Whatshot
Wine Route
Wine Route
For all wine lovers the Cape Wine route starts in Stellenbosch and this is where I started my wine journey.
Indisputably sparkling wine is number one alcoholic beverage for many wine drinkers. So a visit to the Twee Jonge Gezellen Estate in Tulbagh should be on top of any wine lovers' list.
Twee Jonge Gezellen Estate when translated, means 'Two Young Bachelors' or 'Two Young Companions' has been in the Krone family since 1710.
This is especially impressive when you consider that TJ is the oldest family farm in the pioneer district of Tulbagh and the second oldest family-owned wine estate in South Africa.
Cradled in the Tulbagh valley, the estate is surrounded by rugged mountains and is widely considered one of the most beautiful, family-run estates in the Cape.
The House Of Krone was formed to recognize the significance of Nicky Krone's contribution to the brand and to differentiate the Krone family's Méthode Cap Classique (MCC) sparkling wines from its Twee Jonge Gezellen still wines.
House of Krone was devised as a way of highlighting winemaker Nicky Krone's work for the estate and to differentiate the Methode Cap Classique wines that are produced there.
The wines are benchmark South African sparkling wines and reflect the care and attention that has been put into production at every step.
It should be noted that the fruit is harvested in the early hours of the morning by hand, only free-run juice is used to make these wines and remuage and disgorging happens by hand in the cellars.
My other interest are Organic Wines, which I first tasted while on a extended trip to Chile so a visit to The Reyneke Farm just outside Stellenbosch was a must on my list of wine farms.
The Reyneke label was created in 1998 when Johan Reyneke Jr. took over the farming activities from his mother and produced the first wines on the family farm, Uitzicht.
Since inception, Johan has moved from farming conventionally to farming organically and finally to farming and producing his wines in accordance with biodynamic principles.
He is currently one of only a few winemakers in South Africa who produce biodynamic wines and is considered somewhat of a groundbreaker in this regard.
The aim for Reyneke has always been to express the uniqueness of the farm's situation - the deep soil dotted with early Stone Age hand axes; the vines- some 40 years old; the crisp upland air - into the bottle.
Reyneke believes that it is impossible to sense terroir if you are constantly changing it with chemicals. "The intention here is to interfere as little as possible, to allow nature to be the real maker of the wine and to truly produce terroir specific wines of the highest quality."
So next time you in the Cape, make sure that the Wine Route is on your itinerary. Set aside at least two days and visit as many farms as you can, not only will you come out enlighten you will also understand why we are so highly rated on the international wine scene.