On a lovely Saturday we were off to Avontuur Wine Farm in
the Helderberg region of Stellenbosch. Known as "the home of fine wine and
fast horses" it is owned by the Taberer family. We were joining Leigh
Taberer. She is the sister of the late Tony Taberer who bought the estate in
1984. It is now run by his sons Michael and Philip Taberer. We were to have a
wine tasting and lunch, and see the exciting newly finished Manor House
accommodation. On arrival, you drive through the Paddocks and layers of white
iceberg roses. http://www.avontuurestate.co.za
They have a lovely view of the Table Mountain range
and you can
clearly see Adamastor, the legendary Titan and Protector of the Cape,
lying on his back, taking his
nap on a bed of mist
There is parking outside the main building and lots of
seating on the terrace for wine tasting or eating at the restaurant
You can sit inside and they do have a fireplace but we enjoyed
our lunch out on the terrace
Autumn leaves on the pin oaks
Avontuur is a renowned racing stud. We were so amused
watching these pregnant mares in the closest paddock. There was one mare in
control and they happily played follow my leader around the merry-go-round tree
and the paddock. The new generation of foals will be born in August and are very
sought after in the international racing world as the sires have very good
racing records
African sacred ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) were grazing in
the paddocks
Leigh Taberer has curated a very good exhibition of art for
sale in the old cellar. It is certainly well worth the time taken to see the
paintings, sculptures and ceramics of the well known artists Andrew Cooper,
Lesley Charnock, Vicki Norcliffe, Marion Cross and Sandile B Cele
Chatting with Leigh and her partner Francois Joubert in the
gallery
and we had a good look at the pictures and sculptures
It is a very good area for displaying art in all its forms
A bronze by Vicki Norcliffe
and a very accomplished horse's head
Wine and art combined
Very talented ceramicist Sandile Cele
You could not help but stroke the noses of this pair of dogs
Leigh
Taberer contributed to the book Exploring the Cape Winelands
and they had some visitors who wanted to buy
We took a stroll to see the Manor House which has been
converted into luxurious suites
We thought it would be the perfect place for a
wedding or for other family celebrations, or a quiet break from the city.
Bookings can be made from the estate or through Nightsbridge booking platform
There is a pool and a tennis court
The pool room
The house was closed, but we were able to take photographs
through the windows. This is the entrance hall
One of the impressive suites
and the Manor house has the same beautiful views of paddocks
and the mountain
A sheltered area at the back of the house
A vine covered pergola
now in beautiful colour as the leaves die back
Time for lunch and we had a table in the shade with the
beautiful views
The menu has a good and interesting selection
Hot drinks. You can order any Avontuur wine to have with
your meal, by the glass or the bottle
Our very friendly and helpful waitress Avril has been
working there for many years
Our starters had been pre-ordered and were smoked salmon
roses
stuffed with prawn, avocado, ginger, wasabi and topped with caviar
They
do not contain sushi rice, so good for no carb diets. Delicious
We have good memories of the Avontuur Cabernet Franc
and
they did have some in the cellar which we had with our main course
Full of savoury umami flavours with and rich red berry fruit
Age is showing but still delicious, it went so well with the awesome Duck
Avontuur
used to have an excellent annual festival of Cape Cabernet Francs
We shall
miss this and, especially, the woman who organised the festival, the late Cobie
van Oort
A mixed salad for the table
Both Leigh and Francois encouraged us to order the duck. We
needed no pressure, it is one of our favourite things to eat, especially when
it prepared as well as this. They suggested that we share a portion as they are
usually very large. This portion is just right. The sauce flavoured with van
der Hum tangerine liqueur and caramelised orange was perfection with the duck.
It is on a bed of mixed vegetables. The crisp skin, and the moist duck are
definitely something to go to Avontuur for. And the price for the full half a
duck of R200 is very reasonable
It came with a portion of chips
John had room for dessert and this was the Brandy Snap Basket with vanilla ice cream, caramelised orange and a vanilla fudge sauce. Leigh and Francois had the Deep fried ice cream
We did have a taste of two wines at the beginning of lunch:
the newly released Luna de Miel 2021 Reserve Chardonnay, with herbal notes,
crispness and minerality and the excellent Cabernet Sauvignon with classic
Cabernet flavours of forest floor, black berry fruit with cassis to the fore,
good wooding and soft tannins. All the wines are named after horses that the
farm has owned. The winemaker (since 2011) is Jan van Rooyen. These are the two
wines we drank with our meal.
