Riding the tram in Franschhoek

11 am in Haute Cabrière’s reception area, waiting for the tour to start

The cellar tour begins

Listening to how the wines are made

It is held in the vaulted cellar where you can see the reception area above

The cathedral like barrel cellar

Lots of activity in the packing area

A chandelier made of Dom Perignon bottles, reputedly all drunk at the births of the von Arnim children

It makes the most wonderful shadows on the ceiling

Sit on a church pew in the private tasting area

Barrels being  brought in for the harvest

This is the small stack of Fine de Jourdan potstill brandy kegs

We tasted the wines

Our guide shows us how to do sabrage on a wine bottle

The cork flies off effortlessly

Tasting their wonderful Pinot Noir

Neat place to hang your sabre between uses

A niche displaying the range of MCC bubblies

The magnificent view from Haute Cabriere

You can taste wine out on the terrace and enjoy the view

A view of the mountains looking across their full dam

We board our first "Tram" bus

Our guide tells us which is the next stop and we are off

The tasting room at Dieu Donne (translation: God’s Gift)
with their magnificent Venetian glass chandelier

Deciding which wines to taste

The lawn outside the tasting room

The restaurant terrace with lots of shade

Dieu Donne also has a micro brewery.  Next time, we will be there to taste the beers

The Specials menu for the day looks quite tempting, especially Eisbein with a beer

Some beautiful sandstone tiles with embedded fossils on the walkway to the restaurant

Chamonix de-stemmer, ready for the arrival of the grapes

The restaurant at Chamonix

A selection of spirits in the bar

Their specials menu of the day

The normal menu. Because Caesar salad appeared twice at different prices, we misunderstood that the Tapas were only available in the Wine tasting area. A pity, we would have ordered them

Their proud display of Platter 5 star awards for their wines

They serve good chewy fresh bread

The stream below the deck

A view of the tables on the deck

Lynne’s perfectly cooked calves liver on mash

John’s Duck confit on Puy lentils

Double espresso with tiny cakes

Our bill. They calculate the tip for you.....

View of the very rustic restaurant

Sommeliers selection

Their tasting centre. There is a charge to taste the wines

Outside the tasting room where you can await the next tram bus

A quick peek into the working wine cellar in harvest time

We join the tram which runs on the train lines through the vineyards

They don’t have to turn it around, all the seats reverse in an instant. Here we are waiting to be off on the adventure. Lovely warm weather

The view from the tram of the vineyards and Franschhoek as you move slowly along. It is a magical trip

This year is a busy and fruitful harvest due to all the rain we had last winter and a nice slow ripening period

The tram uses the old, decommissioned, railway line and some of the old station signs can be seen along the way

The tram stops at Grande Provence, where you have to walk for about 15 minutes in the hot sun to reach the tasting room

At the last stop, you are transported by road to Rickety Bridge; after tasting there you are taken back to board the tram again and return to Franschhoek.

© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2013