Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Get a taste of Franschhoek valley at Anthonij Rupert wine estate
LAST week Sexy Deborah and I got into our Uber and headed extravagantly to Anthonij Rupert wine estate in the Franschhoek valley. Just as well, because even though something as unexpected and refined as a tea tasting was on the agenda, we were able to relax and enjoy the spectacular day with plenty of wine later.
The activities began up at the Anthonij Rupert tasting room, which is in the farm’s original manor house and which you approach via a tree-lined avenue. It’s been beautifully restored and decorated; you can wander around the two magnificent bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms, although you may not sleep there. There is a drawing room and a diningroom with a massive gleaming wooden table which you can book for larger groups.
Out back is the rose garden with a gazebo where you can take afternoon tea, and in the front is a large veranda overlooking sweeping lawns. This is where we sat for our rooibos tea tasting. There was a card with the “tasting notes” which I folded up and put in my bag for later reference. Or so I thought. It, along with other bits of paper I collected, was not there when I got home.
Of the rooibos tea tasting I recall a plain tea, one flavoured with ginger and tangerine, another with ginger and spicy cinnamon, and a lovely almond milk one which is creamy on the nose. These tastings can be done in conjunction with high tea, or before or after a wine tasting.
In addition to the rooibos, you can taste Grand Cru Prestige teas from the TWG Luxury Tea Company. We didn’t get that far, because we were about to hop on the tram to go down to the Terra del Capo tasting room near the entrance to the estate. This motorised tram is the way to get about the farm, as well as shuttle next door to L’Ormarins where you can visit the Franschhoek Motor Museum. It’s a lovely drive over farm roads which are not open to normal traffic, affording a breathtaking view across the valley.
We didn’t go to the museum on this day, but it kind of came to us. Lorenzo Farella is the man whose enviable job it is to maintain all the vintage vehicles in the collection. This means he gets to drive all of them, including one of my favourites, the 1959 cherry red Cadillac named Caroline in which he was rumbling around. I squealed with delight and scampered across the lawn to take pictures.
Inside the Terra del Capo tasting room you can of course taste wine, or have a meal overlooking the barrel cellar. There’s also a lovely little shop (shelves of goodies, really) where I bought champagne flutes and shortbread biscuits shaped like hearts. We went upstairs to a private corner where we had our cheese and wine tasting.
The Terra del Capo range is a homage to the late Anthonij Rupert and his passion to bring the finest of Italian varietals to South African soil, with three distinctly Italian wines – pinot grigio, sangiovese and Arné. The white is crisp and fresh, the sangiovese is one of my favourites, and the last one is a 50/50 blend of merlot and sangiovese which are sorted and fermented together rather than blended afterwards.
The cheeses are all Italian – smoked mozzarella, aged fontina, taleggio, parmesan, and gorgonzola – so it makes sense to pair them with these wines. There was also a port for tasting which is too sweet for my palate although it does go well with the pungent salty blue cheese.
● The Italian cheese and wine pairing costs R60 a person, and the tea tasting R30 a person. Tastings are available during normal tasting room hours, with pre-booking required for six or more people. A maximum of 20 guests can be accommodated. For bookings and more information, contact the farm on 021 874 9004 or e-mail tasting@rupertwines.com