Visi – August 2019

robablybestknown
for its Chardonnays,
theRobertsonvalley
hasbeenproducing
someseriouslygoodwinesof
variousvarietalsin recentyears,
manyof themmadeby young
winemakers.It’s wellworth
planningan outingto thearea
to tastethewinesandmeetthe
peopleduringthe12thannual
SlowFood& WineFestivalfrom
9 to 11 August.
Thefestivalis spreadoutat
variouswineriesandtourism
spots.Notethatticketsare
limitedandyouneedto book
withthehostsfor specialtastings,
cellartours,food-and-wine
pairings,winemaker’sdinners
andcookingclasses.Therewill
be an opportunityto meetlocal
winemakersandchefsat thefamily
marketon Sunday,11 August.
robertsonslowfestival.co.za

NO

26

TAKING

IT SLOW

TheRobertsonWineValleySlowFood& WineFestival

offersa goodopportunityto tasteexceptionalwines

fromboutiquewineriesin thearea.

P

PHOTOS

GETTY IMAGES, JAN RAS AND SUPPLIED

WORDS

KAY-ANN VAN ROOYEN

MONT BLOIS

WINE ESTATE

The owners of this estate

in the Hoopsrivier valley,

Ernst and Nina-Mari

Bruwer, relaunched the

Mont Blois brand two years

ago after no bottling was

done under the label for

28 years – and already the

Pomphuis Muscadel 2016

has won a platinum

award at the Muskadel SA

Awards. Ernst is the sixth

generation of his family on

the farm.

Nina-Mari focuses on

making single-vineyard

wines – which they name

after the blocks. The

Kweekkamp Chardonnay

is made from grapes

growing in limestone soil,

and the Hoog en Laag

Chardonnay from grapes

growing in red Karoo clay

soil. The fact that their

estate is spread over three

farms allows for a bigger

variety of soil types.

She also makes a Groot

Steen Chenin Blanc and

Harpie Muscadel.

The Bruwers recently

opened a beautiful

new tasting room in

a renovated old building

on Mont Blois, but for

now tastings are still by

appointment only.

montblois.co.za

Mont Blois Pomphuis

Muscadel 2016, R250 for

500 ml in a wooden box

VISI REASONS

visi.co.za AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 184