Wine and Sleuthing

Last week, Steenberg staff were touring various wine regions. Jordan and I (abusable interns) were to be among them, to familiarize ourselves with the nearby regions.

Also, to critique!

On Thursday, I went with Chloe and Leyden to Stellenbosch, where we did 7 winerys over the course of 6 hours. It was a stealthy endeavour.  We were to go in plain clothes, under the guise of humble wine-tasters, certainly not wily employees of a fellow winery, there to rate them on everything from security to outdoor appearance to knowledge of staff.

I got the feeling that most of the wineries pegged us as tourists (or at least partial tourists, because my accent is obviously foreign, and most likely American, to anyone hearing it) and it showed. Most only gave us a quick blurb about the wine, did not offer a wine list or water glasses, and only started paying attention once Chloe asked questions about technical details that showed she knew her shit. Just as a shout out to the fact that direct marketing actually does work, the only TWO wineries (out of seven) who managed to talk about sales or offer a price list were the two places we actually bought wine. Chloe bought a bottle from Guardians Peak, and she and  I  split a box of Semillon, each bottle only R30 (About 3.75 Canadian) due to the strategically placed sales talk.

After each winery, we lurked in the parking lot, ticking off ratings from 1-5 on various scales. I make it sound much more demanding and aggressive than it was- almost all the wineries were rated more positively than not, and a few even had aspects we felt were better achieved at Steenberg. I myself am an enormous advocate of having little snack bowls (nuts and olives) at tasting tables.

Ernie Els (overpriced and showy, to my mind) was my least favourite, whereas Guardians Peak, Peter Falke (Yes, of the sports gear range) and Waterford were my stand out favourites. Guardians Peak was beautiful, simple, and had lovely wines at an excellent price. Peter Falke had the most professional staff and beautiful grounds that I'd seen, and they also gave you snacks while tasting. Waterford was our last stop, after lunch at Dornier on the route.

Waterford was an excellent last stop, because they also gave you chocolate! Each wine you tried (3) was paired with a good sized chunk of chocolate created to pair with the wine, and it was a lovely way to end the day. As I was not driving, I had been happily swallowing since 9am in the morning, and was quite fairly drunk by the end of the day. I actually had a nap in the car on the hour or so drive back to town, and thoroughly (but kindly) mocked by both Chloe and Leyden. It was after this that I learned Jordan had done the EXACT same thing while he and Graham were stuck in traffic for an hour and a half.

Upon my arrival back home, I weaved about the kitchen making pasta, and then slept for two hours.

Day seized!