Meerendal

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day so we decided to go to the Meerendal market. They hold a farmers market once a month, and this was the first one that we had attended. There were quite a few people there and it was a very nice market to go to.

Outside the tasting room is a nice decking where you can enjoy wine, eat some food and soak up the nice views and atmposphere.

There are stalls selling jewellry, clothing, preserves, bread, cured meats etc. What I loved the most about this market is that there were tables set up out the back of the wine tasting room which you could sit at and enjoy a nice bottle of wine, some food and soak up the view.

This is an ideal place to bring your children, as they have horse rides available, a bouncy castle, and there is plenty of space for children to run around.

I did a tasting while here, and really enjoyed it. The wines are really nice here, all of them were very nicely balanced, were smooth, and you could tell that a lot of attention to detail had gone in to their wine. At first it was not an ideal time to do a tasting, but once they had more staff at the tasting section, I was given more attention and had a great tasting. You can try four of the standard wines for R10, but if you want to try the premier wines then you pay R10 per tasting.

I started with the MCC Blanc de Blanc 2007 (R345) this was very nice. It is light, tasty, buttery, and easy drinking. The Sauvignon Blanc 2010 (R69) had a fantastic smell, with very tropical fruit smells. However, what you smell is so different to what you taste. It was smooth, had a cellery, asparagus and slight grassy taste to it. The Sauvignon Blanc Single Vineyard was very yellow in colour, but light, nicely balanced and easy to drink. The 2007 Sauvignon Blanc S/V Bin 242 (R138) is wooded, well balanced, smooth, rounded, and has a very nice lingering aftertaste. The Pinotage Rose (R45) was a favourite of mine. This had very nice flavour, was light and easy drinking. I bought a couple bottles of this wine, had one last night at a party, and have decided I woud like to buy a case, as it was a great wine for at a party/braai. I tried the 2009 Chenin Blanc Natural Sweet (R105) this was very nice, had a lovely taste, was smooth, but compared to other dessert wines I have tried, I did find it was a bit syrupy in comparison.

Overall I think this winery has some fantastic wine, the market is worth a visit, and I am very much looking forward to the next market where I will invite some friends and enjoy some food and a bottle of wine and just soak up the nice relaxing environment. Be sure to put this winery on your list when visiting the Durbanville wineries!!