Wine tastings in Stellenbosch

The weather was perfect for the five planned wine tastings! It was actually our first day with a light drizzle in the morning. Daniela had picked out five wine resorts the day before that she wanted to visit! Since I don't drink wine, the chauffeur for the wine tastings was set :-)! The owner of our wine resort mentioned during breakfast that it was good weather for the tastings because a storm was on its way! Nothing serious, it would usually only rain for an hour and then it would be over!

Before the first wine tasting, we visited a bike station! There we reserved two mountain bikes for tomorrow, yippie, I've been looking forward to it! There is a nature reserve here where you can ride super nice trails!!!

The first wine resort was idyllically located in the mountains and the entrance alone was amazing. On the right, you could see the vineyards, and on the left, there was a large lake with a big wooden pavilion. The first wine tasting took place there. We reached the pavilion via a long wooden bridge. A very friendly staff member explained the process to Daniela and jokingly told her that wines are not allowed to be spit out in South Africa. Hahaha, Daniela had chosen the three best red wines as well as a white and a rosé wine! The staff member told us the background to each wine! Exactly where the vines are located, how much sun they get, and how long they rest! It's all interesting, but since I only like sweet wines, I'm probably more of a wine philistine ;-)!

Daniela first tried the rosé and the white wine, they were not to her liking. Then came the three excellent red wines! But even here, Daniela was not that impressed. However, we, or rather Daniela, still enjoyed tasting wines with such a beautiful view! Daniela's cheeks were slightly flushed by the end of the wine tasting. I wasn't sure if it was from the wine or from smiling!?

Off we went to the next tasting! This wine resort looked very elegant and impressive upon arrival! Wow, we were thrilled! We walked around a bit and took photos first!

In the wine resort, there were several rooms where you could sit down. All rooms were equipped with a large fireplace and beautiful antique furniture. The right ambiance for a wine tasting!

We sat down in front of the fireplace and Daniela opted for a wine tasting combined with chocolate! She got two red wines and a dessert wine with a piece of chocolate each! The presentation already looked very good. She was pleased with the two red wines in terms of taste, but the dessert wine was too sweet for her! I took a sip and could have gulped it down like that! But then I would have been hit hard, so better not!

Two women were also sitting in the room for the wine tasting! We got into a conversation with them and they told us that it was their fourth wine tasting of the day! Honestly, the way they were slurring, I could tell! They also always emptied the wine glasses completely! I couldn't resist asking who would be driving from the two of them! They had a driver! After the second wine tasting, Daniela was already exhausted, two out of five was okay :-)! Well, at least eight wines...

We visited a third resort without a wine tasting! I didn't like it at all!

While we were sitting in the second wine estate, a thunderstorm began! At first, there was a flash and a thunder, but then it developed! Amazingly, the estate still had old window panes in wooden frames! With some of the thunder, the windows rattled so much that I thought they would shatter... and then a flash followed, accompanied by a deafening thunder, and it got dark!!!! The lightning had actually struck a power station and everything in the region was paralyzed! The wine resort had an emergency power generator, but our little wine resort, where we were staying, apparently not. When we later walked to our room, we ran into the owner. She excitedly told us how bad this thunderstorm was ("once in a lifetime") and that we wouldn't have electricity for a while! But they were working on it! We sat in the room with flashlights until late at night! It was totally creepy, but in the late evening, everything finally came back on!!!