Avontuur
in the Helderberg is one of South African premier racehorse studs, which also
makes a little wine. Well, that’s what they told us on Heritage Day, on which
we were invited to visit and taste their wines. It is hard to define “a little”
when they tell us that they make 48 000 bottles of their best selling Estate
red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot! They also make several other wines.
The wines in the premium range are named after their prize winning race horses.
The farm is owned by the Taberer family and the wines are made by Jan van
Rooyen.
The entrance to Avontuur Restaurant and the new
improved tasting room
We met a table of other media and bloggers
The restaurant was very busy and lively on the
public holiday
Cobie van Oordt, PRO for Avontuur takes us through
their wines. We particularly liked the Estate Sauvignon Blanc, good vale at R62
and the Estate Cabernet/Merlot. Many of the reds have very farmyard noses, is
this influenced by the horses? John’s favourite was the Baccarat 2009, a
Bordeaux blend, and Lynne’s was the Dominion Royale Shiraz from 32 year old
vines
Lunch after the tasting was a shared platter of
cheese, paté, droëwors and biltong with a few additions like fruit, nuts and
preserved figs. These cost R120 for 2.
The restaurant menu for the day
Then we had a plate of dessert. One of the choices
was a Cape classic, Melktert
We had the almond cake
A view of the paddocks at the front of the farm
The farm buildings
Spring vines breaking into bud as the weather gets
warmer
A view from Avontuur of the R44 between Somerset West and Stellenbosch. We travel this
road often and had no idea the hill was so steep. Of course, a long lens
compresses the distance and makes it look much steeper than it is
Some of the dams with their
very valuable new pedigreed foals
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment