tisdag 14 december 2010

Spier Stellenbosch, Cheetah Outreach and Moyo














After having spent most of the conference week dealing with key ratios and tax laws for small and medium sized enterprises, along with lecturers concerning leadership and organizational issues, we head downwards towards Spier Winery in Stellenbosch. Apart from visiting Spier Winery, we have booked an appointment at Môreson Winery in Franschhoek. Dinner will be spent at the very famous restaurant Haute Cabrière just outside Franschhoek. But that’s another post!

Spier Winery is beautifully located just outside the city of Stellenbosch. In addition to the winery, the site harbours a cheetah and bird rescue farm, which I plan to visit as soon as I am done at the winery. We enter.









We are shown to the comfortable tasting room by Jackie, who acts as our tasting leader. First we are given a glass of sparkling wine, which turns to be Method Cap Classique Brut (NV). Very fruity, and rather acid. A nice wine which I guess would fit nicely as a starter.




Thereafter, we are presented with a still white wine. As I plunge into the glass, a formidable and rather volcanic scent of grass hits my nose. Definitely Sauvignon Blanc! After being washed over by this grassy smell, scents of gooseberry arise. Very nice. This is my favorite wine – which, I suspect, says nothing of the subsequent wines due to my preference to Sauvignon Blanc.





Anyway, after this we taste a few red wines which are excellent, including a barrel taste. But maybe not my cup of the English drinking stuff…

We give our gratitude to Jackie for the very entertaining and educating tasting and sort of subconsciously move into the wine shop. I am close to grabbing both the sparking and the Sauvignon Blanc, but in the end I settle for two bottles of dessert wine, 2005 Savanha Reserve Noble Late Harvest (100 per cent Semillon). Not that I dislike the sparkling and the savvie, but I am thinking of the flight home and being soft on sweets, I cannot really get enough of dessert wines.







I walk out of the winery and head to the cheetah rescue center, the Cheetah Outreach. The purpose of this centre is to let people meet captivity-raised cheetahs, thus creating more ambassadors for this endangered species. I pay the entrance fee and enter with a guide volunteer who has given me clear instructions on how to behave within the compounds of the animals (don't do anything stupid). Such slender animals! Just to feel the fur and body moving up and down as the animal breathe is a deep sense of connection. If you are ever visiting Spier, please do not forget to visit the Cheetah Outreach. Thank you for setting this up.













We then head to Moyo were we eat lunch, Moyo being rather touristic and slightly too plastic for my taste. But the food was great and we felt very welcome.





After Speir, Moyo and the Cheetah Outreach facility we move on towards the city of Stellenbosch. We do not stop there but move on to the Môreson Winery outside Franschhoek. I’ll return with more notes on that! Thank you Spier, Cheetah Outreach, and Moyo for a great visit!

6 kommentarer:

Fredrik sa...

Wow. Cool cat! Cool flaska! Har du blitt hooked på vin från Sydafrika också?

Red Scream sa...

Visst är de coola! Min samlade vinerfarenhet av 12 dagar i Sydafrika är

1) De gör mycket läckra Sauvignon blancs, inte så fruktiga och ananasbolmande som de nya zeeländska. Strama, mineraliga, ganska syrliga men inte Loirerazorstyle. Således, mer åt gräs och krusbär än åt ylle och inte fullt så fruktiga som de nya zeeländska.

2) Det finns gott om läckra och läskande mousserande. Oftast gjorda i en enkel stil, men härlig balans mellan syra och fruktighet. Mycket mineraliska! Dessa var en rolig upptäckt.

3) Det fanns gott om rött vin, men jag provade nog mest vitt. Men Chocolate Block (som finns på bolaget, 73194) var helt ok. Och en Rust en Vrede var också mycket god. Inte så mycket rökighet som jag hade förväntat mig!

4) Jag har ännu inte hunnit prova någon av dessertvinerna (köpte två olika) men det kommer. Vill minnas att jag har kvar en 2003 Paul Cluver Weisser Riesling Noble Late Harvest i källaren (lite osäker dock). Tänkte kanske ta den mot Savanan... Återkommer!

Anonym sa...

Hade de sövt katten?

/C

Red Scream sa...

Hahaha, nejdå den väntade bara på tillfälle :-)

Fredrik sa...

Jag har ju aldrig riktigt tagit SA till mitt hjärta främst på grund av rödvinernas karaktär men de vita låter ju lovande, dvs inte så mycket tropisk frukt.

Red Scream sa...

Ah, de vita var suveräna! :-)