Here is 39 of 800! One more to go to 40! I need to get to 80 by May next year in order to do my target of 80 farms every 12 months in time for my 40th birthday. It is Boschendal in the Franschhoek Wine valley. #FhkMCC

I have rated this wine farm experience 5 star.

OVERALL RATING	WINE	SERVICE	FOOD	LOCATION
80%	75%	62%	88%	94%

Boschendal is a huge, very established farm since 1685! You will be surprised at what they have on offer, just look at this long list…

ACTIVITIES and OTHER AMENITIES: 

• Wine tasting
• Chocolate and wine pairing – R75 pp
• Cellar Tours – R50 pp
• Vineyard Tours – R80 pp
• Accommodation
• Restaurants
• MTB trails
• Horse and carriage rides
• Spa
• Functions
• Weddings
• Picnics
• Rose Garden activities
• Garden tours
• Farm shop and deli
• Kids play area (Werf restaurant)

BOOKINGS: Bookings are essential because it is such a popular farm.
Click here to book various activities.

WHEN TO GO: The months of Spring are the best times to go (Sept, Oct, Nov). Summer is also great (Dec, Jan, Feb). Should it be cold or rainy, there is still plenty to do.

 Here is my experience:

It was a stunning day with no wind and the walk to the tasting room from the parking wasn’t too long. The gardens are immaculate, so the short walk was quite pleasant.

This is the wine tasting area. It is set under one of the oldest trees at Boschendal (which is massive). The rolling green lawns are great for the kids to run around on.

The old manor house and horses roaming on the grounds is quite a beautiful sight! The purple mountains in the background just sets this scene off beautifully!

I opted for the chocolate and MCC pairing which is R75 per person. There are 4 MCCs to taste alongside 4 gourmet chocolates.  This wine farm does have wine tasting service which is great, no need to get up. But if you do want to, you can do that too.

First up was the Brut Rosé. It is 30% Pinotage, 20% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir and has spent 12 months on the lees. It is light, dry and refreshing –  you will pick up hints of strawberries and it would pair beautifully with a salad due to it’s well balanced acidity. In this instance, it was paired with a Pomegranate milk chocolate! YUM!

Next up was the MCC Brut. It is 51% Chardonnay and 49% Pinot Noir which has spent 12 months on the lees. You will experience delightfully delicate bubbles on the palate with a good balance of orange peel and almond Biscotti. R139.50 a bottle. 8g/l sugar. It was paired with a delightful Turkish Delight flavoured chocolate.

I really enjoyed this Jean le Long Blanc de Blancs MCC. I particularly loved the packaging and it would make the perfect Christmas gift. It is 100% Chardonnay which has spent 60 months on the lees. The result is a full mouth feel, dry and lemony MCC with only 2g/l sugar.

With a similar label, this is the newly released Chardonnay Pinot Noir (61% Chardonnay, 39% Pinot Noir). I would recommend this wine for those long summer days because it is refreshing yet has good acidity and depth of flavour to pair with fish or salads.

If it is a cooler day, they have plenty of space inside too. Here is the indoor tasting room:

    

This is a fun experience! It is called a Sabrage – when you open a MCC bottle with a saber sword. The technique is quite simple to learn really. You just need to look for the joins of the bottle. Find the roughest join/seam that runs from the base to the neck of the bottle. This is where you can give a smooth stroke with the sword. No need to go fast or apply pressure either. And POP! The bottle is open.

I then went on down to the Werf restaurant which is a small drive away from the tasting room (yes, you have to drive, that is how big the farm is!)

This is one fancy restaurant! Most of the ingredients are sourced from the farm itself and is oh so fresh! I really love the decor. It is opulent yet mismatched and quirky.

This is the outside terrace which overlooks the gardens…jealous yet?

It’s pretty damn fabulous!

Even the bathrooms were eye candy. Just look at this basin!

This was my starter!

It had lettuce, peas, herbs, cheese and an amazing dressing with pickled lemon curd!

For mains we had Trout which was covered in seaweed and baked in salt.

It was like revealing a Christmas present!

Sadly I cannot eat fish when drinking wine (weird allergy) so I opted for the vegetarian dish 🙂 Good old tofu. It was sitting on a rather interesting barley (porridge like) base. Very fresh and filling!

For dessert I had this amazing strawberry delight! Honeycomb, ice cream and meringue. yummy!

Here are some more images of Werf restaurant…

      

Just outside Werf is another area where you can sit under the trees…how refreshing!

This area is perfect for those wind free summer days.

You also see some interesting things, like this wood fired BBQ.

Or this strange looking art.

Even some decorated service tables.

On the other side of the courtyard is this more casual café where many a bike rider will stop for some snacks and coffee.

There are some great MTB trails I hear.

Nature at it’s best.

I really enjoyed sipping on some MCC whilst overlooking the gardens. You should try it for yourself, I highly recommend it!

So which farm will be next?

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