An Afternoon in Wine Country

Friday afternoon comes around, I have an early day at work and finish at 1pm, I now have a car and drivers licence. Lets put these together and see what happens.

(Groot Constantia Wine Estate)

Less than 20kms from work I head to Constantia, a small "Wine Region" which is actually one farm, Groot Constantia, founded by the Governor Simon van der Stel in 1685. The Farm was soon broken up into three

separate farms: Groot Constantia, Klein Constantia, and Buitenverwachting; add two separate farms, Steenberg and Constantia Uitsig and you have the Constantia Wine Region.

I started my afternoon at Groot Constantia, a beautiful estate that is home to the original "Cape Dutch" architecture from the 17thC. Of all the wineries I visited that day its tasting was the most expensive, but also the most detailed, at R28 (AUD$5) they took me through the entire range, and after I got chatting to them they even let me taste all the expensive Not For Tasting wines. And at the end of it, I scored a free glass! It was a beautiful introduction to what would turn out to be a fantastic day!

(Klein Constantia)

My next stop was Klein Constantia, one of the off-shoots from the original farm. The tasting hall here was not as impressive as Groot Constantia, but the wines were another story. Klein

Constantia is the home of Vin de Constance, a sweet wine that has had an amazing history. During his time in exile on the island of St Helena, Napoleon chose to only drink this wine. This wine has also been served to such figures as Frederick the Great, Bismarck, and various Kings of England. The wine has also had significant literary note: In Edwin Drood Charles Dickens tells of "...the support embodied in a glass of Constantia and a home-made biscuit", while Jane Austen recommends it for "...its healing powers on a disappointed heart". Baudelaire transforms it into a sensuous image for his poem Les Fleurs du mal.

And this wine is still made to the same recipe,

on the same farm, and I had some.

(Buitenverwachting Wine Estate)

To complete the trio of estates that made up Groot Constantia I headed to the easy to pronounce Buitenverwatching. I was really unsure what to expect here, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. This winery was small and unassuming from the outside, but very professional on the inside. Tasting was free and not at all pressured (or maybe it was subtle pressure as I left with 2 bottles in hand), as well as very knowledgeable. In fact all of the vineyards were very knowledgeable, and not at all touristy. I suspect that all the tourists head for the world famous Stellenbosch without realising that this gem is right on Cape Towns doorstop.

To comment briefly on the wine now. Up until now I had tried three vineyards that are sprung from the same original estate, however each had vastly different wines. One thing that was consistent was that Sauvignon Blanc was the white grape of choice, but all three vineyards used different production techniques. In my opinion the most successful was Groot Constantia, with a very mature Sav Blanc that I actually liked. Beyond that, a Rhine Riesling was popular, but only Klein Constantia took it seriously enough to make a decent one. Beyond that each house had its own "other" white: Groot Constantia had a lovely wooded Chardonnay (my favourite), Klein Constantia had the Vin de Constance (dessert, but still white), and Buitenverwachting had a Buiten Blanc, which by there own admission should only be used as a cheap wine at braai's (barbeque's). As far as reds go, Groot Constantia was way ahead of the pack with their Shiraz, and their Pinotage, Klein Constantia wasn't memorable, and Buitenverwachting had a phenomenal Cabernet which despite its youth held the length and finesse of an aged wine.

(Steenberg Wine Estate)

The last vineyard on the list was Steenberg Estate, the only estate I visited that wasn't part of the original Groot Constantia estate. Steenberg had a fantastic cellar door that was really well thought out. You are seated on this lovely balcony and given a glass of sparkling (weather you want it or not), then you can opt to taste the normal wines for free, or the high end wines for R50 (AUD$8). As I was driving (and didn't want to spend 50 rand) I went for the basic package which saw me taste two Sav Blancs, a Blanc de Noir, two Merlots and a Shiraz. The only really stand out wine was the 2007 Merlot, which although 2 years younger than the other 2005 on offer, was much more mature in flavour, a real winner. Almost as good as that Merlot was the conversation on the next table, and once it was obvious that I was the only other person there and could hear everything being said, they invited me to join them. It was a South African couple who owned a South African goods store on an island in the Caribbean. Now My initial thought is why on earth do you want a South African goods store in the Caribbean, but they are obviously doing well enough to come on a "business trip" to Constantia tasting wines for their store!

(Hout Bay)

Now with the wineries starting to close and dinner time fast approaching I headed over the mountain to Hout Bay; you know those pictures of Great White sharks jumping out of the water to get fish? That's Hout Bay. I was looking at moving here when I was looking for a place, and if I had a car at the time and was able to commute, I would have seriously considered it, its a truly stunning place, and it seems to have avoided the gentrification other seaside towns on the Cape are going through.

Sadly there were no jumping sharks today, but the fish & chips was stunning! I went to a place called Fish on the Rocks, it was suitably drab for a world famous fish & chip store that hadn't changed a bit in 20 years. The Hake & Chips I had for R35 (AUD$5) was stunning, and filling and and and and... It was great!

And so ends my Friday afternoon adventure. In a little over 5 hours, and 70kms driving I managed to discover one of my favourite wine regions, buy much more wine than I should have (5 bottles), and discover the lovely Hout Bay and its famous Fish & Chips!! Not bad for an afternoons work! Check out this photo album for the other pics from that day.

(the drive back to Cape Town, Camps Bay)

Smiles and Sunshine :)

I have begun to realise that this little blog might be giving people the wrong impression. Obviously I concentrate on posting dramatic events on here, things that stand out, which is quite often negative. Well all of us know that the things that make a place, or life itself worth it are not usually big events; it is the little everyday pleasures that make a place special. So I would like to spend just a moment on those things that make me love Cape Town.

The first of many little things that make me love this town is opening my door to the most beautiful city in the world (arguably :) and knowing that even though its 7:45am, I am about to head into that city.

Going down to the main road, never quite sure what shape, size or standard of transport is going to get me there, but knowing that I will get there. Usually in a bus or taxi different from any I have taken before.

On the exciting occasions I buy lunch, or just take a wander downstairs during the day and stroll around Greenmarket Sq, always packed with tourists seeing this place for the first time. It is always nice to be around that kind of enthusiasm.

The sunshine that displays the stunning Table Mountain, a more amazing backdrop I cannot imagine.

That same sunshine that soaks the beaches and streets of Cape Town bringing everybody outside, even in the middle of winter.

The storms that take hold after a few days of sunshine, unleashing havoc and remind you what the weather is really capable of.

And finally, the faces of the students every week that pass their course and take the first step to a new job. I cannot underestimate for a moment how important this chance is for a lot of the students I teach, and I get payed back 100 times over with their smiles :)

South Africa: Industrial Action, Homelessness, and a wonderful spirit.

It's Friday night here in Cape Town, and I'm feeling quite good, which is surprising considering my week. So here it goes:

This week started on Tuesday, as it was a long weekend in South Africa. I wasn't feeling my best on Tuesday morning, I had a cold, but it was just starting out, then mid afternoon it hit home with force. Combine that with the fact that my days have been booked solid because I have to fit 5 days work into 4! I had a new class starting, and a huge class from the previous week finishing up, but this was just work. Work was made so much more difficult when I found out that one of the staff (not one I knew) had been killed in a hijacking on the weekend, a guy just like these guys in my class, a hijacking that left a grand total of two dead, one paralysed.

After a start like that I was thrilled to find out Tuesday that the bus company had gone on strike, so after an exhausting day I headed to the taxi rank which is crazy busy on a normal day, but when they suddenly became the sole form of transport for most of Cape Town, things went crazy. The line for Wynberg (my taxi) was about 200m long...

But you know, strikes happen, and from what I know about the bus strike, it seemed they had good reason. What gets me is that right then seemed like the best time for the taxi's to also go on strike! The taxis decided they were going to strike about the new bus system that was being built, I'm sure the timing was a mere coincidence. I hope it was well noted that when the taxi's strike most commuters call them f******** *****, but when the bus drivers strike, most commuters applauded their spirit. This seems to be because although the bus system is unreliable, it's not as horribly opportunistic and inhumane as the taxi system, where most operators would sell the seating space on the front bumper if it meant an extra rand.

I'm getting off topic; the point is that come Wednesday my only two transport options were on strike. I left early for work and basically decided to wing it, a wandered down to Main St, where all the buses and taxis usually are and found an interesting phenomenon. Nobody was on the street, not expecting there to be any transport, everyone stayed home, but here's the funny part, there were taxis, not heaps, but more than enough considering there was no one to take. So in the end it was the horribly opportunistic and inhumane characteristics of the taxis that kept some on the street, for the money. The reality was, it was very comfortable, as there were only a few people using them. Then arriving in town, it really was like a ghost town. The normally buzzing taxi rank, which only 12 hours earlier was overflowing, was deserted, the streets as well. At work I was not expecting anyone to show, I mean most of my students rely on public transport, so I was really touched when I had a nearly completely full class! I asked everyone how they made it and it was an amazing combination of hitchhiking, getting lifts from family members, walking, really amazing.

By Thursday afternoon both strikes were over and everything went back to normal, and the ladies in the office stopped laughing in my face and calling me crazy when I kept insisting that I would just catch the bus, or taxi. In the end, my commute was barely interrupted, except in the height of my cold having to wait 35mins in the freezing wind for a bus, but that's life.

So we make it to today, my cold has greatly improved and is almost gone, and I'm feeling relatively great. This was the last day for my group and they have been great, they are really lovely and have been trying so hard. During the prac lesson today they all had cameras and they made a photo shoot of themselves behind a bar, then they all wanted photos of me! During the class I got a knock on the door from one of last week's students who were there to pick up here certificate and she gave me a thank you card, which in itself is sweet, then I opened it and she had translated a message from her mum saying thank-you to me as well! I nearly cried it was so lovely!

Then this afternoon I called one of my students who had failed his exams to see what was wrong, as he had been a strong student. I won't go into details for his privacy, but the gist of it is, his brother got into drugs and is now mentally disabled and has been sent back to his home country, so his landlord kicked him out, he has been sleeping in shibeen's (township bars, very rough) and hasn't been eating. My heart broke for this guy, he is in South Africa to finish his degree and he spent his last money on my course so he could get a job to put himself through uni. The tears were a little harder to hold back this time. So my afternoon has been spent going from shelter to shelter finding him a bed, and making sure he has food to get him through. He will re-try the exams next week and get his certificate, but until then, he at least has a bed and some food...

So this week I have really been exposed to South Africa: Death, Industrial Action, Homelessness, and a wonderful spirit. There is some messed up stuff going on in South Africa, and in the short time I've been here I must admit I have felt despair, but right now, and the overwhelming majority of the time, I feel happy. I am in a place that in spite of some serious difficulties shows me warmth and happiness every day.

What I would do if I where a Hundred-Millionaire!!

OK, so I've been thinking about it and I've decided what my latest plan is for when I become a Hundred-Millionaire (or Billionaire if we are talking Rands, not $$). I think its important to have these plans in place, you know, so you don't waste time when it happens. So, I've come across a stupidly large amount of money, heres the plan:

1. Buy a Yacht:
2. Buy penthouse apartments in Melbourne and Cape Town. The one in Melbourne needs to be in the CBD, the one in Cape Town, needs to be overlooking Table Mountain and/or Table Bay, with a balcony AND a braai (Barbeque).
3. Buy a Helicopter Charter company at the Waterfront, it can do its own thing, but when I want, I can get a lift in a helicopter!
4. 
   Fly ALL my friends first class to Cape Town to have a massive 2-week party at my penthouse, including Game Parks, beach houses and all the rest using my helicopter. Nice.
5. OK, so we have recovered from the wicked weekend, all of you cool people at the party realise how awesome Cape Town is and have chosen to stay, and I put in place the last and most important part of my plan. I start an NGO, work with an established one, aimed at helping Sub-Saharan African Refugees in South Africa assimilate into life here. There are many factors here: racial tensions between the locals, companies unwilling to give jobs to foreigners because of this tension and the housing troubles, I am just scratching the surface. The way I figure it, I have left my home on my own free will and can return at any time, the majority of Zimbabweans, Congolese, Nigerians etc. have been forced to leave and can't go home. I would love to give them a hand.

So, anyone who actually made it to the bottom of this post, let me know, cus you are obviously cool enough to come to my party in Cape Town.

Back to School!

So guess what? As of yesterday I am officially a student again! I have started studying an MBA at the Edinburgh Business School, by distance of courseJ. I'm really excited about it, just to be able to be challenged again. The Edinburgh Business School is an off-shoot of Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh; they are really good at the whole distance learning thing, check out www.ebsglobal.net.

My first subject is Accounting, you do one subject at a time, 6 to get your Post Grad Diploma in Business Admin (Finance), and 9 to get the full Masters. They are pretty intense subjects too, my book is HUGE!

I finished Module 1 & 2 today (there are 16), and I'm fairly sure the Professors who wrote the text were trying to imply that one of their case studies was having an affair... Ok, here it is: I was going through one of the activities and you had to record the transactions in the accounting equation, so it says "Mr Forth buys Christmas presents: €200 Food Mixer for his wife, and a €1200 Dress for his secretary"! Tell me Mr Forth isn't up to something. Who said accounting is boring?