I first came to Cape Town for Christmas in 1991 to stay with the MacDonald family (four brothers) and visited Constantia for a delightful supper. I failed to visit the vineyards and so today 19 years later I made amends.
Jack and I tasted wines at the Steenberg Vineyards - we started with a Steenberg 1682 (the date the vineyard was laid down) Pinot Noir Methode Cap Classique which to you and me was a champagne rose, soft on the palate, it slipped down. We moved on to a Sauvignon Blanc 2009 Reserve which was easily the best of the whites and we bought a bottle, a Semillon 2009 followed, as did, a Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon 2008 (70/30 split) which was a delight and then onto a Nebbiolo 2008 red which reminded us of a poor man's Chianti and finally another red: Catharina 2007 which we dwelt on more and more......
We moved onto the almost unpronounceable Buitenverwachting Vineyard for lunch and tried some of their whites by which time it was time for a nap.
Later, we imbibed two Sauvignon Blancs - a Groote Post 2010 Sauvignon Blanc from Darling and a Ken Forrester 2009 from Stellenbosch.
We decided we shouldn't leave it for another 19 years.