Farmstead Cheeses and Wines: Jeff’s Blog

Day Three – Rouissillon

I arrived in Perpignan rested and ready for the start of my wine voyage. I hailed a cab and arrived at a warren of faceless hotels near the airport. Not the Perpignan I’d been expecting, but I wasn’t here to be a tourist, I was here to learn about the wines of the region.

Roussillon is a hard scrabble area bounded on three sides by mountains (Mt. Canigou, the Pyrénées and the Corbières mountains) and the Mediterranean on the fourth. It was the last area in continental France to be admitted to France (in the 1700s), when the treaty of the Pyrénées was signed between the Kingdoms of Aragon and France.

The folks are fiercely independent and rightly proud of their heritage Catalan is the language spoken here, and the food and culture look more to northeastern Spain than to France. Bullfights, Paella and Chorizo sausage rather than Sauce Bearnaise, Oeufs Mayonaisse and Grand Prix racing.

Rousillon is also blessed – for wines anyways – by great weather (325 days per year of sun), strong winds (350 days per year) and poor soils.

Our group slowly assembled at the hotel, restaurateurs, sommeliers, distributor reps, retailers, a woman that runs a culinary arts program and Robert Kacher Selections employees; for I was here to learn about the wines from Robert Kacher Selections, a Washington DC-based importer of fine wines and spirits.

Kacher wines had formed a good 10% of Farmstead’s wines when we opened in 2003, and I had only
started to look at their wines again with all seriousness last year, when their CA distribution rights were picked up by the Henry Wine Group.

I got acquainted with a few of my colleagues, grabbed a copy of the Tasting Book for the trip, had a glass of rose and went off to bed. Tomorrow was going to be our first day tasting and walking vineyards, and I wanted to be ready and rested.

The next morning, we piled on the bus, and were greeted by Lionel Cazes, one of the owners of Domaine Cazes, a wonderful estate that produces quality biodynamically farmed wines. In fact, Lionel informed us, Cazes is the largest biodynamically farmed estate in the world – 220 hectares planted to thirteen varietals.

Like many producers in the area, Cazes started making dry table wines in the 70s – the area was known – and rightly so – for wonderful sweet wines made from Muscat, Grenache Blanc and Grenache Noir. Cazes started making a push towards quality dry wines in the nineties, and by 1997, had converted their 500 contiguously planted acres to biodynamic farming.

Their version of biodynamism has been tailored to large scale farming – they use mechanized harvesters – a necessity in an estate so large. They prepare their biodynamic teas and fertilizers in house – we were treated to a view of thier manure mixing regime, and their large tea pots used for steeping the organic herbal mixtures that are sprayed in the vineyards to both combat disease and nourish the soils.

The wines from Cazes are well made, well-balanced, well priced, and just plain yummy. Farmsteaders have tried their Canon de Cazes red, a blend of Syrah and Merlot; soon (hopefully, we’ll be seeing several more of their wines, including the Ego, Cuvée Marie Gabrielle, and Crédo (a joint project with Clos Mogador’s Rene Barbier).

The soils at Cazes were astounding. This part of the Rousillon is ancient riverbed, and the soil – if you could call it soil – is all river stones of varying sizes, going down nearly four feet (where it hits a layer of limestone – giving the wines a fresh minerality,as well as acting like a sponge, retaining moisture in the hot summer months.

We walked a bit of the vineyard, and then repaired to the quite beautifully restored winery complex – including a tasting room, world class Catalan cuisine restaurant, a wine shop and lovely patio. We tasted through their range of wines, and Lionel passed the microphone to Maurice Barnouin, owner of Domaine Gournier near Nimes.

The wines from Gournier are mostly single varietal based – they make a rosé, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, merlot, grenache, merlot, and a cab merlot blend. All solid wines that are value priced.
Be on the lookout for their rosé.

After a Catalan snack of chorizo, local cheeses, stuffed bell pimientos, anchovies, head cheese, local cheeses, jamon, and olives, we piled back onto the bus for the 20 minute drive north to Maury.

Maury is to the north, and is home to many up and coming wineries who make great Grenache, Syrah, and Carignan-based wines. We’ve had a few Maury wines in the shops (Thunevin Calvet. Mas Amiel, D66, St Roch Chimeres), and will continue to do so – this region is one of the world’s best for greanche and carignan- due to the iron-rich black slate soils that define the area.

Mas de Lavail is a small, family owned winery that makes amazing Carignan, Syrah and Grenache based wines, made from small old vine plots, nestled up against the base of the Corbières mountains.
The soils are all rough rock, small slate blocks that are rich in iron. The Corbières mountains are also dotted with ancient Cathare bastides, or castle ruins, relics from the Albigensian Crusade; and divide Rousillon from the Languedoc to the north.

We’ve had their Terre d’Ardoise in the shops – a heady 100% old vine Carignan with persistent fruit and great acidity, and look forward to presenting their Tradition- Grenache, Carignan, and Syrah blend and their premium Désirade, a barrel aged blend that rocked my world.

We walked the vineyards, took a short hike, and piled into the bus to go up the Corbières mountains to view the valley below. Quite a perilous ride, with sheer drops of 1000+ feet, but the view was worth it. AFter that a quick tasting of the wines at the quaint winery tasting room.

Then back to the hotel for a quick change and washup, and back to Domaine Cazes for a wonderful Catalan meal of braised beef cheeks, an amazing anchovy and hard egg salad, typical pastries and fruit, all accompanied by fun Catalan musicians and plentiful amounts of Domaine Cazes wines.

Next stop, the Languedoc – Corbières and Nimes.

I arrived on a Saturday morning, and after gathering my luggage and my thoughts, took the RER train to my hotel, the Hotel du Panthéon, located at the Place du Panthéon in the 5th arrondissment.

I checked in, took a quick shower, got dressed, grabbed my camera, and went out to re-discover one of my favorite cities. It had been over 6 years since I’d last been here, and while much was the same – there was one significant difference: what the heck happened – there’s a Starbucks on nearly every corner!!

I ambled over to the Sainte Chapelle – visiting Francois the First’s sweet chapel that he built for what he thought was the Crown of Thorns has always been my first stop in Paris – a tradition ever since my first time here in 1978. Somehow the towering walls of stain glass- possibly the best preserved example of the Gothique Rayonante style – soothes me, centers me, and reminds me where I am.

The Sainte Chapelle hadn’t changed, the lower chapel built for the servants, with its painted walls – gold leaf and fleurs de lys, and the upper chapel – always breathtaking when you ascend from the narrow circular staircase to see the towering wall of glass – 13 magnificent tain glassed windows! Perfection.

It’s always amazing to me that this piece of perfection was actually turned into a granary during the French revolution! In one area you can still see the line demarking the height of where the grain was stored. The place was restored, like so many other French monuments, during the reign of Napoleon III, by the artful, but not always delicate or historically accurate Viollet le Duc.

From there, I walked back, slowly, through the 6th and 5th arrondissements. I’d visited Paris probably ten times now, so I don’t really need a map to get from place to place. After about an hour, I made it back to the hotel, where I took a catnap.

When I awoke, night had fallen, and I went out, grabbed a cab over to the Grandes Boulevards to visit a wine bar I had read about. The Cointot Vino is located in one of those quaint “passages” that you find in Paris – what was once an alley gets roofed in glass, and then filled with quaint shops and restaurants. The Cointot is located in the Passage du Panorama, and specializes in organic and natural wines.

It’s owned by Guillaume – a young bearded guy, with a kind word and quick recommendation for some good wine to everyone.

The menu – both for food and wine – is eclectic , small andvery well curated. By the time I left, I’d tried a wonderfully fresh Sauvignon Blanc from Epidote Cartault from a small organic producer in the Cher that was grown on calcaire soils. a bold and dense Corsican red (Golfe de Sale Patrimonie), a vibrant Alsatian pinot nor, and the hit of the evening, a sparkling wine made from Chenin and Grolleau gris called Bulles d’Urgence. Like all of the other wines I’d tried that evening, it was organic, and made without added sulfur.

The tiny room was eclectic and funky in its design- a rough concrete pillar partially demo’d to reveal its brick and rebar interior, multiple pendant lights surrounded by wine bottles, collanders, and inverted vintage lamp shades tacked to the ceiling. It felt hip, homey, edgy, and welcoming all at once.

With the wine, I supped on non-French fare: a plate of Lomo Iberico Bellota, sliced see-through thin, drizzled with Olive Oil, presented with some butter, Garlic Confit and caper berries; and an amazing salad of Burrata du Bufala, on top of a bed of Golden Beet carpaccio, drizzled with olive oil, and topped with some pitted picholines, alongside some tiny, flavorful greens. Mmm.

I took my leave of the Cointot, hoping to come back when I return in two weeks’ time, and walked back to the Place du Panthéon. The walk took about an hour, and it was nice to see how vibrant Paris can be on a Saturday night! The bars and restaurants were full – people were dressed to the nines and having a great time.

It’s easy to forget that Paris is a town where you can find anything. Looking for a shop that specializes in fireplaces from old Chateaux? check. Looking for a movie theater that is presenting Otto Preminger films for two weeks? check. Looking for a gallery that presents funny modern updates of religious icononography? Check. I saw all three on my amble back from the wine bar.

I returned to the Hotel, slept, and woke early to go to my favorite bakery in the world – Ladurée. I left the hotel, reacquainted myself with the Paris subway system, found my way to the Rue Royale only to discover that – Mon Dieu!- Ladurée was closed on Sundays until 10 a.m., and my train to Perpignan left at 11!

Oh well, I’ll be back in Paris in two weeks, so I’ll have several opportunities to feast on their exquisite Chasse Aux Pommes, Tarte au Chocolat, perfect Cafe au Lait (for me, the best Cafe au Lait in the world!!), and their Macarons!! (Ladurée invented them, so truly anyone else’s are just an imitation.

I took a nice, brisk walk back, through the Tuileries as the sun started to rise – it was derserted except for a few Japanese tourists and a solitary jogg’er. I walked though the Louvre courtyard, across a bridge, through some charming streets filled with galleries, back to the Hotel du Panthéon.\, where I packed, checked out, and made my way to the Gare de Lyon for my trip to Perpignan.

I love the French train system, so efficient, clean and smooth. The TGV train going south arrived a few minutes before boarding time; I found my seat, and got settled in, just as the train started to leave the station.

The TGV is an amazing system – gliding through the French countryside at 130 miles per hour. (It’s impossible to tell how fast you are going until you speed pass a car on the Autoroute so fast that it seems like they are standing still!!)

Here’s an article I wrote on Sherry, which appeared in the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of Alameda and Oakland Magazine

Sherry – Not Just for Grandma Anymore
Sherry is one of the world’s most misunderstood and under-appreciated wines. Most folks who don’t know about Sherry think it’s either for cooking or for solely to serve when your grandmother visits.

Sherry is classified as a fortified wine – one that’s made stronger by and preserved by the addition of brandy. Sherries can age for years, or even decades.

Sherry wines are non-vintage, but blended from different vintages using a system called a Solera** (a Solera is both a process and a name for the stack of barrels used in the process of aging sherry – and other alcohols – by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues over many years).

Sherries can be vinted either sweet or dry, or anything in between, and are perfect as an aperitif, accompanying a meal, or as a dessert wine.

I once had a wonderful dinner at a friends’ home – Andy and Tanya Booth, who own The Spanish Table in Berkeley and Mill Valley – consisting of many small courses, all paired with different Sherries. It was the first meal I’d had where Sherry was the only accompaniment, and I was amazed at how well the meal and wines worked together!)

Sherry is named for the Spanish city of Jerez (pronounced hair-eth), located in far southern Spain. Sherries can be divided into three distinctive categories – fino, oxidized and sweet.

Finos and the oxidized sherries are made from Palomino grapes, while sweet sherries rely on Pedro Ximenez or Muscat grapes.

Dry and off dry sherries start off a dry white Palomino-based wine, fortified with brandy. Wines that are destined to become Fino and Amontillado are lightly fortified, for the winemaker wants to encourage the growth of a surface yeast, specific to the area, called Flor. Dry sherries wouldn’t be Sherry if it weren’t for the Flor.

If conditions are right, the Flor covers the wine while it ages in barrel. This prevents the wine from becoming oxidized, keeping flavors fresh, light and delicate, with a slightly nutty and salty tang. This type of Sherry is called Fino if it comes from Jerez, and Manzanilla if it comes from the neighboring town of Sanlucar.

Fino or Manzanilla may be further aged without Flor. The wine and become darker in color, and takes on more nutty, complex flavors, darker color and a caramel aroma. It’s then called Amontillado.

The next class of sherries doesn’t utilize Flor for aging and uses oxidation to age and change the wine’s character. These sherries are darker in color and range from dry to off dry in flavor. These wines have a higher alcohol content (more brandy is added to prevent Flor from forming). These wines are called Oloroso. Another type of oxidized sherry – Palo Cortado – is simply a Fino that has lost its Flor and allowed to age and oxidize like an Oloroso. Palo Cortados are generally drier than Olorosos and have a delicate mouthfeel.

Sweeter Sherry is made by adding wine made from the Pedro Ximenez (PX) or Moscatel grapes. These wines are made sweet by either partially drying them in the sun prior to pressing and fermentation, or by boiling the finished wine into a thick syrup. A good Moscatel has aromas of orange and spice, while PX tastes of raisins. These sweeter wines can be added to fino (called Pale Cream Sherry), added to oloroso (called Cream Sherry), added to Manzanilla (called Medium Sherry), or made from 100% Muscat or Pedro Ximenez grapes.

Try fino, amontillado or manzanilla with grilled shrimp, Marcona almonds, Manchego cheese, cured ham (Spanish or Italian), or as an aperitif; Oloroso works well with richer dishes – mushrooms, game and red meats, nuts, aged and strong blue cheeses; while sweeter sherries are great with creamy desserts, chocolate flavors, plum or cherrie pies, or by itself alongside a cup of coffee at the end of a meal.

**Solera: Sherries are blended using a unique system called a Solera. Partly filled barrels are stacked atop other barrels. Some Sherry is drawn off from the lowest barrels and bottled, and those barrels are then topped of with wine from the barrels above. Those barrels are replenished with Sherry from the barrels above them, as are the ones above them.  Newly made wine is added to the uppermost barrels. As few as three to as many as nine levels of barrels are used in the Soleras, insuring a continuity of flavor and quality, as well as a house style.

Here’s an article I wrote on the Loire Valley, published in Alameda Magazine and Oakland Magazine, May/June 2011 issues.

Loire Valley Wines by Jeff Diamond

The Loire Valley is one of France’s largest and most diverse wine regions, with 65 designated wine appellations (called AOC or Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) along a 300-plus mile stretch of beautiful countryside, dotted with chateaux and lightly rolling hills, and filled with history, wars, romance, great cuisine and lovely wines.

The Loire River is the longest in France, and one of the last wild rivers in Europe; it starts in the Massif Central, and travels north and west until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean near Brittany.

Loire wines are crafted from around a dozen different grape varieties, including some of the best expressions of Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc and Melon de Bourgogne in the world. Other varietals include include Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir, Malbec (called Côt in the region), Pineau d’Aunis and Grolleau. Loire wines can be bone dry, off-dry or sweet; still or sparkling, crisp or round, made for immediate consumption, or crafted to age for dozens of years.

The Loire produces primarily white wines (over 70 percent of production), and is the second largest sparkling wine region in France, after Champagne. Red wines tend to be softer and lighter in style and very food friendly.

Winemaking in the region can be traced back to the Romans, and to Saint Martin who allegedly planted the first grapes in 380 C.E.

The region is divided into three distinct wine areas: the Upper, Middle and Western Loire.

The Upper Loire, in the northeastern part of the valley, is home to great Sauvignon Blancs like Sancerre, Menetou Salon, Quincy and Pouilly-Fumé. Summers are hot but short, and the soil is a mixture of chalky, sandy and limestone soils. When well made, these minerally wines can stand up to all sorts of foods and offer a crisp, refreshing and elegant blast of white flowers, wet stones, citrus and grassy notes. A natural pairing with goat cheese, Loire Sauvignon Blancs work well with white fish, salads, creamy cheeses and tree nuts.

The Middle Loire is home to wines made from Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc. The climate is mild, but tends to have a lot of rainfall, especially in the western part of the region. This can create botrytis or noble rot on grapes, which can produce some amazingly sweet and long-lived dessert wines.

Loire Cabernet Francs, grown at their best around Saumur, Chinon and Bourgueil, are characterized by their soft tannins, good acidity and notes of pepper, raspberry, cassis and tobacco. They are a surprising match with river and lake fish, and go well with roasted, braised and grilled meats, as well as poultry and cheese.

I’ve often thought that Chenin Blanc was the world’s most versatile grape — as it can produce wines of character all along the spectrum — dry, off-dry, sparkling, dessert and fortified; and all of these do very well in the Middle Loire Valley. Once, when in France, I was offered three glasses of white wine, and was asked to identify them. One was steely dry, and I surmised it was a Sauvignon Blanc; one was rounded, soft and off dry, and I figured that was a Chenin. And the last I was sure was an unoaked Chardonnay. I was wrong — all three were Chenin Blancs.

The Chenin Blancs made in Vouvray and Montlouis tend to be rounder, honeyed and off-dry; while those in Savennières are bone dry with no detectible residual sugar and can take up to a decade to soften. Chenin Blancs, depending on how they are vinified, are great aperitif wines; they pair well with cheeses, salads, seafood, breads and soups (think about trying a Chenin with a sandwich). When vinified sweet, they are perfect with stone fruit, tarts, pies and non-chocolate cakes.

The Western Loire, centered around the large city of Nantes at the eastern edge of Brittany, is the home of Muscadet, which is made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape. This is an area of low sandy hills and the climate is very cool, with lots of maritime influence. Crisp Muscadet wines scream out to be paired with seafood, and I can think of no better pairing than with the oysters, mussels or clams for which neighboring Brittany is so justifiably famous.

We’re blessed here in the East Bay, as most of our local wine shops have a very good selection of Loire wines, as several importers of the world’s best Loire wines are located in Berkeley.

Here are a few of my favorite Loire wines:

Chenin Blanc
Sparkling:
Baumard Carte Turquoise — This Chenin Blanc/Cabernet Franc blend belies its modest price. The ripe fruits have kept their freshness, leaving a generous but crisp wine, with a delicate, elegant mousse.

Dry:
Château d’Epiré Savennières Cuvée Spéciale — Bone dry with a waxy, white flowered nose, great minerality and power.

Off Dry:
Pichot Vouvray — With aromas of shells, citrus and peach blossom, and clean, bright, polished peach and minerality on the palate, it is round in the mouth.

Chidaine Montlouis Les Tuffeaux — Across the river from better known Vouvray, Chidaine cranks out biodynamically farmed wines of meticulous purity and finesse. Les Tuffeaux is the demi-sec bottling: honeyed and round, a delightful aperitif wine that pairs perfectly with Asian, Mexican or other spicy foods.

Les Pouches Saumur Blanc — Single vineyard Chenin for under $12 per bottle!

Sauvignon Blanc
Dagueneau — When he was alive, Didier Dagueneau elevated Loire Sauvignon Blancs to new heights, producing wines of elegance, depth and unmatched ageability. His Sauvignon Blancs — never cheap (some bottlings top $100 per bottle!) — are a delight: great minerality with citrus, wet stone and a hint of oak.

Auchere Sancerre — Bay Area residents are lucky, because the importer of this organically farmed crisp and lighter — weight Sauvignon Blanc lives here. Sancerres under $20 are hard to find on the West Coast, but this one noses in just under that.

Cabernet Franc
Breton Bourgueil — Pierre and Catherine Breton’s wines are served at every hot wine bar in Paris. Meticulous farming practices (moving toward biodynamic), good ripeness levels, natural yeasts, great vineyard sites that produce yummy, food —friendly wines should make their wines a staple in your cellar.

Les Vignoles Saumur Champigny — Single vineyard Cab Franc for under $15. A juicy, easy quaffing wine that will go with most foods.

Clos Rougeard Saumur Champigny — Nearly impossible to find, this long-lived Cab Franc is brimming with flavor. There’s a sweet ripeness of black fruit, tobacco, sage, black pepper and ginger on the nose and a seamless richness of tender fruit on the palate.

Jeff Diamond owns and operates Farmstead Cheeses and Wines in Alameda and Oakland. He has trekked through the Loire valley twice, and has taken several car trips through this diverse wine region.

It’s our last full day in South Africa, and our hosts Fran and Lisa Kysela wanted to show us where the Atlantic and the Indian oceans meet (as well as the new winegrowing region of Elim), so we piled into the cars for the three hour trip to Cape Algulhas, the southern most tip of the continent.

On the way, we stopped in a rustic bar restaurant for coffee, had a lovely lunch and tasting at Black Oyster Catcher winery, a well situated restaurant/winery in Elim, a region much influenced by cool, coastal climate and iron-rich soils.

From there, we drove the half hour to the coast, climbed the famed Cape Algulhas lighthouse, where the views to the south were spectacular.

From there, we went to a local wine shop to taste more Elim wines, then back to the cars for the trip back to Swartland for a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

Bar Bar Black Sheep is the local hot spot in Riebeek, serving up rustic Provençal-influenced fare in a casual setting. The food was well-suited to the boatload of Swartland wines that Chris Mullineux brought out for the dinner. The wines for the most part were amazing, terroir-driven wines that reflected the region. There’s truly some interesting winemaking going on in the Swartlands!

Chris and Andrea Mullineux are young winemakers with a clear vision of natural winemaking that reflects the terroir and character of the Swartland Valley.

Andrea was born in New Orleans and was raised in Woodside, and met Chris after graduating from UC Davis viticulture school while she was working in the Rhône Valley. Chris studied viticulture at Stellenbosch University.

The two of them are tirelessly promote the possibilities of great winemaking in the Swartland and have formed an association of independent vignerons with similar vision.

Their unassuming yet efficiently planned winery is located in a former hardware store across the street from the Royal Hotel in Riebeek Kasteel, situated in a courtyard with some lovely small businesses (a dress shop, a gourmet food store, a refurbished chair shop, etc).

And the wines? They make four table wines of exquisite precision and purity, and a dessert wine made from dried old vine Chenin grapes that will knock your socks off!

We met at their winery and piled into cars for a short drive to one of the 21 vineyard plots they lease, and sampled some of their proprietary white wine blend (Chenin and Clairette) in the vineyard where much of the Chenin was grown – old bush vines over 40 years old!

We repeated this unique experience in a 20 year old vine Syrah vineyard across the valley – this time sampling their Syrah. Then, we returned to the winery for to sample current and upcoming releases – the three Mullineux-branded wines (White, Syrah and dessert – Straw) and two lower priced wines – Kloof Street (a Chenin and a red blend).

All told, each of their five wines will have a prominent place in the shops when they arrive Stateside.

Then we repaired across the courtyard to a lovely Italian influenced restaurant and had a great multi-course meal, accompanied by Mullineux wines – proving that these well-balanced wines work well alone and with food.

After that, we drove to Franschhoek for a tasting and tour with La Motte/Leopard’s Leap in Franschhoek. The town of Franschhoek is beautiful – luxurious and somewhat reminiscent of perhaps St Helena meets Palo Alto, meets Beverly Hills. In other words, lots of $$ with a strong design sense, centered around a strong passion for wine and good food.

No expense was spared in created La Motte – a sprawling architectural gem with pools and fountains, luxurious woods and stone. There’s a museum dedicated to a 20th century South African artist, a cooking school, a world class restaurant – two separate wineries – one for white wines, the other for reds(!).

The winery is owned by the Rupert family, who own the Dunhill, Piaget and Mont Blanc brands.

We met with the CEO, winemaker and head of marketing and tasted through the lineup of wines in a beautifully appointed private tasting room. The wines are exceedingly well made in a somewhat international style – they’d fit in at most folks’ homes. The wines are sold in most of the markets in the world, with the exception of the US.

From there, we drove a short distance into Franschhoek village and had a lovely multi course meal at Le Quartier Français, cooked with many modern, molecular cuisine-influenced touches.

After tasting through the wines

Today was a leisurely paced day – visiting a large former cooperative winery and a trip to the beach for a typical South African beach lunch.

Riebeek Cellars is a large former cooperative that produces nearly 2 million cases of wine per year. Their range – over 30 different wines,five different ranges, and ten separated brands – is impressive, and each wine reflects their dedication to producing quality wines from the Riebeek Casteel/Swartland region, and raising the quality of grapes grwon throughout the large wine region.

Their facility is industrial, reflecting the efficient winemaking practices they have developed since they opened in 1941.

First we toured the facility, then off to a well-lit tasting room for a quick tasting of tank samples of upcoming releases.

Then the winemaking team and our group piled into cars for the 90 minute drive to Elton Bay for a traditional beach meal of spiny lobsters, shrimp, potjie (braised and stewed foods cooked in ancient three legged iron pots hung over coals), and braii (bar-b-q).

After lunch we hung out at the shore – I was able to expand my photo collection of wacky cement tourist attractions, we tasted some interesting American made Belgian-style beers.

On the way home, we drove through a national park – saw some wildlife, and some incredible vistas – all posted below.