Breakfast & Wine Tasting at Haute Cabriere

I received an invitation from the ever-lovely Manley Communications to enjoy breakfast, cellar tour and tasting at Haute Cabriere in Franschhoek. The lovely man and I lept at the chance, and decided to make a day of being in the beautiful winelands, and spend some time at Warwick Wine Estate too (to follow in a separate post). So, early last Saturday morning we headed off to gorgeous Franschhoek, appetites firmly alive, ready to experience a little winelands treat.

Stepping out the car, this is the view that greeted us - due to it's fantastic position on the slopes of the valley, you have almost 360 degree views - perfect accompaniment for the breakfast that was to follow. We made our way to the restaurant and chose an outside table - even though there was a little chill in the air, it was worth it for the views, and for the occasional ray of sunshine that crept through.

The lovely man and I started with coffee, and each ordered the breakfast platter - there are no bacon or eggs on the menu, and the choice is between the platter, or oysters and bubbly. 

 

Breakfast consisted of:

Selection of cold meats - parma ham and salami

Smoked salmon

Greek yoghurt and honey

Strawberries and gooseberries

Ciabatta

Croissant

Soft date cake

Sundried tomato pastry wheel

A selection of cheeses

I particularly loved the yoghurt and honey (to which I added the fruit from my platter) and the smoked cheese and date cake, which went together remarkably well.

It was definitely a fair spread, and I couldn't finish my board. A few more cups of coffee, and a cup of Early Grey tea later, we were ready to depart on the cellar tour.  We briefly popped into the inside of the restaurant - which was lovely. Cosy without being clausophobic, and simply and elegantly decorated. The restaurant also offers lunch and dinner, the current highlights are:

The Pinot Noir Tasting Menu is created by Chef Ryan Shell. It is a menu of five dishes paired with the popular Haute Cabrière Pinot Noir range. It is served during lunch on Saturday and Sunday and at dinner Friday and Saturday.

And the Table d’Haute concept is a play on the Table d’Hôte term, a phrase which literally means "host's table", where guests are served a multi-course meal, created by the host. It is the chef’s daily selection with the best and freshest seasonal ingredients. The Table d’Haute is served for lunch from Tuesday to Friday.

But, back to the wine tasting.

The cellar tour and tasting is led by either the cellarmaster and MD of the farm, Achim von Arnim or one of his sons. We were lucky enough to meet Takuan von Arnim - his son and cellarmaster, who proceeded to lead us on the most informative and entertaining tour of the cellar and wines.

  

 While wondering through the cellars, we were given a bit of history of this family run farm, of the grapes they grow (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir) and the opportunity to taste seven of their wines in the cellar after the tour. You can view some of the history here, but I really recommend you go to the farm and experience this highly entertaining and informative tour (and, at only R50 including the wine tasting, is such a bargain!).
Thank you to Manley Communications for the invitation, and another wonderful experience, and to Haute Cabriere for hosting us.