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.



Tuesday 23 August 2011

Creation - Walker Bay

On Saturday some friends and I went to a few wineries in Walker Bay. We were there for a friend's birthday, and the weather was just perfect!! We got very lucky!!

We started at Hermanuspietersfontein for the Saturday market, we then went and spent a nice amount of time at Hamilton Russell, and finished at Creation for a 9 course wine and food pairing. It was a fantastic day!!




On a map, this winery looks quite far, in comparison to the other wineries on this road, and it looks like it is half way to Caledon. Once you have stopped off at several wineries on the way, it is nothing to drive that bit further to Creation. After driving along the dirt road, you are welcomed by a building which is modern, tasteful and welcoming. The grounds are also very nicely kept and are very beautiful.

 
The service was great right from the moment we walked in. There were no other guests at the time we arrived so we were able to choose what we considered was the best table in the room. It was right near the open doors, so we had great views, some could sit in the sun while others in the shade, it was perfect :-)


We all decided to go with the 6 wine tasting and 9 canapes to match. This is R90 and I highly recommend doing this. It is really interesting trying the wine prior to the matching canape(s) and then trying the wine again after the canape. There is a great difference in the taste of the wine after trying the canapes. It is therefore a great way to decide which wine you like with meals and which you like without food.



Carolyn who was serving us, was really kind to let us try the whole range of wines they have for tasting. They have 9 wines, but when you do a wine and food matching you get to try 6 wines. My favourites were the Sauvignon Blanc (R79.50) - on first sip it was rounded, balanced, yet after eating one of the two canapes for this wine, I found it slightly acidic. I felt it went really well with the cheese canape though!!! I also liked the Bordeaux style blend (R139) - it was just beautiful!! It had great body, great taste and was really nice on the palate. Last of all the Syrah/Grenache (R135) was smooth, velvety and also very nice.


I am not going to mention all the wines we tried as there are many. What I can say is that ALL the wines are very nice, the wine and food matching is great, the service is great, the scenery is beautiful and the entire experience was perfect!! We all had a really nice time here and would definitely recommend you put this winery on your list to visit!!!

1 comment:

  1. We have very similar tastes in wineries! I too love Creation!!! Am planning another food and wine pairing in December on the last day of our holidays. Stand out wines for me are the Suavignon Blanc and Grenahe/Syrah, which luckily we can get in the UK

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