March 2, 2017
Stormsvlei to Robertson: A chance meeting with old wine friends
We got going at about seven thirty in cool misty conditions with a climb of almost 200 meters to negotiate before it got too warm. We were taken a bit by surprise when we suddenly found ourselves at the top of the pass. It's amazing how the mist had hidden the ascent from us and our tired legs.
The traffic was light and there was a nice shoulder and so we had an enjoyable ride down into Bonnievale where we had lovely breakfast of eggs, bacon and everything they could get onto the plate.
We were back in wine country again and vineyards were everywhere. This is volume country and the lots of the harvesting is mechanized and most of the wine is unpretentious.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Of course, wine country means dubbeltjies getting carried from the vineyards onto the roads by the vehicles involved in the harvesting so it was inevitable that one of us would get a puncture at some point, which Leigh did soon before we rejoined the R317 from which we detoured to get into Bonnievale. This section of road was also under construction so we had a crew of road workers chatting away in the idiomatically rich Afrikaans that is spoken in the area.
As we neared Robertson some more serious wineries started to appear and it was a struggle to ride past De Wetshof, great Chardonnay producers, without stopping for a tasting. About ten kilometers from Robertson we felt we were close enough to risk a tasting and pulled into Bon Courage who have a good reputation for their sparkling wines. As we stopped in the parking area of the winery, a car stopped next to us and out stepped two faces very familiar to us - Jamie and Micheala from our favourite wine bar in Port Elizabeth called "For The Love Of Wine" who were doing a tour of the Robertson wineries with Jamie's father. Jamie has been on the cruise ships for the past year or so and was back in South Africa for a month's break, getting what he called the "full deal" by spending with it Micheala (who is completing her studies at the Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth while working at For The Love Of Wine) and doing some tasting in the winelands. We had a great time enjoying the Bon Courage bubblies (really good Blanc de Blanc) and catching up on news.
After that we struggled, thanks to the wine and a hot headwind, into Robertson where I made the mistake of teasing Leigh with the suggestion that we should have some sushi for lunch. She wasn't going to let me get away with it so we stopped at Bourbon Street for a plate of sushi and a some of Weltevrede's lightly wooded Chardonnay (one of the wineries we had to skip on the way into Robertson). After that, a stop at the Spar to buy something for supper and breakfast and then onto Silwerstrand Resort on the banks of the Breede River where we will be spending the next two nights camping.
Today's ride: 59 km (37 miles)
Total: 522 km (324 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 1 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |