I had some friends over from Ireland, so I thought that it will be in order to visit the local wine producers in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley in Hermanus. First you must understand that I am no wine fundy and the last time I ventured up into the above mentioned valley, was about 10 years ago and only two wine producers were present. Hamilton-Russell and Bouchard-Finlayson. I was made aware in the meantime that a few new ones joined the club. So what better activity than to spend a day spitting and sipping the “offspring” of Bacchus.

(I will only mention the wines I bought or I liked and to follow links for more information regarding the mentioned Wine Estates.)

Whalehaven Wines were the starting of our tasting tour. I ended up with a very reasonable bottle of Whalehaven Rose 2005 at R15 a bottle. Nothing beats a nice cold bottle of rose wine on hot summers day. I find this rose dry and crisp. Sometimes rose wines can be very sweet and have a cheap taste to it. As if they blend all the left over red and white wines together. Next was red Whalehaven Cabernet Franc 2005. I found a hint of plum and imagine it will go well with rich red meat dishes. Whalehaven also produce wines under the Idiom Label for the Da Capo Vineyards. I ended up with a bottle of Idiom Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage and Merlot from 2005. Hint of caramel and smoke. I bought it to give it time to “rest” as we were informed that will improve if left and stored properly for about 5 years.

 La Vierge was our second stop. This wine producer are fairly new in the area. Wines we tasted were all from 2006/07. We taste wines from La Vierge and Southhill. The Southhill grapes are from Elgin region and La Vierge from the farm self. Grapes from La Vierge are mainly Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz. We were given all the wines to taste, which I think makes it very difficult to really appreciate each wine. (Tongue was a bit numb and stomach was growling.) I will have to go back. Here we also ended up in the La Vierge Restaurant and Champagne Verandah. I would recommend bookings as I get the impression that it will be busy over the holiday season and with views over the valley. Who can say no to lunch, wine and good company. We ended up at a table close to the window. We had a Salmon Salad between the three of us. Nothing special there. As the name said on the box. Salmon Salad. Two of us ended up with the Bouillabaise Africana and one decided on the Risotto. Bouillabaise Africana was a small portion, than I have to admit it is a starter portion. I think it will do very well as a main course if they make portion bigger. I really enjoyed this dish. Spicey and lots of flavour. Does not destroy the fish to much. Chunks of fish, a prawn and a mussel. I would have prefered if the prawn was shelled. Looks nice but I nearly ended up with some sauce on the table and shirt. We had Passion Fruit Pannacotta, Apple Tarte Tartin and Creme Brulee for dessert. I had a taste from every plate. No complains here. Thumbs up for the Creme Brulee. Light creamy and real Vanilla Pod. The apple dessert was also very tasty. Thin pastry and even thinner apple slices or should I say slivers. Passion Fruit dessert was very refreshing and also very light. Not big fan of pannacotta. On the wines side we ended up with two bottles of Southhill Rose. Cold and crisp. Due to ESKOM’s incompetance, we had to skip coffee. The total bill was just under R400.00. Bit steep I would say, but I would definetly go there again. I would recommend visiting their website for more information.

Bouchard Finlayson is one of my favourite wine estates and will always buy a glass of their Blanc de Mer when I stay in London at the Rubens Hotel. This wine estate and the Red Carnation Hotels are owned by the same family. It is a blend of Weisser Riesling, Voigner, Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc. 2007 Vintage. Lately I find that I prefer white wines more and find this wine very easy to drink with most food. Next purchase was Galpin Peak Pinot Noir 2006. Hint of forest berries, little to much tannin for my linking, but think it will go very well with red meats or even fish and game. 10 Months in Oak. Third one is very new to me and what made it so different is the grapes they used. Bouchard Finlayson Hannibal 2005. Red blend of Sangiovese, Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo, Mouvedre, Barbera and Shiraz. Slightly spicey, but I liked it and will definetly put it in my favourite list from this wine estate. Also  bit heavy on tannin, but it will go very well with Italian foods. 16 Months in French Oak.

 Personally never a big fan for Hamilton-Russell Wines. They only produced two wines. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. I find Chardonnay very overated, oaked or not. I did taste the Pinot Noir again. Little more pleasant than what I recalled from previous tastings. They also ventured into the Olive Oil and Honey market, so I ended up with a small bottle of olive oil and small jar of honey. Thought R80 for the two was a bit steep. Who said being a tourist is cheap?

This was our last stop as the day was nearly over. I think it is a very compact and exciting wine route to do if you are on a short “time budget” as most places are only a few minutes drive from each other. It does make a dent in the old budget if you are local. Please understand that this my own experience and I am not a wine expert.

I am a firm believer that who you are with, what you eat does influence a bottle of wine. Wine is a living thing and does have a personality.