Our tasting at De Wetshof finished at 5.30 and we were only expected at Zandvliet at 6.30 for 7. It would take an hour to drive back and forth to our accommodation so we had time to waste. Most tasting centres would be closed, so we went to see how the river was flowing from the red iron bridge that crosses it, on the way to Bonnievale
John took these pictures
Sunset was coming fast, so we then drove to the car park at Zandvliet and sat in our car listening to music
and napping for an hour until we saw others arriving and gauged that it was time to go in
The evening was becoming chilly and we were surprised to see that we were to be in a marquee
We found some seats; Lynne was served a Clemingold Gin - very welcome at that time of the evening
John, the driver, abstained and waited until the talk we had read about, "Tales of Travelling” by writer Erns Grundling
- stories of his Camino and Japanese pilgrimages
The Clemingold Gin stand was very popular and seemed to be free flowing
well presented, very welcome and was a great fillip for the exhaustion from the early start we’d had that morning
And warming, as the tent was rather draughty and chilly and we were grateful for our warm coats
There were lemons on each table which we were told were from a new pipless varietal they have developed;
we were encouraged to take some home, which we did
Our voucher bought us dinner, which was another roosterkoek, this time filled with barbecued pulled pork
or some very meaty vegetable soup, so thick it was almost a stew. John had both
And we had some Zandvliet Chardonnay with it, full of citrus flavours
Roxy, The Witty Wine Woman sending messages to her followers from her phone
There was some good live music before the talk
Time for the talk to begin, introduced by Charlene Nieuwoudt, PRO for Zandvliet
Sadly, although it was advertised in English, the talk was in Afrikaans, not Lynne's strong point
Erns Grundling began his travel tales. He had obviously had quite a tough time on the Camino, as he kept saying that his way of getting through it was repeating his motto: "This will pass". He seems to be looking for answers to life and seeking direction and referred to author Paul Coelho and to Henry David Thoreau and his book Walden; he spoke of Existentialism which had given him inspiration. Not sure he will do it again; it seemed an arduous time
He thought a pilgrimage would assist him
He spoke for an hour and a quarter and then there were several people who thanked him
He has published these books
Zandvliet wine could be enjoyed during the evening, it was on sale
Thoughtful
Reaching his audience
Zandvliet won a Gold Award for their 2015 Kalkveld Shiraz at the Old Mutual Trophy Awards earlier in the week
This farm has always produced award winning Shiraz; this is full of dark and intense black and red berry fruit,
with spicy notes, good expensive French oak wooding and lots of ageing potential
In the tent
The certificate for the Old Mutual Trophy Gold award
Good advertising for Clemingold on the wall
GM of Zandvliet and Winemaker, Jacques Cilliers
He sat at our table and brought us each a good glass of the prizewinning Kalkveld Shiraz,
which we enjoyed very much while the talk progressed
Thank you Jacques and Zandvliet for inviting us and providing dinner
Lynne discovered this lovely room with a very welcome roaring fire on the way to the bathroom and was able to warm up nicely in front of it. Then it was time to find our way back to our accommodation at Tanagra near McGregor. The night temperature went down to 8 degrees and we lit a fire when we got 'home'
It was definitely a night for nightcaps, thick duvets and hot water bottles!
All content © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus
