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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Breathtaking Blend
Art and architecture, vineyards and gardens,
wine-making and fine cuisine - all are equals in the
stellar blend that is Tokara Wine Estate, the first
of the area’s wineries we visited. A half-hour Uber
drive from Franschhoek (only 3 miles if you’re
coming from Stellenbosch), this stunning, world
renowned winery enjoys one of Winelands’ most
spectacular settings in the foothills of Simonsberg
Mountain. Views stretch across beautiful native
fynbos, undulating vineyards and olive groves to
the waters of False Bay and, on a clear day, the
Cape Town’s iconic Table Mountain.
Grapes have been tended in this area for centuries,
but Tokara owners GT Ferreria, a banking
magnate, and his wife Anne-Marie sought only a
quiet home to raise their family when they purchased
a small farm there in 1994. Five years later,
they ventured into wine-making, naming the new
venture after their children Tom and Kara. The
first vintages in 2003, that combined the talents of
viticulturist Aidan Morton and winemaker Stuart
Botha, were greeted with acclaim - as have releases
ever since.
Traditional varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon and
Sauvignon Blanc, and classic Bordeaux blends
dominate Tokara’s wines, but the wine estate itself
is refreshingly contemporary. Operations, including
the tasting room, restaurant and family
friendly deli, are housed in a glass, steel, stone and
concrete structure that embraces the majestic
landscape while hosting all the necessities of a
modern wine enterprise.
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WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE 2020
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