Days of Wine and Roses

Much in evidence on the popular cellar tours are the 300 litre barrels of French oak which house South Africa's annual harvest of 900 million litres. Simon van der Stel had had the prescience to bring with him some European acorns as it is only oak from which wine barrels can be made. The oaks that line the historic streets of Stellenbosch are van der Stel's leafy legacy to the town that bears his name.

Unfortunately, in the South African climate, northern hemisphere oaks grow too fast and thus are not dense enough for use in the wine industry. Thus, the oak staves are imported from France where they are harvested from trees at least a hundred years old. They are assembled in South Africa by coopers who use traditional tools in a time-honoured trade that can be seen in action at the Van Rijn brandy cellar. Here the rhythmic beat of the cooper's tools echo through the cellar as he coerces the steel rings around the staves.

The large tasting room at Nederberg in the Paarl Valley boasts a long curved bar of oak staves, salvaged from old wine barrels. Few tipplers would suspect just how old! One of the foremost wine farms in South Africa, with a 22% market share of the premium wines in the country, Nederberg's annual Auction is one of the five main wine events in the world. The Cape Dutch manor house was built for the German immigrant family, Wolvaart, and was completed in 1800. I was treated to lunch outside on one of its side patios overlooking the lawns with their islands of sunburst orange day lilies and the vineyards beyond.

Roses picked fresh from the garden accentuated the crisp white linen tablecloth on which appeared an unusual and delectable interpretation of traditional Cape Malay cuisine, courtesy of Nederberg Chef, Norma Kann. A mixed green salad, replete with slivers of pinkish roast lamb and onion, marinated mushrooms, pine nuts and dried fruit was washed down with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc and followed by a fruit platter of fresh berries, mango and nectarine. Before embarking upon a winelands sojourn, I suggest a strict diet so that neither guilt nor girth will prevent you from enjoying the year-round bounty of the Cape.

 © LAURIANNE CLAASE 2003