Wine Travel Stories

In-depth Tales of Winery Visits Around the World

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|

Ningxia Wine Auction and Banquet, China

August 31, 2012 – That evening we dressed for the formal banquet dinner and wine auction that was held at another hotel. Over 300 people attended, and once again we were seated at the main table, but this time it was long and rectagnal with 12 different courses served, including this lovely dish of prawns. We were were served the Best of Class White and Red wines, so I was very happy to drink the Xixia King Chardonnay NV and the Jiabeilan Grand Reserve 2009. The media were in attendance with more cameras flashing and video cameras rolling. The winning [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T16:22:38-08:00September 12, 2012|

Visiting Silver Heights Winery in Ningxia China with Winemaker Emma Gao

August 31, 2012 - After lunch we boarded the van to drive about ten minutes down narrow dirt roads past poverty stricken shacks to arrive at Silver Heights Winery. Once through the modest gates, we saw a large garden and were greeted by owner, Emma Gao, who had a huge welcoming smile on her face and was followed by her 5-year old daughter’s puppy – a very young and adorable winery dog (see photo). Silver Heights is a true urban winery in the sense that it is located in the city of Yinchuan, even though it’s vineyards are on the [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T16:21:53-08:00September 10, 2012|

Historic Tasting of 39 Ningxia Wines , China

August 31, 2012 – The next morning I awoke very excited because this was the day we were scheduled to do a blind tasting of Ningxia wines. Jancis Robinson, MW had flown in from the UK the evening before and I sat with her at dinner. I have met Jancis on three other occasions and had lunch with her in Napa, and have always found her very friendly and down-to earth. As she was exhausted from her trip, she declined going to the violin concert the evening before, but met us at 8am to walk over to the wine-tasting room [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T16:22:20-08:00September 10, 2012|

Opening Ceremony of the Ningxia China Wine Festival – Dancing Girls, Conference and Violin Concert

August 30, 2012 - The next morning, after a quick breakfast at the hotel buffet, we took a bus to the opening ceremony of the 1st Helanshan Mountains' East Piedmont Wine Festival. Again our delegation of around eight people was treated like VIPs. We descended from the van to walk on a red carpet and have a flower pinned to our clothes. Multiple photographs snapped many pictures of us as we continued to walk on the red carpet into the large convention center where two lines of more than 100 young women dressed in purple and pink sparkling dresses with [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T16:21:31-08:00September 10, 2012|

Grand Welcome Banquet in Yinchuan, Ningxia, China

August 29, 2012 - After time to relax in our rooms a bit, we were asked to meet in the hotel lobby at 5:15 in order to walk over to a formal reception with the governor of the Ningxia region. Most of us dressed in formal clothing and arrived at the reception room to find we each had a large white lounge chair to sit in with our name printed on a red sign in both English and Chinese. Translators assisted with the very impressive ceremony of announcing each official – around ten of them, as well as our group [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T16:21:05-08:00September 10, 2012|

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