Cooking With Michele® The Winelands of South Africa

While having lunch in Franschhoek during our recent trip to South Africa, our host raised a wine glass to toast our group and said, “Life could be better…but I don’t know how.” That completely captured how I felt about my short two days in the winelands outside of Capetown. Rather than take you through every detail of our experiences, I’ll just share a photo journal with you with a few comments to let you know where we were and why it was so special. Enjoy!

Klein Constantia, on harvest day as workers hand pick the muscat de frontignan grapes that will be turned into the very highly regarded Vin de Constance dessert wine.Getting a tour and tasting the wines at Klein Constantia.The Rustenberg wine estate in Stellenbosch, where a calf had just been born before we arrived.Workers at Rustenberg laying out grapes on straw to dry in the sun similar to the process of making amarone wine in Italy.Learning about the Rustenberg vineyards and wines from the son who now runs the winery.A gorgeous setting int he gardens of Rustenberg for tasting.A wine lunch picnic on the sprawling grounds of the Warwick estate in Stellenbosch.Arriving at the oh-so-beautiful La Residence hotel in Franschhoek.Our room at the hotel and views – incredible!Enjoying wine with friends and watching the sunset never gets old here.Dinner at La Residence The views from our breakfast table seemed almost like a painting.Lunch at our friends’ house in Franschhoek overlooking their lovely pool and gardens.An afternoon of wine tasting at Grand Provence in Franschhoek.Another evening of wine and sunset watching with friends before dinner.Final dinner in South Africa, at the French Connection Bistro in Franschhoek.Enjoying an art tour, winery visit and wine tasting at La Motte in Franschhoek.Our final lunch at La Motte before saying our
farewells and heading to the airport for the long trip home.

Some South African expressions I learned on our trip:

Pleasure = thank you
Lifestyle wines = wines for drinking any day of the week
Docket = receipt
Holding thumbs = crossing fingers
Laquer oak = really good
Bramble about = wander around

Thanks to Norman, Gordon, Brett, Sugar, and Tracy for welcoming us in South Africa!