Sunday, February 27, 2011

Weekend at Agulhas: The wine

Just outside the enchanting village of Elim, near the southern tip of Africa, the vineyards produce surprisingly good wine. Apparently the cool breezes that blow off the nearby ocean allow the grapes to remain on the vines just that little bit longer to develop their flavour. We called in at The Berrio, to taste some of this wine. The Berrio has a stylish tasting centre with views over the beautiful Agulhas Plain. Children and dogs are there to welcome you, and Franchen Pratt came out to guide us through the Estate's gorgeous wines - each one more tasty than the next. She and her husband Francis are the owners of this magical estate and Francis is the winemaker. My favourite wine was the figgy flavoured Weathergirl 2009 (33% semillion and 67% sauvignon blanc blend).

1 comment:

  1. There is now a wine estate in Jeffrey's Bay as well. They just produced their first wines and have big plans to expand. There is also a fully fledged wine estate outside Plettenberg Bay. I imagine the estates at these two spots have the same thing going for them with the on shore breezes.

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