A day in Franschhoek - 1 Chamonix

Onward to Franschhoek

John has a booking for a large tour party in February, who will start their tour in Franschhoek and we wanted to recce some of the places he will be taking them

The first is Chamonix, where we were delighted to find winemaker Gottfried Mocke, who gave us a tour of the wine cellar and a tasting of his 2014 Chardonnay, made in an oxidised style in one of his ceramic egg fermenters, two delicious Cabernet Francs - one matured in barriques and one in a large vat - and a classic Pinotage, all from the tanks, where they await bottling in the next few days. We suspect there may be some winners in that group. They were all 2013. They begin harvest in a few days

Gottfried taking a sample of the Cabernet Franc from the tank

Talking about the wine

The underground cellar at Chamonix where they store the barrels. These empty barrels are waiting for this year’s wine

Older vintages resting in the library cellar

RETURN TO MENU

© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015

A visit to Agter Paarl and Voor Paardeberg

Over the Christmas break we made a couple of visits to the winelands. We took our British tour guide friend Terry for a day trip to Agter Paarl and beyond, to Vondeling

We were early for our appointment so took a quick short right to Spice Route where we showed him the brewery

and what was on offer

Lots of beer on tap

Our beer guide had a terrible cold, but did not infect us and was charming

Some amber nectar – the CBC Pilsner. A case of that went home with us, it is so refreshing

Its a popular place to visit. You can taste 6 beers for R35 and they are quite good tasting portions

Then we went to Vondeling, where Terry wanted to meet Dr Bridget Johnsen and find out about the biodiversity of their mountain and its Fynbos floral kingdom

We shared one of their very generous platters for lunch

Local meats, olives, fruit and some ‘money bags’ filled with cheese and spinach

And there was a very good cheese board with preserves and green figs

Lots of humour

Bridget then took us to see their cataloguing of the plants found on the farm and the mountain reserve. It is very detailed work, but they are finding amazing plant species

And then it was time for a quick call to see the Vermentino vines we helped plant last year and have been made guardians of on Ayama. We did a little weeding of our five vines with owners Attilio Dalpiaz and Michela Sfiligoi and then shared a bottle of their Brut Rosé on the farm with them before driving home

Marvellous views of the mountains over the vines

The back of Paarl mountain

RETURN TO MENU

© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015

Lunch at The Food Barn, Noordhoek

After Buitenverwachting, we made our way to Noordhoek, where we had booked lunch at Franck Dangereux’s restaurant. We are fans of his cooking and he uses locally sourced ingredients, cooked with a French influence. The meal was really delicious

The restaurant is painted a lovely duck egg blue which is very cooling on a hot summer day

Tempura prawns and “crunchy legs”, a sweet chilli sauce and a basil salsa.  They deep fry the prawn shells and you eat them. (well, only if you enjoy Chitin). Terry loved it

Fresh yellowtail tartare on top of an avocado & basil concasse, deep fried mussels, aioli and topped with salmon caviar. John was in heaven

Lynne and our other friends had Franck’s classic Bouillabaisse, full of mussels, fish and prawns and topped with rouille and  a slice of cheese topped toast.  It tastes of the sea and is very special

A portion for the table of the creamy Gratin potatoes

Everyone on the table ordered Duck for their entree except Lynne. She chose the sea fresh Yellowfin tuna, lightly seared , dusted with sesame seeds and with a rich Asian sauce

Slightly pink duck breast with roasted peaches and a duck leg confit rissole Fantastic but a little small

We had no room for dessert.  We drank a bottle of the 2012 Buitenverwachting Hussey’s Vlei Sauvignon Blanc and one of Pinot Noir from Newton Johnson. The bill came to R1836 for 5 people, including tip. R368 per head including 1 corkage & 1 bottle of wine

RETURN TO MENU

© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015

Laborie - Where good things abound

We were invited to Laborie to stay in the newly refurbished three bedroom, self-catering Jonkershuis this week and, while we were there, we discovered that Laborie’s motto “Where good things abound” is so true. The house is beautiful, spacious, cool and supplied with everything could want if you are inclined to self cater, its own private terrace and access to the pool next door. But, of course should you care not to, Laborie offers all sorts of options...

On the tasting room deck, we look out at the dark green of the burdened vines, the mid-morning heat rises and the harvest has begun. All one can hear is the hum of bees and cicadas in the vines and the cooing of a dove in the distance. So what is on offer there? A tailored wine tasting of 5 wines, Bubbly with macaroons; a wine and chocolate pairing or would you like to do it with biltong?

The tasting room entrance is next door to the conference centre

and group tastings can be organised

Laborie’s full selection of available wines, and their excellent Alambic Potstill Brandy

We went to Harvest restaurant for lunch on the terrace

under the cool oaks

and were welcomed by a bottle of our favourite Laborie Brut Rosé

We were joined by Harvest’s chef patron Matthew Gordon and Laborie’s General Manager, Zelda Oelofse-Cornthwaite for a chat

The specials menu of the day. It changes regularly

It was hot, but there was a lovely cooling breeze

Chef Shirene Patrick also came to say hello

We couldn't make up our mind which starter to have, so we shared both. This is the Franschhoek smoked trout salad with bacon and a poached egg

One we have had before and loved: Tempura prawns and avocado

John had a glass of Laborie Shiraz with his main course. Lynne was still sipping the Brut Rosé, which went perfectly with her food

Rump steak with a green pepper sauce, perfectly crisp chips and a vegetable platter. Portions are huge

Local, seasonal seared yellowfin tuna, so fresh, with a Niçoise salad. Really lovely

The view from Harvest's terrace

Our accommodation – the Jonkershuis

Byron shows us how the alarm works

The very comfortable lounge has DSTV and the house has air conditioning

The main bedroom also has a flat screen TV

its own bathroom

and a small desk area

The kitchen

The well stocked fridge works on an honesty system and you will be charged very reasonable prices for what you drank when you leave

The dining area next to the kitchen

One of the other two bedrooms, each of which can be turned into a double

They share a bathroom with a rain shower

There is a private terrace outside and gates lead to the swimming pool, which is for all guests’ use

A view of the pool and the Jonkershuis

The Jongmanshuis houses all the other accommodation

There is a comfortable bar at Harvest restaurant

Harvested grapes coming into the cellar

The vineyard view

Really good looking bunches of what we think is Shiraz

Bar Di Bar is a new venture for Laborie, it sells craft beers and Tapas and is run by Conrad Harley

The weather stone! White on top is a very rare event

Inside, it is quirky. A 70s VW Microbus and a real jukebox with vinyl records, playing good songs. Conrad started his business with a mobile bar in the 'bus. They are building a brewery in the back, 

but currently they sell a very good selection of local craft beers...

...and Laborie wine

The drinks menu

Customers enjoying the vibe

Beer on tap

served with a smile

Our platter supper, which we had on our private terrace

Some paper wasps building their nest

The manor house at night

You can walk up to the Taal monument through the vineyards

Hot summer vines full of grapes

Breakfast is served at the long table in the manor house

The menu

Fruit, yoghurt and cereals

Excellent smoked salmon trout on creamy scrambled eggs

A cheese and bacon omelette

Resident pusscat examining fried eggs – no she didn’t get any

A hot day Paarl view through the Manor house front door

Beautiful window detail - above the front door of the manor house

Friends joined us for the day and we started with a wine tasting on the tasting room balcony. You choose five wines from those available for tasting and you get your own selection on a tray. Laborie's award winning Alambic Potstill Brandy is included

Then it was off to Bar di Bar 

for the beer tasting for us, some wine for our friends and some tapas

and more friendly service

Colourful local hand-painted trays carry the beer samples and, if you fall in love with them, you can buy them

It was 39 degrees outside, so we chose to eat inside

The menu – very reasonable prices

You taste one local cider and five beers

The tapas was fresh and so inspired. For our British friends a taste of South Africa: Biltong, droëwors, crisps and local olives. Superb tempura hake with sauce tartare

We also had the salmon and dill paté, mini boerewors sausages with chakalaka, magnificent deep fried duck croquettes and grilled calamari with chorizo and red peppers. All fresh, all excellent

The owner of Bar di Bar, Conrad Harley

Cool under the oaks

We said goodbye to our friends and had a simple supper on the deck

at Taste restaurant

with a view of the cork oaks and the vines

Everything we saw at Laborie is wheelchair friendly, with ramps and easy access

Laborie has just released this new Chardonnay Pinot Noir blend and we loved it. It is a perfect summer food wine

Where good things abound

Lynne’s supper of a chicken and mushroom pot pie with a lovely salad

Because of the mushrooms, John had some more tapas

and we watched the swallows soaring as the setting sun painted the sky pink and blue

We could not resist dessert, for once, and had the children’s portion of waffles, maple syrup and ice cream

John was up very early the next morning to get the best light to photograph the sunbirds on the blue agapanthus

Vineyards and hot rocks

Workers examining the vines

The sun birds are so quick that it is hard to get a good photograph. John took hundreds to get these beauties!

Thank you Laborie for a really wonderfully relaxed stay. 
It was so good to try out all you have to offer. As we left, conference delegates were arriving and they were very excited about what was to come

RETURN TO MENU

© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015