Robertson

 

I spent the weekend in Robertson, a place I visit most often out of all of my favorite holiday destinations. Being only 2 hours outside of Cape Town, Robertson is a beautiful little town surrounded by wine farms which are irrigated by the Breede River. Every time I visit, I pop into my top favourite farms and catch up with the locals as well as enjoy some of the wines.

En route to the Robertson wine valley, you will pass farm stalls and quaint little “plaas winkels”, we stopped at one of them that caught my photographic eye. Inside you will find little succulent plants, snacks for the road, jams, fruit and interesting locally made ornaments. How gorgeous is this?

This weekend I visited Bon Courage, which has my favourite sparkling wine – Blush Vin Doux. It has a sweet fruity flavour which I enjoy in summer and sometimes add a few fresh berries to when I am feeling spontaneous. 

We then visited a farm that I have not been to before – Graham Beck. This farm was very different to what I imagined, it is small, personal, quiet and super romantic. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at this farm and met a lovely staff member who was more than happy to answer all of my questions. Our sommelier was passionate and the experience was informative, he even took out a bunch of Shiraz and Viognier grapes for us, which we tasted as we received the wine.

  

I left the estate with the Game Reserve Chenin ( not only because it has a rabbit on the label) which is part of a range of wines that supply profits to a growing conservation owned by Graham Beck. They also use recycled paper for the labels and boxes to ensure that this range is environmentally friendly. I loved the wine, and the concept so much, I just had to play my part and buy some of my favourite bottles.

Our next stop was Springfield Wine Estate which we have visited every holiday since our very first adventure to Robertson. This estate supplies a few of my favourite wines and is reasonable to buy from as some estates are a little more expensive than the shops (some shops get a bulk discount which results in more reasonable prices in store). The staff at this estate are always happy and energetic and have a good memory of their regular clients. We are always greeted with excitement and told to “not take so long to return”. Springfield is child friendly and has plenty of seating space whether it be on the grass, at the tables, on the deck, or on the row-boat on the dam! For such a prestigious wine brand, the estate is extremely relaxed and is the only estate I feel truly at ease when visiting.

 

Springfield has released a delicious new wine called “Lucy”. The name was chosen by the farmer, an avid fisherman, who decided to name the wine after a nickname for stumpnose fish. I always get to know the sommelier and make sure I ask as many questions as I can which results in these interesting little facts that many people may miss by simply tasting the wine and leaving. For me, it is all about the experience and learning new facts! For example, did you know that the flowers that line the roads of the Robertson wine route actually represent which farm owns the grapes… all farms lined with red flowers are either owned by, or sell their grapes to Van Loveren!

Another farm I love is De Wetshof, known best for their chardonnay. This farm was the first to be registered as a wine estate and is a lot smaller and more personal than the others. We usually pop in to this farm for a more quiet experience and to buy one of their Chardonnay’s and Rhine Riesling.

  

Finally, we visited another farm that we regularly pop into, Van Loveren. This is a larger farm when considering their tasting room, restaurant and shop. Although it is so commercial and larger than the other farms, we have met and got to know some of their staff who go out of their way to make us feel welcome and catch up on what has happened in each others lives in the months we have not visited. This farm is also great for kids, as they offer a kiddies food pairing consisting of sweets and grape juice while the adults can select one of four of their pairings.

 

Be sure to let me know if you enjoyed this as I have a few holidays lined up and would be happy to share some interesting places that I have been to! If you have any questions about Robertson, accommodation or the farms, do not hesitate to ask.

@tegzphotography x0x0