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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Two Constantia Tastings
CONSTANTIA GLEN
The steep slopes that comprise Constantia Glen
Winery have been grazed and tilled for more than
two centuries but it wasn’t until 2000 that the current
owners, the Waibel family, turned the focus to
grape growing and quality wine making. Now half
of the farm’s 150 acres undulate with vineyards
cradled between two imposing mountains that
channel sun and cooling breezes. Slow ripening
and small crops limit production of the winery’s
signature crisp whites and complex red blends to
under 100,000 bottles annually.
South Africa-born wine maker Justin van Wyk
has shepherded vintages here since the second
harvest, working with a farm team with decades of
experience on this challenging site. He took a
break from harvest chores to share a tasting with
us in Constantia Glen’s Tasting Room restaurant,
home to picturesque views as well as delicious
wine country fare, including flammkucken (German
thin-crust pizza) from the wood-fired oven.
After a quaffable classic sauvignon blanc, we savored
the winery’s signature blends that Justin
identifies by the number of varietals combined.
Constantia Glen Two, for example, blends sauv
blanc with semillon, lacing tropical and citrus flavors
with hints of oak from barrel fermentation.
Their flagship Constantia Glen Five is an elegant
red Bordeaux blend. The 2015 vintage earned 91
points from Wine Spectator as well as numerous
South African honors.
For the past couple years, Justin also creates
wines for his own label, Van Wyk Family Wines,
with grapes sourced across the Greater Western
Cape and bottled at Constantia Glen. Named after
his daughter, Olivia Grace blend showcases four
white grapes while his red blend, Rebecca May
(another daughter), is Rhone inspired. All are
available for tastings and purchase at Constantia
Glen.
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