We coordinated a driver to take us around to some local vineyards. We had done some research prior to arriving, so we had a good idea of where we wanted to spend the day. We knew we were enjoying the heavy handed nature of the South African pour, but when we learned that tastings at all of the vineyards are FREE, we were next level excited.
First up on the docket was Boekenhoutskloof. This was more of a commercially driven winery, one more in the business of profit and less in the business of love of wine. The lack of passion was evident, but the wine went down all the same. I think we were all glad this was our first stop of the day since it was lacking a personal touch. Coming out of the first one, we had no idea what we were in for with stop #2. Boy were we pleasantly surprised....
Up next, Maison Estate. What a welcomed change of pace. For all of those missing elements at Boekenhoutskloof, Maison made up for it ten times over. This was easily one of the coolest vineyards any of us had ever been to. It had everything - ambience, character, passion and the staff was equally as amazing. All of those positive attributes aside, the wine spoke for itself.
Following our tasting, we had lunch at the estate's restaurant, The Kitchen. As if the coziness of the tasting room were not enough, the views from our lunch table were even more than we could have dreamed. Complete with robust lemon trees and resident chickens, we had plenty to take in while we enjoyed the amazing cuisine.
3.5 hours later, we had time for only one more stop before our time with the driver ended. Jason had heard of a place called Chamonix, and it was close to where we were staying so it worked out perfectly. We popped into a quaint little tasting room. It was more old world than the others, but also more occupied by guests. We engaged in friendly conversation with the couples seated around us - one from Brazil and the other from Australia. It was definitely a short and sweet tasting compared to the one prior, but it was the perfect end to the day.
We got home with plenty of time to relax, taking our time to get ready for the dinner we had scheduled at The Tasting Room. A definite difference from the fast paced lifestyle experiences we had in Cape Town.
The Tasting Room is said to be one of South Africa's top restaurants. While the potential is certainly there, I think we were all pretty disappointed overall. Aside from Jason....he dug it. Claire and I are both pretty selective with meats, but tend to try anything when put in a tasting menu environment. We almost always surprise ourselves with how much we enjoy items we would otherwise never have tried. This was, unfortunately, not one of those times....
I'm probably making it sound like more of a downer than it really is. We have just had SO many great culinary experiences thus far, this one just fell a little short in comparison. Regardless, it by no means put a damper on the day as a whole. The wine, the culture, the views.... Perfection.
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