Friday, December 20, 2013

Tasting at Opstal Estate in Slanghoek with Attie Louw

A child friendly garden with magnificent views
The large restaurant can be turned into the conference centre
What’s for breakfast?
French toast, smoked salmon, slightly overdone poached eggs topped with sour cream with caviar
Cheese and bacon omelette
Toast and great grape jam, cheese and butter
Patriarch Stanley Louw
Winemaker Attie Louw  with the Sixpence Red
The tasting room
Five star Platter winner, Carl Everson Chenin Blanc 2012
©John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2013

Slanghoek Mountain Resort

The absolutely sensational  view from our cabin, looking across the dam
The log cabin we had for the night
The living area
A bedroom with a view, one of two on the ground floor
Single beds upstairs
The  deck
The other two cabins by the dam
Looking across to Jason’s Hill on the right and Slanghoek Vineyards in the middle
The platter of snacks we were given for supper
It’s a braw bricht moonlicht nicht, t’nicht
The dam and the valley after sunset
with the sun gone down behind the mountains
The awful oil trail we found in the morning on the boulder strewn road
Were we visited by a cat in the night? A big cat?
The early morning light was so beautiful
And here's the sad awakening after a good night’s rest -
our car with its sump cracked by one of the boulders in the road
A natural Sphinx in southern climes
There she goes to the menders
on her way through the vineyards, nearly at the main road
Ouch! The cracked sump bearing the impression of the boulder
So we had to hire a little bakkie from Avis
The Sharan, repaired and in the dealer's wash bay
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2013

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Blending wine at Slanghoek Cellar












Jason's Hill Private Cellar, Slanghoek Valley

The cellar nestled into the mountain from the side of the road
The entrance and the wedding marquee on the lawn in front
The tasting room entrance
We meet Ivy du Toit, the winemaker, in the tasting room
Who rules the roost around here? Me, Jason, the farm cat
Jason's Hill Chardonnay and Shiraz
Ivy du Toit, winemaker
The Bistro is above the tasting room
The lunch menu has something for everyone..
..  and so does the breakfast menu
A delightful amuse appeared - of Parma ham, brie and caramelised onions on top of a crostini
Moroccan flavoured lamb shank pie with seared vegetables and potato croquettes
A Boerewors flavoured solid beef hamburger with nice thin crisp frites – we shared both courses
The event marquee with the beautiful view. They’d hosted a wedding the previous night
A tiny curio shop on the lawn
Breathtaking views of the valley and the mountains
©John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2013