After a busy weekend showing Em around my hometown, we've ventured beyond the shadows of Table Mountain, to the winelands of Franschhoek for the night. We're spending the night at Lavender Farm, which is a lovely little guest house just beyond the main strip in town. Our room is very spacious, and faces a small field planted with lavender with the mountain in the distance. Hopefully there'll be a break in the rain so that we can take some more picturesque photographs.
We had springbok pies for lunch at the Franschhoek Station Pub, which is situated towards the lower end of the Main rain. The pie was quite good, although a little dry, as there was no gravy in the filling, but as a result there was more shredded meat present.
After lunch we went went for a brief walk down the main road of the village, visiting the Huguenot Memorial, and popping into a few of the curio shops. After having walked of our lunch, we decided to go on a wine tasting trip to the Dieu Donné and Haute Cabrière vineyards. Em and I tasted eight wines at Dieu Donné, a micro-brewed beer at the neighbouring Roca Restaurant, and three wines and a potstill brandy at Haute Cabrière. Neither of us had heard of Dieu Donné prior to the trip, but since we were offered a free wine tasting as part of our nights accommodation, we decided to take advantage of the deal.
Dieu Donné's wines were pleasant, but none of the eight we tasted, made me go, "Oh, wow! I really need to buy a bottle of this so I can drink it again." In contrast, at Haute Cabrière, Em couldn't decide on how many of each bottle she wanted to buy. In the end she went for the 2012 Chardonnay Pinot Noir, and 2011 Unwooded Pinot Noir.
Following an afternoon of strolling through the village, and sipping on some wine, it was time for dinner. Earlier in the day while chatting to the barkeep of the Franschhoek Station Pub, she had suggested a few restaurants to have dinner at. One of those was The Grillroom, which was an exceptional dining experience. Em and I both decided to have the "Local's set menu," which has two-, and three-course options.
I'll continue writing this post (and add pictures) tomorrow, after we've finished our tour of Franschhoek, and have arrived back in Cape Town.
Dieu Donné's wines were pleasant, but none of the eight we tasted, made me go, "Oh, wow! I really need to buy a bottle of this so I can drink it again." In contrast, at Haute Cabrière, Em couldn't decide on how many of each bottle she wanted to buy. In the end she went for the 2012 Chardonnay Pinot Noir, and 2011 Unwooded Pinot Noir.
Following an afternoon of strolling through the village, and sipping on some wine, it was time for dinner. Earlier in the day while chatting to the barkeep of the Franschhoek Station Pub, she had suggested a few restaurants to have dinner at. One of those was The Grillroom, which was an exceptional dining experience. Em and I both decided to have the "Local's set menu," which has two-, and three-course options.
I'll continue writing this post (and add pictures) tomorrow, after we've finished our tour of Franschhoek, and have arrived back in Cape Town.
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