Eagle's Nest

This is a nice winery nestled in Constantia.

We received very good service from the moment we walked in to the wine tasting room. The tasting room is of a nice size, the tasting is done seated, and there are nice photos hanging in the room.

I tried all six wines at this winery. I started with the Sauvignon Blanc 2010 (R75) which is light, tasty, smooth, balanced and very nice. The Viognier 2010 (R135) is smooth, spicy, and has interesting flavours.
The Litte Eagle 2008 (R65) is light, easy drinking, tasty and flavoursome. The Merlot 2006 (R120) is nicely balanced, slightly dry, has a plum and blackberry taste to it. I felt this wine was more for the experienced wine drinker though. The Verreaux 2008 (R145) is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauviginon and Cabernet Franc. It is smooth, rounded, with a slight dry aftertaste. It has nice flavour to it and is an ideal food wine. Last of all I tried the Shiraz 2009 (R225). It is quite dry, has nice flavour, its slightly spicy, and has peppery notes to it.

Overall, this is a nice winery, with great service, nice grounds, and nice wines.

Guardian Peak

My boyfriend and I visited Guardian Peak on a beautiful, sunny, winter's day. We sat outside on the decking for breakfast and were able to do the wine tasting at our table also. Was nice and convenient, a very relaxing and enjoyable way to do a tasting.

The service and food is very good here and the view is beautiful. You can view the menu online http://www.guardianpeak.com/restaurant.htm.

You can do a tasting outside at a table, or sitting on these outdoor cushions. There is also plenty of space inside for a tasting.

I tried all the wines for tasting. My favourites were the 2010 Guardian Peak Merlot (R65) and the 2011 Guardian Peak Rose (R65). The Merlot was very nice, had great flavour and was slightly dry. The Rose is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, it was lovely in colour (had no skin contact, it gets its colours from the initial press with the skin), it was a nice, light, easy drinking wine.

I also enjoyed the 2011 Guardian Peak Sauvignon Blanc(R65) it was smooth, balanced, had a nice guava flavour, was buttery with a crisp aftertaste. On the tasting notes it said this wine is "light & elegant - beautiful", I totally agree.

It costs R30 for a tasting. There are nine wines you can try.

This is a nice winery to visit, I highly recommend eating here, be sure to ask for a table outside so you can enjoy the views while eating and/or doing a tasting.

Creation - Walker Bay

On Saturday some friends and I went to a few wineries in Walker Bay. We were there for a friend's birthday, and the weather was just perfect!! We got very lucky!!

We started at Hermanuspietersfontein for the Saturday market, we then went and spent a nice amount of time at Hamilton Russell, and finished at Creation for a 9 course wine and food pairing. It was a fantastic day!!

On a map, this winery looks quite far, in comparison to the other wineries on this road, and it looks like it is half way to Caledon. Once you have stopped off at several wineries on the way, it is nothing to drive that bit further to Creation. After driving along the dirt road, you are welcomed by a building which is modern, tasteful and welcoming. The grounds are also very nicely kept and are very beautiful.

 
The service was great right from the moment we walked in. There were no other guests at the time we arrived so we were able to choose what we considered was the best table in the room. It was right near the open doors, so we had great views, some could sit in the sun while others in the shade, it was perfect :-)

We all decided to go with the 6 wine tasting and 9 canapes to match. This is R90 and I highly recommend doing this. It is really interesting trying the wine prior to the matching canape(s) and then trying the wine again after the canape. There is a great difference in the taste of the wine after trying the canapes. It is therefore a great way to decide which wine you like with meals and which you like without food.

Carolyn who was serving us, was really kind to let us try the whole range of wines they have for tasting. They have 9 wines, but when you do a wine and food matching you get to try 6 wines. My favourites were the Sauvignon Blanc (R79.50) - on first sip it was rounded, balanced, yet after eating one of the two canapes for this wine, I found it slightly acidic. I felt it went really well with the cheese canape though!!! I also liked the Bordeaux style blend (R139) - it was just beautiful!! It had great body, great taste and was really nice on the palate. Last of all the Syrah/Grenache (R135) was smooth, velvety and also very nice.


I am not going to mention all the wines we tried as there are many. What I can say is that ALL the wines are very nice, the wine and food matching is great, the service is great, the scenery is beautiful and the entire experience was perfect!! We all had a really nice time here and would definitely recommend you put this winery on your list to visit!!!