We live in wine country and Capetonians and visitors are spoilt for choice when it comes to wine farm venues and location. Wine tasting is one of our favourite activities and we lure our visitors to visit our wine farms as well. With the promise of good, on-site wines, such a visit does create an expected level of service, taste and experience. I took a drive out to Vredenheim in Stellenbosch. Did this family-owned wine farm deliver?
First point of contact
The first point of contact was a phone call to make sure the trading hours on the website are indeed correct. How refreshing to be assisted upon the first person answering the call, without hesitation and in a friendly tone I had my questions answered. With such an inviting tone, who would not want to visit?
Big cats
A big drawing point is most definitely the Big Cat park and they did not disappoint. Seeing these magnificent animals in an environment as close as possible to their natural habitat is a privilege. I would suggest planning your visit just before, or during their feeding times. They tend to, like us humans, become somewhat lazy after being fed.
The tasting
We chose to sit inside and were assisted by the very informative and friendly Christeline. The presentation was well actioned, the wine tasty and Christeline’s knowledge of the wine and her suggestions excellent. She was quite correct in guessing my favourite. We ordered
a cheese platter and enjoyed every bite on this lovely platter. For a very reasonable price you can choose any 5 wines to taste. It’s easy to see why an international panel awarded Vredenheim’s 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon with a gold medal in 2020.
Flying colours
So did they deliver and meet my expectations? Indeed so. I did not buy wine on the day, although I was tempted. I left with the promise to myself to come back with friends, spend more time and definitely open my wallet to wine buying. I do have my eye and taste buds on
Vredenheim’s ‘Gracious lady’ and ‘Merlot’. The gift shop also had a few items that drew my attention. There is absolutely no other
option, I will have to return for more Vredenheim hospitality. My next visit will be an overnight stay, some spa treatments and a lot more of their gorgeous wines. It’s far too beautiful and pleasant to spend only two or three hours. I did have a little GPS problem indicating a turn where there was none. After a small detour I managed to find the correct route. Hopefully this little problem was just on my side on the day. I would not like people to miss out on visiting here due to an issue with finding the location.
On offer and contact
Vrendenheim is more than a wine farm. With all this farm has on offer it is a must visit for not only tourists, but locals as well. I don’t have enough stars to award Vredenheim and can’t wait to visit again.
https://vredenheim.co.za/
021 881 3878
wine@vrendenheim.co.za
Wine-greetings
Annette
