Wine Tasting in Rawsonville

We took our daughter, Samantha, wine tasting over her "Spring" break. It's actually Autumn on our side and in South Africa 18 is drinking age. We live in wine country and Rawsonville is a town near us with vineyards and wine estates. 

We first popped in at uniWines for wine tasting only to find out that as a co-op they recently incorporated Goudini Wines and all the wine tasting is now at the new location. The ambiance at the original location was nicer, but they were off the beaten track and probably weren't getting enough visitors. I've included related posts in the link below if you would like to know more about their wines and see pics of the original venue.

Afterwards, we went for a light lunch at the Ou Stokery restaurant. Robbie did some beer tasting there and Samantha and I shared a gin and tonic. The location was great, but our pizza was tough and dry. It was our first time there, but we don't think we'll go back.

Today's photos include our beautiful drive. Almost from the start, we enjoyed watching the horses from the side of the road. On our way home, I took photos of the rare candelabra flowers that I spotted the day before.

Samantha and Tina (me)

uniWines / Goudini Wines

Some of our purchases

The Ou Stokery restaurant

Samantha and Robbie

Beer tasting

Gin and tonic

Rare candelabra flowers

Candelabra bulbs

The plant can grow up to 500mm high (almost 20 inches)

It has a single flower head about 300mm wide (nearly 12 inches)

Related Posts:

uniWines

uniWines in Rawsonville

Goudini Wines

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Tina Morley

All original photographs
by Tina Morley
unless stated otherwise.

Summer Drinks in South Africa

I live in the heart of South Africa's wine region in the Western Cape. Many of the wine estates are nestled in beautiful valleys surrounded by majestic mountains and producing award winning wines. It's a wonderful part of the world to experience.

During our Christmas holiday at my in-laws' house on the West Coast, we had a lovely selection of wine, beer, and other beverages. These photos were taken over several days and often enjoyed with good food. I'm perfectly happy with drinking one glass of wine with my meal. It's all about enjoying the taste - quality over quantity.

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The Pepper Pot - red wine from Edgebaston

For Christmas lunch we had a bottle of The Pepper Pot from Edgebaston. It's one of my mother-in-law's favorite red wines at the moment. Another favorite red wine by my in-laws is the Boet Erasmus from Vrede en Lust. We had this with our Christmas Eve dinner. Another evening we had White Mischief from Vrede en Lust with freshly cooked mussels that were brought in by the fishermen that morning. It's our favorite white wine. I did a blog post in 2014 that you're welcome to check out at Vrede en Lust Wine Farm and Bistro.

Boet Erasmus - red wine from Vrede en Lust

White Mischief - white wine from Vrede en Lust

Allesverloren - Tinta Barocca Rosé 2013

The wine estate, Allesverloren, translated means "all is lost". It's a sad name, but a truly lovely estate. The last time we visited was December 2013 and you can check out that post at Allesverloren, Swartland Winery.

Porcupine Ridge - Sauvignon Blanc 2013

A can of Coca-Cola

Gin and Tonic

Duet - red wine from Nederburg

The red wine in the photo above and the white wine in the photo below are both from Nederburg, which was awarded the Platter's SA Winery of the Year 2017. I wrote about these wines and the winery on last week's post. If you missed it, be sure to check out Nederburg Wines.

56 Hundred Chenin Blanc from Nederburg

African Java Pinotage from Van Loveren

We took my in-laws out for lunch and Van Loveren wines were on the menu. The wine estate is not far from us in a small town called Robertson and we have visited it several times. We ordered the African Java Pinotage and were very happy with our choice. Pinotage is a South African cultivar. I did a post on Van Loveren back in 2013. It's a bit cheesy the way I presented my photos back then and I wrote very little information, but you're welcome to take a look on The Robertson Wine Region.

The Blauuwklippen 1989 Special Late Vintage below belongs to my father-in-law. He celebrated the Christmas holidays with us by finally opening it.

Blaauwklippen 1989 Special Late Vintage

Craven Craft Lager from Stellenbrau

Flying Fish from South African Breweries and
Tafel Lager from Hansa Brewery in Swakopmund, Namibia

We drank the beers in the above photo at the river's edge in Velddrif. It was a hot day and a cold beer was just the right thing. We always enjoy visiting this little town whenever we're at my in-laws'. I did a blog post on our last visit with lots of neat photos and quotes last year that I highly recommend. Check it out at Velddrif, South Africa.

Savanna Premium Cider

My mother-in-law organized a lovely picnic for us at a nature reserve. Our picnic table sat on a hill overlooking the beach. We could see dolphins swimming in the waves. Most of us chose cold beers or ciders, but my mother-in-law wanted a bottle of Graham Beck sparkling white wine, the same wine that President Obama had at his inauguration. She packed the picnic and we bought the savory pies on the way. Mine is pictured above and it was filled with Bobotie (a traditional South African dish of spiced minced meat baked with an egg topping) and it was delicious! Hubby took the photo below of his mom.

Brut - sparkling white wine from Graham Beck

Sedgwick's 1986 Old Brown Sherry

The photo above of the Sedgwick's Old Brown Sherry in the vintage jug and the one below of the KWV 1930 Muscadel in it's original wooden box were taken for the fun of it. They belong to my in-laws and we did not drink either of them. The Muscadel has never been opened.

KWV 1930 Muscadel

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Related Posts:

Vrede en Lust Wine Farm and Bistro

Allesverloren, Swartland Winery

Nederburg Wines 

The Robertson Wine Region

Velddrif, South Africa

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I'm also on Instagram.

Ich bin auch auf Instagram.

Tina Morley

All original photographs by Tina Morley
unless stated otherwise. 1camera1mom is
mostly in English mit ein bisschen Deutsch.

Christmas in Cape Town

Merry Christmas and

Happy New Year!

Frohe Weihnachten und

ein gutes neues Jahr!

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Click on the images to enlarge them.

A gingerbread house at the Taj

I'm interrupting my latest series on the beautiful Tulbagh Wine Valley to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Last week, Robbie and I went to Cape Town for two days. We had a blast! We stayed in the five-star Taj Hotel complements of a fabulous friend's gift to us last Christmas.

Robbie took this photo at the Taj:
Me beside the Christmas tree

Outside the Taj Hotel

We went for a walk near the hotel. Here's a project to help feed the homeless. By planting a garden with vegetables and fruits, you can feed those less fortunate. These garden crates outside this community church are doing just that.

Garden crates with sign:
start a garden anywhere...
on your roof
in your community
in a milk crate

Robbie standing beside the garden crates

We decided to drive to Camps Bay for dinner. I was craving Indian cuisine, since we were staying at the Taj. Camps Bay was full of people and vehicles. It was a national holiday, The Day of Reconciliation.

We weren't sure where to find parking when we spotted an undercover parking lot. The spot we got was just a few steps away from an Indian restaurant called The Raj, with a view of the beach and ocean. Our waiter told us that cocktails are half price before 6 o'clock. We were fortunate that we headed out early for dinner. South Africa has Christmas in summer, so a cool cocktail was the perfect thing!

View of Camps Bay

One of the waitresses took this photo
of us with our refreshing cocktails.

Street vendor selling handmade wire Christmas trees
and a wire motorcycle

Camps Bay beach and ocean

Lion's Head at sunset

After a lovely stay at the Taj hotel, we drove to the Waterfront for breakfast. Quay Four was offering a breakfast special. We had a great view from there of the beautiful Waterfront.

The Waterfront with Table Mountain

Robbie took this photo of
me at Quay Four

View from Quay Four

View from Quay Four

The Hamley's Train

This cute train belongs to Hamley's, the famous British toy store. Kids and adults can ride the train as it winds through the Waterfront. We decided to pop in at the Hamley's Toy Store, an experience worth the visit. It felt like I was transported into a movie where the toy store comes to life!

The flying bear - The toy
shop has moving displays

Little teddy bears with
"I ♥ South Africa" T-shirts

After the Waterfront we went back to the Taj where we had a 2 o'clock booking at the Twankey Bar for beer tasting with charcuterie and cheese board for two. We used a voucher that was also complements of our friend. Everything was delicious and perfect for a hot day in Cape Town!

Our friend who gave us the Taj vouchers visited us at the Banana Jam Cafe earlier this year. At that time, I did a post about Craft Beer Tasting at the Banana Jam Cafe, where they have the best selection of craft beer in South Africa. On that post I also have a photo of our fabulous friend.

I also did a post on my 40th birthday at the Taj in March with photos of our room and the delicious food. We took advantage of some of the Taj vouchers on that occasion too.

I'm also on Instagram.

Ich bin auch auf Instagram.

Tina Morley

All original photographs by Tina Morley
unless stated otherwise. 1camera1mom is
mostly in English mit ein bisschen Deutsch.

Related Posts:
Tulbagh Christmas in Winter 2015