This is our last MENU of 2023 and, because of a variety of reasons, it is a bumper edition with more stories than ever. They have all been published on our web site, Facebook and LinkedIn between the end of October and now. We have had some memorable meals, enjoyed wonderful wines and visited beautiful places in the Western Cape. Please enjoy them with us by clicking on the links and photographs
We hope that you will all have a most enjoyable holiday season, a Blessed Christmas and Hanukkah and that 2024 will bring you all the benefits you wish for
Platter's 2024 South African Wine Guide launch
Platter's 2024 Wines of the Year
These are the highest-scoring wines within each category, tasted
within Platter's 2024 Wines of the Year blind tastings. See them Here
Platter's 2024 Top Wineries of the Year
A Hermanus, Hemel en Aarde Weekend
We took a family friend to Hermanus while we were staying in
the Hemel and Aarde; it really should be on all tourists' agendas. It is such a
great place to visit and if you are lucky, as we were, you might spot some
whales breaching and flapping their tails in the air. Read on…
Wine pairing lunch at Creation
For our weekend in the Hemel and Aarde, we made a reservation for lunch at Creation Wine Estate. Our family friend Angela from London had been there before and wanted so much to visit again. See the fabulous lunch Here
We received
an exciting invitation to visit Tokara wine estate during the Open Gardens
weeks, including a visit to their special Adamastor Moss Garden. The gardens
are spectacular, with many garden 'rooms' leading down from their home to the
lake. Lovingly created by GT and Anne-Marie Ferreira, we wandered around in
awe, exclaiming at the garden and enjoying the marvellous views back over the
vines to Table Mountain in the distance. The most recent addition which has
been evolving over the past two years is the Moss Garden. We really had no
concept of how amazing a moss garden could be until we saw it, and how
beautiful and large it was. See the garden Here
Lynne is a member of the Cape Horticultural Society. With our friend Judi Thomas, who is also a member, we decided to go to Elgin for the weekend to visit the Open Gardens. We stayed overnight in an AirBnB. It was quite an experience; do always check the reviews before you book .... We began our visit at Freshwood. The gardens here are spectacular at this time of year. Read on Here….
Lunch at Oak Valley's The Melting Pot
After our
visit to the Hemel and Aarde, we booked to have lunch at The Melting Pot on Oak
Valley Wine Estate on our way home. It was such a successful visit that, as we
were going to be in Elgin for the Open Garden's weekend, we immediately made
another reservation. As they are now on the list as one of the Eat Out best
restaurants to visit in the winelands, we wanted to show you the delightful food we enjoyed
Meerendal launches a new Blanc Fumé
An
invitation to experience another new wine from Meerendal. Their Cellarmaster
Wade Roger-Lund has made a new Sauvignon Blanc, this time in the Blanc Fumé
style which, translated from the French, means smoked white. Called The Chapel
2023, the wine has been barrel fermented; it will be released on December 15th.
This style of wine comes typically from the regions of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé
in France's Loire Valley. Meerendal has put one whole vineyard block of
Sauvignon Blanc into this very special wine. It is their oldest Sauvignon
block, planted in 1997 on a high, cool site. Read on…
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