Avontuur Estate

Cabernet Franc good!

Nice farm with friendly enough assistant. Wines did not stand out although I enjoyed the Shiraz a lot

Ugh, maar hulle is darem suur by Avontuur. We weren’t treated friendly when entering the tasting room about 40 minutes before closing time. The young man behind the counter never cracked a smile and really didn’t even try to sell any wine to us. Admitted, we were not the loaded tourist type.. just ordinary South Africans. Sies, vir julle, Avontuur! Wine wasn’t bad, but the service leaves a bitter after taste. (

Been here several times and had a meal what a variety, what good wines.

Tasted good wine, although nothing exceptional. I have a feeling that all wine tasting fees do not end up in the till – ask for a slip.

Tried their new cocktails on the Saturday the 21st of November, simply awesome; had the Avontuur Mojito with mint, lime, rose petal infusion and a dollop of the lightly wooded Chardonnay and Pinot Noir blend. The Bellini-tini with Avontuur Sauvignon Blanc and white peach puree. And the Vanilla and Berry Martini with Klein Avontuur unwooded red. Very original, and incredibly more-ish!

I got invited to the launch of their 5th premiere label wine, Dominion Royale Shiraz Reserve 2008. Apart from being absolutely delicious, it carries a great history. This wine commemorates the life of Avontuur’s stallion, Dominion Royale, who was part of the Avontuur family for over 15 years. He did them proud and produced offspring that earned the farm millions at race courses around the world. The wine resembles his “Main Man” status perfectly and I’m will definitely be stocking up on some.

They also launched their second vintage of the farm’s premiere Sauvignon Blanc, Sarabande 2009 and we got an exclusive sneak preview of the Noble Late Harvest, Above Royalty. No spitting allowed on this one!

The Pinot Noir 2008 also falls into the no spitting category, considering the fact that there’s only 66 bottles left and even if you beg you won’t find one to buy. It’s all sold out.

We finished of a great afternoon with canapés and wine cocktails. You do not know what your missing if you haven’t tried their wine cocktails. What makes it even cooler is the fact that they are probably more healthier than you brandy & vodka cocktails. But BE AWARE, they do make you quite tipsy and they are so yummy, you will have more than one!

We popped in at Avontuur the other day for their great big sale and grabbed some bargains for only R90 a case.

We decided to tasted their whole range of wines afterwards and we were assisted by a tiered, but friendly and professional, Pieter Myburgh. We kicked off with the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc and moved onto the reds. I enjoyed the Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 @R82 a bottle the most.

After a while 2 super friendly and chatty ladies join us and introduced themselves as Annie du Preez and Leilah Stoffberg. Although one could see that they were also exhausted from the sale and the fact that it was almost closing time, they really made an effort to be friendly and made our tasting very memorable. Great and genuine service!

Avontuur will also be part of the Helderberg Festival this year and guess what they have up their sleeves. Have you ever had a wine cocktail? Well Avontuur is going to mix up various cocktails incorporated with wine and we all know the track record of cocktails! They will also launch their dessert wine during the weekend of the festival. Definitely something to look forward to.

We finished off our tasting with the 5 year old and the 10 year old brandy. I enjoyed both a lot and at R350 for the 10 years , it’s a real steal because it’s really yummy!

Avontuur Estate – A lovely estate in the hart of the Helderberg wine region. They charge R20 per tasting of five wines, and you have the option of tasting one of their two brandy’s, a 5 and a ten year! Two friendly ladies were at the counter, and they were more than willing to answer any of my questions.

The wine was pretty average, however. The whites lacked in structure and depth, some having a very short and flat finish. The red’s revived the estate somewhat with their fun, funky, and easy drinking Pinotage and the Baccarat (Bordeaux Blend) that had a bit more of a traditional feel to it!

Vintners blen the white one is fantastic unusual colour tho.Not too familier with brandy without coke haha

Avontuur is a lovely Wine Estate with modern finishes. All their wines are named after horses on the farm. Our host Louise van der Bijl was very friendly and informative and one can see that she knows her wine very well. The farm also produces some quality brandy that is for tasting and although I am not a fan of brandy, this one stole my heart. It’s a 10 year old Brandy from 1994 at R340 per bottle. We also found the best White Wine to date. Avontuur is an amazing Wine Estate and we had a fantastic time. Definitely worth a second visit.

Me and my wife had a quick stopover at Avontuur after shopping for a gas heater. I enjoy the tasting experience more if the staf interacts with you. The guys at Avontuur was friendly and helpful, but did not tell us much about the farm or the wines. Sometimes I like to drag this information out of the staff, other times I don’t (like after shopping, it drains me).

We only tasted the five available red wines. The aromas of most of the wines was not too impressive, but they all tasted much better than they smelled. Shiraz is my favourite cultivar, but their Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 (R 82) and flagship Baccarat 2005 Bourdeau (> R 150) were better than their 2005 Shiraz (R 82). On the lower end of the price range, the Vintners Red 2005 (R 45) is not too bad either.

Overall a good experience. I would like to try their restaurant at some time.

Love the white wine and the brandy!