Wine Tasting + Last day in Africa

Today we woke up in the beautiful town of Franschhoek. Wine country has a much different vibe than the other parts of the country we have visited. While South Africa was colonized by the British and the Dutch as a whole, this wine country had an unmistakable French influence. Our hotel, the Franschhoek Country House was absolutely stunning. Watching the morning mist rise off of the mountains, I knew that our last day in Africa is going to be a memorable one. 

 

On the agenda was a full day of wine tasting! We arrived in the city center early and get our tickets for the wine train. We stopped  at four wineries throughout the day. Each winery had a different vibe, a different character. The wines were all delicious and the staff were so kind and professional. We couldn’t drink wine without also enjoying a cheese pairing – yum! We were particularly impressed with a white wine, the Chenin Blanc, which is only available in South Africa. It is similar to a Sauvignon Blanc but it is more buttery on the pallet.

 

There are dozens of wineries to visit, but the tram only stops at certain wineries each day. There are a total of three different schedules each with it’s own list of wineries that you can visit on any given day. There was no way we could have possibly visited each winery on the schedule, and we had not done research, so we decided to just go with the flow. The wine country is absolutely stunning. It is not only what I pictured when I thought of Africa, or even South Africa. The more I learn about this country, the more I learn how ignorant I am to the entire continent and how much I have to learn.

 

We headed back to the hotel in time for a beautiful dinner, which we enjoyed in a gorgeous private setting. We then headed back to our room, grateful for the time we had, but also sad knowing this was our last day in Africa.