Since Rio was born I have come to appreciate two things dearly. 1) Great kiddies play places (places I used to loathe prior to having kids) and seperately 2) Getting time to relax with Cam as adults with no Rio to look after or meal to cut into bite sized pieces. The later obviously doesn’t happen often so when it does it is very appreciated. Recently Cam & I got the opportunity to go to Louisvale Wines for the afternoon and it was such a treat. Let’s just say we will definitely be back..
Every time I go to the winelands I realise just how lucky we are in the Western Cape to have this on our doorstep!
About Louisvale
Louisvale is situated at the foot of the Stellenbosch mountains in Devon Valley. Their wine journey began in 1986 when it was acquired by Hans Froehling and Leon Stemme. They are known as one of the “pioneers of Chardonnay” in South Africa. At the heart of the farm is a manor house built in 1924 that sits beside a dramatic tasting centre designed by architect Christof Albertyn.
The location itself is beyond gorgeous. The amount of glass makes it so easy to look out and enjoy the beautiful green hills and feel an instant sense of calm and serenity. You can literally spend hours there sipping on your wine and enjoying the view.
Food Highlights
I really appreciated the variety in their food menu, catering for different food palates as well as different budgets. They also have some nice sharing boards! However Cam & I were pining after different menu items so we decided not to share this time around.
For starters Cam went with the calamari with miso mayo (Excellent choice) and I went for the mushroom risotto. This vegetarian dish was so delicious I could easily have had it for my main course! It was lightly dusted with lemon and was just honestly an absolute highlight for me. 10/10 recommend.
For mains both Cam and I are huge pork belly fans so we usually fight over who will order that – as we never want to order the same thing. We rather order two different dishes and taste each others plate. So Cam went with the pork belly (I conceded this time around) and I chose the sirloin. Well let’s just say I didn’t share any of my sirloin with Cam – that is testament to how tasty it was! It was perfectly medium rare and garnished with baby potatoes and seasonal veg (including beetroot which I usually don’t eat, but these were so nicely roasted I finished every morsel). Paired with the Louisvale Merlot it was a winning combo. Cam also said his pork belly was super great too. We were both so happy with our choices!
The Wine
The absolute stand out for me was the MCC Brut Chardonnay. I am a complete bubbles girl so I wold naturally gravitate towards this, but it totally surpassed my expectations. At +- R130 a bottle it is extremely well priced and I’ll definitely be purchasing some of this for the Christmas season. Cam’s favourite was the Dominque (R780 for a case of 6). This is a medium/ full bodied wine and really paired well with our main courses.
We were also very happy to discover their Stone Road range, which retails at – guess- R60 a bottle!! This is very easy drinking wine and we bought a few of the Sauvignon Blanc for when we have friends around. All of their wines can be purchased directly online and delivered straight to your door. Alternatively you can see their website for a list of retailers in your area.
We also appreciated how knowledgable everyone is at Louisvale about the wines, and not in a confusing way. I left the wine tasting with a better understanding of how to pair wines and what to look out for.
If you’re keen to find out more, check out Louisvale Wines – they often host music & food evenings which look like an amazing date night idea!