- BOTH WINE AND FOOD - DELICIOUSNESS!!
On Saturday we decided to earn our breakfast and ran the 13km to Windmeul Market, a bit ambitious maybe but we made it. The marker was more festive than usual with all the potjie competitions tents and waterblommetjie stations. The usual breakfast and a few sneaky snoek and feta samoosas were delicious as always, and well earned.
Someone mentioned they were heading to Beyerskloof to pick up some wine for friends and family in Pretoria, and with no other plans we all decided to jump on the bandwagon. With such lovely weather why wouldn't you want to be out and about in the beauty of the winelands!?
If you are ever at the Beyerskloof tasting room, find Jacques - what a treat! Great entertainment and certainly not shy when pouring you a sample to taste... you probably will end up leaving with a few bottles in the end!
A few of us were shouted at for being anti-social, tasting wines while the others sat on the deck. But Jacques was convincing us of how the 2013 Chenin Blanc Pinotage is one of the best thus far and how the Pinotage Dry Rose is so lovely - you can drink a whole bottle and not have a headache the next day, because it is DRY and not SWEET. He even topped up our glasses as we headed out to the restaurant for some lunch.
The Chenin Blanc Pinotage is lovely, very light in colour, pears and peppers on the palate and perfectly crisp for summer! The Pinotage Dry Rose is also great, with the rich crimson rose colour you expect that sometimes sickly sweetness, but it is not at all, it is berries and creaminess with a dry finish - really quite enjoyable!
Lunch orders were for Pinotage burgers all around, I don't think anyone even looked at the menu for other options. They are enormous, and DELICIOUS!!! The meat is fantastic, great quality and I'm not sure how they make their onion marmalade (except for the Pinotage inclusion), but there are definitely some secrets there. We've tried to replicate it and failed. On a beautiful day, paired with the Chenin - we had one very satisfied table!
The last time we were here with a group of Londoners and they declared outright, "The Best Burger they had ever had!!"
After seeing a tray of purple coloured beers being delivered to the table next door, the boys enquired and ordered themselves one of the Pinotage Beers for tasting. It was surprisingly quite good. Very heavy, a bit like a dark Weiss beer - I don't think you can do more than one, unless you are a dark beer kinda guy. Well worth the taste though.
We headed back to the tasting room after lunch to make a few purchases and sampled some of the Lagare 2010 Fortified Dessert Wine, which is quite delicious. It is made with the typical Port varietals (Tinta Barocca &Touriga Nacional) as well as Pinotage grapes (Being Beyerskloof and embracing ALL things Pinotage). It is very dark in colour and the Pinotage adds a lovely dynamic. It is not too syrupy or heavy like some dessert wines, but has lovely plum and dark berry flavours. I would like to have some vanilla ice cream on the side next time to compliment it - yum!
We took a case of Beyerskloof Pinotage home with us (a good household favourite that always goes down well - your typical plum,cherry, mocha and cedar flavours altogether in an enjoyable above average easy drinking wine) as well as a bottle each of the Chenin Pinotage & Pinotage Rose to increase the summer wine collection on our rack.
Beyerskloof really have done an excellent job of capturing their market. Their wines are reasonably priced and of a good standard, they embrace the student market rather than trying to avoid it and yet somehow still make you feel like you are wining and dining in the winelands. A relaxed, simply designed, thoroughly enjoyable farm to visit. We often pop in for a burger or even to share a bottle or two on the restaurant deck. I also enjoy how they have managed to fully embrace the Pinotage grape and find ways to bring it into most of their wines, remarkable.
A beautiful afternoon in the winelands - great wine, delicious burgers and a chilled, bustling atmosphere throughout the restaurant and winery.
BEYERSKLOOF WINE ESTATE
Along the R304 between the N1 and Stellenbosch
Tel: +27 21 865 2135
- Closed on Sundays Labels: Beyerskloof, Farms, Windmeul
A few of us were shouted at for being anti-social, tasting wines while the others sat on the deck. But Jacques was convincing us of how the 2013 Chenin Blanc Pinotage is one of the best thus far and how the Pinotage Dry Rose is so lovely - you can drink a whole bottle and not have a headache the next day, because it is DRY and not SWEET. He even topped up our glasses as we headed out to the restaurant for some lunch.
After seeing a tray of purple coloured beers being delivered to the table next door, the boys enquired and ordered themselves one of the Pinotage Beers for tasting. It was surprisingly quite good. Very heavy, a bit like a dark Weiss beer - I don't think you can do more than one, unless you are a dark beer kinda guy. Well worth the taste though. 
