Wine, wine and more wine

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My lips are pursed, my teeth are purple and I have grown a mushroom top from all the eating... this is what three days in the wine lands does to a person.

We underestimated our drive from Knysna to Stellenbosch and arrived at night and got lost again as the street signs were virtually non existence (remind me to thank our car rental company that never gave us our GPS). After stopping to ask for directions we finally found our way through the valley to our guesthouse, Sugarbird Manor. In the morning we got to see the striking view of the valley from our infinity pool (which would be our life saver for the next couple days when temperatures would hit 35 degrees). We hit the road after getting some recommendations on the good wineries to go to as there are so many to choose from. We visited Jordan which was a small estate with a great lookout point and enjoyed their Cab Sav. Next we went to a large, luxurious and sprawling resort of Asara and picked up a few bottles of their Cape Fusion. After three wineries, 5-6 tastings at each, everything started to taste to the same so we were going to call it a day on the tastings. That night we head into Stellenbosch which is a beautiful city with a large student base. It is a beautiful town with many of the streets are lined with large oak trees and dotted with white colonial and Victorian buildings. We headed to the Cape Town Fish Market and sat up at the bar to have the sushi train. Being so close to the coast the seafood is always good, and let me tell you we may have left behind a shortage of tuna sashimi.

The next day we hit three more wineries, Rust en Vrede known for their full body reds, L'Avenir where we picked up some chenin blancs to enjoy by the pool and finally we did a cellar tour and the striking Ernie Eels estate (golf legend - currently holds a world ranking of 20th in the world). That night we had booked at Le Quatier Francais, touted as one of the top 50 restaurants in the world on the S. Pellegrino list and one of our big slpurges for the trip. Our eyes got to the best of us (hence the pre-described mushroom top) and we went with the 8 course meal and wine pairing. By the fourth course I was just trying to keep it together from all the sherry and wine and ask our waiter for some water, otherwise I might start dancing on my table. The restuarant was chic, the food was rich (well 6 of the courses anyways), the service outstanding...but when Ryan and I left he gave it a 3.5 out of 5 and I scored it a 4 out of 5 on R & M Menzel rating scale (S. Pellegrino whoever you are and if you are reading this, we are available as restauarnt critics). We enjoyed the experience as we walked out like blowfish puffed up but we were kinda left with the feeling of...we didn't love it. Maybe we are too spoiled ;-)

Coming down to our last few days here, we head back to Cape Town next where we will be staying in Camps Bay to detox from Stellenbosch.

P.S. Here is the menu for all you foodies out there:
Warm gingered luderitz oyster, carrot, bacon crumbs
Monis pale dry sherry

Lemon poached transkei rock lobster, prawn wafer, marshmallow
Graham Beck brut

Foie gras, prosciutto, cranberry and smoked whisky dressing
Cederberg bukettraube 2009

Celeriac and buchu risotto
Excelsior viognier 2009

Sous vide quail breast, truffled quail egg, asparagus
Vergelegen vin de florence 2008

Braised, free range klein karoo lamb, chakalaka marmalade,lemon basil, salted grapes, roast garlic
GlenWood merlot 2007

La Rochelle goats feta mousse, plum, pickled turnip, cocoa pepper
Môreson pinotage 2008

Orange and buttermilk cannelloni, raw jersey milk sherbet, fennel
Rickety Bridge natural sweet chenin blanc 2007

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That's my Africa! Wine, French food and an infiniti pool.