Not just a pretty vleis
Source: The Times (Original Article)
A unique wine-and-biltong combo gives Stellenbosch Hills an edge.
At last I have a formal qualification (of sorts) for writing about wine — a certificate for having complet ed the Stellenbosch Hills Wine and Biltong Adventure. While it may not have been as strenuous as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro barefoot; as brave as clipping the toenails of a (live) mountain gorilla in Rwanda; as exhilarating as bungee jumping the Victoria Falls while shaving; or as scary as swimming with Great Whites (sans cage, with fillet steaks tied to your legs) at Gansbaai; it was definitely an awesome African adventure.
The brainwave of Stellenbosch Hills winemaker PG Slabbert, this unique tasting which matches five wines with five different biltongs was started two years ago when the realisation dawned that “we needed an extra draw-card”.
Although, once you know the value for money available, that alone should be enough to ensure a visit. Heaven knows, it won’t be for the architecture. The winery is located in arguably the least attractive building in Stellenbosch, with its 1945 founding date all too evident.
Vrotties, as it was formerly fondly called, appeared on my radar screen in 2003 when it won a trophy for best Merlot (for the 2001 vintage) at the Fairbairn Capital Trophy Wine Show. I was a judge (sans qualifications at that stage) and had tried to pull strings to discover the identity of a mystery Merlot that had the judges speculating.
Alas, all my strings snapped and by the time I made it to Stellenbosch, other insiders had cleaned out the cupboard. My only consolation was that when bowties, who normally wouldn’t be seen dead in a co-op, arrived with empty boots, Vlottenberg hiked the price. So at least those Fairbairn forerunners had to pay up for Vlottenberg’s 15 minutes of fame.
The Vrotties directors obviously didn’t take Best Credit Card Rate their Fairbairn trophy too seriously, as …continue reading