart says he’s still on “a steep learning curve” after taking over KwaZulu-Natal’s much-loved Shongweni Brewery in late-2011.
Hailed by beer writer Ben McFarland as the brewery “single-handedly dragging South Africa kicking and screaming onto the global craft brewing map,” Shongweni’s range of Robson’s Ales are aimed at adventurous palates.
“The Durban Pale Ale is our strongest beer, and is very popular in Johannesburg,” says Brian, in between moving the brewery to larger premises. “But the darker Californian-style West Coast Ale is extremely popular down in the Cape; because it’s triple-malted it is more full-bodied and well suited to cooler climates. The East Coast Ale is lighter and does well here in Durban, and we also do a weissbier brewed in the German tradition. But I think South Africans are still getting used to drinking wheat beers.”
Local beer-lovers are also getting used to the notion of maturing their beer, but bottle-conditioned ales such as Shongweni’s will only get better over time.
“I discovered a four-year-old bottle of Pale Ale rolling around on my boat in Durban and it was fantastic!” laughs Brian. “Our beers will definitely improve as they age, and you just don’t find that with filtered pasteurised beers.”
www.shongwenibrewery.com/031 769 2061
Drayman’s Brewery; Pretoria
Despite three decades of brewing experience, it seems there’s always something new emerging from Moritz Kallmeyer’s Pretoria brewery and distillery.
While his wide range of British- and German-style beers are becoming increasingly popular across Gauteng, it’s the joy of tinkering with new brews – and introducing them to local palates – that keeps Moritz mad about malt.
“My love for brewing different styles of beer just never ends, and luckily there’s a constant revival of old brewing styles around the world,” says Moritz. “And as the craft beer movement grows in South Africa, drinkers are becoming more adventurous too.”
His Altstadt Weissbier – with aromatic hints of spice, clove and banana – is a good example, says Moritz: “In the early days it was very difficult to sell weiss beer, because people didn’t know that it’s meant to be cloudy… they thought it was off!”
Although he’s a brewer who sticks to his guns – “I’m not going to change the traditional style of a beer to suit local tastes; some beers are meant to be nice and bitter” – he’s equally happy to brew beer for gentler palates.
“My latest addition is ‘Moritz’s Letzterwunsch’,” he explains. “It’s a 2.5% low-alcohol beer… but it’s not at all diluted, like other low alcohol beers, so it keeps that full-bodied flavour.”
It’s the latest in a long line of Drayman’s beers… so, which is his favourite?
“There’s no such thing as a favourite beer for me… what I drink depends on the time of day, the company, the atmosphere and the weather!” chuckles Moritz. “If it’s chilly and dark, outside I’ll opt for a dark full-flavoured bitter beer… with a slice of chocolate cake on the side, of course!”
www.draymans.com/012 804 8800
First published in Food&Home: Entertaining |
"Heeden is Gode loff van de Caepse druyven d'eerste mael wijn geparst."
Presuming that your High Dutch is a little rusty, perhaps it’ll help if I translate that into English: "Today, praise be to God, wine was pressed for the first time from Cape grapes.”
That day was 2 February 1659, seven years after one Jan van Riebeeck had landed in modern-day Table Bay with orders to establish a victualling station for ships of the Dutch East India Company. Vines imported from France, Germany and Spain arrived in 1655 and were laid out in the Company's Garden. Four years later the first wines flowed from the barrels.
Today there are – sadly – no vines left in the Company’s Garden, but it remains a green lung slap-bang in the centre of bustling Cape Town. During the week it’s a popular spot for office-workers escaping the shackles of their desks, while on weekends families arrive with children and picnic blankets in tow, as overfed squirrels come begging for peanuts.
Yet few of those who laze on the shady benches or spread out on the lawns stop to remember that, were it not for these Gardens, most of us wouldn’t be here in the first place.
For while the Gardens are today a horticultural treasure chest of plants from across the globe, it was the fresh produce – and wine – from van Riebeek’s humble garden that were the raison d’etre for the settlement at the far-flung tip of Africa.
No vegetable garden, no Dutch settlement. No Dutch settlement, no castle, no British occupation, no diamond mines, no gold mines, no stock exchange, no modern economy… you get the idea.
So in a very real sense, modern-day South Africa owes its beginnings to these leafy acres, making them a great place to start exploring the historic heart of the Mother City.
For Cape Town wears its history with pride: look beyond the gleaming skyscrapers and trendy wine bars and you’ll find that the avenues and lanes in and around van Riebeek’s Garden are home to some of Cape Town’s most enchanting architecture, from inspiring galleries to grandiose seats of power.
Wander down the pedestrianised Government Avenue – the pillars of the famed Mount Nelson Hotel, with its trendy Planet champagne bar, bookmarking one end – and the blinding-white walls of the Houses of Parliament make for an impressive sight.
This has been the seat of political power for over a century, and has witnessed everything from the passing of apartheid legislation – and the assassination of its architect, Hendrik Verwoerd – to the arrival of South Africa’s first black president.
Tours of Parliament only operate on weekdays (hourly from 9am-12pm, no charge) but happily right alongside you’ll find the unassuming South African National Gallery; home to one of the country’s finest art collections. The small, but varied exhibitions showcase everything from paintings to sculpture, and a range of ongoing temporary exhibitions ensure it’s worth a repeat visit.
So too the grand South African Museum, established in 1825. While some of its collections could do with a good dust, the revamped section dealing with the San people is exceptional. Temporary exhibitions, including some wonderful photography, will also tempt you through the front doors.
But by now you’re probably getting thirsty.
The city is awash with great wine bars – try French Toast or Caveau, off Bree Street – but one of the best new watering holes in Cape Town lies right at the foot of the Gardens, where Adderley bends west and becomes Wale Street.
The Taj Hotel transformed this corner of the city in February 2010, crafting a five-star hotel out of the historic walls of the original South African Reserve Bank and the Board of Executors building, dating back to 1890.
The marble floors, soaring pillars and grand chandeliers hint at the old money that once flowed through here, and the old-world elegance of the Twankey Bar is ideal for resting weary feet. A fine selection of wines is available, but with a choice of fresh oysters on offer you’d be fool to order anything than bubbly.
The Twankey’s also an ideal spot for some armchair sightseeing.
Right across the road is the revamped Slave Lodge, one of the oldest buildings in the city. Built in the late 1600s, it’s done time as a slave house, courthouse and post office. But 1966 saw it’s cruellest incarnation yet: the unimaginably dull Cultural History Museum. Today’s exhibitions are a slight improvement, but I’d still suggest you simply order another glass of bubbly.
The Slave Lodge also keeps two of South Africa’s most revered churches in their corners. With its famous pipe organ and carved wooden pews, the 300-year-old Dutch Reformed Groote Kerk is one of the oldest places of worship in the country, while at the foot of the Company’s Garden you’ll find the sandstone walls of St. George’s Cathedral. Nicknamed ‘the people’s cathedral’ for welcoming all races during apartheid, the stained glass of the Great West Window makes it worth a look-in.
Beyond the cathedral’s honey-coloured walls of Table Mountain sandstone, the Cape Town campus of the National Library of South Africa is a calm oasis away from the city streets; while further up Queen Victoria Street the towering dome of the Centre for the Book is one of South Africa’s finest pieces of Edwardian architecture.
While there may no longer be vineyard views from the Centre’s stone steps, high above the city the tiny vineyard of the Signal Hill Winery ripens in the late summer sun. And, as the country’s only urban winery, the syrah grapes are still vinified at their cellar a short walk away on Heritage Square.
Here, thick walls and cool flagstone floors make it the perfect place to escape the late summer sun, order a glass of the magnificent Clos d’Oranje Syrah and toast the garden that gave birth to the Mother City.
Durban
Although a safe harbour for sailors since Vasco da Gama’s time, it wasn’t until 1824 that South Africa’s inexorable process of European settlement reached Durban, when the traders Henry Fynn and Francis Farewell set up shop – and were granted land by King Shaka – in front of what is today the Durban City Hall.
And perhaps fittingly so, as the dramatic neo-baroque architecture of the City Hall – with its dramatic Edwardian flourishes – remains one of the finest historic sights in Durban.
The City Hall houses a fascinating Natural Science Museum and art gallery, while a few steps away you’ll find the beautiful Old Courthouse Museum, built in 1863.
From here, a short taxi ride will deliver you to the colourful and chaotic Victoria Street Market. This is the traditional heart of Durban’s Indian community, and if you’ve got a bottle of Cederberg Bukketraube that’s just crying out for a good curry, this is the place to get stocked up on spices.
Bloemfontein
You might not expect to find a navy in this land-locked city, but a great place to start your sightseeing is on Naval Hill. This vantage point was the site of British naval-guns during the Anglo-Boer War, and if you wander over to the eastern side of the hill you’ll spot the large white horse that was built as a landmark for English cavalry to find their way to safety.
The war is also commemorated at the National Women’s Memorial, which remembers the 26 000 women and children who died in the notorious British concentration camps.
The Anglo-Boer War Museum next door has some interesting displays about this decisive conflict, and it’s also worth visiting the Queen’s Fort Military Museum that was built in 1848. Bloemfontein’s history isn’t all about war though: the Freshford House Museum looks back at the prosperous heydays of the Free State. Built in 1897, the house has been furnished and restored by the National Museum to depict the lifestyle of the late-1800s. The National Museum itself has an equally charming retrospective, with an entire street recreated to give a sense of life in the city over 100 years ago.
For something a little more up-to-date, the Oliewenhuis Art Museum is the city’s premier gallery. Housed in a neo-Cape Dutch manor house built in 1935, the gallery is home to a wide range of work by South African artists old and new. There’s a lovely museum café for light meals, but if you fancy a glass of wine the Avanti Restaurant has one of the better wine lists in town.
End off your day with a wander through Kings Park, where you can enjoy the pretty petals of over 4000 rose bushes… the garden was opened in 1925 by the Prince of Wales. No wonder Bloemfontein is also known as the ‘City of Roses’!
Port Elizabeth
Few people flock to Port Elizabeth for the history, but scratch beneath the surface and the city offers a few fascinating snippets from the past. The Donkin Reserve just behind the city centre offers wonderful views across the bay, and be sure to keep an eye out for the pyramid-shaped monument to Elizabeth Donkin, the wife of a colonial governor, whom the city was named after.
Here you’ll also find the Port Elizabeth Opera House, the oldest in the country, which offers a regular programme of concerts, ballet, theatre and music in its beautiful 19th-century interior.
You can discover more of the city’s fascinating history at the South End Museum; a glimpse into the multicultural district that was bulldozed by the apartheid authorities. Situated on the corner of Humewood Road & Walmer Boulevard, this small museum is well worth a visit.
Well-aged vine
While Stellenbosch and Franschhoek get most of the vinous limelight, Cape Town’s city centre holds onto its wine-growing roots with the oldest fruit-bearing vine in the country still being carefully nurtured in the sheltered courtyard of Heritage Square.
The Crouchen Blanc vine is said to have been planted in the late-1700s, and the 20 kilograms of grapes harvested in 2008 produced just four magnums and 12 bottles of delicate Cape Riesling. Grapes were harvested again in 2011, so look out for a special 1771 bottling later this year! |
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The trains, unsurprisingly, are running dead on time as my suitcase clickety-clacks across Platform 3 of Frankfurt Flughafen Regionalbahnhof. Carriages headed into the city are packed with white-collar workers, off to their gleaming tower blocks in Germany’s financial capital to try and save the Euro.
I, on the hand, have more important things to take care of. Like Riesling. And Spätburgunder. Now I don’t normally choose nuns as drinking partners, but for the sisters of Abbey St. Hildegaard I’ll make an exception.
Germany in autumn is famous for Munich’s beery Oktoberfest – the biggest wedding knees-up of all time – but it’s the quaint village of Rüdesheim on the banks of the Rhine where my train screeches to a halt. Just 70 minutes from Frankfurt, and a few millennia back in time.
Tourist-friendly Rüdesheim is the Franschhoek of the Rhine Gorge, but unlike the heart of the Cape winelands it was the Romans, not the Huguenots, who brought wine-making to the steep slopes of this valley some two thousand years ago. Today, there are dozens, some say hundreds, of small wineries in town and scraps of vineyard fill every available patch of hillside.
But before I can set off exploring I need to drop my luggage, and in Rüdesheim all roads lead to the cobbled alley of Drosselgaße; a narrow lane lined with shops, restaurants and hotels. Including mine, the delightful family-owned Hotel Lindenwirt.
Lindenwirt’s offbeat wine barrel rooms – bunk beds in 8000-litre wooden casks once used to make Riesling – are a popular option for travellers on a budget, but I opt for a more comfortable room in the original building. Like much of Rüdesheim, the foundations date back centuries, but the building was restored in the 1940s after being destroyed by Allied bombs in World War II.
After lunch in the charming old-school dining room – apronned waiters offer traditional dishes like Wild Boar in Apple Sauce, or local Rudesheimer wurst, under heavy wooden beams and iron chandeliers – I wrap up against the spring chill and wander off up the hill. I have an appointment with those nuns.
The Benedictine Abbey of St. Hildegaard – home to 55 nuns aged from 25 to 94 – dates back to the 12th century and, although the current buildings were only completed in 1907, in many ways not much has changed. Daily prayers are still sung in Latin in the beautifully frescoed chapel, stern-looking sisters deal with visitors, and the hillside vineyards are a hive of activity.
The young nun guarding the wine-tasting booth insists I try each of their nine or 10 varietals of Riesling and Spätburgunder, so by the time I meander back down the hill I’m aglow with their holy spirit.
Back in the village, the market square is quiet, but on Saturday mornings and in the weeks before Christmas it comes alive with market stalls selling crafts, food and local wine. Dominating one corner, the serene St. Jakobus Catholic Church was built over 600 years ago and was a stop for the faithful on the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage that once stretched all the way to Jerusalem.
The market square is a good place to start your wanderings, with interesting diversions in all directions. South leads you to the Rhine, where passing boats ferry passengers and freight all the way from Switzerland to Rotterdam. The Eagle Tower is a perfect piece of Late Gothic architecture, and was once part of the medieval city wall.
Follow another path from the square and a winding alleyway leads you to the Klunkhardshof, perhaps the village’s best example of the picturesque half-timbered style that lends Rüdesheim so much charm. Although similar to the English Tudor, the lower floors of most Rüdesheim dwellings were built of stone to guard against the regular flooding of the Rhine.
Wandering uphill, the pedestrian-friendly Oberstraße is also a popular hangout for tourists, with pavement cafes and popular wine bars spilling out into the street. A vine wreath above the door of a small restaurant beckons me in. Many of the restaurateurs make their own wines, and a quaint tradition still holds in town that when the proprietor has wines to sell a wreath is strung above the doorway.
The impressive Niederwald Monument
A few steps away, a wander through the offbeat collection of musical miscellany at Siegfried’s Mechanisches Musiekkabinett is worth it for the novel carillons and music boxes, but the main attraction of Oberstraße is the cable car up to the dramatic Niederwald Monument.
Towering above the village, this impressive bronze statue commemorates the unification of Germany in 1871. Despite its imposing size, the intricacy of sculpture is outstanding and it’s well worth finding a bench to appreciate the fine metalwork found across the 38-metre statue.
The monument also offers wonderful views out across the Rhine, and below me the Riesling vineyards tumble down towards the river. Riesling rules around here, but the region is also becoming famous for its Spätburgunder, known in South Africa as Pinot Noir. The tiny hamlet of Assmansshausen, a few kilometers upriver, makes the best red in the area and a pleasant walk through the forest makes a good break from the crowded cobbled streets.
I wander through the forest of beech, cherry and oak trees in the footsteps of Johann Goethe, Germany’s iconic poet, and the composer Johannes Brahms; both regular visitors to this corner of the Rhine. The woodland is also home to wild boar, deer and fox, but today it’s only the Spotted Blackbird that flits through the trees. Sadly, the hermit who once lived on a lookout here has long since passed on.
Forty minutes later the path emerges at the chairlift down to Assmansshausen. Cosy cellars and terrace restaurants abound here, and it’s a fine place to stop for lunch and a glass or two of Pinot Noir.
At the town pier, a few steps from the main square, I jump on board one of the regular ferryboats plying the Rhine. Rüdesheim is a short trip upriver, but a day-trip downstream through the Rhine Gorge is not to be missed.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Gorge is home to stunning scenery and centuries of European history. Vineyards cling to the prized south-facing slopes, while medieval castles that once charged lucrative tolls now lie in ruin along the river that flows beneath the famous rock of Loreley.
If you start your day early enough, a hop-on-hop-off ticket allows you to explore the historic towns of Bacharach, Kaub and St. Goarshausen, but if you’re feeling lazy simply get there early to grab a seat along the rails and watch the scenery flow by.
Our boat returns home in the late afternoon and after a quick Rüdesheim coffee – fortified with the local Asbach cognac and topped with cream and chocolate – I swop the river for the rails and head back to Frankfurt.
'Handkäs mit Musik’
The bars around the ornate railway station are filled with locals watching the football, but I venture to the narrow streets of Old Sachsenhausen. The atmospheric bars here are famous for the locally fermented apfelwein, usually enjoyed alongside ‘Handkäs mit Musik’; a pungent yellow cheese served with onions.
The music that wakes me up on Sunday morning is the tolling of the city’s half-dozen church bells, calling the faithful to Mass, and of the city’s many spires the Gothic St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral is the most impressive. Built in 1239, this was where the German kings were crowned for nearly 300 years. Incredibly, while World War II bombs flattened Frankfurt, the tower of the ‘Dom’ survived.
A few steps from St. Bartholomew’s, the cobbled Römer Square is the rebuilt heart of ‘old’ Frankfurt, with an attractive mix of half-timber houses and gabled city halls. The Römerhof comes alive at night, when pavement cafés and biergartens spill out across the cobbles.
Although the city is a financial centre it has also become a hub for art and museums, particularly on the south bank’s ‘Museum mile’. If you’d rather be outdoors, the riverside promenade is just as lovely on a bright summer morning, with cyclists, joggers and lovers out in force.
Art museums, rich architecture, fine wine, opera houses and stunning scenery; as I board my train back to Frankfurt Airport I can’t help thinking that it’s all a far cry from sweaty men in lederhosen chugging back another litre of beer in a hot Oktoberfest tent. Make mine a Spätburgunder any day.
Travel advisory
- Lufthansa flies daily from Johannesburg to Frankfurt year-round, with an additional daily service from Cape Town to Frankfurt during summer. To book, visit www.lufthansa.com or call 0861 842 538
- Plan your visit to Frankfurt and the Rhine Gorge on the German National Tourist Board website: www.germany-tourism.de.
- South African passport holders require a Schengen visa to visit Germany. For information on how to apply, go to www.pretoria.diplo.de.
First published in Garden & Home magazine; October 2010 |
The festive season is upon us, and nothing celebrates the end of a good year like the popping of a champagne cork. Even though the pernickety French won’t let us officially call it champagne (see sidebar), here are some of the Cape’s best bubblies for you to discover and enjoy this summer…
Graham Beck
If it’s good enough for Obama, it’s good enough for me. The Graham Beck Brut was the bubbly of choice at Barack Obama’s inauguration celebrations, and this über-modern cellar on the road into Franschhoek is one of the best places to sample the estate’s wide range of Méthode Cap Classiques. Dark wood-panels and elegant couches do justice to the MCC, while floor-to-ceiling views onto the cellar make this a great place to feel part of the action with a glass of wine in hand.
With vineyards in Franschhoek as well as near Robertson in the hot Breede River valley, long-time cellar master Pieter Ferreira has all the ingredients he could ask for in whipping up some of the Cape’s top bubblies. The non-vintage (N/V) Brut is perfect for balmy summer picnics, while the premium Brut Blanc de Blancs (made from 100% Chardonnay) is perhaps best kept for the Christmas table.
Open for tastings Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm, Saturday and 1st Sunday of the month 10am – 3pm.
Villiera
‘Award winning wines at pocket-friendly prices’ pretty much sums up this winery. Villiera have created a loyal fan base by serving up consistently great vintages that won’t have you running for your bank manager.
Winemaker Jeff Grier has been making wines on his Stellenbosch farm for over 20 years, but hasn’t let the raft of awards go to his head or inflate his prices. The Tradition Brut fairly flies off the shelves once summer arrives, and is an ideal anytime bubbly. The Monro Brut is also worth a look-in: thanks to its barrel fermentation it has a richer, yeastier flavour and will have better ageing potential.
Open for tastings Monday – Friday 8.30am – 5pm, Saturday 8.30am – 3pm.
Simonsig Estate
On the outskirts of Stellenbosch wineries, Simonsig is one of the Grande Dames of SA wine, producing some of the countries most laudable (and quaffable) vintages for over 40 years. No stranger to five stars in the venerable Platter’s Guide, the estate produces a vast range of wines so it’s a good spot to head for if you have a number of palates to please.
But in amongst the award-winning reds and dependable whites, the Kaapse Vonkel ranks alongside Villiera’s Tradition as an ever-dependable well-priced tipple. South Africa’s first bottle-fermented bubbly, Kaapse Vonkel is a fairly typical blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (usually 51/41, if you have to know!) with the gaps filled in by a splash of the little-known Pinot Meunier.
If you’ve got a Christmas bonus to burn, the premium Cuvée Royale is their premium MCC that you’ll cherish on a special occasion.
Open for tastings Monday – Friday 8.30am – 5pm, Saturday 8.30am – 4pm.
Route 62
If you don’t mind driving a little further out of Cape Town, the wineries of Route 62 are one of my favourite destinations for a little wine-tasting (and, inevitably, wine-buying). Mass tourism has yet to reach the estates around Robertson, and you’ll find both great wine and warm country hospitality here.
My favourite winery in the area is Bon Courage, the family-affair led by winemaker Jacques Bruwer. While they have a few outstanding reds in their arsenal, their Méthode Cap Classiques are undoubtedly a highlight. No surprise then that their cellar can produce over 300 000 bottles of bubbly each vintage! The 100% Chardonnay Brut Reserve Blanc de Blancs is the flagship, but the more affordable Brut Reserve is what most punters will walk away with.
Over towards Bonnievale, the historic family farm of Weltevrede is celebrating the recent release of the fourth and final MCC in their range. Winemaker Philip Jonker is a chardonnay specialist, so it’s no surprise his bubblies have garnered much acclaim. The latest is a Brut Rosé called Lindelize, named after his wife, and is a salmon-coloured Cap Classique that simply exudes refinement and poise. Perfect for an elegant evening.
Bon Courage: Open for tastings Monday – Friday 8am – 5pm, Saturday 9am – 3pm.
Weltevrede: Open for tastings Monday – Friday 8am – 5pm, Saturday 9am – 3.30pm.
Krone Borealis
While Route 62, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch garner the lion’s share of the limelight, the sleepy village of Tulbagh quietly makes waves an hour or so north of Cape Town. The original Dutch settlers called it ‘Het Land van Waveren’ for the fields of waving grass, but today it’s neatly trellised vineyards against a backdrop of soaring mountains that’ll catch your eye.
Twee Jonge Gezellen has been in the Krone family for generations, and the late Nicky Krone Sr. was a pioneer in the technique of cold-fermentation that transformed the quality of warm-climate wines.
Today, it’s his son – also Nicky – and family that devote their energies to producing top-notch MCC. With just 800ha of vineyards, the focus is heavily on white varietals to produce the likes of the stunning Borealis Brut and Brut Cuvée. Cellar tours and formal tastings are available.
Open for tastings Monday – Friday 9am – 4pm, Saturday 10am – 2pm.
Steenberg Vineyards
If you don’t have time to leave the Mother City, a quick swing through the Constantia wine lands will unearth the delightful Steenberg Vineyards. Laid out on the flanks of the Constantiaberg, their Chardonnay-based 1682 Brut is a crisp, dry bubbly best enjoyed ice-cold on a hot summer’s day.
What’s more, Steenberg is a member of the Biodiversity in Wine Initiative, so the vineyards use biological methods to control pests instead of spraying with harmful insecticide. Great Cap Classique with a clear conscience to boot!
Open for tastings Monday – Friday 9am – 4.30pm, Saturday 9.30am – 1.30pm.
Published in the December issue of Indwe, the in-flight magazine of SA Express. |
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