Karusa - second visit

Today I was in the area so I decided to pop in for another tasting. The place seems to be doing really well, you will notice that their wine is in most restaurants in the area (Oudtshoorn) and each time I have visited the winery (both times on a week day) they have had guests sitting on the stoep enjoying a bite to eat and sipping on a glass of their wine.

Karusa has an outdoor area to enjoy a glass of wine and food and an indoor area for wine tastings. They serve food here also so I ordered a grilled Ostrich wrap which was delicious and a very decent size!

For the tasting you are restricted to 5 wines for R30. For anyone who follows my blog you know I struggle to chose and especially from a list of 20+ wines. I however felt like mostly white wines so I chose five and then the lady was kind to give me a tasting of a few more at the end. I therefore got to taste the following:

Southern Slope Sauvignon Blanc 2014 R58 a bottle - not too acidic, tropical nose, intense and good. Lighter on the palate in comparison to the nose.
Stonerock Viognier - wooded 2014 at R58 a bottle - nice and smooth, a little fresh on the finish.
Aloe Ridge Chardonnay - unwooded 2013 at R55 a bottle - guava, lime, fresh yet round mouth feeling
Terre Noire Syrah 2012 at R85 a bottle - heavier on the nose with blackcurrant and black pepper. Medium body, nice flavour, earthy tones, nice.
The Ancients Pinot Noir 2012 at R85 a bottle - smokey and spicy. Nice but unusual for a Pinot Noir.
Double Black Petite Syrah 2014 at R115 a bottle was rich and heavy, had cherry and blackcurrant flavour. It was good, but I didn't feel it was R115 good.
Grenache Noir/Shiraz/Mourvedre - unwooded red 2013 at R40 a bottle - it was served a little warm. It was a nice, light and easy drinking red, white pepper on nose and palate, a little spicy.
Muscat Blanc semi - sweet 2014 at R45 a bottle - lovely nose, nice easy drinking wine, pear, apple smell and taste, it is a light wine. Only 11.5% alcohol which is a bonus.

The lady who served me was very lovely. She remembered me from my last visit and provided an informative tasting.It was nice of her to give me a few extra wines to taste also.

I recommend one visits this winery when in Oudtshoorn.

Spookfontein - second visit

While my brother was here in South Africa we had a few days in Hermanus, I therefore chose a few wineries to visit one morning while there.

One of the wineries we visited was Spookfontein. The last time I visited this winery was about two years ago and the cellar/tasting room wasn't complete. We therefore received a cellar tour and tasting from the barrels, it was an awesome experience.

This time, there was a beautiful building which contained the tasting room and a restaurant with lovely views through all the glass pane windows.

The tasting room section seemed to get the short end of the stick as it's a small section of this beautiful setting and kind of tucked away. It does the trick nonetheless. I found the guy serving us friendly but he didn't know much about the wine. Sadly Craig Sheard has left Spookfontein but I believe he will now focus on his Elemental Bob wines. These are really good and I recommend finding a bottle! 

We tried the Rose 2014 at R60 a bottle. It was very fruity, had good flavour, and was quite a heavy rose.

The Pinot Noir 2009 at R125 a bottle had dark cherry/plum colour, lovely aromas, plum and spice flavours on the palate, a little dry.

The Cabernet Franc 2009 at R85 a bottle had an interesting flavour, I got a little bit of fynbos and a lot of bell pepper flavour on this wine. It was integrated and balanced. My brother loved this wine and bought a bottle to take back to China to share with his friends.

Merlot 2008 at R85 a bottle was soft on the palate, had good body, I struggled to work out the flavour but I wonder if that was because we tasted this after the Cab Franc.

Phantom 2006 at R85 a bottle is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. It was a little dry, integrated, it was ok. I have had this wine before and loved it on previous occasions. I still have a bottle at home, so it will be interesting to see what I think of this wine when we open that bottle.

Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 at R85 a bottle was very aromatic, a little spicy, and quite soft for a Cabernet.

Port (17% Cab 2009, 83% Merlot 2009 and 2011) at R150 a bottle was soft, elegant, a little sweet, but nice. I bought a bottle of this. It comes in a nice bottle too :-)

Overall we had a nice experience here but I wouldn't come for the wine, sorry.

Painted Wolf Tasting and Keenwa Peruvian Food at the Rooftop Bar in De Waterkant

Join my next Western Cape Wineries wine tasting on the 26th of November at 6.30pm with Winemaker Jeremy Borg from Painted Wolf.

Jeremy Borg, the winemaker of Painted Wolf wines will be there to introduce us to his wines. Not only are his wines fantastic and there is a great story behind his wine (the wild dogs) but Jeremy has a ton of stories, so you are up for a treat!!

We have an awesome venue for this months tasting at The Rooftop Bar at 71 Waterkant Street, Cape Town.
 

For this tasting I have arranged for Keenwa (awesome Peruvian restaurant across the road from the Rooftop bar) to do the catering. They will be making several snacks for us to enjoy on arrival and at half time, these will include:

Welcome tapas -

Choros a la Chalaca (mussels with onion, tomatoes, corn and lime, served cold)

Main -

Rocotos (pepperdews stuffed with lamb mince, served with a creamy cheese dressing) AND

Enrollado de quinoa - fresh fish and peppers rolled in quinoa (sushi-like)

Tequenos - Cheese and pastry sticks with guacamole

The cost for this evening is R250 pp. This includes the wine tasting, venue and snacks.

To book please make payment in to the following bank account using your name + 26 Nov as the reference:

Christine Andrews
FNB
Account #: 62401949013
Branch #: 250655.
Savings account

Please send your proof of payment to westerncapewineries@gmail.com. If you pay for others then please include their names in the email so I can add them to the guest list.

Anyone is welcome to join my wine club, so please don't hesitate to get a group of friends, family or colleagues together for a fun wine evening.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me on westerncapewineries@gmail.com.

You can also follow the WCW wine club on https://www.facebook.com/pages/Western-Cape-Wineries/149234295153096?ref=hl