#TBT Boxing Day in the Winelands

Hubby and I started our own tradition not too long ago. We decided that we would do something different every Boxing day (26 December). So far we’ve been visiting different wine estates on Boxing day. Sometimes we go with family and sometimes it’s just the two of us. My brother joined us on this occasion and we had so much fun!

We started of our visit to Webersburg with a wine tasting, my favourite pastime!

After our wine tasting we decided on light lunches. Mitch (my brother) had a Sesame Crumbed Chicken Salad. Just by looking at that salad, it made us all want to have healthy New Year resolutions! It was so good! (Sorry for the bad image.)

 

Me and hubby shared a Webersburg Snack and Wine Platter. I didn’t expect it to be that big! It was quite tasty and filling! The Wild Mushroom Arancini was our favourite! We enjoyed a Webersburg 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon with our food.

The views were spectacular, the service GREAT and the wine AMAZING!

After Webersburg we went to the Root 44 Market which is just down the road. Even though we had quite a meal at Webersburg, when visiting Root 44 Market you cannot help yourself but to have another helping of food! The smell of different flavours is just amazing! I cannot imagine going to the Root 44 Market and not having anything to eat and drink!

On our table we had some fresh Oysters, Mussels with Vetkoek (One of my favourite types of bread. Reminds me of the times spent on the farm as a child.) and a very thin based pizza. I can’t quite remember what was on there. All I know is that it was perfect! We rounded off our snacking with some Audacia Rooibos Wooded Natural Red wine. Who ever thought that Rooibos and wine would taste that good?!

We had great food and wine at both places. You will not be disappointed by these places, Promise! 🙂

Beautiful Breakfast at Bean In Love

So this is a rather short post but well worth the mention. On one of me and hubby’s rare mornings off, we decided to have a quick breakfast. We visited Bean in Love in Paarl Main Road. I’ve been eyeing this little place for a while everytime we drive past. It was a sunny winter’s morning so we decided to sit outside and enjoy the clean air. I just loved their cappuccino! We tried their croissants and boy were we in love! They also sell a variety of things like spices, adventure bags, snacks, flowers, and obviously delicious coffee! (To name a few) When you in Paarl again, why not give them a go? We promise you won’t regret it. 🙂

I just love cappuccinos with pictures. 🙂

It’s the little things that make me go back for more

The Mr’s choice

The Mrs’ choice

Even normal water looks great here!

An Impromptu visit to Val Du Charron

We are known for making impulsive decisions at the best of times but this one was Awesome!

We went to the Spar in Wellington to get ice-cream as it was one of those hot Wellington weather days. When we got out of the shop I told Marc that I felt like a drive, because it was such a beautiful day. We took a drive towards the Bainskloof Pass, past Antoniesvlei, when we decided to turn around and look for one of our favourites, a Wine Estate! 🙂

We popped into Val Du Charron and weren’t quite sure as to whether it was open. We went to the entrance and it stated that they were still busy with reservations but was greeted with a warm welcome by Chrisma.  She made us feel right at home! We tasted some of their wines and just loved the Theatre of Wine Trio which consisted out of Four White Legs, Erasmus – Den Deen & Black Countess.

The Four White Legs is a white blend consisting of 33% Chenin Blanc, 24% Nouvelle, 20% Pinot Gris, 20% Sauvignon Blanc & 3% Viognier. We are not big fans of white wines but I must say that this blend was quite nice and reminded me that Summer is on the way! As most of our family and friends know, we are red wine lovers  and we were looking forward to the Erasmus & the Black Countess. The Erasmus is a blend of 40% Merlot, 30% Pinotage, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Petit Verdot, 8% Shiraz. The Black Countess is a blend of 44% Shiraz, 24% Pinotage, 16% Mataro, 8% Carignan, 8% Grenache Noir. Needless to say, it was amazing! Definitely getting more of those! 🙂

Chrisma also introduced us to their 2015 Pinot Gris and boy was I surprised! We just loved it and definitely making it one of our summer wines this season.

We were also advised that their restaurant, The Local Grill, will be opening soon (October 2015). We had a look at the menu and it looks delicious! We called it “Our Kind of Food”. We’ll definitely be visiting to lay into that menu!

The estate also boasts with a 4 & 5 star Guest House and a Spa! With this combination, Val Du Charron is the best place to plan an escape to. Husbands and partners do take note of this one. I already hinted to hubby for a weekend. 😉

Val Du Charron also have some of the most amazing views of Wellington! Hence no filter on the pictures of the views. 😉 The lawn is nice and big to accommodate families with children as well as a great relaxation spot for wine lovers during summer.

My apologies for the image quality. These were taken with my not so state of the art cellphone and one of the only times I did not have my pocket camera on me.

The Local Grill Restaurant Menu that we can’t wait to try!

This is what I call Good Wine!

Even the horsie enjoyed the wine! 🙂

I just loved the designs!

This is my kind of Wine Rack! I need one! 🙂

Views to take your breathe away!

The Spa has a wide variety of treatments that will make any woman smile from ear to ear!

We spotted these beautiful mosaic angels on the estate and I just loved how the sun was just touching them and making them shimmer.

Visit to Landskroon Wine Estate

We just love exploring new places. We normally take a drive and just see what’s out there and sometimes make a quick stop at any place. Some of our favourite places to visit is Wine Estates. Some of the reasons are that they always make for spectacular views and photos, they have wine (some of our favourite treats) and they don’t cost you an arm and a leg. Wine tastings generally cost between R20 – R50 per person and the amount of different wines you can taste is generally between 3-5 wines. Some wine estates also offer different platters that you an try with their wines. Therefore, if you are looking for a budget outing this summer, try out a wine estate.

So on one blissful day, we stopped over at Landskroon Wine Estate in Paarl. This estate is on the same road as Spice Route and Fairview. They have the same spectacular views as these 2 estates but not all the frills. When we got there my breathe was taken away by the gorgeous views. We visited the tasting room where the tastings were R10 per person (I think, speaking under correction). The wines were pretty well priced and quite a variety was available. The tasting room assistant also advised us that we could bring our own picking and enjoy their wines on their big, open lawn. I loved this idea as at some estates one needs to buy your picnic from the estate (normally quite expensive). You however need to book in advance in order to do this. We just got some wine, glasses and some of the snacks that were available at the tasting room. It was a perfect day. I’ll let the pictures do the talking. 😉

#FBF to a Visit to Ridgeback Wine Estate

This was one of those days where we weren’t quite sure what to make of the weather and decided to pick a place at random. We decided to go down an unknown road off the R44. We found this little estate, Ridgeback Wine Estate.

At first it seemed rainy but then the sky opened up and the sun came out. We were too late for breakfast (they were still willing to serve us breakfast) so we decided on lunch instead. Hubby chose the Lamb Shank and I went for some pork fillets in a red wine sauce. The food was delicious and the service GREAT! We had a waiter with a smile and always ready with a joke that had us laughing all day.

I decided to explore the area around the estate and just loved the pond in the middle, the little waterfall, the animals in the pond and the fact that it had a kiddies play area with a jungle gym. Not only does Ridgeback wine estate have great family facilities but their red wine, especially the Merlot, was amazing! We are definitely visiting them again. 😉

The Pond at Ridgeback with beautiful skies over it.

Lamb Shank with delicious veggies

Pork Fillet in red wine sauce with veggies.

Ridgeback Shiraz

Beautiful Swans

Little waterfall

Different view of the pond

#FBF: A Visit to Peter Falke Wines

So as many of our friends may know, we’ve visited quite a few places in the past and I’ve decided to share our past experiences via a #FBF (Flash Back Friday) post every week until we can get up to date.

It was a sunny afternoon in the Winelands when we weren’t quite sure of where to go for the day. We eventually settled on Peter Falke Wines. I wanted to see the estate that was popular for being open till 7pm, Tuesdays to Sundays. For people who like wine estates and don’t quite want to end their wine tasting at 5pm, you have to try this place! We went during the day though and I was in awe of the beauty of this estate on a bright sunny day. I loved the lush green lawns and the decor. The estate is very stylish and has comfortable seating, even bean bags further down to laze the day away. Not only was the setting picture perfect, but the wines were amazing! On top of the great wine, they had tasty platters with various options to choose from. All this from a guy that I knew sold socks! I was truely amazed! I’ll let the pictures talk for themselves. 😉

Beautiful Skies

Views For Days!

I just loved this!

Can’t get enough of these views!

I would love to laze in one of those! 😉

We had Parma Ham and Sweet Melon Platter. Amazing how these 2 come together!

The lush lawns to picnic on.

Can you say Obsessed?!

How gorgeous is this? One day when I grow up, this is what my house will look like. 😉

Just love these scatters!

The attention to detail is amazing!

And this is what my drinks counter will look like. 😉

Birthday Weekend in the Winelands

Hi All!

Our first post is all about Hubby’s Birthday Weekend. Our good friends decided to treat us to a weekend in the Winelands. We started our weekend with a check-in at Marianne Wine Estate‘s Lofts on the Friday.

The Saturday morning we had breakfast that was to die for and off we went to Jordan Wine Estate to donate clothes for charity and in exchange we got wine. 🙂

After Jordan Wine Estate we went to Warwick Wine Estate for a Big 5 Vineyard Safari and tasting. We had so much fun going up the hills in an open Land Rover, while it was freezing cold! Luckily for us, the guide brought us some nice red wine to warm us up on top. We stayed there for a while and was in awe of the beauty of our country. You have to be there to understand this type of beauty! After our vineyard safari we went and posed a little with Madiba and just ran around like a bunch of kids, just having fun! There was also the story of the Wedding Cup, but that we keeping for a next post. 😉

After Warwick Wine Estate we made our way down the road to Arra Wine Estate. This is a small wine estate that overlooks Klapmuts with great staff. We were welcomed by a warm smile and big glasses! Just the way we like it. 😉 Soon after we arrived, Eskom delighted us with some loadshedding. The beauty of being at Arra was that we didn’t need Eskom to make our day! We had good cheese, preserves, crackers and GREAT wine!

After our cheese and wine tasting at Arra, we went back to Marianne Wine Estate for our last tasting of the day. Here we had a great time with our french tasting room assistants. Hubby and his friend may have been a bit hard on the guys but it was all in good fun. If there’s one thing that I absolutely love about Marianne Wine Estate, it’s their red wine! Especially the Desirade! My absolute favourite! Sitting on that deck and looking at the views was just amazing! After our tasting we had a nice relaxed evening and dreading the Sunday that we had to check out of this piece of heaven. But it was a weekend well spent with great friends. Definitely one for the books!

All I can say is that the Winelands is a MUST for anyone visiting our beautiful country, South Africa! 🙂

This experience was one of the many reasons why I started this blog. I hope you guys follow me and hubby on our future adventures, discovering our country.

Good Morning!

Views for Days!

Breakfast

Words of the wise!

Tasting Room at Jordan Wine estate

We need to go sometime.

Views that will take your breathe away

Nelson Mandela, larger than life!

At the top of our Big 5 Wine Safari

This guy was a great guide!

These grapes spell WIne!

Can you say Vintage?!

Wine at its best!

It’s a long, long road. . .

Abstract Art

My obsession with wine glasses

Takes my breathe away all the time!