An utter highlight of our wine farm visits on my recent trip to the Roberston Wine Valley – was a stopover at the well known Excelsior Wine Estate.
I have always loved the beautiful labels showing a proud horses head but did not realise how involved in the equestrian world this farm is – having raised a number of prize winners and showcased them at the biggest racing events in South Africa over the last 60 years or so, some of their wines are even named after their prize winners too!
From horses to wine – of course, and the history of Excelsior is an interesting one, the farm has been around since 1859 – however it used to be an ostrich farm, until the invention of the motor car, which changed fashion and Kowie de Wet and his son Oscar acted quickly and moved into wine and horses – and the rest, as they say, is history.
You can get the chance to get hands-on and create your very own blend of wine, label and all, that you can take home and enjoy such a fun experience. The team in the tasting room are well informed and give you a short crash course on blending wine before assisting you to create your own.
Select from three different red varietals, taste and create your very own wine, which is then corked and sealed by hand (took me a few goes to get the sealing done correctly under the heat lamp) create your own label and Bob’s your Uncle – this was something different from just a standard wine tasting – bravo to the team at Excelsior for keeping it fresh and innovative.
You can also stay overnight at the beautiful Excelsior Manor Guesthouse which boasts nine beautifully decorated rooms, and nibble on some tasty offerings at Graze @Excelsior – fresh bread and local produce abound, and you can even stock up on some items in the deli – if you are staying a self-catering accommodation – this will be just the thing!
Well worth a stopover on your wine routing explorations.
A: R60 (between Robertson & Ashton)
T: +27 (0) 23 615 1980
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