We spent our first afternoon in Franschooek. I had made us lunch reservations at one of the most popular restaurants, aptly named Bread and Wine. Bread and Wine is located at the Moreson vineyards, and the setting is really lovely. We ate outside on the patio with a view of the gardens and vineyards. We each chose to do a wine flight with lunch, so we got the chance to try some of their best wines. Maybe it was the atmosphere or our excitement to be here, but the sparkling wine was particularly tasty. Matt chose the beef and I had the bacon-wrapped springbok (an animal similar to deer). We were both really stuffed, but when they showed up the dessert menu, we couldn’t pass up the peanut butter bombe. Chocolate coated peanut butter mousse -- fantastic! The presentation of everything was so fancy! It was one of our most memorable lunches ever.
After lunch, we explored the small town of Franschooek. The main street was so quaint – so many cute boutiques and cafes.
When we were finished window shopping, we headed over to a vineyard in Stellenbosch where we would be spending the night. We had a gorgeous room with our own deck and a view of the vineyards. So incredible! For dinner, we had bought some goat cheese in town and some bread from the restaurant at lunch. We also had a bottle of rose – what a perfect dinner to have while staying on such a beautiful vineyard.
The next morning, we were up bright and early to get picked up for our full-day guided wine tour. Our guide, Elle, was hilarious. So friendly, informative, and cracking jokes all day long. We also had a really fun group of people: two Irish couples in their 40s, a young German couple, a young Swiss couple, and these two characters:
They were a pair of brothers from Sweden and they provided a lot of entertainment for the rest of the group. Everybody was so friendly and even funny! We visited 4 different vineyards. At the first one, we did a wine and chocolate tasting. Wine and chocolate at 10 AM? Sign me up! At the second vineyard, we even got to go to the cellar where they store the wine. Elle said that most vineyards in the Winelands just do tastings, and not tours, so it was cool to get to explore the premises a bit. Our third vineyard was a lot of fun – the guy leading the tasting was pretty funny and by this time, everyone in the group was feeling good. We also tried their Cap Classique, which is their term for sparkling wine from this region. We also ate lunch at this vineyard’s restaurant. I had a fish dish that was out of this world and Matt had beef… again. We also had more wine, oops, and lively conversations. To finish the day, we visited one last vineyard. We were a bit hesitant about spending so much money on a wine tour, but we were really glad we did. We really lucked out with such a fun tour guide and group!
For dinner, we ate at Helena’s, one of the most popular restaurants in downtown Stellenbosch. The food, service, and atmosphere did not disappoint. Matt is still talking about the quail he had.
We can’t say enough good things about the Winelands. We had such a wonderful two days. It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip! Next up: finishing up the trip in Cape Town.
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