Welcome to the Western Cape Wineries - a kiwi's opinion blog

I originally set up this blog to help foreigners have an enjoyable experience when visiting the western cape wineries in South Africa.

I realised that it is very difficult for a tourist to choose where to go and which wineries to visit, when you have 600+ wine producers to choose from.

When I first moved to SA December 2010, my palate struggled to adjust to SA wine, b
ut after living here for a while and after visiting over 100+ wine estates, I have found many wines which I really like and can highly recommend.

Admittingly, when you come from another country it is hard not to compare the wine in SA to what you are used to back home. However, once you realise they are not the same (they have their own characteristics due to the different soil, climate etc) and appreciate their wines for being SA wines, it will improve your opinion and experience of the wines immediately.

If you are staying in SA for a while, don't dispair, your palate will change, and you will soon find yourself liking SA wine over your home countries wine!!

I hope my blog will help wine lovers have an enjoyable wine experience while in SA.

Please note: I am not a wine connoisseur. The comments I write about the wine is mostly for my own benefit of having them on record.



Sunday 3 July 2011

Le Pommier - Stellenbosch

Le Pommier was the last winery on our list for the Sunday tour. I chose this winery for our lunch because it looked like it was a beautiful place and had a nice menu. I realised that what I saw on the internet for Le Pommier, was not in fact the restaurant. You can see the website on: http://www.lepommier.co.za/restaurant.html.

It turns out where we had lunch and a tasting, was a very simple house which had been turned in to a wine tasting place and restaurant. There was absolutely nothing wrong with this, but because it was not what I expected and because of the reason I chose this place, I was quite disappointed.

However, this was a nice place to do a tasting and have a nice wholesome lunch. The menu included some typical South African dishes, which was ideal seeing as I had a NZ friend with me. The price of the food was very reasonable and we all enjoyed our meal.


The wines were ok, but not our favourite for the day. The service was very good here though, and we felt very welcome here. Some notes I made on the wines included that the SB 2010 was easy drinking, light and had a slightly fruity taste. The Chenin Blanc 2010 was fruity, sharp and acidic. The Shiraz 2008 was a little dry, it was spicy and had a mulberry taste. Jonathon's Malbec had a licorice, smoky, and bold taste to it. It was a little dry. All wines were very reasonably priced, ranging from R35-R60.

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