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“"It was a little early to start the wine tastings, but what can you do."” |
We made friends with another American during our stay in Cape Town - in fact we met him on our transfer from the airport to our hostel. He is in South Africa working on a research project for his medical degree.
So, we make friends and offered to let Brent join us for our self-guided tour of the Cape Winelands today. We set off right after breakfast and made it to the first vineyard around 10:00 - very early to start the wine tastings, but what can you do. We started at Spier, then went to Lanzerac, then Buschendol, and ended our day at Vergelegen. Spier was super cool because in addition to the vineyards they also had a cheetah breeding project on site - they were so cute! It was such a perfect day to do the wine tastings - it rained the majority of the day so being inside was a good thing.
The staff at the vineyards were very helpful in teaching us about their wines and the different grapes that are used. How long they stay in the barrells before coming out? Where they originated from? Etc, etc. As Chris and I have never had much of a wine education this was a great opportunity for us to develop some tastes on the types of wine we do and don't like. And don't worry the samples they give you of the wines are very small - just a few sips at most - and since Chris was driving he opted to stay low key anyway.
Brent was a great add-on to the two of us - he had lived in South Africa previously and had a wealth of information to share with us about apartheid and the economy and politics of South Africa.
The day also had us all agree on our favorite wines. . .so if you're in the market you should be on the lookout for a Buschendol Chardonnay or a Vergelegen Red - very nice.
Tonight is our last night in Cape Town and we head for Johannesburg tomorrow morning! Our Safari begins tomorrow afternoon and we are so excited - Big 5 here we come!
previous travel blog entry
Harley says:
hey guys! looks like yall are having fun. This is Shellie! I miss yall. Hope yall have a good christmas. See yall in a couple of months. Love yall!