Of cabbages and wines

What do you do when you find out your friend did something really horrible in the past? And this without a hint of contriteness? I had to confront this on a recent⁽¹⁾ road trip with The Runner. On long trips The Runner turns into The Driver. Next to the road between Vredendal and Lutzville I saw cabbages growing. In public. Now I didn't expect them to grow underground, but at least I expected them to be hidden from public viewing. “No, it is legal to grow cabbages.”

“WHAT!?” This government has a lot to answer for. Yes, Presidential security and travel are important and so are housing and sanitisation. But surely, protecting citizens against the vile taste of cabbage must rank in the top 4 of government priorities. How can you let people consume something so abhorrent? Turns out the Geneva Convention is also silent on this issue. Interpol? Nothing. World wide failure then. I must therefore accept that cabbage growing is legal, if contemptible, in this country.

Back to the damning revelation. “I used to sell cabbages.” Luckily I sat. Strapped in. No place to fall to. Or get out and walk. OK, I was not about to get out and walk in 37°C heat in the middle of the deep gramadoelas, but the popularity of my driver took a desperate plunge. My world started spinning. Anti clockwise if you must know.

The purpose of this trip was to go wine tasting in the Olifantsriver area. Home to vast, sprawling vineyards and mostly known for cheap and semi cheerful wines. I had to adjust my thinking. Not wholesale, but maybe my retail thoughts.

The Hotel in Klawer provided mixed experiences. Of all the towns in the area it is known as a bit of a dump. And justly so. Not the most of salubrious of settlements. Very little happening and relentlessly so. But the hotel was clean, the air conditioning worked and the rates were reasonable. In the restaurant at the hotel the steak was on special. And expertly cooked. I expected adequate, but was pleasantly surprised. In same said restaurant I walked in barefoot. I was so comfortable, I felt at home. You know, like the TV ad.

“I'm sorry, but we insist on our patrons wearing shoes” Or words to that effect. I am translating the idea rather than the actual words. Fair enough, their standards are higher than mine. Probably a good thing. But apparently those standards only applied to me. Some families came in with the kids barefoot. Where was the rule now? Maybe children's feet are pretty and the sight or whiff of my middle aged toes will put people off their food. But then it turns out this was also the smoking section of the restaurant. Larger than the 25% the law provides for and definitely no children should be allowed in. But this being the bucolic backwaters maybe the law is slightly different here.

Anyhow, onwards and outwards the next morning. After several breakfast miscues we ended up for the first of many visits to the Thi Art coffee shop in the Maskam mall, nestled just outside of Vredendal. What a fantastic place! Having croissants on the menu is normally enough for me, but they go way further. Lots of interesting combinations. Iced tea with apple. The thing with berries I had, was made from real berries. And the orange juice was forcefully expelled from real oranges by some electro mechanical contraption. No boxed and sugar enhanced stuff here.

In the interest of brevity, and what a change for me, some very short opinions of the Vredendal wines.

Revelations:

Seal Breeze, Take the time to taste. This is a good experience. Take a non-drinking driver. Don't plan anything else. Brilliant tasting hosted by the winemaker herself, Joan Wiggins, beware the extremely drinkable grappa.

Namaqua, They do food pairings. They box and bottle some of the same produce and very good value for money. They also do bottle only stuff. A very nice stop.

Teubes, Anyone who has the Nieuw Brew beers gets extra points. Liked the bubbles a lot. Interesting food menu as well.

Bellpost. Tasted at the Thiart restaurant, yes relations, good wine. Restaurant very good with interesting combinations. Also had a Bitterfontein connection too involved to detail here. But any Bitterfontein connection seems like a good one.

Unchanged:

Klawer, cheap and cheerful. Really liked their brandy.

Fryers cove. Because I already liked Fryer's cove. A good tasting experience and food too.

Missed out on: Stellar Organics (they be closed)

So back to the cabbage inflicting damage The Driver did. Well she was young. And from the Free State. Both borderline forgivable. And with further research it seems that some, seemingly normal, people actually like cabbage. So I guess I have to accept to Live and Let Eat Cabbage. ⁽²⁾

(1) Middle of the year actually. In middle age recent becomes a fluid concept.

(2) Not Roger Moore's best.