Our last official day of wine tasting dawned, our final destination, the central suburbs of Cape Town to visit the oldest Wine Estate in South Africa….. Groot Constantia.

Besides being the oldest wine farm one of the stand-out highlights of Groot Constantia is that they lay claim to supplying the French Military leader Napoleon Bonaparte with his favourite wine, the Grand Constance til his death in 1821. The Grand Constance is a dessert wine of the utmost quality.

We arrived at 9 on a chilly and overcast Monday morning and were shown into the old cellar, looked after by Elise. An ex-tour guide as well, she was able to provide a professional and caring service to my group. When the tasting ended and a few more bottles were purchased to take home. We headed up to the original farmhouse to have a look and take a few photos around the top of the estate.

We made our way from Groot Contstantia through the leafy suburbs of Contstantia through Tokai forests and to our second tasting estate for the day. Tucked up on the side of the mountain in the middle of a cosmopolitan suburb we arrived at Steenberg Vineyards. With its sea-facing slopes on granite ridges, the estate is renowned for producing excellent wines. The estate is a state-of-the-art modern winery and along with its decor, it spells opulence!

I left the group to enjoy the tasting which was followed by a 3-course fine dining lunch while George my driver and I took everyone’s luggage to our next accommodation.
Upon my return, I was greeted with smiles from ear to ear from everyone in the group at their satisfaction with the food. The kitchen is run by an ex-colleague of mine from my time in the restaurant industry.

Kerry, thank you very much for pulling off an amazing lunch.

We made our way to our last wine-tasting destination over the mountain to the deep south, Which is my home. We stopped at the top of the mountain in the wind and all for a few photo opportunities. The baby boy lost his hat in the Cape Fynbos because of the wind. But Ashish was there to save the day and bash his way through the vegetation atop a mountain to retrieve the much-adorned hat!

We arrived at Cape Point vineyards on top of the Noordhoek mountains overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. I left my guests there to enjoy their final tasting. Covered in blankets and sipping on some white wines while I left to prepare our dinner for the evening.

I returned an hour later to everyone’s delight as it was a little chilly, with everyone thinking it was time to settle in for the night, I took them to the local farm village hotel for one last surprise.

As a thank you to my group, I wanted to say thank you by treating you to a tasting of one of the things I enjoy ….. GIN!

We arrived at the Noordhoek hotel and waited in the foyer while the tasting was being prepped ( we were very early! ). The group sat enjoying a locally made Gin and tonic while waiting.

Thankfully the wait was not much longer than a glass of G&T. We then proceeded to enter the basement bar known as the Burrow.

With no windows in sight and the basement, one could think that this was an illegal casino we were entering! The Burrow is something decored with the world of old in mind, classic furniture, deep dark woods, and vibrant fabrics. This is the hallowed ground, is for any person who enjoys quality in a classy setting. Without, any air of pretentiousness.

And so we entered and everyone was seated in front of a Gin tasting board.

Here we had individual gins on a specifically made placemat. That described attributes of the gin about to be tasted. And then decorated around the placemats with the very ingredients that comprise the gin. The group waited in anticipation for the proceedings to begin.

Fast forward an hour later, my group was spellbound and captivated ( as well as me ) by our host Jody. Jody described everything anyone ever needed to know about Gin in general. To the specifics of the new world gin currently taking the globe by storm. To the local Cape Fynbos-inspired Inverroche Gin that he represents as a brand ambassador.

He had answers to every question. Every word he uttered was delivered with passion and verve on a level that I have not seen in a very long time. It was truly a pleasure to behold. Ably assisted by Emily and organized by Ruby. I thank you very much for your efforts. You blew the socks off of my guests and me, so much that I now no longer drink my beloved Whitley Neil Gin but choose Inverroche instead (3 bottles in 3 months at the time of writing!)

It was now time to make our way home to our second lodging in Noordhoek – Goose Green Lodge in Noordhoek. Everyone showered and let their hair down now after 4 solid days of wine tasting. I cooked for them a BBQ – but we call it a Braai in South Africa – a wood and charcoal fire. Some music through the night with some local beer and some Gin. Given to us by our Gin host Jodie from earlier, we drank, ate, and laughed into the night.

Well, it was 1 am! Deep South we go!