Franschhoek Summer Wines at Leopard's Leap

This very modern winery is situated on the main road into Franschhoek and this building contains the stylish tasting room, a shop selling modern kitchen equipment and accessories and the large restaurant and open kitchen where they also hold cookery lessons.

The different wine farms' stalls were all set up on the lawn under umbrellas, with seats and umbrellas in the middle. Suited for summer drinking, most of the wines were white, with a couple of rosés and some good MCC bubblies.  We tasted Sauvignon Blancs, Semillons, Chenins, Viognier, Chardonnays, several blends and Terra del Capo's good Pinot Grigio.  We particularly liked La Bri’s Chardonnay, so well made by Irene Waller, Haute Cabrières Belle Rose and Morena’s Brut Rosé. The standard of wines was very high and most were eminently drinkable, nay quaffable.

The chef on the left is Granville Riffel from Franschhoek and told Lynne he is Reuben Riffel's cousin. He works under  Head Chef  Pieter de Jager. Their pastry chef had lots of dessert delights on offer to tempt us.

Lunch was a serve yourself salad buffet and your plate was weighed to gauge the cost. We had a Moroccan chickpea couscous salad topped with a hot harissa, an artichoke and egg mixed salad, a potato salad, beetroot, beans and many more. If you didn’t eat meat you were fine, you just didn’t add any at the end

Then you could add a large slice of this magnificent crisp rotisserie pork, or some barbecue chicken. And there was apple sauce and other accoutrements to go with the salads and the chicken.

Our first bubby of the day was the MCC from Morena, lovely and crisp and lively

Lots of enthusiastic festival goers queued to taste it

La Motte offers the best selling sauvignon Blanc in South Africa from the farm next door

Takuan von Arnim showing the delicious Haute Cabrière Belle Rose

Lizelle Gerber, Boschendal's white wine maker, with their Brut Rosé

Ghenwa and Geza Steingaszner with Kevin Swart of Black Elephant Vintners and his wife

BE Vintners winemaker Jacques Wentzel with Barbara Swanepoel and her daughter

Anelle van Tonder of Babylonstoren

A band played Springsteen, rock, pop and other oldies

Great seating on the cool shaded and misted terrace and the queue for the buffet behind.  Everyone seemed to eat lunch; the queue went on for ages but was reasonably quick.

There were also some good chilling areas if you wanted a rest from tasting

The spacious lawn gave the large number of visitors plenty of room and no one felt crowded

Two English visitors, escaping the British winter with a glass of Leopard's Leap bubbly

poured by Lillian Jonker and Stian Willemse

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014

IWSC tasting at the Grande Roche in Paarl

The International Wine & Spirit Competition is an annual wine competition founded in 1969 by the [German/British] oenologist Anton Massel. He had the idea of creating a competition which was based not just on organoleptic judgement, but where all entries also had to undergo chemical analysis. A set of technical controls was implemented in order to ensure that the highest quality standards were achieved and maintained year after year

The IWSC receives entries from nearly 90 countries worldwide. No matter where the entry originates, whether it is youthful or aged, it is judged according to its class and treated with respect and consideration. The awards given by the competition are considered as high honours in the industry.  The event occurs annually in November, in London

Chief South African Judge Dave Hughes with Maryna Strachan, who is the local IWSC representative and Michela Nassiz, the international representative, explains to us how the competition works 

The eminent Mr Hughes always prefers informal attire

The large crowd of winemakers, growers, wine trade and media listens to the speeches

One gold and three silver MCC winners of the international competition were indeed available for tasting, Grande Roche’s labels misleading everyone

It was agreed that the venue was too small for the very large amount of interest the wines received and tasting did become a bit of a scrum at times.  The white wines were on the right hand side of the table and the many reds were  on the left.  Sweet wines were on another table at the end of the room and brandies and whiskies had another table on the opposite side of this one

Lots of informed tasting and note taking and, of course, lots on conjecture as always when competition wines are being tasted

A selection of dessert wines being kept cool

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014