After tasting some terrific wines in Paarl and meeting some very friendly and inspired winemakers, it was back in the car and off to the region of Franschhoek.

Once a ward of Paarl, Franschhoek was awarded district status in 2010. The area was originally settled by 180 French Huguenots fleeing from religious persecution in 1688 and was originally known as Oliphantshoek (“Elephants Corner”) after the many elephants who found food and safety there. Today, Franschhoek is the place to go for great restaurants and fine wine.

Here we visited Lynx Wines. Owners Dieter and Diana Sellmeyer purchased this table grape farm in 1997 and, despite having no wine background, were soon producing wines that garnered high scores and great reviews. The estate produces 90 tons of grapes annually from which they select the best 15% for their own wines, ensuring top quality. They then sell the remainder to another private cellar. The owners were unfortunately unavailable for our visit but were well represented by their winemaker, Helgard van Schalkwyk, who spent a good deal of time showing us their vineyards, their barrel room and, of course, letting us taste their delicious wines.

Then it was back in the car and along some very mountainous roads with spectacular panoramas on our way to Elgin Valley. On the way, we came across some rather curious hitchhikers.

The Elgin Valley is in the Overberg region and has long been famous for its apples and pears. Lately, however, it has become just as famous for its wine. Here we visited the Downes Family Vineyards. Most of the rest of the world knows them as Shannon Vineyards. That name is already
taken in the US, so Downes Family it is to us. We were met by owners Stuart and James Downes who were more than gracious. They took a good deal of time to drive us around the estate and show us the vineyards which lie in a spectacular cool climate Kogelberg Biosphere. Brad and I had already tasted their Merlot at a function in Cape Town and were very impressed. We were soon to taste the rest of their wines and found them all of excellent quality.

I can finally announce a new wine coming soon to ABC! Look for the delicious Downes Family Sanctuary Peak Sauvignon Blanc!

It had been a long and very fascinating day, and we still had to drive to our hotel in Stellenbosch and change for an intimate dinner for 100 people at Warwick Estate. More next time…

Bill Stobbs, ABC Wine Supervisor

(Follow me on Twitter @abcwinebills)