© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2018
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
Robertson Wine Valley's Wacky Wine Weekend 1. Tanagra
Our hosted accommodation was at Tanagra Wine Farm in McGregor, which was taking part in the festival with its wines, grappa and Eau de Vie. We were warmly welcomed by the owners, Anette and Robert Rosenbach, and taken to The Garden Cottage where we were to stay, which was very comfortable and is perfect for self catering. They have some interesting accommodation, some on the farm and also their Faraway and Hillside Cottages away from the farm, which are magnificent. Check out their website: http://www.tanagra.co.za/
A small kitchen as you enter then the large living/bedroom with a wood burning fire, essential for the very cold nights at this time of year. We saw temperatures drop to 7 degrees at night, but daytime temperatures are much more pleasant and on Friday and Sunday we had 25 degrees and full sunshine. There is also a commodious bathroom with a walk-in shower and plenty of hot water
The kitchen has a hob, and a microwave and is fully supplied with all cooking equipment, crockery and cutlery. And it has its own terrace with braai facilities and loungers. Sadly we didn’t have any time to use these, as we were always rushing off to another farm on our busy schedule, organised for us by Beatrix Galloway, Wine Route Manager at Robertson Wine Valley
We were gifted this bottle of the 2015 Tanagra Cabernet Franc which is our Wine of the Week
These are their other wines with the farm price list. The wines are made by Lourens van der Westhuizen,
The tasting room was moved for the weekend. Tanagra is a lovely farm. As they say on their website: "Tanagra is a treasure waiting for you, come and find it." It is a Birder Friendly farm and we saw many, many different species and they have many walking, hiking and mountain biking trails. They also have access into the nearby Vrolijkheid Nature Reserve with longer bird-walks and mountain trails.
Robert Rosenbach is the distiller of the spirits and they brought a German 200 litre still with them from Germany when they came to live here. It is a combined pot still (copper) and column still (stainless steel). This combination allows him to distil in a single process, resulting in a purer yield
The Grappas and Eau de Vies are very impressive, and you can taste them all
Arriving to see the tasting room with Anette. Robert is behind the temporary tasting counter in the cellar
Some happy visitors enjoying the day
And sampling the wares
What to taste first?
Thank you both Anette and Robert for a very comfortable stay;
we hope to return one day soon to see you both - and your dogs and cats
All content © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus
Robertson Wine Valley's Wacky Wine Weekend. Robertson views
We haven’t been to Robertson Wine Valley's Wacky Wine Weekend since 2011 and were very happy to be invited this year. Much smaller than in previous years; we were saddened to see how many of the smaller & larger farms no longer take part and wonder whether this is enough to sustain this winter festival..
Kerk Street which, predictably, leads up to the Dutch Reformed Church, on a quiet evening
Eucalyptus trees on a Robertson farm
A view of the Robertson Valley from Klaas Voogds
Winter vineyard scene
Robertson is on the edge of the Karoo and some areas show hints of the arid landscape
but the Valley is fertile and green where when the Breede River blesses it with its water
The Langeberg Mountains show the enormous uplift caused by the continental collision that took place when South America collided with Africa
A typical early 20th Century Robertson house, with 'Broekie' Lace (panty lace) framing the stoep
Autumn vines with winter clouds blowing in
The view from Bonnievale Cellar
The surrounding mountains peeking through the incoming clouds
Early morning on the way to Arendsig for breakfast with morning fog rising from the Bonnievale valley
All content © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus
Thursday, June 06, 2019
This Week’s MENU. Bellevue, Kunjani, Wine Concepts’ Chardonnay Pinot, Wine Tasting Champs, Siris Trade Tasting, Old Mutual Trophy Awards, Pork Belly, Bellevue Chardonnay
A damp day at Waterford wine estate, Stellenbosch
It never rains… and we really felt as though that was true. After a series of dry years, this has looked as though it would top (or bottom) them all but, suddenly, we have had a few days of “pour” – nowhere near enough, but it has been very satisfying to see the pond filling up and Lynne has been optimistic and planted some seedlings, so the little patch of garden in front of the house is looking a bit less like a desert. The fire burns every night and, suddenly, winter is here. Off to Robertson this weekend and it will be cold. Maybe it will rain…
We are always delighted to be invited to cover Trade wine tastings and attended the Siris Vintners trade tasting at the Mount Nelson Hotel last Monday. Colyn Truter showed us how easy it is to remove the wax cap on the Arendsig wines from Robertson…
This years Old Mutual Trophy Awards were held yesterday, 4th June 2019 at the Mount Nelson Hotel. The results are now out and you can look at all of them on https://www.trophywineshow.co.za/2019-results/ Less awards this year but some great surprises and one rather well deserve and emotional trophy. The wines served at the function were…
The just released 2018 wooded Chardonnay has had 12 months in 100% new French oak but is not over wooded. It has a typical bready Chardonnay nose, with elegance, minerality, golden fruit notes and whiff of smoke on the end. Round on the enjoyable palate, nectarines and peach, limes, citrus and golden oak on the finish. R180 on the farm. Delicious with rich dishes like roast pork belly with crackling below
Pork belly is always one of the comfort foods we go to, especially when the weather turn chilly. Lynne has several favourite versions of this dish, especially Rueben’s version, but this is a new variation which we enjoyed very much, especially the crisp crackling…
6th June 2019
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Recommendations of products and outside events are not solicited or charged for, and are made at the authors’ pleasure. All photographs, recipes and text used in our website and ancillary works are © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus. Our restaurant reviews are often unsolicited. We prefer to pay for our meals and not be paid in any way by anyone. Whether we are invited or go independently, we don’t feel bad if we say we didn’t like it. Honesty is indeed our best policy. While every effort is made to avoid mistakes, we are human and they do creep in occasionally, for which we apologise.
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