A Liquid Harvest

The liquid harvest

With summer approaching and glorious days of alfresco dining ahead of us, I had to take stock of the wine in the cellar. Realising that winter and infrequent visits to wine estates during this period has left the wine stock very depleted.

Bonnievale Cellar red wine

Bonnievale Cellar and Van Zylshof Estate white wines

A visit to some local wine estates and cellars was needed. I had to time the visits according to the time it takes to bake a loaf of bread and decided to visit the three estates and cellars within 5 minutes drive from the house. Bonnievale cellar had some nice easy drinking Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc Brut, Merlot and Barrel Select Shiraz. At Van Zyls Hof we picked up some Chenin Blanc and headed to Weltevrede to buy some MCC.

Weltevrede MCC

Weltevrede’s Philip Jonker Brut “Enthios” and “The Ring” are standard stock items in our cellar. These MCC’s are a must have and deserve all the accolades and awards that they regularly enjoy.

This was a straight forward order and it was good to see Elzette who always makes sure that one gets the best experience at Weltevrede. She insisted that we try some of the Weltevrede 1912 commemorative range of wines and we were glad that she did. The Pinotage and Malbec impressed us and we just had to buy at least 12 bottles of each of these limited barrel wines. The Weltevrede 1912 range celebrates the people and a fourth generation legacy. The label bears the name of every person living at and working in the vineyards and winery of Weltevrede and not just the signature of the winemaker.

Weltevrede 1812 range Malbec and Pinotage

It is a privilege to buy wine from vineyards that are growing on what were formerly portions of the historical farm “Aan de Breede Rivier”.  It somehow puts the house in its historical context. The nearest vineyards are on the estate next to the property and the tasting rooms are but a walking distance from the house.

With our purchases done we headed home in time for me to rescue the bread while Keith stocked the cellar for summer.