We had attended the previous Triangle Wine Festival which showcased the excellent wines of the area so well
and were very keen to attend this one. The venue had changed to Black Oystercatcher Wine Farm
Elim is quite a distance from Cape Town so we had arranged good accommodation just 9 kilometres away
and drove down on Friday and visited the festival on Saturday
Rain was threatened and we had some in the night, but it stayed dry for the whole day
They had put up marquees where various vendors sold their food
Nelson Mandela's boat?
We were invited to attend the guided tasting held in the wine cellar, where many of the region's wines are made
Two wines each from four local farms, introduced by the winemaker; one current, one an older vintage
A very good way to see how the wines progress
The line up of wines we tasted
Dave and Kathy Raath were sitting next to us and we had lots to chat about
Somehow Dave's phone ended up in Lynne's bag, must have been all that great wine!
André Morgenthal, until recently associated with the Old Vines Project, promoted the event
Black Oystercatcher winemaker Dirk Human introduced his wines
The 2023 Sauvignon Blanc has a dash of Semillon; a Classic Nose, with richness, nectarine, grape, a hint of pyrazines
On the palate, crisp and green with lots of racy acidity, long flavours with green peppers, lime lemon and white peach
Then his 2013 100% Sauvignon Blanc. It shows that it has aged well
slight honey colour, lees character from 10 months contact in the tank
Round on the integrated palate, it still has good acidity. Both are good wines for food
The Giant Periwinkle winemaker, Pierre Jacques Rabie
The 2022 Blanc Fumé Sauvignon Blanc is initially shy, more sophisticated, with a hint of smoke
Round and very crisp on the palate, green with greengage, plum, lime, it's very enjoyable and will age well
The 2017 Blanc Fumé has smoke, and is shy initially
Lovely greengage, nectarine, lime and racy acidity. It Has aged well
Made in a Flexicube with added Ukrainian Oak
Beautiful light through two glasses of Sauvignon blanc
Lomond winemaker Kelsey Nel showed the 7 Rows Snowbush blend
made from Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Viognier, which has spent some time in barrel
Honey peach takes over from the Sauvignon, a hint of smoke
Beautiful on the palate with more honey and peach and lime, high acidity on lips, some wood shows, a food wine
We gave it a high score. Sadly the Lomond Snowbush 2012 which was blended in barrel was faulty
Its crispness faded fast
Strandveld Vineyards winemaker Conrad Vlok (deservedly last year's Winemaker of the Year)
His current vintage of the 2021 Syrah; 75% spent 20 months in new French Oak barrels
Richness, red velvet, wood, spice and cherry on the nose. Rounded and soft on the palate
then a fruit delight with cherry, cassis, raspberry, long, long flavours and nice chalky tannins,
wood is holding station in the background
We scored this very highly. It will last but it is drinking so well now that it may well sell out
His Strandveld 2012 Syrah has 15% viognier added. Maturity of red berry fruit, incense wood, more berries and floral notes
Delicious on the full palate, so much fruit, chalky tannins and looooong flavours. Hope we have some
He told us he has stopped making his Pinot Noir, (sadly for us),
but is using the grapes in his new Pinot Noir Cap Classique which is deliciously crisp
A bottle of 2005 The Berrio Cabernet Sauvignon made by Bruce Jack
Brown on the edges, slightly porty on the nose
Dark, from Cabernet with 3% Cabernet Franc, still has some tannins and has lasted well
Lots of seating and a crowd of enthusiastic people enjoying the festival
Karen van Helden and Robert Stelzner of The Giant Periwinkle
It was a very well organised festival with plenty of space and many good wines to sample and buy
Denzil Swarts, Sales & Brand Executive at Zoetendal Vineyard & Rive Estate
Nick Vlok and Janine Steyn showing Cederberg's Ghost Corner wines, which were really exceptional, as expected
The First Sighting wines for tasting
Lynne fell in love with the new Pinot Noir Cap Classique, so a box come home with us
We regularly buy their wines, the Rosé is summer in a bottle
Our friend Peter Kampmeinert from the Netherlands had met Denzil before, when he worked at Simonsig
We went there for Peter's 80th Birthday a couple of years ago
where Denzil organised a Sabrage experience for Peter
We found a table under the awning and enjoyed some of the food on sale for lunch
The landscape across the road
Boys will always enjoy playing in the dirt with their cars
The girls were enjoying themselves too
Young activists, promoting the protest against proposed mining in the Napier area
Lost Boy and Latigo Rosés and Lost Boy Blanc Fumé
R300 from every case sold goes to African wildlife conservation projects
Bruce Jack's sons Rob and Ben at the Bruce Jack table
Assistant winemaker Willem Pietersen showing the Black Oystercatcher wines
Another sale of Lands End wines
"The vineyard is a bunch of spirit"
Pink dahlias in the garden
Billie Lambrechts, manager of the Agulhas Triangle wine group, and André Morgenthal drawing for the winner of a raffle
with a prize of a case of Agulhas Triangle wines
Despite the cooling weather and the promise of rain, visitors were still enjoying themselves on the lawn
A small grove of Eucalyptus trees in the misty rural landscape
Winter comes early here, we were told by Conrad Vlok
All our stories can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right
If you do not wish to receive e-mails from us, please email menucape@gmail.com with the word 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in your email
Click here to follow our blogs
Follow us on Facebook
If you would like to purchase a signed print of one of our photographs, please click here
All content in this article is © John & Lynne Ford, MENU
Follow us on Instagram
