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, 1 May 2013

Lourensford

Nice place. Good selection and quality of wine. Nice setting. Good service. More a commercialised wine estate though.


Today my friend and I decided to visit a few wine estates in Somerset West.We started at Morgenster and moved on to Lourensford after that, hoping to have lunch there to finish off our day.

At Lourensford you can sit inside or outside. As it was a beautiful day, we chose to sit outside. Being a public holiday and all, it was actually quite busy at this estate. It is R25 per person to try 5 wines, they waive this if you purchase wine. My friend and I ended up trying 9 wines between the two of us.


We tried the Lourensford Estate Sauvignon Blanc at R70 a bottle. I liked this, it had lime, apple, pineapple tones, was nice on the nose, light and fresh, a little acidic. A nice tropical SB.

Next we tried the Winemaker's Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2011 at R100 a bottle. We could smell the buttery/oak aromas on the nose, it was fuller bodied than the previous SB, smooth on the palate and had a nice smooth finish, was fruity. Nice.


The Winemaker's Selection Viognier 2011 at R100 a bottle was smooth, fruity, had flavours of peach on the palate, lovely sweet aromas on the nose with hints of spicy/stewed apple and cinnamon, nice lingering finish.

The White Blend 2009 at R180 a bottle had interesting pepper and capsicum aromas on the nose, a fynbos and pepper taste with asparagus and green notes, it was smooth on the palate.

The Shiraz/Mouvedre/Viognier 2011 at R100 a bottle had a lovely smell to it with slight berry, vanilla and chocolate aroma, it was nice on the palate, smooth, pleasant, soft, nice, liked it!!

The Syrah 2009 at R150 a bottle was smooth, delicious, bit of tobacco on the nose, loved it. Tones of dark chocolate, a little dry, lighter than the red reserve.

Red Reserve 2009 at R300 a bottle was dry, medium bodied, a serious wine, yet smooth, it was fruity. Would be nice with food. I thought this was a lovely wine. I loved it. It was my favourite wine of the entire tasting!!


To finish off the tasting, we tried the honey liquor at R100 a bottle and the Noble Late Harvest 2012 at R90 a bottle. The honey liquor is not my cup of tea, it tasted like crystalised honey with water. It was unique, but I wouldn't buy it. The NLH was 100% Semillon, sweet on the nose, a little syrupy, had raisin and honey aromas, was nice but not my favourite dessert wine.

Overall we had a good wine tasting experience here. The service by Kenan Tait was good, he brought all the wine out in one go, but gave us a run down on the wine before he left, and was very pleasant and friendly.

We went to the restaurant afterwards for lunch. We were very lucky to get a table considering it was a public holiday, so they were very kind to accommodate us with just 30 minutes before the kitchen closed. It is a nice restaurant with a welcoming and homely decor. The service is very good and they were very friendly. The menu looked awesome, but sadly our meals were nothing to rave about. The sweet potato chips were awesome though!! I wouldn't go back for the food, but the setting is very nice. They have an outdoor area out the back where children can play, so its a good place to eat at if you have children.



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