Welcome to the Western Cape Wineries - a kiwi's opinion blog

I originally set up this blog to help foreigners have an enjoyable experience when visiting the western cape wineries in South Africa.

I realised that it is very difficult for a tourist to choose where to go and which wineries to visit, when you have 600+ wine producers to choose from.

When I first moved to SA December 2010, my palate struggled to adjust to SA wine, b
ut after living here for a while and after visiting over 100+ wine estates, I have found many wines which I really like and can highly recommend.

Admittingly, when you come from another country it is hard not to compare the wine in SA to what you are used to back home. However, once you realise they are not the same (they have their own characteristics due to the different soil, climate etc) and appreciate their wines for being SA wines, it will improve your opinion and experience of the wines immediately.

If you are staying in SA for a while, don't dispair, your palate will change, and you will soon find yourself liking SA wine over your home countries wine!!

I hope my blog will help wine lovers have an enjoyable wine experience while in SA.

Please note: I am not a wine connoisseur. The comments I write about the wine is mostly for my own benefit of having them on record.



Wednesday 30 March 2011

La Vierge - Walker Bay

I love this winery!!! It is now one of my three favourite wineries.


It is set up on a hill and has a fantastic view. There is a restaurant, outdoor balcony and wine tasting section. Its only R10 to taste 5 wines, starting with a lovely sparkling wine.You can sit on the balcony to try the wines while the lady comes to you with each wine to taste. You can see the view from the belcony below:


One lady at another winery had warned us that we may not be able to do a tasting at La Vierge because they are often closed for weddings on the weekends. It turns out they were setting up for a wedding, but they were still allowing customers to have lunch and wine tastings on the balcony.

The following photo is the inside of the restaurant, which was set up for a wedding. This would be a fantastic place to have a wedding, and recently in the newspaper they were advertising that if you have your wedding at La Vierge in June or July that the venue fee will be free.




I tried an entree at this restaurant and it was absolutely delicious!! I would love to go again to have a three course meal at this restaurant. This restaurant is a bit pricy but if you are willing to treat yourself, then this is a nice place to do just that.

I enjoyed most of the wines we tried, I definitely recommend you go to La Vierge for a wine tasting.

I am not much of a chardonnay fan, but I absolutely loved the Domaine Des Dieux Chardonnay 2009. The taste of this wine just blew me away, I just loved its uniqueness and difference to most chardonnays. This wine is quite pricy, but I feel it is worth it. The price of this wine is R120 per bottle.

I don't recommend trying the reisling. I didn't think it was very good, espcially in comparison to Australian reislings. If you do want to try the reisling, let it sit for 5 mins first. I found this improved the taste of the wine considerably.

Be sure to visit this winery if you are in the area!!! I will definitely be going back for a second visit!!!

3 comments:

  1. Any person of any country will love the experience you get at La Vierge!
    The ongoing view is what draw my attention the most, the wine = so much flavour.. beautiful!

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  2. I had an awful experience there last year with very unfriendly lady helping the tasters. But again i had visit the farm previous times and it was more than ok. Good white wines though.

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  3. I shared a bottle of the Jezebelle Chardonnay a few weeks ago with some friends and we all just loved it!! I will definitely be buying more of this wine!!

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