A VINTAGE ADVENTURE
JOSHUA LAYTON drinks in the delights of South Africa on...
ATEQUILA sunset retreats from the skies over the vineyard as Ken Forrester unfurls his passion for wine in terms worthy of one of his acclaimed vintages. The seasoned winemaker travels the world as the figurehead of his award-winning brand, most noted for the elegant tang of his beloved chenin blanc, but is nowhere more at home than on his neatly-arranged country farm near Cape Town in South Africa’s coastal winelands.
There’s a touch of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or perhaps Charlie’s ageing dad and the vineyard cellar, as my tour group moves from the darkened vine-rows by the Helderberg Mountains in the Stellenbosch region and into the tasting room on the aptly-titled Winery Road.
The farm and neighbouring guest house lie off a dusty highway far from Bordeaux or Tuscany but the cool sea breeze and warm days might as well be a blessing from the gods.
Our disarming host, who welcomes us inside with Sparklehorse Chenin Blanc Méthode Cap Classique at the door, has certainly made the most of the optimum growing conditions, with the wind blowing in off False Bay bestowing an invigorating crispness to his handcrafted blends.
“This climate, if you look around in the morning or you come off the plane you think about the fact you have cypress trees, you have stone pine trees and grapes, olives, tomatoes, basil, lavender, wild garlic growing outside,” says South Africa’s unofficial Mr Chenin Blanc.
“You think about where else in the world all of these things grow, they grow only in the south of France, in the Rhone Valley.
“This valley is defined by the World Meteorological Society as a Mediterranean climate.”
The ‘Sparklehorse’ tag was chosen by Ken after a walk on London’s South Bank when he chanced on a fairground carousel and was reminded of how chenin blanc keeps the nation’s winemaking industry turning.
Turning to a 2014
‘petit’ vintage of the wine, he explains: “We wanted it to have its very own identity, a bright, fresh wine which is apples, pears, quince. You can almost taste the crunchy green apples.”
Enterprising winemakers across the Western Cape have turned the region into a red, white and rosé powerhouse, rearing blends using traditional farming methods.
Ken Forrester Wines can be found across first, business and economy classes onboard Emirates Airline, which is hosting our visit to some of its partners in the region.
The airborne connoisseurs have invested more than US $700m in their wine programme since 2006, offering a changing on-board list sourced from 12 countries.
After two nights at the sedate guest house, the next stop on our week-long tour is Fairview Cheesery, a chic house of dairyland artistry fronted by flowers, vines and a spindly goats’ tower.
Fine wines and meats are also produced at the cheesery, a 35-minute drive from Ken’s House of Chenin Blanc.
Tasting sessions pair Fairview’s in-house cheeses and wines, producing exceptional combinations of taste, texture and afterglow, such as a sharp, clean and balanced Rose Quartz 2018 and an earthy, warm and intricately-textured cut of cream cheese, tomato and herb.
It’s one of seven matches we try in a hall looking out to a garden on one side and an immaculate barrelling warehouse on the other.
Each cheese and wine has its own story, often resulting from years of
tinkering with growing and production techniques.
End results, such as the fabulously soft and giving ‘Blue Tower’, can be wetted with an on-point glass or two by visitors.
A small shop offers the chance to take home larger portions.
The jet-setting superstar of South African wines is The Chocolate Block, a luscious, headstrong red made by Marc Kent’s Boekenhoutskloof brand, and a visit to his vineyard amid the rugged greenery and mountain slopes of the Franschoek Valley didn’t disappoint.
Marc is the award-winning managing partner and technical director, but tells us he almost had a different calling in life as an air force pilot before his entrepreneurial spirit led him to buy the farm at the age of 21 in 1993.
Based on the dark-skinned syrah grape, The Chocolate Block is among the much-lauded wines we try in the Liverpool fan’s mountain-facing tasting room decked with his memorabilia, including Star Wars figurines.
A terrace opens up views over the neatly-trained greeneries that form a wine-lover’s Wembley below.
Traditional production techniques and a self-sustaining
ethos are present at all the winerys we visit but are something of an obsession at winemaker Paul Boutinot’s Waterkloof estate on the coastal outskirts of Stellenbosch.
A gusting Atlantic breeze and bottles of vintages conjured up by Paul and his team make for a bracing 4x4 ride around the vines and abundant plant life on the mountain slopes. The windswept farm is biodynamic, meaning it aims to do everything by nature’s book, using its own materials, and has its own horses which are used in production.
A jutting, cubeshaped promontory housing Waterkloof’s fine dining restaurant is our final stop.
By this point I’ve sipped, swilled and quaffed my way across wine country, but it’s hard to say no to more of Paul’s vintages over dinner.
A warmer outdoor setting is our next destination as we drive along a parched country road past huge nets covering swathes of vines and descend on Boekenhoutskloof’s remote vineyard in Swartland, around 50km north of Cape Town. Tasting and barbecued snacks are conjured with effortless charm by winemaker Callie Louw, our host at the Porseleinberg winery, where the rocky ground and unyielding soil only enhance the bold freshness in the grapes.
Heading onto the road again, we reach the charming and natureaffirming Bushman’s Kloof Reserve and Wilderness Retreat, located in rugged, boulder-strewn country where visitors spot wildlife in a nature reserve under the craggy Cederberg Mountains. Climbing into a jeep for a game drive, we spot zebra, springboks and a slowmoving family of ostriches which trots in front of the open 4x4.
The multi-award winning retreat, which also has a spa and wellness centre, allows guests to experience the natural world while enjoying the unassuming country style and supreme comfort of the lodge.
Environmentally-minded principles are at the heart of this secluded idyll, where one of our guides stops the jeep to pick up and introduce a roadside bug, passing it to the passengers before I release it back to the wild.
Winding up our trip in Cape Town, we check into the endlessly sleek and stylish One & Only hotel, where an outdoor infinity pool on an inner island and the lively, harbour-side Victoria and Albert Waterfront await.
Table Mountain is neatly framed in the double doors of my suite, but I’m soon browsing indie producers’ art and food on the walkways around the marina.
We’ve drained wine bottles across the Western Cape, but perhaps owing to the quality of the blends and ingredients, there’s no lag as we bid farewell with a Bake Off-style cooking competition and dinner hosted by Emirates’ caterers Newrest.
Dom Perignon 2009 is my star performer in the glass at the resulting dinner, held at Ginger & Lime’s house of culinary experiences in Cape Town.
Flying back to London with Emirates – appropriately enough on flight number EK007 – I order a glass of Ken’s Chenin Blanc 2015, made with fellow winemaker Martin Meinert.
Even at 43,000ft, it has lost none of its zip.
Bestowed with a long and just-ripe finish that rises through the palate, it’s a fitting farewell from the winelands.