Table Mountain and the Stellenbosch Wine Tasting Tour

On December 27, 2006 we decided to hike up Table Mountain [see below]. This is no ordinary feat – it boasts a height of 1600 metres and overlooks Cape Town and Robben Island. We woke up early and began the hike in the morning. After being passed by several couples, and having passed a few couples ourselves, Geza exclaimed that he felt as if we were starring in the "Amazing Race" (a television show where couples race around the world trying to get to a target first). I had to laugh, and laughing and walking uphill is tiring as hell. Furthermore, Geza kept making motorized noises which were to resemble his robot legs going up the 1600 metre Table Mountain.

We reached the top after an hour and a half, and were smote by fog. So, there wasn't much of a view, but we cooled off marvelously [can be seen during my cooling off period above]. For $10 CAN a person, we took the Table Mountain cable car back down to the ground and were able to enjoy the view [see below]. The interior of the cable car rotated so that everyone could enjoy the view. So, when I scurried in trying to stand in the best spot, I was grossly dismayed when the floor began to rotate :)

The following day, we embarked on our wine tasting tour! How could one visit the Western Cape of South Africa and fail to indulge in the tasty wines produced by their many vineyards??? A wine tour costs a Canadian about $65.00. We were picked up by a mini-bus at the tourist information center around 08h45 and drove around Cape Town to pick up the 10 other people.

We hit up the Villiera vineyard first, where our wine-tasting guide, a Mr. Grant du Toit [see left], demonstrated how to take the cork off a bottle of champagne with a Napoleonic sword! It was a blush champagne, and drinking at 9:30 a.m. felt a bit odd, I must admit. However, no one protested. Cheers!

We were then shown the inner workings of the winery and how wine and champagne are made. I took some great pictures, and learned quite a bit. I am ashamed to admit, that after a hectic day of wine tasting, I didn't remember as much as I would have liked to :)

After this tour, we were taken to a long table outside in the shade, where the wine tasting began. But after everyone had piled out of the winery, with Geza and I in tow, I just couldn't resist posing for the picture posted below! Outside, after Grant explained the four criterion judges look at when judging a wine (colour, smell, taste and aftertaste), we commenced a full day of wine-tasting....

After the Villiera vineyard, we scuttled off in our mini-bus to the Beyerskloof vineyard [see below]. We tasted approximately four wines, two of which I thought were delicious. We were informed by Grant that if we drank the wines we tasted, we will consume about a bottle for the entire day.

After Beyerskloof, we sped off to the Tokara vineyard [see below] which was quite fancy. The interior reminded me a little of some of these restaurants on King St. W in Toronto.

The last vineyard we visited (after eating lunch in Stellenbosch, which was included the price we paid for the tour) was the Fairview vineyard. This vineyard produces wines like “Goats do Roam” and “Bored Doe” which essentially mock the French wineries of Cotes du Rhone and Bordeaux. I couldn't resist, and bought some memorabilia: a biking shirt which says “Goats do Roam: Don’t be a nerd, follow the herd”. I can already see myself speeding across the lakeshore in Toronto like a silver bullet....
Great group, and great day [see below]. I recommend this to all people visiting South Africa.