A Friendly Weekend

I spent two nights in the big house because there was a wedding, which was nice because the pool was nearby and Top Gear was on. On Saturday, I went into Worcester with Lorena and Alfred. We had Marinus and his daughter over for dinner. He gave Cel-Marie some beer and she was rolling in the grass and unusually friendly then fell asleep before the food was ready. I made guacamole burgers and fries to pair with Lorena's Spanish Tinto wine. It had heavy tannins, liquorice and tobacco flavors which worked with the food.

Just when we were about to eat the big Sunday lunch, my friend Evren showed up and she was very jealous of the food. I lived and worked with her in New Zealand and saw her once in California. She manages a small winery in Turkey, which paid for her trip to work for three weeks in Stellenbosch. I showed her around the cellar and she was shocked by how old and inefficient everything is. We had Alfred over for a BBQ's ostrich steaks, bell peppers and corn on the cob. We heard a lot about Turkey, specifically the wine. Her winery is new and produces a small amount of expensive wine.

Marinus was nice enough to give me Monday off to go wine tasting with Evren. I showed her the harvesting machine, then off to more wineries. A couple of places were nothing special and a couple were good. Excelsior had very affordable, drinkable wine and their Cabernet is in the US in pretty big quantities. But De Wetshof had the best two wines I've tried here and one of the best I've ever tasted. It is an old estate with huge white manor houses which Marinus said look like the White House. Unfortunately the woman serving us was rude. She would pour the wines, then go sit at her desk at her computer as if we weren't there. The Pinot Noir was perfect. Excellent balance, nothing too strong, subtle fruit and earthiness with decent acid. On the tasting menu they had Noble Late Harvest from 2005, 1998, and 1991. The woman said they only pour it if they already have a bottle open, and as luck would have it they did! It was US$40 per 500ml bottle, but I was tempted (how about a '91 for US$90?). It was golden in color with perfect balance of honey, apple, complextiy, and sweetness with a soft texture. Honestly one of the best wines I've ever tasted.

Evren bought a "Life from Stone" Sauvingnon Blanc from Sprinfield Winery. I went there with Lorena and the Sauvignon Blanc stood out because one Suav Blanc tasted normal and the other tasted like minerals because it was planted on a field of 70% quartz crystals. Evren planned ahead and only filled her suitcase halfway so she could take 10-15 bottles of wine home.

It was fun to catch up with Evren and hear about Turkey, New Zealand and California. She said there probably wouldn't be a problem if I wanted to work for her in Turkey next harvest! That sounded hard to pass up. It might make me the only applicant in the US with that on my resume.

Lorena and I did some research for renting a car and driving the Garden Route to the Southeast.