In February of this year (2020), I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to South Africa.  The Corona Virus was still something only being casually discussed as some far-off affliction on a different continent.  And world travel was still pretty much proceeding as normal.  Of course, we did see traces of worry starting to pop up at the airport.  Airlines were taking passengers’ temperatures, and we were being grilled about whether we’d visited China recently.  But, the concern was still largely theoretical at that point.  So, in what seems like a fantasy world now, I was able to enjoy my visit to South Africa’s wine country without any worry.

Of course, travelling to South Africa from the United States is quite a long haul.  I think my total travel time on the way out there was something close to twenty-four hours. So, after all the discomfort of travelling for so long, I was going to take full advantage of my time in the country. So, I didn’t head straight out to the Western Cape to start visiting wineries right away.  If I was going to travel all the way to South Africa, I was definitely going to squeeze in a safari.  So, that’s where I started my trip—at the Marataba Safari Lodge in the Marakele National Park.  And, it was truly an amazing experience.  Private “tents” with crisp sheets on King-sized beds, full-sized bathtubs with mood lighting, racy outdoor showers, and fully stocked bars.  Staff members were relentlessly shoving cakes and cocktails into one’s hands whenever they’d catch sight of you.  (I found myself sometimes taking a stealthy back route to the lodge, to avoid having to very apologetically decline yet another gin and tonic).  I’m not sure how smart an idea it is to keep the guests at a safari lodge constantly sozzled, since the point is to take the jeep out twice a day to interact with large carnivores.  But our guide for the week, Helen, is a very skilled and expert outdoorswoman, and she always had the situation firmly under control.  If the world ever ends this full pandemic lockdown and you’re looking for a safari vacation, I absolutely recommend checking out the Marataba Safari Lodge.

I was only in South Africa for two weeks (including time spent at the safari), but I managed to cover a remarkable amount of ground, mostly in the Western Cape area.  I visited vineyards in Constantia, Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Hemel-en-Aarde, and Swartland.  I was amazed at how much I got to see of the region.  Renting your own vehicle is an absolute must in order to cover so much ground.  However, visiting three or four cellars a day was definitely a bit too much.  Even though I was spitting the majority of what I tasted, that kind of schedule will burn out your taste buds pretty quickly.  It got to the point where I didn’t even want to see a glass of wine at dinnertime.  And when dining at fine restaurants in a country that’s very proud of its wine industry, it’s practically impossible to decline a glass.  But, I was usually able to get away with only ordering just the one.  Unfortunately, that meant that I was not in any kind of mood to enjoy all the complimentary pours that our various hosts kept offering.  The lovely staff at the Creation Winery in particular were especially generous with their samples while I was lunching in their dining room.  And, since it’s not socially acceptable to spit wine while dining at a restaurant, I started to get a little panicked every time I saw our hostess approaching with a new bottle.

 But, even though the tasting schedule was pretty grueling, I’m glad I visited so many different wineries, because it really allowed me to compare and contrast the winemaking styles and philosophies.  And, there really is a pretty big spread.  I visited large, prestige houses (Rust en Vrede, and Mullineux & Leeuw), quirky natural winemakers (David & Nadia), boutique luxury producers (Stark Condé, and Klein Constantia), cynical tourist traps (Constantia Glen), Boomer catnip (Creation), and even one place that admitted that they were really focused more on the hospitality angle than they were on wine-making (De Meye) (think hocking cheap bottles to people who come to picnic on the estate).  Most places I visited were pretty good.  But, I also found a few producers that I absolutely loved, as well as some that I really did not care for at all.  Overall, that’s a pretty well-rounded experience.

 My favorite by far was definitely David & Nadia.  The winery wasn’t open for tasting, since they were gearing up for harvest.  So, they arranged for me to taste through their line at a nearby wine bar café.  The experience was perfect.  I’m a big fan of natural wine, but I can sometimes find them to be a bit austere and astringent, and I’m not always in the mood for that.  But, Swartland has the kind of climate that has low disease pressure, so they can allow their grapes to get fully ripe before harvesting.  And, the higher sugar content in these grapes, along with the phenolically ripe skins and stems adds richer flavors and fuller body.  It’s a style I hadn’t been able to explore much before this visit (the bold, ripe, natural wine), and I really enjoyed experiencing the different possibilities.  It was very hard to resist loading up my suitcases with these wines when I left.  Although, I may have walked out with a half case (I’m not made of stone!!!).  And, it did eat up a large portion of the space in my luggage I’d allotted for hauling home bottles.

 As far as atmosphere goes, the most pleasant tasting experience I had was at Stark-Condé.  We were guided over a winding bridge to a beautiful Japanese teahouse, suspended over a lake and surrounded by willows.  We had views of the stunning mountain ranges behind us, the vineyards, and all the beautiful aquatic wildlife.  The scenery looked like a painting, it was so striking.  Although, I think they served us about eight different wines, which was a bit too much for me (especially since it was our third winery that day).  Hamilton Russell also had a very cozy tasting environment.  Visitors take a path to a little cottage on a lake.  You almost feel as if you’re in England.  Of course, the eucalyptus trees on the property did give away the ral location, but the country cottage vibe is very cute.

 I did have some least favorite wineries too.  But, I don’t want to be too rude to these establishments, so I won’t lay out a full list of grievances.  As I mentioned before, Constantia Glen seemed to be catering more to the bachelorette party circuit than to the wine connoisseurs.  You know the crowd I’m talking about—the kind of ladies wearing tiaras and drinking out of mugs that say “Is it wine-o’clock yet?”  And, the staff at De Meye were pretty openly sheepish about their product.  The winemaker even admitted to us that other players in the industry have suggested that he might want to look into growing pomegranates instead of grapes (ouch). But, in the interest of being polite, that’s as much as I’m going to say about those places.

For the most part, the wineries I visited made solid, conventionally-styled, high quality bottles of wine.  These places were aiming for tried and true, classic styles, and most were executing it beautifully.  I fell in love with the clean, crisp Sauvignon Blancs from Klein Constantia.  And, I loved tasting through the Single Terroir range of wines at Mullineux (Syrah and Chenin Blanc, grown on different plots with varying soil types).  I really enjoy that kind of comparison exercise.  Although, rather than tasting one after another, I would have preferred to have the examples lined up next to each other so that I could revisit each one.  But, that’s hardly a complaint.  I’m sure they would have done it for me had I asked.

 I had a wonderful time visiting South Africa.  Travelling there is quite an undertaking (around 24 hours of travel time each way).  So, it’s probably not something I’m going to repeat any time soon.  But, I highly recommend the trip.  The wine industry in the country is really hitting its stride, producing high-quality examples in both classic and experimental styles.  For the most part, they’ve moved past the days of cheap, high-volume Chenin Blanc, and tarry, over-extracted Pinotage.  And, most wineries are set up to welcome visitors to drop in for a tasting.

 The wineries I visited (chronologically):

 https://www.simonsig.co.za/

https://rustenvrede.com/

https://stark-conde.co.za/

https://demeye.weebly.com/

https://www.kleinconstantia.com/

https://www.constantiaglen.com/

https://www.davidnadia.com/

https://www.kanonkop.co.za/

https://www.mlfwines.com/

https://www.hamiltonrussellvineyards.com/

http://www.newtonjohnson.com/

https://www.creationwines.com/