The invitation from The Great Wine Capitals Global Network to participate in the Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism Tour came as a welcome surprise in my inbox. The Best of Wine Tourism Awards is an initiative of the Great Wine Capitals Global Network (GWCGN), visit the website at greatwinecapitals.com for more information.
The initial motivation to offer the Best of Tours (or farm trips) to Best of Wine Tourism Awards entrants was twofold: firstly, to reach a different audience as opposed to traditional media in order to create awareness of the Best of Wine Tourism Awards and Great Wine Capitals. Secondly, to alert wineries to the existence of this initiative, and to the value and promotional opportunities it offers, not only through possibly winning a category, but also the extended exposure via social media.
We set out on the tour for the day and visited the following establishments, which had entered into the awards in various categories.
Spier - There is so many activities going on at this estate including the Cheetah Outreach Program, Hotel & Conference Centre, Restaurants, Eagle Encounters … I feel that the wine centre is sort of ‘lost by the way side’. The tasting room staff were excellent and very knowledgeable on the wines available. There is construction and renovations going on at this estate, just one more thing to add to the collection of ‘things to do’.
House of J.C. le Roux - very chic and stylish decor for the tasting room. The tasting room has a dining restaurant feel to it with hostess, managers and wait staff for the tasting. A bit hurried in my opinion, as if they have a 'turn around table' policy. Pairing bubbly with meringue and marshmallows was our groups selection - seems unlikely - but they did get the pairing perfect. Well done!
Time for lunch - designated venue - 'The Common Room' at Le Quartier Francais. High expectations for this well-known and highly regarded restaurant. They definitely lived up to the critical eye of our group. Its a 'tapas' style of food, small portions of everything, we had a feast. Excellent preparation of the dishes with only the mussels a little on the bland side!
On the road again, next stop Mont Rochelle Estate. First impression - 'looks like its closed for winter'. Not much to write about here as we all felt like we were doing the staff a favour by being there … however the tasting room staff did eventually ‘warm up’ to us and knew the product well. I did taste one the most outstanding wines of the day – Chardonnay ‘Sur Lie’ 2009
Last stop was Grande Provence Heritage Wine Estate – the highlight of the day. On a personal note I really enjoyed this visit, the tasting room staff were so welcoming – although we arrived later in the day – we could have stayed for the rest of day, night and week. If, by some remote possibility, you do not drink wine, this winery has the most beautiful landscaped garden together with some outstanding artwork. Will return on another day to explore further.
Please note we arrived at each venue unannounced and all tastings were paid. My fellow travellers were Dirk Odendaal, Roy McKenzie, Glen Christie and Lynne Sayer. A special thanks to Andre Morgenthal from WOSA, Belinda Lamprecht the co-ordinator from Great Wine Capitals and our driver, Keith from Green Cab Company.
Posted: winestyle.biz
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