Chris's Top 10 Wineries.
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A beautiful location hidden away from the restaurant strip-mall of Franschhoek. The GlenWood Vigneron’s Selection Chardonnay is their flagship wine, and it is enjoyable, but over-priced in comparison with other Chardonnays of similar quality. I also enjoyed the 2008 Syrah. The final wine for my tasting was a red blend that literally smelled like mouldy socks, and tasted worse – a bad way to end the tasting.
Some friends and I did a tasting in the Beryl Back room. We were initially served by a very knowledgeable and friendly woman, but were palmed-off to a man who left us unattended for long periods. Great cheese, but some very average wines that need to be paired with the cheese to make them drinkable. I was excited to try their Verdehlo because I grew-up close to an area renowned for the variety and it’s not common in ZA; it was terrible, unfortunately.
The flagship Chardonnay is impressive – it’s easy to taste why previous vintages have won so many awards – but be prepared to buy a bottle if you want to taste it. Their regular range of whites are all very enjoyable. I was also very surprised at the quality of the rosé, which was told was produced as an experiment using left-over grapes. The staff are friendly, informative and attentive without being in your face.
Very friendly and knowledgeable service. The view is beautiful. I’d definitely recommend ordering the cheese platter – it’s a stand-out! I wasn’t so impressed with their whites, but the Hidden Gems, Hidden Secrets and Lands End Syrah were all exquisite.
Nice place to sit and enjoy the view. The flagship red was exceptional but so was the price! All of the wines were over-priced for the quality.
Beautiful setting and impressive architecture. Staff weren’t very informative. All of the six wines that I tried were disappointing – especially the Circumstance Chardonnay, which had a strong smokiness on the palate!
Very friendly staff but neither wine or chocolate particularly enjoyable.
Amazing wines that were aged at least 8 years before release! So good to drink! The tasting room in an old horse stable has so much character!
I’ve been a couple of times and have always experienced very good service. Their Syrah is delicious. Last time I was there they were refurbishing the tasting room, which is a good move because it was a bit dark and dingy.
Amazing view! Opulent venue. I’ve been a couple of times and the service seems to have improved since the first visit. I was pleasantly surprised by the Rosé, which is a style of wine that I don’t normally like. The Chardonnay was my favourite. The Botmaskop red blend was quite good, but the Shiraz was far too smokey.
Whenever I have friends visit from overseas I bring take them to Waterford. Well-informed staff, all of the wines in the chocolate and wine pairing are delicious, beautiful location and venue.
The Mexican food at Cosecha Restaurant was the best and most authentic I’ve had in South Africa. The service was a bit patchy but the staff were friendly.
The 2010 Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc were very drinkable, as was the 1674 Estate Blend.
I liked that the manager was so attached to the Estate; he was able to point out the vines where the grapes had come from on the farm, talk about the soil, and explain how it affected the wine. It was clear that he loves the place, what he does, and takes pride in ensuring that is guests enjoy their visit and the wine.