WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2020 -- SOUTH AFRICA
What to do with a gap between two travel adventures - the end of our thrilling Kenyan safari and the start of an exotic cruise from Cape Town? What else but explore another of the world’s iconic wine regions. Since we met three decades ago, whenever possible, my husband and I seek out wine country pleasures - bucolic views, charming inns, leisurely tastings and casual fine dining. If trips bring us near vineyards - Virginia to Oregon, France to Australia, we visit for an afternoon or several days. This time our wine country destination was South Africa, one of the oldest wine-making regions outside of Europe, where Dutch and French settlers began tending vines in the mid-1600s. For a week, including Valentine’s Day when we celebrated our 31st anniversary, we explored the stunningly beautiful Winelands of the western cape, less than an hour drive from Cape Town.
What to do with a gap between two travel adventures - the end of our thrilling Kenyan safari and the start of an exotic cruise from Cape Town? What else but explore another of the world’s iconic wine regions. Since we met three decades ago, whenever possible, my husband and I seek out wine country pleasures - bucolic views, charming inns, leisurely tastings and casual fine dining. If trips bring us near vineyards - Virginia to Oregon, France to Australia, we visit for an afternoon or several days. This time our wine country destination was South Africa, one of the oldest wine-making regions outside of Europe, where Dutch and French settlers began tending vines in the mid-1600s. For a week, including Valentine’s Day when we celebrated our 31st anniversary, we explored the stunningly beautiful Winelands of the western cape, less than an hour drive from Cape Town.
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Franschhoek Wine Valley
For our visit, cloudless skies and autumn heat
basked this valley in the glowing light artists extol.
Some of it undoubtedly radiates from the brilliant
white-washed buildings that dot the landscape
and line streets in the small towns. This traditional
Cape Dutch architecture, often roofed with thick
black thatch, adds a sophisticated European ambience
to the valley’s pastoral setting.
Among the first to see promise in the area’s climate
and fertile soils, early Dutch settlers influenced
more than the look of the land when they
welcomed persecuted French Huguenots at the
end of the 17th century. Given small free plots in
Franschhoek, which means French Corner in
Dutch, these newcomers drew on their farming experience
to grow grapes, olives and more. Their
love of food and art also reverberates to this day.
The town of Franschhoek - population 20,000 -
is a patchwork of galleries, antique stores and better
souvenir shops that fill in around tourist shops,
gourmet grocers and sundry stores that cater to
locals. Cafes and restaurants enliven the mainstreet
and its many courtyards filled with umbrella-shaded
tables. During our stay we enjoyed
delicious pasta alle vongole at Allora and passable
Mexican “with a twist” at Tuk Tuk Microbrewery -
all savored outside on balmy evenings before
leisurely strolls back to Plumwood.
Our innkeepers Roel and Lucienne Rutten
served cooked-to-order breakfasts with fresh pastries
and fruit salads on a patio overlooking the
pool. Throughout the day, guests used an honor
system for cocktails and South African wines along
with happy-hour snacks. Roel and Lucienne also
were expert guides to the region, as were many of
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WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE 2020
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