Jim and I had another stellar weekend, this time in Bonnievale, one of the small towns in the Robertson valley about two and a half hours outside of Cape Town. The valley is full of wine and citrus farms, and ringed with a few pretty mountain ranges, including the Langeberg. We drove up Friday afternoon, and after fighting traffic, battling with wind to set up a tent, and a slow start to our fire-building, we really felt we deserved a drink!
We enjoyed wine tasting on Saturday at some beautiful family-run wine farms, including one that has been making incredible chardonnays since the 17th century. We also got to make our own bubbly! "Methode Cap Classique," or MCC, is the regional term South African winemakers have come up with to identify bottle-fermented sparkling wine made in South Africa - what "champagne" is to the Champagne region of france, "Methode Cap Classique" is to South African wine makers. At one winery, we got to finish the last step of a bottle of MCC: pop off the cap top which has sealed the second fermentation, watch the frozen tip of the bottle fly out, put in some sugar to help the final fermentation (and give it more bubbles), cork it, and package it. Very fun! We also managed to swim a couple of times during the hot day.
Sunday morning we went for a beautiful hike. We got a late start, so I was a little cranky out in the hot sun, but Jim enjoyed looking at some unique geological features - an inclusion from a partial volcanic eruption, and quartzite and sandstone in the rocks. The views were pretty too.
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| We camped here, next to the river. A beautiful peaceful setting complete with rope swings for getting in the water! |
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| De Wetshof winery, a family-owned vineyard that has been making wine since the 17th century. There were cannons on either side of this building, modeled after designs by Thiebault (a famous French architect who built the family's Cape Town house), from we guessed the 18th century. They looked well-used too! |
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| The winemaker, Philip Jonker, models how they get yeast sediment out of fermenting sparkling wine. Turn the bottles slowly (over months) a little at a time, until the sediment collects in the cap. Then put the bottle upside-down in a chemical solution that freezes the liquid. Then.... |
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| Pop off the cap, and the pressure inside the bottle will push the frozen end (and sediment) out! |
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| Then cork it... |
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| And add the label! |
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| Some special sparkling wines. |
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| And an evening swim. |
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| Walking along the river to start our hike the next morning |
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| Robertson Valley |
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| Jim and the vines. |
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| Jim looking the other direction: wilderness |
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| Rock layers |
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| Cooling off with some much-needed lunch and of course, more wine! This vineyard cafe had misters (just like the Mandalay Bay, Mom and Dad!) |
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