Proudly South African at Fairview

The main attraction at the Fairview wine and cheese farm in Paarl is no doubt the little goat tower, where goats lazily peek through tiny windows like fairy tale characters.

Besides the delicious Fairview cheese platters paired with its award-winning wines, the goats add that something extra, an interesting detail that can keep guests and especially kids entertained for hours. Then there’s the deli, which always gets my full attention. I like to select freshly baked bread, olive oil and cheeses like Crottin and Blue Rock with apricots. The hand woven baskets adds such a lovely rustic touch to the shopping atmosphere.

Fairview recently became the first carbon neutral cheesery in Africa, pulling out all the stops to make sure that this beautiful part of the world stays protected and nourished so that future generations can get as much joy (and wine and cheese) from it. Fairview owner Charles Back also recently bought over the neighbouring Seidelberg Estate and will be using it as a base for its Spice Route Label. My mom and I popped in to visit the brand new artisan chocolatier and look forward to seeing the chocolate tasting lounge opening soon. Lots of exciting things happening at this firm Cape Winelands favourite!

Somehow, even after many visits to Fairview I’ve always missed this proudly South African herb garden (see photo), carefully designed for the colours to resemble our flag. There is always something more to discover in the Cape Town area, no matter how much time is spent here.

The Cape is a heart place and looking out over this natural resemblance of out national pride makes my heart feel full to be South African. Especially on such a beautiful day! Perhaps the feeling is highlighted ahead of my big move to Munich, but the beautiful moments in Cape Town truly are as good as it gets.

Inspired wining and dining at Juno

During a short visit to try and sort out my passport in Paarl, I quickly popped into Juno cafe on the Main Street to meet my friends for breakfast. Not only do they make the most delicious flapjacks with bacon and honey here, but it is also the artist's studio of Tertia du Toit whose paintings grace the labels of Juno wines and made them famous.

Juno is a great example of successful collaboration between artists. The wine maker, fine artist and chef all add to the cumulative success of Juno as a brand. That's what a lot of wine brands lack these days - a story to stir the heart strings of potential customers.

The Chilean wine brand Castillero del Diablo is a great example of a successful wine brand with a story. Castillero del Diablo translates as 'Cellar of the Devil' and the legend stems from the 19th century when the family patron became fed up with wine being stolen from his cellars. He started a rumour that a devil lives in his wine cellar and since superstition was at the order of the day, this worked wonders. While other wineries continued having problems, no one dared to steal from the cellar of the devil.

Both Castillero del Diablo and Juno unintentionally added the perfect twist to their label. Who could have known that Tertia du Toit's paintings of local women would become so popular and help to escalate the wine brand to where it is today. Even then, the team still managed to extend their success by opening this lovely restaurant and wine shop.

The food is well presented, tastes like home and goes down well with the carefully chosen drinks on the menu. Definitely recommended as a memorable meal as well as a wonderful place to buy tasteful souvenirs that smacks of the Cape.