It takes just one long weekend of cold rainy weather for thoughts of frisky whites to be abandoned and warming red blends to take centre stage.
Similarly, plans for sustaining autumn fare fast supplant any yen for frothy green salads.
While Kapenaars know we can expect balmy autumn weather, perfect for wineland picnics or languid lunches on cellar terraces, with little more than a fortnight of April left, those days are numbered.
Creation Wines recently added a vineyard safari to the attractions at this picturesque cellar on the Hemel-en-Aarde ridge. Visitors walk through the vineyards with the appropriate wine in glass, as they progress from one cultivar to the next. Indigenous bird species can be seen in the stunning fynbos that fringes the vines, before taking the trail through the olive grove, along the lake and up the koppie for a bird’s-eye view of the farm. Diners will have earned their al fresco lunch under the Big Tree, paired with Creation’s fine wines.
Booking is essential and the inclusive cost is R295.
Creation’s 2010 Merlot/cab/petit verdot (R139) hints at the herby fynbos, presents well-balanced integration of fruit and wood, and is a good companion to rustic fare.
Autumn usually sees west coast winds abate, making it the preferred season for many travellers, in spite of the absence of carpets of flowers.
Visitors to Groote Post Vineyards can enjoy a tasting, then relax with their picnics, enhanced perhaps by The Old Man’s Red blend (R51 ex-cellar), a cabernet-led blend with merlot and cab franc, a great companion for roast lamb and chutney sarmies.
Historic farms in Distell’s Lusan stable make good destinations for relaxed visits to sample red blends. At Neethlingshof you will find the 2009 vintage of De Wet Viljoen’s Bordeaux-style blend The Caracal, (R125), named after the rooikat which has reappeared on the estate after the rehabilitation of unique ecosystems in the granite hills. This is wine made to last, and should be tucked away for a few years. We recently opened the 2005, a restrained blend of cab, merlot and cab franc with a dash of malbec that makes a fine counterfoil to rich creations such as a slow-cooked ragout of beef and quince.
It tasted even better the next day.
At companion estate Uitkyk, Estelle Lourens produces an accessible cab/shiraz blend in which both cultivars make a statement – body and backbone from cab, spice and fruit from shiraz.
The 2006 vintage is selling at the special price of R50, while the 2007 costs R62. At 590 hectares, Uitkyk is one of the largest wine farms in the region, and a BWI champion, having 310ha set aside for conservation. A stand of silver trees was uncovered during clearing of alien vegetation. Visitors are welcome to bring your own picnic or order one a day ahead from the farm.
To the Helderberg, where Dornier offers its regular cab/ merlot blend from the fine 2009 vintage for R93, or its second tier Cocoa Hill ’09, usually a blend of cab, merlot, shiraz and cab franc, for R62. While it does not cater for picnics, its tapas platters for two with a bottle of wine will go on until the end of this month, at R250 for two.
The consistent quality of Eikendal’s flagship Classique is sure to continue in the 2009 vintage, selling at R162. This is another fine red that will benefit from cellaring – as we have proved.
Visitors to this hospitable farm can enjoy hiking and biking and order picnics from the restaurant if they give a little notice.
To complete this autumn roundup: historic walks compete with art and culture at La Motte outside Franschhoek, where the 2008 Millenium, a five-variety Bordeaux-type blend, is ready to drink, but could also be cellared.
Music-lovers should note the farm is hosting cellists Polina Burdukova and Carel Henn on April 21 performing Bach’s Concerto for two cellos in D Minor, and the rarely heard suite for two cellos and piano by Menotti. - Weekend Argus