November 27th

Yesterday we went back to GC- North Cape Town Church. It was great to see rekindle newly developed friendships. After church we talked with another member, who offered to escort us on a hike – up all the way to the top Table Mountain. We accepted and plan to go Wednesday or Thursday with him and another member. Then we returned home.

We had 9.5 hours of scheduled blackout yesterday. It “only” amounted to 8 total hours of no electricity, but some of it – 4 hours was from six to ten am, which affected our getting ready for church! I can not imagine living here!!  Lunch was very light – fruit and nuts, and supper was early – taco salad/soft tacos.

We watched our church service back home via ZOOM. We connected with family via WhatsApp. Proceeded to find out Kansas had 7-11 inches of snow Saturday!!  WOWZA, that is a larger than average snowfall for that area!

Today, when we readied we decided to go to wine country for a tasting – Stellenbosch area. It is actually a 30 minute to an hour drive from us, depending on which winery you want to visit. Jeff had talked with a church member, who highly recommended Fairview. This is where we went. It is actually a vineyard and a goat farm. Upon arriving, we saw goats in a pen. They had a “lighthouse-like home” that they could “climb” a spiral stairway to their home. It was fun, but weird to see them hoofing up to their domicile.

We found the tasting room and decided on the Farmer Pairing. It included six wines paired with four cheeses and two meats. There were two options of wine tastings – we each did one. We were given a Riesling to tide us over til they could start us going. Next we were each given the  same sampler charcuterie board with four cheeses, two meats, and a small sampling of a honey-butter blend to pair with our wines. Now the wines with the food pairings.   

 1st -Jeff's: Chenin Blanc; mine: Sauvignon Blanc; cheese – cow's milk feta with olives.  

 2nd -J's: Viognier (specialty of this winery); mine: Grenache Blanc; cheese – Brie.                     

 3rd -J's: Rose Quartz; mine: Broken Barrel White (a meritage of four white wines blended in oak barrels then the barrels are destroyed-the wine won't be replicated); cheese – (cow) blend w/onion, chive.                       

4th -J's: Pinotage; mine: Merlot; cheese – (Goat) with garlic and crusted in herbs.                     

5th -J's: Shiraz; mine: Extrano (Spanish, means stranger. The two grape varieties are Spanish and not normally found in South Africa, ie., “strangers”); meat – French sausage.                           

6th -J's: Cabernet Sauvignon; mine: Broken Barrel Red; meat – local, smoked chorizo.

We were impressed with their Viognier, and the Broken Barrel White. The red wines did not measure up (some lacked quite a bit) – maybe with aging? – they would be better. We won't know. But all around it was a good tasting. We bought some of the goat cheese with garlic and herb encrusting; small container of smokey Mediterranean hummus;  and also a small quiche for dinner. We did not buy any wines because they have an online Black Friday sale going on. (So we may order some this way – it's cheaper!) After we finished looking around, we headed back to our place. Siesta time.

Plan on the quiche and maybe a salad for dinner. It was nice to visit another winery, and experience more South African wines! Ta-ta for now!!