2009-10-01 – Penguins (and an Owl) do Roam in Tasting Rooms

We got up early (although not as early as planned) to do some scenic photography in the early morning light.

After a lovely breakfast (at Träumerei's in Franschhoek) of poached eggs, tomato relish, rye bread, and bacon, washed down with coffee and orange juice, we just started driving around. We were hoping to find and visit Drakenstein, the prison where Nelson Mandela was released from, but just couldn't find it. There were no signs for it either, so we guess that it's not open for visitors.

So we decided to do the next best thing (hah), and go to Fairview instead. We had been on a tasting there in 2006, and at that time they were building a new tasting room. The final result was quite an impressive way to greet visitors – very spacious tasting areas with rustic décor. Fairview does two different types of tastings, a standard one and the “master tasting” - a tasting of the more exclusive wines paired with Fairview's own cheeses. As an added bonus, they use a separate, more fancy tasting room, where no kids were allowed :-)

Anyway, we were the only ones there at the time, so we got a lot of attention from Billie, who was in charge of the wine and cheese tasting. Ms. Penguin mentioned she was allergic to blue cheese and needed substitutes for the blue cheese items on the tasting menu; that wasn't a problem. While tasting a Sauvignon blanc 2009 to get our palates ready for the more heavy duty wine tasting, we discussed what kind of wines we liked. “The big guns.” We were told that we were not going to be disappointed today. She was right...

Our first wine and cheese pairing was the Fairview Weisser Riesling 2008, paired with a brie. The wine was nice and dry, refreshing, and tasty.

The second wine was the Fairview Sauvignon blanc/Semillion, also 2008, paired with a cheese called Vat #3, which was a camembert made with extra cream. Fairview only started making this wine in 2008.

Next, the Fairview Viognier 2008, paired with a Camembert. This wine was our favorite among the whites. Fairview was the first winery in South Africa to produce Viognier. Viognier is the only white with tannins, and can give the wine some “oiliness.” This wine would be great with spicy Asian food.

Then it was on to the reds. First, the Spice Route Mourvedre 2006, paired with the Bleu & Blanc – Camembert with a blue veined center. Ms. Penguin got the La Beryl as a replacement for the evil blue cheese. The whole Spice Route series is made from unirrigated vines, and the comment was “the more they suffer, the better they do.” This wine had a smoked meat nose and a very lovely flavor. It would be very nice, ever so slightly chilled, with a braai. It was very “light” - at least in flavor – to contain 14.5% alcohol!

Our next red was the Fairview Caldera 2007, made in a Chateauneuf du Pape style. It was served with a Chevin Traditional (70% goat's milk 30% cow's milk).

Spice Route Pinotage 2007 came next; it was the first Pinotage of all the Pinotages we have tasted on this trip that was actually decent – nice and meaty and smoky and chewy. It was paired with the Boland Blue; Ms. Penguin got a black pepper cream cheese.

Next, we tried a Shiraz – the Cyril Back 2006 (paired with Blue Tower, a sort of gorgonzola) – and the Spice Route Flagship Syrah 2006 (paired with Blue Rock, a sort of Roquefort) side-by-side. They are the same grape, but Shiraz and Syrah are two different styles. That is, Shiraz and Syrah are made in different ways, with the Syrah being a softer, French style and the Shiraz being a “sharper” New World style. Both were really good.

We also got to try some stuff that was not on the regular tasting menu. This included a Pinotage Viognier 2008 (with only about 4% Viognier) that was very smooth and would work nicely with roast duck, probably game, and roast turkey or goose.

We tried the Flagship Shiraz 2005 as well; it was very easy to drink.

The best one of all was the Spice Route Malabar, Fairview's flagship. It is a blend of 70% Syrah, 25% Petit Syrah, 5% Grenache. We bought a bottle of this one to take home :-)

After we were done with our tasting, we took a look at the goats and walked around the area a little bit, before heading off to Stellenbosch. The goats were not as willing to be photographed as they were last time we were at Fairview. Last time, they were more than happy to pose for us. This year, they were aloof and only wanted to eat. Hmmf.