By Anlé Britz
I am almost ashamed to admit to it, but this month I finally visited my bucket-list vineyard for the first time… drumroll please – Vrede en Lust.
I have been wanting to visit this beautiful vineyard and drink their authentic wine since the Afrikaans film, Semi Soet (Semi Sweet) hit the screens in 2012. The way that wine is celebrated from taking care of the ground, the vine. the nurturing of the grapes, the harvest, the pressing, attention to detail in fermentation and lastly the blending, bottling and labelling of every masterpiece.
The scene: It is the perfect sunny, but chilly winters day after the first Cape Town storm. Walk through the estate doors (stopping for a quick selfie) opening onto a terrace overlooking the vineyard. The season of autumn lingers in making her mark in red and orange leaves all along the foothills of the Simonsberg. We took a seat on the outdoor couches and started off the day with a bottle of bubbly to share – the bowing literally flew over when the cork was popped. Once the first bubbles rolled over my tongue, I was ready to make my wine dream experience come true.
The tasting: I opted for the Flagship wine tasting (2 white wines and 3 red wines) what a joyful celebration of everything wine.
I fell in love with the Kogelberg Chenin Blanc leaving not only teardrops of quality behind on the walls of the glass, but tears of joy on my heart. The Barrique, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc was exquisite and paired with the day marvellously. We could not resist ordering a cheese and charcuterie platter to compliment the tasting as a whole. It all came to a glorious close with the final tasting of their Flagship Boet Erasmus.
They have an amazing wine tasting and paring menu – I shall be back.
Book your tasting here: https://www.vnl.co.za/the-estate/tastings/
