Whites and Wines

Most of what I saw in Cape Town fell into two categories: that which seemed genuinely 'African' and that which did not. Riding the southern suburbs train while a woman preached gospel and blind children begged for spare change? African. Being served souped-up veggie burgers on Long Street by a troupe of trendy white waitresses? Not. In the end, I found more things fell into the 'not' category than the African one. Waterfront mansions, French cuisine, Lady Gaga blaring from everyone's speakers – I left Cape Town wondering if I was even in Africa at all.

And then we arrived in Stellenbosch, and everything we found un-African about Cape Town suddenly seemed to epitomize Africa in comparison.

To sum up Stellenbosch in three words: everyone is white. To sum it up differently, this was where apartheid (pronounced apart-hate, not apart-hide) was conceived and it shows.

The second of the European settlements in South Africa (following Cape Town), Stellenbosch's streetscape is lined with three-century old oak trees and white-washed Cape Dutch architecture, giving the town a distinctly European feel. Add to that the fact that nearly everyone is jabbering in a hybrid of German, Dutch, French and English (Afrikaans is the only European language to ever evolve outside of Europe) and you're left feeling like April 1994 never even happened. As a fellow-hosteler commented, "It's the white man's dream of Africa.” In fact, the only blacks we saw during our stay were in coveralls, digging a ditch on the outskirts of town.

A rather boring picture of U-Stell

This was perhaps exaggerated by the fact that our hostel sat on the University of Stellenbosch campus -- allegedly Afrikanerdom's most prestigious educational institution -- and that our visit coincided with something along the lines of Frosh week. From our assessment, no one in the town is over the age of twenty-four. All the girls are thin and tan and wear exposed neon bras. All the boys are jocks who wear trucker hats and seemingly have an aversion to footwear. And they all drive shiny Volkswagens and drink copious amounts of Castle beer – often simultaneously. It's a pretty town overrun with fresh-from-the-nest youth, where you can hardly hear yourself think over the beat of the electronica emanating from 'Academia', U-Stell's student housing complex.

Despite the Orange County/Euro-rave vibe, it was easy to have a quiet, relaxed and thoroughly enjoyable stay in Stellenbosch. After all, it is the heart of the Winelands, making it easy to escape to the serenity of one of the two hundred plus wine estates for a relaxed outdoor tasting of some of the region's excellent wines in the shade of vine-covered pergolas.

Lacking private transport of our own, we opted to do a tour of the Winelands (including Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschoek) and for R300 (about $45) we were shuttled around to five wineries and were given the opportunity to taste more than twenty different wines (by the afternoon, we were feeling the effects of the high South African alcohol content, so we had to pass on a few of them). We first went on a tour of the vineyard and learned all about the wine-making process, and were then briefed on how to properly taste the wines (nose, taste, finish – that's about all I can remember). After that, it was time to start drinking.

At the Boschendal Estate

The first wine we tried was a sparkling wine made using the traditional Champagne method. When the French found out that South Africans were producing 'Champagne' and calling it so, they objected and demanded that it be re-named to reflect its origins. The wine-makers came up with an alternative name, and in South Africa, this prestigious category became known as Kaapse Vonkel (Cape Sparkle). Having tasted Simonsig's Kaapse Vonkel, I can say that it's better than most authentic Champagnes I have tried – bearing in mind that I know absolutely nothing about wine and have never purchased a bottle costing more than $20.

Our Kaapse Vonkel being opened in true Napoleonic fashion, sword-style

Another notable wine we tasted (besides my beloved Gewurtztraminer, which tasted like lychee juice) was South Africa's signature Pinotage variety. Pinotage was bred in 1925 by a professor at Stellebosch University who wanted to combine Hermitage and Pinot Noir grapes to create a grape that both produced good wine and was easy to cultivate in South Africa's warm climate. I wasn't totally sold on it, but since our guide assured us that so much of wine-tasting is subjective, I'm not about to dissuade others from giving it a try. Besides, supposedly it tastes like dark chocolate and blackberries, which sounds just lovely.

Where the magic happens

Feeling rather Okanagan

Also a highlight was the Fairview Estate in Paarl, which not only gave us six wines instead of five, but also threw in a cheese tasting! And really, Scott and I are nothing if not connoisseurs of fine artisinal cheeses. We sampled Gouda and Feta and Brie and Blue and half a dozen others and they were almost all delicious. The three Frenchmen on the tour were inclined to disagree with our glowing reviews, but as I recall they turned up their noses at the Gewurtztraminer as well, so obviously they had no taste.

And that is how we spent our time in Stellenbosch: drinking wine, eating cheese, and marvelling at young white South Africans' horrid taste in music. As for the authentically African stuff? I have a feeling it's coming, and when it does, we'll be glad we've had this time to eat, drink and revel in the comforts of what seems a lot like home -- albeit tempered by a hint of lingering colonialism.

The end