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.



Friday 2 January 2015

Spookfontein - second visit

While my brother was here in South Africa we had a few days in Hermanus, I therefore chose a few wineries to visit one morning while there.


One of the wineries we visited was Spookfontein. The last time I visited this winery was about two years ago and the cellar/tasting room wasn't complete. We therefore received a cellar tour and tasting from the barrels, it was an awesome experience.

This time, there was a beautiful building which contained the tasting room and a restaurant with lovely views through all the glass pane windows.







The tasting room section seemed to get the short end of the stick as it's a small section of this beautiful setting and kind of tucked away. It does the trick nonetheless. I found the guy serving us friendly but he didn't know much about the wine. Sadly Craig Sheard has left Spookfontein but I believe he will now focus on his Elemental Bob wines. These are really good and I recommend finding a bottle! 


We tried the Rose 2014 at R60 a bottle. It was very fruity, had good flavour, and was quite a heavy rose.

The Pinot Noir 2009 at R125 a bottle had dark cherry/plum colour, lovely aromas, plum and spice flavours on the palate, a little dry.

The Cabernet Franc 2009 at R85 a bottle had an interesting flavour, I got a little bit of fynbos and a lot of bell pepper flavour on this wine. It was integrated and balanced. My brother loved this wine and bought a bottle to take back to China to share with his friends.

Merlot 2008 at R85 a bottle was soft on the palate, had good body, I struggled to work out the flavour but I wonder if that was because we tasted this after the Cab Franc.

Phantom 2006 at R85 a bottle is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. It was a little dry, integrated, it was ok. I have had this wine before and loved it on previous occasions. I still have a bottle at home, so it will be interesting to see what I think of this wine when we open that bottle.

Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 at R85 a bottle was very aromatic, a little spicy, and quite soft for a Cabernet.

Port (17% Cab 2009, 83% Merlot 2009 and 2011) at R150 a bottle was soft, elegant, a little sweet, but nice. I bought a bottle of this. It comes in a nice bottle too :-)

Overall we had a nice experience here but I wouldn't come for the wine, sorry.