The Winelands

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The roots of the South African wine industry can be traced back to the exploration of the Dutch East India Company when a supply station was established in Cape Town. Cape Town was then only a stop for ships and crew to pick up fresh produce during their journey along the spice route to India. Jan van Riebeek was given the task to manage the station and plant grapes to produce wine; falsely believing the eating of grapes and the wine created from them would prevent scurvy and other diseases between sailors during their long voyages. In 1659 the first South African wine made from French Muscadel grapes were successfully made. Thank you Wikipedia.



So today, after touring downtown Cape Town and the beautiful gardens around the government buildings, Jenny drove us to the Winelands. It’s a beautiful area with big mountains and rolling hillsides. We tasted and purchased wine at theFairview Wine and Cheese Farm located in the Paarl region. We enjoyed a wine tasting with cheese pairing. Many of the cheeses were made from the milk of the goats raised in the farm. From there, we drove to Franschhoek where we had lunch at another wine farm and then checked into our beautiful hotel in town.





Tomorrow, Jenny picks us up at 4:30am to drive us to the Cape Town Airport where we will say goodbye to our wonderful guide and hop on a plane to Johannesburg and then on a small plane to Livingston, Zambia where we will check into our first of three safari lodges.

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Comments

[Dale Wirick]

Wine
How was it? And how much did you get? And how are you getting it back?