Exploring Wineries

 

Great day exploring several wineries west of Cape Town.  Started in the town of Franschoek and finished in Stellenbosch.

 One of our first stops, the Atlas Swift winery. We tasted 5 Chardonnays and ended up buying 9 of them!  Some cool artwork on the bottles as well. 

Interesting old wine barrel transport (now a storefront ornament)


The 400yr old Muratie vineyards and winery




About 20yrs ago the winery was sold back to a family that had owned it 200yrs ago. They apparently got a great deal with the stipulation that they couldn’t change anything for 4 generations, including cleaning the cobwebs from the windows!






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Home for the Summer!

Image
  Amazing first weekend back home in Maine for the summer, enjoying the ocean from our small town of Boothbay.  Spent Saturday boating around Portland Harbor with good friends. Above is the iconic Portland Head Light, the first lighthouse ever built in the US, commissioned by George Washington and completed in 1791.  Grabbing lunch with old friends after docking our boat at the restaurant. Below is our 22ft Commander from the Freedom Boat Club. Fishing boats Ram Island Ledge Light Home sweet home . . . . Dock at Cousins Island, a private island in the outer harbor.  Mast from the USS Portland, a WWII cruiser that participated in many of the large Pacific battles. Our boat again The Saturday boating crew Sunday breakfast, Maine style . . . . Venison Benedict, shot by my friend Rick and prepared by his wife Michelle. Delicious! Hanging out in the Old Port is not complete without a stop at Gritty McDuff’s brew pub Then on to the Porthole for some great live music by the...
Read more

City Tours & Last Day in Slovenia

Image
  Famous architect Jože Plečnik designed many buildings in this city, including this one. However, this style never took off. Nevertheless, an iconic building in Ljubljana.  Currently a bank. Small restaurant famous for it’s Kransjska sausage. Side door to St. Nicholas Cathedral Rail of the funicular, looking up Castle Hill Ljubljana Castle View from the tower of Ljubljana Castle Prehistoric wheel found preserved in a nearby marsh, believed to be 5350yrs old. It is the oldest wheel ever found. On display in the castle museum.  Statues from the castle museum Dragons are visible everywhere in town. This one lurks in the castle Ljubljana Puppet Theater in Krekov Square. Caught the mechanical characters coming out of the clock at just the right time.  View along the river promenade, lined with outdoor restaurants and bars, even in February.  Sunday was our last full day in Slovenia and our final scheduled activity was a 3hr food & wine tour, starting with a tiny...
Read more

How We Spent Our Summer

Image
Hard to believe our summer in Maine is over. A lot of great times with family and friends, along with phenomenal weather and tasty food & drink. Above is my 4th of July fashion statement, sporting an Arabian Keffiya. The pattern on the headdress typically denotes tribal or regional affiliations.  Mine, with the American flag motif, designates my tribe.  Kicked off the summer with our great friends Rick and Michelle. A little boating in Portland harbor followed by some refreshments at The Porthole Below is our local whiskey bar “Neat” with its extensive selection of brown liquor and bartender Emily The lower patio early in the season after some extensive planting View from “The Lobster Wharf” with the standard meal Our neighbors up the river. Seal Rock sometimes boasts well over 100 of them Fathers’ Day weekend The Eastwind is a local schooner built in Maine and used for tourist excursions  Brunch at Harborside 1901, one of our favorite restaurants.  Lobster Blood...
Read more