Category Archives: Stellenbosch

A Saturday off… what to do?

Take a tour to some of the most amazing wineries in Stellenbosch. There are hundreds to choose from and all of them have something special to see or show. This is why it’s our staff choice of the month. Rarely going to the local spots, a few of my friends and I decided to do the “touristy” thing and taste some wines…Somewhere we’ve never been…

Holding a map and pointing to an area – off we go. Our destination was Annendale road with Stellenbosch Mountains to the one side and Helderberg Mountains to the other side. First stop was Peter Falke Winery; the exclusive winery of Peter Falke is nestled against the majestic slopes of the Helderberg Mountains in the heart of the Stellenbosch winelands. Groenvlei Farm is home to rambling magenta bougainvillea, delicate scented roses and wild lavender growing alongside carefully cultivated vineyards. 

Dating back to the 18th century, the traditional gabled Cape Dutch buildings of the wine estate belie a contrasting modernity within. The stately old homestead is partnered by a “boutique” winery, contemporary wine tasting room and luxurious outdoor lounge which have established Peter Falke Wines as the most elegant and serene sundowner retreat in the winelands.

Next stop on our list was Hidden valley winery, Although the winery is a state of the art, gravity fed cellar, it is nestled into side the slope and intended to blend back into the environment in time. The building materials, namely stone, wood and glass are purposely selected to present a contemporary yet functional structure. The cellar is surrounded by vineyards, olive groves, almond orchards and natural vegetation, each occupying an integral part of the farms’ ecosystem. Stainable agriculture is a common theme in every approach both in and outside the cellar. Tasting wine there is beautiful, the view perfect, would highly recommend this.

The next stop on our expedition was Guardian Peak Winery, The Guardian Peak brand is designed to complement those who enjoy a healthy, active, outdoor lifestyle, and the wines are crafted to be accessible and enjoyed anywhere at any time.

Lifestyle is always a priority in the Cape Winelands and the Guardian Peak range is flexible and dynamic to enhance any lifestyle activity imaginable. Guardian Peak is proud to be in the ranks of the new generation of South African wineries taking our products into the global market with confidence and ambition. Fine wine, superb food and magnificent panoramic views are the signature feature of the new Guardian Peak winery which opened in December 2005. These fruit driven wines include three red blends and three single varietal wines which embody the new-world style of wine making allowing them to be enjoyed at an early age.

Then we got hungry and decided on pizzas. Most definitely the best pizzas in town voted by our group. A small restaurant with a perfect vibe from both locals and travelers from all over, Gino’s restaurant situated in the town center with a very calm and casual vibe. This was most certainly the best way to end off a perfect day, as the pizzas are all handmade and ingredients as fresh as you get.

Written by: Tessa de Necker

1. Vergelegen

Somerset West. Possibly the grandest of the Old Cape estates, established by Governor Willem Adriaen van der Stel in the late 17th century. It languished as a wine producer until viticultural wizard André van Rensburg took over the cellar in the early 2000s and turned it into the most decorated winery of the Cape. His reds and whites rival the best of Bordeaux.

6.Hamilton Russell Vineyards

Hemel en Aarde Valley, Hermanus. Arguably the finest producer of both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the Cape, but also a strong cam

paigner for the local Pinotage grape.

The Farmer’s Kitchen

Try: The home-made grilled lamb burger with red onions, red pesto, feta and tzatziki.
Side: chips or salad.
Price: R68. 

Goederust Farm Kitchen
Try: the homemade beef burger on ‘roosterkoek’ topped with bacon, mature cheddar and sweet potato.
Side: hand cut regular or sweet potato chips
Price: R65

La Vigna
Try: The gourmet sirloin burger with mature Brie, bacon, red-onion chutney and slow-roasted tomatoes.
Side: French fries or salad.
Price: R78.

The Red Leaf Restaurant
Try the: Signature Pinotage Burger, a 250g beef patty served with Pinotage onion marmalade.
Side: Chips or salad.
Price: R85.

Hot air ballooning : The unique experience of hot air ballooning is, essentially a rather elegant, eccentric adventure in space and time, and promises an excitement all of its own. Hover at tree-top height for a chat with or a wave to a local farmer as you go. Or, if you wish, and conditions permit, your pilot can take you to soar high among the clouds.

Horse back riding : One of our famous horse riding trails at the beautiful Journey’s End Wine Estate in the Helderberg! Situated a stone’s throw from Somerset West, our riding trails will afford you all the grandeur and beauty that is False Bay and the Cape Peninsula. Experience some of the world’s most dramatic and spectacular scenery on horseback! See the awe inspiring view of False Bay and capture the splendid beauty of Cape Point from the secluded foot of the Hottentots Holland mountain range.

Paintball : A social paintball business and a trend setter in the region. We have an extra large area with 3 fields that are safe and full of natural cover like rocks, trees and valleys which makes it ideal for paintball. The large are prevents unnecessary close-up shots like in smaller fields which is not ideal for kids. Our resting area is amongst huge pine trees where you can relax afterwards and share battlefield stories. 

Quad Biking : This venue is near Stellenbosch /Paarl area. Based on the beautiful Rhebokskloof Wine Estate in Paarl, South Africa, the quad bikes complement the horse trails, by allowing guests to enjoy the same views and nature experience, as the horse riders do. Like the horse trails, the quad bikes are led by an experienced guide. There are half hour to 2 hour trails. There is also a fun obstacle course through the forest, which gives novice riders the opportunity to practice their new skills. The trails operate 7 days a week.

You may or may not know that Stellenbosch is the second old­est town in South Africa and is fondly referred to as ‘Eikestad’ or city of oaks. While vis­it­ing this town your eyes will be drawn to the gor­geous examples of Victorian, Cape Dutch and Georgian archi­tec­ture that line the streets. Take you time and walk down Dorp Street which is a national monu­ment and a real treasure.

Stellenbosch isn’t only a wine region it is also home to the University of Stellenbosch and so on any given day you’ll find plenty of stu­dents mak­ing their way to and from cam­pus, which also means that the town has an act­ive night­life — so be sure you’re ready for a jol! Because it is only an hour away from Cape Town this means you can eas­ily pop into an event, per­haps one of the Oude Libertas Summer Season Concerts or take in a film or two at the Cape Winelands Film Festival. If you’re stay­ing for more than a day we’ve come up with 10 won­der­ful sug­ges­tions of things you can busy your­self with in this his­tor­ical town …

AFRICAN DINING EXPERIENCE AT MOYO

CHEETAH OUTREACH AT SPIER

RUPERT MUSEUM

STRAWBERRY SAFARI

STELLENBOSCH BOTANICAL GARDENS

VISIT OOM SAMIE SE WINKEL

STELLENBOSCH FRESH GOODS MARKET

MOEDERKERK, STELLENBOSCH

TOY AND MINIATURE MUSEUM

WINE & BILTONG TASTING

http://blog.sa-venues.com/provinces/western-cape/10-superb-things-to-do-when-next-in-stellenbosch/

There is some­thing about Sunday after­noons and the need to get out of doors with little ones. Gone are the days of lie-ins and read­ing nov­els on the couch. And this fact will be made all the more palp­able the more you try and relive them, so get­ting out is a good idea. Even without little ones, you’ll find these rel­at­ively easy walks a ser­i­ously lovely way to exper­i­ence the won­der­ful sum­mer, autumn and spring months.

DEER PARK

A nature reserve that lies just under the Table, the Deer Park, in Vredehoek, is filled with paths used by run­ners, walk­ers, bike enthu­si­asts and dog walk­ers. The myriad path­ways — some of which are wild and over­grown and go right up the moun­tain, and oth­ers that are actu­ally board­walks and great to do with chil­dren — make the Deer Park the pop­u­lar space that it is.

LONG BEACH – NOORDHOEK TO KOMMETJIE

Long Beach, also some­times called Noordhoek Beach (rather obvi­ously because it lies belowNoordhoek) stretches for 8 km all the way through to Kommetjie and makes a won­der­fully long and chal­len­ging walk that little ones will rel­ish (just not the very little ones, they’ll need to be at least four years old). What makes the walk so lovely is not only the wild­ness of the place, the occa­sional horse rider and the relaxed and unhur­ried pace, but the ship­wreck part way.

SEA POINT PROMENADE

Sea Point‘s long stretch of paved walk­way on the edge of the sea does not need an intro­duc­tion to Capetonians, who make very good use of this won­der­ful water­front area to exer­cise and feel the sea breeze on their skins. The place is a won­der­ful mix of people, safe for chil­dren (there are parks, jungle gyms, swings and a new out­door ‘gym’ for all to use), great for sun­down­ers and pic­nics and, des­pite hav­ing very little beach to speak of, one of the city’s local ‘haunts’.

http://blog.sa-venues.com/provinces/western-cape/places-for-families-to-walk-on-sundays-in-cape-town/

In the heart of the Cape Winelands just 45 minutes from Cape Town and amid mountainous scenery lie the following internationally renowned golf estates all in close proximity of your Summerwood Guest House in Stellenbosch.

Stellenbosch Golf Club: – with some holes bordering the vineyards, this is a parkland layout that is a delight to play, with large trees framing the holes and surrounded by mountain slopes under vine.

Spier Golf Estate: – the holes are set on rolling and undulating terrain and meander between vineyards, fruit trees and an array of superb water features. Spier Wine Estate is one of the most visited estates in the Cape Winelands and is found in the heart of Stellenbosch.

Summerwood Golf Packages

Boschenmeer Golf Club: – set in the Paarl Valley area and designed by David Frost, this 27 hole golf course offers a splendid mix of tree-lined fairways, and challenging and visually spectacular water features, all leading to large and perfectly manicured greens.

Erinvale Golf Estate: – host of the World Cup of golf in 1996 and designed by Gary Player, this golf course has two very different moods. The first nine holes are built on flat terrain, with strategic water hazards and an array of different style bunkers. The second nine holes are on undulating higher ground. Erinvale is set in the Somerset West area of the Cape Winelands.

Pearl Valley Golf Estate: – designed by Jack Nicklaus, this golf course aims to blend in with the natural environment. The fairly flat and largely uninterrupted terrain enabled Jack Nicklaus to develop hole strategies resulting in a golf course the requires the golfer to “think” his/her way around the course. Pearl Valley Golf Estate is found near the Cape winelands town of Paarl which is very close to Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.

• 
• Stellenbosch is the 2nd oldest settlement in the Western Cape province (behind Cape Town). The town of Stellenbosch was founded in 1679.
• Stellenbosch is named after its founder, Simon van der Stel (former governor of the Cape Colony).
• In the early days of the Second Boer War (1899-1902) Stellenbosch was one of the British military bases and was used as a remount camp for British soldiers.
• Stellenbosch has a population of about 117,000 (not counting students).
• Maties Rugby club is one of the oldest rugby clubs in the world.
• Omar Henry (South African cricketer), Charl Langeveldt (South African cricketer), Roger Telemachus (South African cricketer), Paul Roos (Springbok Rugby player), JP Pietersen (Springbok rugby player) and Giniel de Villiers (Rally Driver) were all born in Stellenbosch.
• Stellenbosch University was founded in 1866 as Stellenbosch Gymnasium, renamed in 1881 to Stellenbosch College, renamed in 1887 to Victoria College and finally renamed to its current name in 1918 (when the institution acquired university status). More than 26,000 students attend Stellenbosch University.
• One of the first schools in South Africa opened in Stellenbosch in 1683.
• The early settlers to this fertile region were encouraged to plant oak trees and Stellenbosch’s oak lanes streets bear testimony today in the town being know as “Eikestad” (meaning village of oaks). Stellenbosch is also referred to as “Stellies” by South Africans.
• South Africa currently has 101 957 hectares under vines, of which approximately 18 %is planted in the wine of origin Stellenbosch region.

History

In the early 1960’s, The Rotary Club of Somerset West suggested that a Nature Reserve would benefit the Community.
On 3 October 1964, the farmland was opened as a reserve by the Administrator of the Cape.

The Helderberg Nature Reserve is situated in Somerset West on the slopes of the beautiful Helderberg Mountain overlooking False Bay.

There are picnic spots, an information centre, our Guinea gift shop, exhibitions and hiking trails for young and old. See our lovely Bontebok, and watch the tortoises lazily mowing our lawns.

Contact Information

• Information Centre: (021) 851-4060
  Indigenous Nursery: (021) 851-9192
  (open Tuesday – Friday from 10:00-16:00)
  (open Saturday from 10:00-14:00)
• Environmental Education Centre: (021) 852-8831
• Resource Centre: (021) 852-8831
• Reserve management: (021) 851-6982
• After hours (emergency only): (021) 957-4700

Entrance fees

Moment of Silence 2009 (now officially sold out thanks to my first ever export order leaving Cape Town harbour this week).  I am pre-releasing the newly bottled and labelled Moment of Silence 2010 . If you order 12 of the new Moment of Silence 2010 (R53 per bottle) before this coming Saturday (21 May), you only have to pay me for 11 bottles.

Although similarly styled to the 2009 vintage, the 2010 is slightly more Chenin driven. I made use of a different block of Chenin with a very interesting history, which I will tell you more about later.

At this stage the wine has more pure fruit than the 2009 vintage. Older barrels were used and the wine was fermented and aged for a year in barrel. The wood is so subtle, it’s hardly recognizable. It just adds a bit of oemph. The wine was bottled a month ago, so I’m anticipating many changes to the wine in the months to come. The Chenin will become integrated and the Chardonnay and Viognier will be making their contribution in due time.

To make use of this pre-release offer, place your order by replying to this email with your delivery details and I will send a final quote. The price is R53 a bottle (valid until close of business Friday 20 May 2011). At the moment, you will not be able to buy this wine on my website as it is not officially released yet.

Once again, thank you for your support!

Pieter Walser for BLANKbottle

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