Four am wake up calls have never been anyone’s strong point but on the 9^th of May 2011, all of us were ready to set off for O.R. Tambo International Airport. The second years of The Swiss Hotel School were buzzing with excitement. Bags packed and ready to go. After a quick flight we had arrived in the mother city, Cape Town!  

The first day was completely crammed with activities which we set off to do as soon as we had dropped our bags off at Elim B&B. Our first stop was Cape Point Vineyards. We then proceeded to our lunch spot for the day which was an exquisite restaurant called Simons on the Groot Constantia Estate. After a lunch of delicious stuffed chicken and ice cream, we headed off to the actual winery and had our second wine tasting. We headed over to Hout Bay for a quick run on the beach, a dip in the water for those of us brave enough (or rather crazy enough) and a coffee at the Dunes Restaurant. We made our way home and got ready for a relaxed dinner at a restaurant in Tyger Valley. After delicious platters of nachos and various finger foods, we went back to the bed and breakfast for a well deserved rest.  

A light drizzle on the second day dampened the mood slightly, however; as soon as everyone was fed and more or less awake, we were ready for our day filled with excellent wine and mouth watering foods. We went to Seidelberg Wineries for a tour as well as a tasting. With our new bottles of wine securely by our sides, we headed off to lunch at Bodega Restaurant on the Dornier Estate. We had a short tasting of Dornier Wines and a tour of the cellar. The highlight of this tour was probably the fact that the cellar was below a giant Koi pond which kept the temperature cool enough to produce their wines.  

Dalla Cia is a Grappa distillery, which was one of the most unique tastings we experienced. Grappa is a distilled drink made out of the grape skins that would be thrown away after a wine is made. The owner warned us that it would be an acquired taste. We soon found out how serious he actually was.

We freshened up and made our way to dinner at a restaurant called Pure at Hout Bay Manor. Pure is exclusive, classy and extremely elegant. The food was like nothing we had ever tasted before as were the wines that accompanied the courses. We all left feeling like we were on top of the world and extremely impressed.

Plaisir de Merle was our first wine tasting on day 3. Each wine estate had gone to so much effort for us, in order to give us the best wine tastings the Cape had to offer. As we began our tasting it hit me like a brick wall how in love I am with the entire culture of wine. To be able to take a fruit and turn it into something people across the world would pay thousands of rands for is a pretty amazing career in my opinion. We moved onto Moreson Wine Estate where we had our first sparkling wines of the trip and heard the story of Miss Molly, the resident dog who was so special she had her own wine range named after her.

We settled down for a lovely lunch at Bread and Wine on the Estate of Moreson.  

Huguenot Chocolate Factory did a demonstration on how chocolate is made and most importantly – a chocolate tasting!!

After feeling full to the brim, we moved onto Grande Provence Estate for our final wine tasting of the trip. It was one of the most beautiful estates we had been to and I think more than half of us took the chance to capture a bit of Cape Towns beauty. 

We were fortunate to have a wonderful dinner at The One and Only Hotel at Reuben’s Restaurant. The food was mind blowing, each course accompanied by a wine. After this, a few people decided to hit the party scene in Long Street while the rest headed home.  

Thursday came around with a bit of everything in the atmosphere. In the hurry to pack, you could sense a bit of longing, nobody really wanting to put an end to our lovely tour. We set off to Signal Hill, where most of us were in awe of the magnificent view! We made our way to our final lunch, reminiscing about the past couple of days. We headed to the airport and had one last coffee together as the Second Year Students of The Swiss Hotel School’s Cape Wine Tour 2011.  

Written by: Jessica Markotter