Jan Harmsgat Country House

Robertson/Klein Karoo trip night two

We were invited to review Jan Harmsgat Country House, on the road from Ashton to Swellendam. We have enjoyed a picnic here once before, when we were invited by the previous owners, but had never stayed the night. It is luxurious and your every need is catered for by the great staff. http://www.janharmsgat.com/

We were greeted by the Tour manager, who was on duty in the reception area on Sunday evening. We were offered a car wash and all our baggage taken to our room but, as we were off-road driving the next day and we only needed our overnight things, we declined and took only what we needed. Not many places offer these services so we knew we were in for a treat

The main house is very old and historic. The farm was established in 1723

We were tired and thirsty after the Wine on the River festival and the trip here and it was lovely to be offered Tea on our arrival. Lots of wicked and delicious things on offer. John had a slice of the pineapple cheesecake

There were savoury quiches and turnovers and apple pies and crumbles

Lynne could not resist that small slice of a classic carrot cake, beautifully moist and baked with pecans from the nut orchards surrounding the house. Carrot cake is not correct if it doesn't have lots of nuts in it, in our opinion; this had them. She had this with a pot of Earl Grey tea; very refreshing.

The lounge area is at one end of the long room and leads to the outside terrace, while the restaurant is at the other end

One of the old windows shows how thick the old walls are

This was our room for the night, right next to the herb garden

It has a huge four poster bed with crisp percale linen, a Cleopatra sized bath in the centre of the room (John kept asking for asses milk), a huge walk in shower and, thankfully, a loo with a door - and a bidet

The enormous bed. They have air conditioning, which is necessary in this room as there are no windows other than the door, which you cannot leave open

Two apples and a welcome for us

We went to dinner at 6.30 as requested. There is a lovely golden glow from all the Oregon pine and indigenous Yellow wood (Podocarpus)

First we had a tasting of the Jan Harmsgat wines. We really liked the crisp Sauvignon Blanc and the spicy Shiraz. Sadly the Chardonnay had been open for too long to do it justice. And yes, Lourens van der Westhuizen of Arendsig had a hand in these wines as well. Not a bad thing, as he is an excellent winemaker

Liandra was our very pleasant and helpful waitress

The starter was a goats cheese and tomato tart with balsamic vinegar, lovely crisp crumbly pastry, served with a small salad. A good start to the meal. We had this with some Oak Valley 2011 Sauvignon Blanc from our own cellar which paired beautifully, not fighting with the balsamic vinegar

They served beetroot and butternut bread

We also took along a Morkel Tumara 2003 Bordeaux Blend. It was nearing the end of its life, but went so well with the food and was still drinkable the next day

Lynne's main course was Kingklip with sliced potatoes, a tomato and raw onion salsa and a selection of vegetables. She stayed with the white wine. Raw onion does rather overpower fish and can cause long breath after-effects. We are not fans

John had a kudu steak with a delicious, rich red wine jus, mash and vegetables

Dessert was an individual, very sweet apple tart with excellent real vanilla custard and topped with some ice cream

Up for breakfast next morning, we discovered a cool and cloudy day in the pecan orchard

You can dine on the terrace

Breakfast from the buffet, where there is a very good selection of items. Lynne was happy just to make a selection

Hmm ... to croissant or not to croissant? Yes with cream cheese and smoked salmon ...

... and have some plain double cream yoghurt and honey. The coffee was Cona black

John ordered a cheese and tomato omelette. You can have a cooked breakfast as well as the buffet

The misty morning view

with a small fire lit in the grate

Loungers and a Boules court being laid out on the lawn. Pétanque to you too. And thank you Jan Harmsgat for a lovely, comfortable stay

© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015

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Robertson Wine on the River Festival

The great (Klein) Karoo Trek started with Wine on the River's 10th Anniversary

We set off on Saturday morning and aimed for Robertson for the 10th Wine on the River Festival, where we would spend both Saturday and Sunday. We haven't been to all 10; we've only missed one when we were away from home. It is one of our favourite events each year. The people are friendly, the wines superb (many are excellent value) and the venue alongside the Breede river is very special. You pay one entrance fee, you get a glass and you can taste all day, every day. There are also very good food stands. It's a formula which works

We normally go on a Sunday and this year confirmed our belief that for us aging folk, Sunday is quieter. The festival was pumping when we arrived. It fact, it was so busy that the normally ample parking field was full and we were directed to park next door at Van Loveren, from where a shuttle took us to the festival, held on the riverside at Goudmyn Farm

The grapes are just beginning to develop and many vines are bursting with flowers or baby berries

On the shuttle bus

Huge happy crowds enjoying themselves

It was HOT and every bit of shade had been taken

Elizma Botha has been the extremely competent and innovative organiser of the Robertson Wine Valley festivals for the last 6½ years and we are sad to report that she is leaving to go and work with her husband after a very successful career with the Robertson Wine Valley. We will miss her. The new appointee is Beatrix Galloway, who is originally from Robertson, and she will take over the reins in early December

We were pleased to see that Zandvliet (recently bought from Paul de Wet by Clemengold) were still serving our favourite riverside lunch. Lynne had the country lamb chops with good crisp onion rings and chips - which were very soggy, sadly, even though we asked for them to be crisp

John had the yellowtail in batter with the same accompaniments. We found a table and chairs on the side of the river to enjoy them, but there was no shade and it was extremely hot. We had been given a bottle of Graham Beck Brut and enjoyed this with our lunch, but it was hard to keep it cool

You could do a tour of the vineyards on the other side of the Breede River. This is the tractor and trailer crossing the weir, which is why it looks a little submerged

This year they had a duck race for charity sponsored by Sanlam. The beneficiary was the Bonnie-People Project, an early childhood development and after-school facility. You bought a duck for R100 donation and if it won you got a prize of R5000. Corporate could also buy a duck for R1000 and the winner got a prize of R5000 donated to the charity of their choice

We left during the early afternoon to escape the heat and the crowds and returned on Sunday morning to enjoy more of the festival

Bonnievale Winemaker and owner of Arendsig wines with one of his pretty twins. Talented Lourens van der Westhuizen also makes wine for many other farms, hotels and restaurants in the larger Robertson, Bonnievale &Montague Area

Arendsig's clever display of their wines, with descriptions

 Yegan Naidoo of Rivergold Reelin Private Cellar in Bonnievale, a new farm for us, had a very good 2010 Chenin blanc - made by neighbour Lourens van der Westhuizen, so good we bought a case of it. In fact we bought four boxes of wine at the Festival

Owner-chef of award winning Mimosa Lodge in Montagu, Bernhard Hess, serving their wines

And we got our Sunday lunch on their stand. Lynne had the excellent sushi, John the crisp sweet tempura prawns

We had vouchers for the riverboat and it was a great way to while away some of the afternoon

This wonderful aerial acrobat of a barn swallow seated himself on the pontoon of the boat to spot insects on the water

and would then swoop off to catch them, even flying right under the boat between the pontoons

What a lovely house to have right on the river's edge. It can be rented from Goudmyn River Chalets. We certainly aspire to one!

© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015

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