wine country on the other side of the world
I’ve already dedicated 3 posts to my odyssey in South Africa but the one subject I’ve yet to broach is the industry that took me to the other side of the world.
Although the safari was a-m-a-z-i-n-g and the opportunity to try all the wild game was a food lover’s dream (see previous post) it was South Africa’s ever-improving wine industry that inspired me to travel 2 days each way to get to what is basically the other side of the world.
It may surprise those of you who know something about South African wine to hear that I only tasted two pinotages (a South African hybrid grape) and one chenin blanc (the white for which the rest of the world knows South Africa). And this is a fact of which I (and I suspect a lot of South Africa’s young winemakers) am extremely proud.
What most of us in the US don’t know is that there is a heck of a lot happening in the South African wine world beyond a gimmick grape or simple summer white wines. And now is the time to get to know South African wine! I sincerely believe it is an industry on the verge.
What is it that’s changed in a wine country that’s been consistently producing wines decades longer than California? (Pretty dessert wines were big business in South Africa as far back as the 1800’s when Sauternes-style wines were exported to feed the British sweet tooth.) The latest generation of South African winemakers have benefited from the nation’s growing global perspective. Now that their country has been invited back into the Commonwealth, South African winemakers have the opportunity to study in New Zealand, swap jobs with the Aussies. They’re also heading off to study in Germany and France and spend a season in the cellars of Chile, Italy and America. (I met two different winemakers who spent a harvest in Healdsburg, my mom’s home town in Northern California.)
This new generation is learning how to use their soils and climates to the best advantage, focusing more than ever before on cool climates to produce sexy chardonnays and some elegant pinot noirs. I even met one winemaker who is really trying to bring out something special in pinotage by experimenting with ripening times and blending.
And the South Africans are starting to figure out how to use the wine country as a tourist destination. What I did not expect when I drove out from Cape Town, (its about an hour by car from the Cape Town airport to the heart of the wine country), was to feast my eyes on some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. It is breathtaking. Even my mother, who, as I mentioned, lives in Healdsburg, conceded that the landscapes were, “prettier than home.”
The hotels and dining options in South Africa’s wine country are also getting more and more impressive. I stayed at Le Quartier Francais. It is a delightful, boutique hotel in the heart of the town of Fanschhoek. The room was adorable, the service pretty much flawless and what made the place even better was the restaurant. Chef Margot Janse has made a name for herself internationally for making some of the most unique and finest food in all of South Africa. And in addition to Janse’s Tasting Room at Le Quartier, Franschhoek boasts multiple fine restaurants with a local wine focus including Mon Plaisir, Reubens and the restaurant at Grande Provence. Yes, I dined well!
As for the wines, there were many highlights and all of them excellent buys as compared with their American counterparts. You can find the tasting notes on some of my favorites that are imported into the U.S. in my monthly column, Woman on Wine.
If you want to plan a trip to see this “its prettier than Healdsburg” wine country, three of my must-visits are Chamonix (home of that pinotage experimenter I mentioned earlier), Cape Point (closer to Cape Town and home of the best lineup of white wines collectively that I tasted on the trip), and Thelema, which is perched on a mountain top with some of the most spectacular views I’ve ever seen.
Oh, and if you’re driving, watch out for the baboons. I nearly wrecked my rental the first time one of these South African vineyard pests ran out in front of my car!
the spectacular vineyards of Thelema