Cape Town, South Africa
Today we had a wine tour scheduled. The tour was advertised as a Hop On, Hop Off tour that used a tram and busses. There were pick up locations all over Cape Town and we had to select one. Once picked up, guests were taken to the Waterfront Terminal where they boarded a bus. The Waterfront Terminal was about a mile from the ship and we decided we would walk there. The meeting time was 8:30.
We left the ship at 7:30 because I was a bit unsure of the location and the amount of time it took to get there. The extra time would be used to get us out of a jam if we needed it.
We arrived at the terminal at 8:00 am. We were given an explanation of how things worked. We were on the Franschhoek Wine Tram. This tour used busses and a tram and we would be on the tram in the morning and busses in the afternoon.
We boarded the bus for the Groot Drakenstein Terminal. A large, double decker bus. The ride would be one hour and there was an audio tour on the way. It was a nice ride and the time went quickly.
At the terminal we boarded a waiting tram. And we went off to the first winery. I was impressed by the whole operation. No waiting. We would be able to visit 3 wineries in the morning if we kept our visit to one hour for each. It was possible to spend more time at each winery visited but that would cut down on the time left for the others. We were given plastic wine glasses on the tram and given our first sample. A sparkling rose. Not bad.
Our first winery was the Plaisir Estate. The wineries in the morning all were founded in the 1600s. We were able to sample wine and gin here.
We sat in the tasting room that was formerly the storage room. The walls were obviously hundreds of years old. Terri found some wine she liked and I bought some gin. When a purchase is made, one only needs to give it to the driver of the tram or bus and they will take it the Drakenstein Terminal where it can be retrieved at the end of the day.
We spent an hour here. Our next stop was the Vrede en Lust estate. We decided that lunch was necessary after all of the gin and wine we tasted. We didn’t sample any wine here.
Back on the Tram was the final estate on the tram line. The Boschendal Estate.
We spent an hour here also. No wine from here was worthy of our purchase. We were dropped back at the main station where we boarded a bus. Next winery was Allee Bleue.
Another tasting here. Another few bottles back to the bus. We had 4 more wineries to pick from but we only had time for one. We chose the last one on the list but decided to get off on the first one when our guide said they specialized in red wine.
The Camberly Estate. We were the only visitors at this winery. The owner sat with us and kept bringing samples. He had some very fine wines. He also shared some great stories. He told us how when he and his wife toured the USA in a Pinto in 1980. Every stop they made they would tell people that they were Australian. They hid their South African roots because of the endless press on the Apartheid that the ruling class had instituted. People all over the world were for the elimination of this practice and people assumed that if you were from South Africa that you were a part of this.
We sampled a barrel that he discovered in his cellar that had the type and vintage that was printed on the barrel turned against the wall. The only way to know exactly what was in the barrel was to turn it around. It was full and extremely heavy and he called up a friend of his and they manage to turn the barrel enough to see the label. 2015 Cabernet. Delicious!
We did talk briefly about politics. He referred to the people running South Africa as gangsters. Lots of corruption. I’m ashamed to say that ours is no different. Corruption at all levels.
We enjoyed our hour here the most. Terri found many bottles worthy of the trip home. The bus picked us up and we were taken back to the terminal and boarded the bus back to Cape Town. There are many different routes that one can take and this tour can be done many times to visit all of the wineries.
Back in Cape Town we had a mile walk back to the ship with many bottles and cases of wine. We did manage to make it and had to go through customs with our passports. No confiscation by HAL officials this time. The wine ended up in our room.
We have such a better sense of South Africa after this visit. South Africa is more like Europe than it is Mozambique or some of the other African countries. Even the Northern African countries on the Mediterranean are less like Europe than South Africa. There aren’t the endless open markets of people bartering just to survive. No abandoned or vacant buildings. It really is a very beautiful country.
Another early night after a long day.
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