We have wanted to visit two wineries in this area for
a while. Benguela Cove had invited us recently, but we were already engaged on
that date. Also, we had heard that Chef Thomas Sinn (ex Wembley Square and Blue
Danube) had now moved to Rivendell Winery, which is just across the estuary
from there. It was a short pleasant
diversion off our route up the N2 to Riversdale and we had allowed ourselves
all day. Bot River has always been
included as a ward of Elgin wine area, but suddenly there are many new wine
farms opening up and it is becoming a wine route all on its own.
Benguela Cove Winery
This is the site that Lynne had picked years ago for
the perfect weekend escape cottage when driving past towards Hermanus and we
see that someone is now building a large and impressive house in the spot we
had fantasized about. We don’t have the R2 plus million for a plot nor do we
have the time to build a luxurious escape, we would prefer a tiny seaside
cottage but it is an interesting place to visit. Apparently they plan to build
a hotel in the next year and there are houses going up in the vineyards and
along the lagoon edge. The tasting room has only just been finished and it is
large and modern and has nice views from the lawn in front of it of the river
and lagoon and estuary. They currently only have three wines for tasting.
The very white tasting room has views
of the garden and lagoon
These are the 3 wines currently
available for tasting. Kevin Grant of Ataraxia is the winemaker and this shows in the steely
green, elegant Sauvignon Blanc. Paul Wallace is the consulting viticulturist
Leandre is the tasting room manager
and she gave us tastes of these wines. It costs R15 per person for a tasting
The garden outside
The terrace
Views over their dam and the estuary
towards Kleinmond
Rivendell
This is a winery that has a separate restaurant. They
are easy to find. You turn off the N2 towards Hermanus and, when you get to the
Y junctions marked Kleinmond to right
and Hermanus on our left, you take the left fork and turn into the winery about
100 meters on your right. Our first
visit was to the winery to taste the wine and we were warmly welcomed by Rachel,
who runs the tasting room. We really
liked their 2012 Sauvignon Blanc, asparagus and green on the nose and a full
mouth of golden fruit with some minerality and saltiness. The 20013 needs more
time. They have a spicy rosé from Shiraz
and a velvety 4 star Platter Shiraz with delicious tastes of dark fruits and
wood
This is the tasting room
The farm is owned by Austrians, Heimo and
Maria Thalhammer. The winemaker is Kobie Viljoen with viticulturist Schalk du
Toit
These are the wines currently
available,
not necessarily in magnums and double magnums
The tasting room has an outside
terrace
The 2012 Shiraz is a 4 star Platter
wine and already has some other awards
Rachel is a very good tasting room manager and knows a lot about
wine and her customers.
Tasting room and wine sales
Then it was
time for lunch in the Restaurant. It is
a very short walk up a road lined with aromatic pines. Or you can drive
The inside of
the restaurant
And we were
delighted to be welcomed by Chef Thomas Sinn
The lunch menu
is divided into two sections, the fine dining
and the Bistro Favourites. We
knew we would be having a large dinner, so we went with the Bistro menu
A surprise
amuse. A rich and delicious mouthful of tender steak in red wine jus, topped
with a grainy mustard cream sauce
On a beautiful
day no one wanted to sit inside, but under the huge Norfolk pine and the pepper
tree
The restaurant
garden
Our table had
a lovely view of the vineyards
John chose the
Veal Bratwurst with mash with salad and a mustard sauce
Lynne had the
Beer battered hake and chips. Superbly crisp batter and perfectly cooked pearly
fresh hake inside. Served with good
crisp chips, mustardy tartar sauce and a salad and topped with a sesame
snap. We drank this with 2 glasses of
their 2012 Sauvignon Blanc
The bill. And
service was worth paying for, it was quick, polite and friendly. We will be
back
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014
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