.: Searching Heaven and Earth and Babylon

We took our friends to the Hemel and Aarde valley for three days this week, for some country air. We stayed in a cottage owned by friends which faces the other Cape Babylonstoren mountains

It is peaceful and so quiet. The plan is always to do as little as possible but taste lots of wines in the valley so we have been to four vineyards this trip:
Bouchard Finlayson,

Newton Johnson,

Ataraxia, with its tasting room styled like a Greek chapel

and Creation

all of whom treated us like royalty

Petit Verdot grapes at Creation, two weeks from picking

We bought wine at each farm and even had some sent to Holland

We had one meal out at Harbour Rock in Hermanus’ new harbour,

which we expected to be busy as the school holidays have begun, but it wasn’t

We ate fish and seafood, with very fresh kabeljou,

West coast oysters, small starters of calamari, sushi and some not quite perfect prawns - some were a little raw and others overcooked. Some crisp chips but, sadly, lots of slap chips and minimal salads

Carolyn Martin at Creation had given us a bottle of the just released, delicious 2011 Sauvignon blanc to drink with dinner and we also had a bottle of Jordan Nine Yards 2003 Chardonnay,

which Lynne gave John for his 60^th birthday, and needed drinking. It was a golden yellow and still full of fruit and good flavours, but on the edge of maderisation, so we did drink it just in time

PEOPLE
Danel Theron at Bouchard Finlayson spoiled us with a most generous tasting