Monday, March 24, 2014

Laborie and Harvest Restaurant in Paarl

Would you like to completely pamper someone you love? Then take them for a break to Laborie in beautiful Paarl for a night or two. The room rate for one of their en suite rooms is a very reasonable R485 pp with a huge breakfast served in the Manor House. You can be welcomed by a bottle of their superb Blanc de Blanc bubbly on the terrace outside your suite. You can eat lunch at Harvest Restaurant on their terrace or dinner inside with soft candlelight. You can do a wine and chocolate pairing in the tasting room, or a charcuterie and cheese lunch on the lawn under the trees. And you can come home with boxes of wine at very reasonable prices. How do we know? We were invited there and were thoroughly spoilt for two days last week doing all the above. We SO recommend this.
We were collected from our home by Laborie’s very friendly and experienced driver Geoffrey Samuels. Yes, our street is very steep
The Laborie Manor House is dated 1800
Warmly greeted by Zelda Oelofse-Cornthwaite, Hospitality & Events Manager at Laborie
There was a beautifully chilled bottle of Laborie Blanc de Blanc, always one of our favourites, to get us in the mood
Our suite for the night with our own porch, so we started with a glass of Blanc de Blanc while enjoying the view
Huge bed and nice lounge area. You can see the en suite bathroom leading off this room
There is WiFi and a flat screen TV, but we didn’t manage to find time to watch it
A well supplied drinks cabinet and the fridge was also filled with good wines and other beverages
The view from our terrace on the morning we arrived
Guests may wander into the Manor house to look around
The long table inside the voorkamer in the Manor House
The bedroom in the Manor House
The bright lounge
The library
The magnificent Gilgamesh panel by Cecil Skotnes, whose works are on walls throughout the manor house and Harvest Restaurant
One of the original windows of the manor house 
The view of Paarl valley from the manor house terrace
There are lots of squirrels on the werf, eating the acorns and pecan nuts
A rowdy Egyptian goose was soon chased away
by Cellar, the farm cat
Our next stop was the tasting room
where we met the friendly staff,
inspected the brandy still
and went to sit out on their balcony for the chocolate and wine tasting and the magnificent view of Paarl Rock – The Pearl
Rosé MCC, Chardonnay and Laborie's good Pineau with three paired chocolates
Cabernet, Shiraz and our favourite Cape Brandy, the Laborie Alambic, with another three chocolate pairings. We shared the tasting and enjoyed it very much indeed. Best matches for us were the brandy and the Pineau
Noelle Pheiffer, our tasting room hostess, explains how the tasting works
Franciska Pienaar, Public Relations Officer, runs the tasting room and is extremely helpful
Off to what we intended to have as a light lunch at Harvest restaurant, which is run by Executive Chef Matthew Gordon
An impressive line-up of different sizes of Laborie wine bottles, all full
Inside the dining room, it was not very busy because it was a beautiful day
and everyone wanted to sit outside, ourselves included
Lynne studies the menu
There are always daily specials on the blackboard
Zelda joined us for a drink
Lynne was extremely happy with her Chorizo and Squid salad
John opted for a Cape Malay lamb curry with rice. It was delicious and had lots of coconut, so it tasted similar to a Rendang, but the portion was much more generous than he'd anticipated, and he couldn't finish it

Afternoon light at the back of the manor house
John went for a stroll in the vineyards behind the Werf,
climbed the steep hill behind and took this view of the farm from up the hill
Owls live in these historic oaks
After a nap, we finished the MCC Blanc de Blanc and then it was time to go back to Harvest for dinner
Autumn was nipping the air, so most of us chose to eat indoors
The restaurant did fill up as it is a popular venue in Paarl for dinner
Our lovely waitress, Zethu Qalekiso, is full of life, laughter and personality
Chef Shirene Patrick came out to welcome us
Our starter was chosen by the chef. It was a tuna carpaccio, coated in sesame seeds, served with a salad
We both  chose the irresistible Springbok shanks for our main course. These were from an incredibly large springbok and one shank would have fed both of us. They were delicious
We couldn't face dessert, but could manage an espresso with the chocolate and brandy option. It was just right as an ending to a good meal
More spoiling as Nicole Arries, the Assistant Restaurant manager, presents us with a gift of two Laborie wines.
The manor house by moonlight. It was floodlit, but there was a huge harvest moon rising over the mountains
The morning view of the vineyards and tasting centre
Lynne on the way to breakfast in the manor house
The long table laid for breakfast with other guests partaking
The breakfast menu
Perfect breakfast for John
Perfect breakfast for Lynne
The wet winter has produced lots and lots of perfect acorns
The Paarl Rock behind the farm
The air is filled with swifts catching flying bugs and the lawns with wagtails looking for the crawlers
A Jonkershuis next to the swimming pool
The swimming pool for guests
Grapes turned to raisins
Autumn puts its colour on the vine leaves
Relaxing with the crossword and a glass of chilled Laborie Chenin Blanc
Here comes our lunch
This magnificent cheese and charcuterie platter, ordered from Harvest, can be had in the tasting room or on the lawn in front. We had it with a bottle of the Lazy Days Rosé which was so good that we bought a case to take home - and a bottle of the Alambic brandy. 
And then, when we were feeling extremely relaxed, Harvest's Assistant manager Martell Smit drove us home to Sea Point. Thank you all involved, it was a wonderful break for busy journos.
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014