Tuesday September 2nd, 2014- Day 3 Cape Town, South Africa

Wine today! OMG! Wine today!! Our morning started out pretty laid back, we were able to sleep in about 30 minutes longer than usual… talk about fantastic! At breakfast today I tried some raw fish which I assumed to be lox. I hadn’t really tried that before. It had a similar flavor to smoked salmon but with a fishier flavor than I was used to, also a lighter smoky flavor. Our guide picked us up at 9:15am from the hotel lobby. He was curious if we were looking for a private tour. We responded that we had not, we just grabbed the tour on the spur of the moment while at V&A Waterfront. Since it was only the two of us we had a sedan instead of a mini-van and were supposed to go to three wineries (two with cheese pairings, and one without). The first winery was on par with some of the California wines we had tried before. The cheese that was paired with it didn’t really seem to fit… well one did. We were also able to try a few jams, which had a savory flavor. One was a chili and plum sauce, the other was a red wine jam, the last was a curry like flavor which I couldn’t place. On the way out of the winery, our guide had mentioned that the wine estates which offered cheese was a gimmick and didn’t have the best wines. We pressed him to take us to better wineries, and a good lunch. He ventured away from the designated itinerary to take us to La Motte winery. The style of the buildings were an old Dutch style with modern accents.

The tasting room was a tall arch shape with a brick inlay on the ceiling with a cellar room to one side and the wine making machinery at the back; both were behind locked glass doors. The wine was delicious. So we then ventured out towards a cute town to walk through and lunch. We took the walk at a brisk pace, since everything was cute but not exactly what we were looking for. Then off to lunch. We were given the choice of either an inexpensive lunch or a nicer lunch at a winery. We chose the nicer lunch which was nestled in a cave next to the winery cellar room. The wine was okay, but the food scrumptious. Both brad and I had a the seared tuna on a linseed couscous patty with mixed vegetables. The tuna tasted of seawater but the couscous was to die for. I would order the dish again just for the couscous. We had a chocolate crème brulee for dessert with two chocolate gelatin dessert balls. The crème brulee was fantastic but the gelatin balls were… strange. In the US we typically get a mint with our bill, but in South Africa we were offered an herbal marshmallow puff. It was the same texture as a freshly cut marshmallow right out of the bag but with an AWFUL herbal flavor. I almost wanted to ask the name of it just so I could avoid that flavor again. All in all, the experience was well worth it… even if the food didn’t quite meet my tastes. Brad however did enjoy the full meal, I think I was just being picky. We were soon off to the next three wineries which passed in a blur. I fell asleep on the way back to the hotel, again. I woke up long enough to make it back to the room, lay my head on the bed, and sleep!

I woke up later that night to Brad asking if I was hungry since it was already 8pm, and there wasn’t much time left to go out. We both wanted something tasty but quick and waiting an hour to go to the waterfront wasn’t really an option. He had the idea to get room service, and I happily agreed. I had the vegetarian Alfredo with red bell peppers, and mushrooms in an Alfredo sauce followed by a dessert wine and BBC’s Lifestyle channel watching a baking competition show. I’m not sure how Brad put up with that, but I assume it had something to do with the wine.

After I finished my pasta, I fell back asleep. It has been an interesting day, albeit very short since most of my afternoon was charged with recovering from an unbelievable amount of wine. I didn’t realize wine in south Africa has 15% alcohol content. Even with all the water I was drinking… wow! Lessons learned, one glass is more than enough. Thankfully I’m on vacation when I learned this.