Wine Travel Stories

In-depth Tales of Winery Visits Around the World

Last 24 Hours in Capetown, South Africa – Diamond and Red Bus City Tour

Sept. 29 – 30, 2012 - After our tour of Meerlust, we returned to Capetown where almost everyone in our group caught night flights home. As a flight was not available for me, I checked back into the Cullinan Hotel and then walked downtown to go on the 30-minute free diamond tour at Jewel Africa. This was informative, and they explain to you how diamonds are mined, cut, where the term “carat” comes from, and provide an overview of the world’s most famous diamonds. On the walk back, I bought more souvenirs at a small street market (much better prices [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:58:43-08:00November 9, 2012|

Wine Tasting & Vineyard Tour at Meerlust Wine Estate in Stellenbosch, South Africa

Sept. 29, 2012 - After breakfast, we spent an hour shopping in downtown Stellenbosch. This is a charming town with historic buildings, tree-lined streets, and fun shops. It is a great place for tourists, and is also home to the famous Stellenbosch University. Next we drove to Meerlust Wine Estates near the town of Stellenbosch. Here over fifty palm trees line the driveway as you entered the gates and approach the historic Cape Dutch Architecture of the winery (see photo). Even the rain that spattered our windshield could not dampen our spirits as we passed the vineyards and a large [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:59:03-08:00November 6, 2012|

Devon Valley Hotel in Stellenbosch, South Africa & Jamming with Amazink Live in Township

Sept. 2012 - We left the Swartland wine region around 5:30 and drove back to Stellenbosch where we checked into the lovely Devon Valley Hotel. This is a long, elegant country inn perched on a hillside overlooking the vineyards. I was given a magnificent room decorated in purple and gold with a king size bed, fireplace, huge bathtub, and an expansive vineyard view. The downside was I only was able to enjoy the room for about 90 minutes while fully awake. It was still raining softly when we arrived, and as we were running late, I only had 30 minutes [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:59:24-08:00November 5, 2012|

Visiting Swartland, South Africa – Renegade Winemaker’s Paradise

Friday, Sept. 28 – The next morning the skies above Capetown were overcast and the day was cool. After the breakfast buffet, we boarded the van and drove almost one hour northwest to Swartland, which is known as a warmer viticulture climate and home to some very historic vineyards and “big reds”. Swartland also has a reputation for spawning “renegade winemakers” with a bent towards natural, organic wines and innovative blends and styles. Sadie Family Wines – Tour of Historic South African Vineyards Our first stop was the Sadie Family Vineyards where winemaker Eben greeted us and provided a tour [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T16:31:48-08:00November 4, 2012|

Constantia Wine Tasting & Lunch at Steenberg Estate, South Africa

Sept. 27, 2012 - After walking through the beautiful vineyards at Cape Point, we discovered that the fuel pump of our transport van had gone out. Therefore we were delayed for almost an hour before back-up transport arrived so we could continue our trip to Steenberg Winery in Constantia. Fortunately Constantia, which is really a suberb of Capetown, was only a 20 minute drive from Cape Point Winery. As we drove the clouds descended and it started to rain. The tasting included six producers from Constantia, which is the oldest wine growing region in South Africa and boasts the legendary [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T16:30:37-08:00November 1, 2012|

Cape Point Winery & Chapman’s Peak, South Africa

Thursday, Sept. 27 – I awoke to sunshine, which was nice because we were driving to Cape Point that morning. The winding mountain road from downtown Capetown to the ocean road passing along the large rock buttresses of the 12 Apostles was breathtaking. As we passed Clifton beaches number 4 and 5, our leader explained that these are the most famous as more celebreties can be found at these two white sand areas than the other three. Chapman’s Peak – Famous View of Capetown After driving about 30 minutes along the winding ocean view road, the van stopped at Chapman’s [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T16:30:05-08:00October 29, 2012|

One-Day Safari to Inverdoorn in the Great Karoo Desert of South Africa and Dance Party at the Bungalow

Sept. 2012 - I set my alarm for 6am so I had time to dress quickly, wolf down a fast breakfast at the buffet that opened at 6:30am (I was the first one there), and board a van at 6:40 to drive the 2.5 hours to Inverdoorn Game Park in the Great Karoo Desert of South Africa. The day dawned grey and cloudy, and as we drove it started to rain, but 74- year old Stanley, the van driver, told us not to worry, because as soon as we left Capetown and crossed the mountains into the desert, the sun [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T16:29:05-08:00October 21, 2012|

Capewine Conference and Reception at Clifton Villa, South Africa

Sept. 25 & 26 – Tuesday morning was nice because I finally had a little time to sleep in before walking across the street from the Cullinan Hotel to the Capetown Conference Center. Capewine, held once every two years, was scheduled here for the next three days. Our schedules were flexible, and many MW’s had pre-arranged meetings with trade people to taste and negotiate wine purchases. Those of us in wine education and journalism, however, were free to wander through the exhibit hall and attend the many wine seminars. Overview of South African Wine Stats I attended the welcome seminar [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T16:28:42-08:00October 14, 2012|

Chardonnay Lunch at Jordan Winery in Stellenbosch, South Africa and Green Tie Wine Bash

Sept. 24, 2014 – We left Bot River amidst partially sunny skies and drove approximately one hour to Jordan Winery in Stellenbosch. The scenery along the way was stunning as we passed through the mountains again, saw the ocean in the distance, and then arrived in Stellenbosch with its green vineyards and tall, granite mountains. Stellenbosch is one of the oldest and most famous wine regions in South Africa, and I would compare it to Napa Valley in terms of the fancy wine estates, beautiful landscape, and famous wine names. Jordan Winery’s Pond with Abundant Bird Life We arrived at [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T16:27:45-08:00October 13, 2012|

Dinner at Beaumont Winery (Best Pinotage) and South Africa Blue Cranes at Wildekrans Estate

Sept. 23 – 24, 2012 - We returned from our trip to the ocean to check into the large plantation estate and winery of Wildekrans. This is a very impressive property where the owners are trying to bring back the original fynbos vegetation and also have a wild bird refuge. It was here that I got my first glimpse of the tall and elegant South African blue cranes (see photo below), as well as many other colorful species of smaller birds in bright yellow and red. Dinner at Beaumont Winery in Bot River After twenty minutes to freshen up, we [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T16:26:59-08:00October 11, 2012|

Visiting the Cape South Coast Wine Region and Gabrielskloof Winery, South Africa

Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012 – My alarm did not go off, so I barely managed to throw on some clothes, pack my suitcase, and wolf down some eggs before we boarded the bus at 9am to drive to Elgin. This is about an hour outside of Capetown to the southeast and is part of the Cape South Coast Wine area. In addition to Elgin, it encompasses Bot River and all of the sub-pockets of Walker Bay, and is considered to be the coolest wine growing region in South Africa. It’s wine are known for the freshness and high acids. Baboons [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T16:25:51-08:00October 9, 2012|

South African Wine Dinner at the Cullinan Hotel

(Sept. 22) – The evening I arrived in Capetown we were invited to a wine tasting hosted by the Cape Wine Masters. Conveniently it was held in the Cullinan Hotel, so our group of around twenty MW’s just had to take the elevator to the mezzanine level where the tasting of 62 wines from across South Africa was set up. The regions included: Paarl, Elim, Klein Karoo, Robertson, Hemel & Aarde, Durbanville, and Swartland. My favorite wines of the evening included: - South African sparkling wines, especially the Monroe 2007 Cap Classique and Simonsig 2007 Blanc de Blanc - All [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T16:25:30-08:00October 5, 2012|

Arriving in Capetown, South Africa – One of the Most Beautiful Cities on Earth

(Sept 20 -22, 2012) – I’ve had many people over the years tell me how beautiful Capetown, South Africa is, but it wasn’t until the airplane was approaching the city that I could see the dramatic landscape. Steep mountains that reminded me of Yosemite surrounded the town and swept down to the ocean that was sparkling blue and caressed by white sandy beaches that could have come from Hawaii. As it was September, their springtime, everything was green, and you could see grass and trees on lower hillsides where no buildings are allowed to mar the beauty of the scenery. [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T16:25:01-08:00October 3, 2012|

Chateau Changyu Moser XV and the Sand Lake of Ningxia, China

Sept. 1, 2012 – On the way to Chateau Changyu Moser XV we passed the famous Western Xia Tombs which look like small stone pyramids and built around 1000 AD. They are part of the unique tourism sites to visit around Yinchuan, including pagodas, beautiful mosques, and the last section of the Great Wall which ends in Ningxia. Chateau Changyu Moser XV will soon become another of the main tourist sites to visit in the region when it opens in October of 2012. It is a beautiful French chateau built on grand standards (see photos) where tourists will be able [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T16:22:57-08:00September 12, 2012|

Visit to Chateau Helan Qingxue and Daylong Organic Vineyards, China

Sept. 1, 2012 – After a buffet breakfast at the hotel we boarded the van for a day of visits to vineyards and wineries located near the foothills of Helan Mountains, about a thirty minute drive from Yinchuan. Unfortunately we woke up to drizzly rain that day, instead of the humid heat of the previous days. Therefore we spent much of the tour huddled under umbrellas and trying to avoid the mud in vineyards. The first stop was the Decanter award winning Chateau Helan Qingxue where winemaker Zhang Jing greeted us very warmly. She is a small, bubbly Chinese lady [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T16:24:43-08:00September 12, 2012|

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