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, 2 March 2013

L'Avenir

Today we went to L'Avenir for a picnic. I had a wine tasting while waiting for our friends to arrive. You can try 6 wines for R20.


The service here is friendly and the place is nice. I didn't get a very informative tasting here, but it was fine. They were quite busy especially with all the people coming in for picnics, so that would have had an affect on the service.



I tried the SB 2012 (R45 a bottle), Rose de Pinotage 2012 (R45 a bottle), MCC Brut Rose 2010 (R100 a bottle), Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 (R85 a bottle), Grand Vin Chenin Blanc 2011 (R120 a bottle) and the Grand Vin Pinotage 2009 (R250 a bottle).


I have to say the MCC is fantastic and at the moment they have a fantastic special: Buy 4 for R400 and get two free. It is for a limited time, so I highly recommend you order some while they are on special.


Other than the MCC nothing else really stood out. Having said that, the Grand Vin Pinotage 2009 was soft, fruity, smooth and very nice. But I am not ready to spend R250 a bottle on it.


The picnic was ok. There were two breadrolls of a good size with a very nice filling, fruit juice, a bottle of MCC per couple, muesli bars, candy, salted peanuts and raisins. It would have been nice to see some cheese and crackers in there and perhaps something sweet like a cupcake. Majority of the food was packeted stuff. Bit of a shame.


The grounds are lovely, there is plenty of lawn for chldren to run around and there is plenty of shade for those having picnics on the lawn.


The lodge on the estate looks really nice!! They have a lovely swimming pool and the place looks so relaxing!! My friend and I are very keen to look in to staying there for a night for a treat.

Overall, it is a nice place. Very relaxed and the wine is ok.

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