CAPE TOWN GRAPE TOWN

Heaven...at least for Liz and her new best friend Alison, at the House of J.C. Le Roux. 

On the road, you sometimes meet people you enjoy talking to. Perhaps it's over a drink at a bar or on a long ride on a local bus. You talk of travel, of life, of things seen and places explored. 

Occasionally, if things go really well (or it's happy hour), you might exchange contact information. Maybe you even go so far as to invite your new "friends" to visit you back home, knowing full well the chances of such a visit are slim at best.  

Keith, Alison, Liz and Kip, mid-winery tour. Very happy.

When we met Alison and Keith for 15 minutes in the middle of a torrential rainstorm in rural Madagascar, we figured they were just throwing out a polite invitation when they invited us to stay at their place in South Africa. Little did they know, we always take full advantage of such invitations.

A month later, we arrived at their house in Cape Town at 1:00 AM on a Saturday morning...and they let us in the house. We were slightly shocked...and very relieved.

They gave us a room where we had some of the best sleep in months, they cooked us homemade meals, and they drove us on a well-guided tour of their stunning city. They were two of the nicest people we've met...ever. Come visit us in DC anytime, guys...we mean it!

Pretending to know his sparkling wines.

To top it all off, the day after we arrived, these two superhosts informed us about these incredible places just minutes from their beautiful home that were known as "wine farms." We soon figured out they meant "vineyards," and within an hour we were headed into South Africa's famous wine country.  

WINE TOUR
Our tour began with a breakfast stop (why not?) at The House of J.C. Le Roux, where we were overwhelmed with the choices of sparkling wine, an excellent choice for ten o'clock in the morning.  

That, and the fact that they do a pairing of nougat and marshmallow with their tasting. Kip was sure he'd heard wrong, but there are, in fact, five different kinds of nougat. We tried them all. 

Two cheetahs enjoy the views at the Graff Estate.

Following our bubbly and nougat, we headed to the Stellenbosch region, to the Delaire Graff Estate. This place was beautiful, as were their wines. We may have tried one or two...or three.  

Liz makes some new furry friends at the Fairview petting zoo.

The last vineyard, Fairview, was by far our favorite. Liz practically had to be dragged away when we left.  Folks in the U.S. may be familiar with their brand "Goats Do Roam."

Feeding THE goat of "Goats do Roam"

Not only does this vineyard have wine tastings, but they also have a goat petting zoo. For those who don't recall the many Everest trek delays, Liz loves animals...almost as much as she loves wine.  And to make this place even better, it has a cheese tasting bar, which we took full advantage of.   

All in all, we got a great education on the wines of South Africa.  We may even get crazy and try them again someday. If Liz ever gets off that motorcycle.

This is how Liz acts when she's all hopped up on cheese.

WINE AND ROCK AT KIRSTENBOSCH GARDENS

Even the views from the cheap seats are stunning at Kirstenbosch Gardens in Cape Town, South Africa.

If you're South Africa's most famous rock band and you need a place to play a farewell gig, there's nowhere better than the mountain-backed stage of Kirstenbosch Gardens near Cape Town. At least, that's what the lead singer of multi-platinum rockers The Parlotones' said on the eve of their re-location to the U.S.

"Kirstenbosch is the best venue in the world!" shouted front man Kahn Morbee, whose known for his high energy and signature eyeliner onstage. 

Parlotones' lead singer Kahn Morbee gets the crowd moving at Kirstenbosch.

While the music proved quality (a poppy mix somewhere between Coldplay and Arcade Fire), the venue and the wine selection were equally as stellar. 

Before and after the headliners played, we wandered the gardens, getting happily lost among the trails and hardwoods that cover the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. Like a lot of other visitors in the park, we brought in our own bottle of locally-grown vino and took in the stunning scenery as the another day faded into a memorable night.

Yet one more reason to love Cape Town...as if we needed another. 

Liz with two pre-show musicians. 

More than a concert venue, Kirstenbosch is an incredible place to spend a day wandering around with a local wine.

A drummer's eye view from backstage at The Parlotones' farewell show. Yes, we talked our way into backstage passes.

FUNNY MONDAY: A VISIT TO THE WHINE SHOP

Too many long, dusty days traveling can make a person awful thirsty. Along a road in rural India, we asked a local camel herder where we might find some liquid refreshment. He directed us to what he said was a wine shop, supposedly famous for its cold beer and warm spirits. No wine (or whining) was available.

MYANMAR IS WINE COUNTRY?

A vineyard worker near Inle Lake wields a large knife used for trimming vines...and for welcoming thirsty tourists. 

When you think of Sauvignon Blanc, Burma is probably not the first place that comes to mind. But if a few forward-thinking vintners have their way, someday it could be. 

The hilly area surrounding Inle Lake in northern Myanmar is said to be prime grape-growing territory, or so we heard often during our recent visit. While we rarely drink the stuff ourselves (ahem), we thought it worth investigating these claims for the benefit of our countless handful of readers. 

There are actually two vineyards in the vicinity of Inle Lake. Only one was close enough for an out of shape tourist (Liz) to reach by bicycle, so we opted to head to Red Mountain Estate Vineyards and Winery.  

Following a paved, winding road bordered by rice paddies, we reached the vineyard after a 20 minute ride from Nyaung Shwe, where we were staying. After passing the entrance gate, the road makes a steep climb to the top of a hill. 


The view from the top is impressive, with rolling, vine-covered hills, all the way to the lake. It certainly looked like a vineyard. 

Thirsty from the long ride from town, we went immediately to the tasting room, lest we risk dehydration from the heat and exertion. We sat down and perused the menu.

Because wine rarely passes our lips (ahem) we weren't sure which wine to order. So we decided to try them all. It was a good decision.

After the tasting, Naw Naw, our somellier offered to give us a tour of the grounds. We learned that globalization is alive and well in Myanmar. The wine maker comes from France, the vines came from France, Spain, and Israel, the oak barrels from Hungary, the Swiss-engineered equipment hails from Italy, the bottles from France and China, and the labels are designed right here in Myanmar. 

We're not sure how we remember the above statistics, as things got pretty unruly during a part of the tour. Lucky for us, Naw Naw is a very patient woman.

  

After purchasing a bottle for the bike ride home dinner later that evening, we headed  back down the hill.

The vineyard workers had just finished and were heading home, and the light was perfect, so we couldn't help but snap a few hundred photos. Here are some of our favorites, including another of our friend the knife-wielder.