South Africa (Cape Town)- Day 11- Sippin' In Stellenbosch

Now for one of our favorite days on each of our big trips—wine tour day! As per usual, Brennan did a ton of research up front and found some places he was really excited to try.  So we remember what we had for later cellar-stocking, I included a full list of the wines we tasted on the trip below, but I’ll just include a short recap about the wonderful day too!

We focused on the Stellenbosch region; just like Napa & Sonoma, there are several smaller wine regions right in the area—it only took us about 35 minutes to get to Stellenbosch, wish it was always that close as wine here is surprisingly affordable!!  First up was Rust en Vrede which was absolutely stunning and only produces reds (all of which were really fantastic and they have some of their nicest bottles on the tasting menu).

After that we went to de Trafford which was a really small vineyard all the way up a twisty, turny dirt road. Basically if you think you're totally lost, keep going.  Followed by an incredible lunch at Jordan, outside on their patio with the sun shining, eating delicious food… really couldn’t ask for anything more.  We headed to De Toren after that which is very small and only produces two bottles for mass consumption and then two more super limited edition wines.  

Finished up the day at Mulderbosch which we’ve had before in the states and we wanted to check out their premises. It felt a little more like an established American winery in that they had a beautiful outdoor space with a lounge area, games, outdoor brick pizza oven, etc.  Quite a relaxing day and a terrific way to wind up our last full day in South Africa. 

Headed to dinner at Burrata, a wood-burning pizza place in the Old Biscuit Mill (our favorite placeJ) and then we’ll have a half- day tomorrow and we’ll jump on a plane for our loooong ride home. Can’t believe it’s coming to an end soon but we’ve really been able to relax, explore, and check out for a little bit which was exactly the goal!

Wines We Tried This Trip That Made the “Like” List

Meals, Etc

Meerlust Red 2011 *

Erne Els Chenin Blanc (The Big Easy)

Silverthorn Green Man *

Beaumont Hope Margeurite **

Vondeling Babiana *

Haute Cabriere Chardonnay/Pinot Noir **

Rust en Vrede

Cabernet Sauvignon *

Merlot *

1694 Classification Red **

Estate Red Blend **

Estate Syrah **

Single Vineyard Syrah

Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

De Trafford

Elevation 393 **

Syrah 393 **

Merlot *

Sijnn Syrah *

Jordan

2012 Chenin Blanc

De Toren

Fusion V**

Z*

Mulderbosch

Fable Mountain Vineyards 2012 Jackal Bird **

2014 Chenin Blanc *

2013 1000 Miles Sauvignon  Blanc *

2013 Faithful Hound-White

2013 Faithful Hound- Red