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.



Saturday, 6 October 2012

Swartland Olive and Wine Festival

This was such a nice wine festival!!


There were many wineries here from Swartland, so I was able to try lots of wine which I hadn't tried before.


My boyfriend and I were pleasantly surprised with how many wines we liked at each wine stand.

Babylon's Peak had some awesome wine!! I loved the Chenin Blanc 2012 it was nice, crisp and light. Only R30 a bottle!! The Viognier/Rousanne 2011 had good body wirth tart citrus tones coming through. This wine is R70 a bottle. The Shiraz/Carignan 2011 was light and nice at R50 a bottle. The Syrah 2007 (R80) was lighter than the SMG. The SMG (Shiraz, Mouvedre, Grenache) at R80 a bottle was nice, smokey, and had balanced flavours. I really liked this wine also.

We also enjoyed the wine at Nuweland. Juan Louw was there to promote his wine. We liked his Sauvignon Blanc 2012 at R48 a bottle,  it had great body, flavour, was very nicely balanced and not acidic which I like!! The Chenin Blanc 2011 was also a favourite of mine at only R40 a bottle. It also had great body, was soft and had great flavours! We also tried the Rooipad Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 at R65. This was strong in flavour and a little dry. We also liked this wine. The Tinta Barocca at R100 a bottle was really interesting in flavour and we also liked this wine. The Straw Wine Muscat Alexandri (honeypoot grapes) was R90 a bottle, I really liked this wine! 


I highly recommend coming to this wine event. It was a really nice way to spend the day!! There were plenty of food stalls, olive and wine stands and there was live music which added a nice vibe to the event.

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