There can’t be a better way to spend a birthday.

Today I turned 62. That’s like the new 42, right? Doesn’t matter, age is a state of mind or just a number. I still feel like I’m 25 but with a whole lot of experience.

And today, I spent the day in the area in and around Stellenbosch, South Africa, touring wineries and enjoying lunch and the company of new friends and old, er I mean longer term.

Just before 9:00 am Marius from Camino Tours picked us up at our hotel and we headed north-east around Table Mountain and over to the town of Stellenbosch to gather up another couple of guests that would be joining us on our winery tour today. Actually, they refer to them as farms rather than vineyards or wineries here. The other guests turned out to be a young couple from Ireland who were fitting a dream trip to Africa in before moving and starting new jobs in Tipperary. They were excellent touring companions.

The town of Stellenbosch, founded in 1679, is the second oldest European settlement in South Africa (next to Cape Town), and is home to Stellenbosch University and to a fantastic grape growing region. It’s about 50 km from Cape Town at the base of Stellenbosch Mountain. The soils of Stellenbosch, well-drained and hilly and the Mediterranean climate, are great for grape growing as the hundreds of vineyards in the region have discovered. Summers (Feb/Mar) are dry and warm to hot and winters are cool, rainy and sometimes windy, as we discovered since we’ve been here.

As an aside, the Cape region has been suffering this winter from a lack of rain and the reservoirs are only at 17% capacity. Water is on strict rationing and people are asked to use a maximum of 85 litres per person per day, which requires some serious conservation efforts such as reusing bath water for flushing toilets, etc. As visitors we’re exempt from this quota, but we’re doing our bit by having short showers, etc.

Marius took us to our first stop just outside Stellenbosch to a winery called, Overgaauw Wine Estate, which is a fourth-generation (more than a century old) family-run winery. The property was rich with history and character, with building built in the typical Dutch Cape Design. Our host was a delightful woman, who, with her brother, is now running the business after taking over much of the responsibility from their father. She had an obvious knowledge of, and love for the industry and her family’s contribution to the art of wine making.

This winery has a reputation for many firsts, including new vintages such as the first South African estate to bottle a 100% Merlot, and was among the first Chardonnay producers. We tried 6 wines here, including a fortified wine that I absolutely loved. Now, at this point I should probably admit to not really being very much of a wine drinker. Probably a wine tasting tour is a bit wasted on me. But I did my bit and tried everything that was presented to me. The fact that a fortified wine was one of the highlights of the day is remarkable.

Our next stop, Jordan Wine Estate, was just down the road and was about 180 degrees different than the first. It was a much more commercial enterprise with a new shiny show room, slick merchandizing and marketing and multiple staff performing the tastings.

The estate has been producing grapes for 300 years but was most recently handed over to the second generation Jordans in 1993 when they bought it after having been bought by their parents in 1982. I loved the Chenin Blanc from there, and the property was absolutely gorgeous with views of the surrounding hills and vales. The charm and character of the previous host and family run operation just wasn’t there.

Some of you will recognize the name of the next winery that we went to. Ernie Els is best known as a golfer on the PGA Tour and he’s won an amazing number of tournaments. He is from the Johannesburg area of South Africa, but his wife is from Stellenbosch and she obviously has a huge influence. South east of Stellenbosch, up on a hill is a beautiful property, the home of Ernie Els Wines.

It’s the only winery we visited that had a trophy room or a chipping mat and landing green as highlights. The property is manicured and the buildings impressive, as are the trophy’s and pictures from Ernie’s golf career. The sun came out for a little while for us while we were there, but we didn’t have a chance to take a swing of a golf club. We did however, manage to taste another 3 wines or 4 wines. As you will know, there are spittoons provided so that you don’t actually have to drink all the wines you are tasting and when I attended an LCBO (the Ontario government liquor monopoly for those of you outside Ontario) tasting they encourage the use of the spittoon and responsible drinking. But hey, it’s my birthday and I’m being driven so yes I probably drank more wine today than in the previous whole year. I didn’t dance on any tables so I think I managed to handle it OK.

We got to our lunch destination, thankfully, just in time before the kitchen closed down. Lunch was beautiful. I had springbok. Sorry to all you vegetarians, vegans and pescatarians, but it really had to be tried. It was a very flavourful main dish and with so much meat provided I wasn’t able to get through it all (and eat dessert, I mean). Dessert was a chocolate ganache with cappuccino ice cream served with a chocolate wafer. You’ll see a picture of it, where I tried to hide the fact I’d already eaten half. Did I succeed?

After a leisurely lunch spent in the company of our new Irish friends, Marius was back to collect us to show us our final estate for the day, Annandale. I’m not really sure what to say about it, other than it had history, charm, roosters and hens, two massive dogs, a quirky host and red wines. To be honest by this point, and after a heavy lunch, I was ready for a nap, not more red wine. But again, I did my bit and had a few sips of each, and then I disappeared to catch up with the roosters.

We parted company with our Irish friends but not before meeting up with the owner of Camino Tours, Antoinette who presented me with a bottle of their wine as a birthday treat. I would highly recommend Camino for anyone wanting to do a wine tour in the Stellenbosch area for their professionalism and warm attention. Marius was an excellent guide with a laugh or a joke never far away.

All in all a great day. A birthday to be remembered for sure.