Fairview (wine and) Cheese tasting

Table setting at the Beryle Back Tasting Room 

This weekend we decided to head out to Paarl and do some tasting at Fairview. Having left home without having breakie, we stopped over at the Goatshed for some morning sustenance. The bread, freshly baked at the estate, is the perfect combination of crisp crust and soft, chewy heart of goodness! And my broodiness was given a run for its money with the herds of children giggling at Billy Goat Gruff.

After breakfast we headed over to the Beryl Back tasting room were our table was laid with glasses and a mantle of miniature cheeses. It really was beautifully and if only I wasn't such a furiously snacky person, I might've admired them for a moment longer. 

Anyway, the tasting got off to a good start with some Riesling, followed by Viognier (vee-ohn-yey) and Sémillon (say-mee-yon). The Monsieur and I have fond memories of Idiom's Viognier because it was over those delicate White Peach aromas that we spent many an afternoon idling chatting at il Leone. Anyway, I was quite surprised to note the difference in taste of the Fairview Viognier as it was MUCH fruitier. The apricot in this wine really came through quite strongly and it was unfortunately paired with an apricot studded White Rock, which was a bit too much for my liking.

The favourite reds for the day were the Sangiovese (san-yo-vee-see) and the Tanat (Ta-nat). The former goes down pretty easily, which is a likeable trait in itself. But what I liked most about this wine was its cherry lip gloss colour. Reminded me of the stuff you get at the Body Shop called Born Lippy. Just delicious!

There's one thing that every should know about me. I am probably less closeted than I should be about my deep seated affections for fromage. So of course the show stoppers of the day just had to be the cheese and then the first princess title went to the Olive Oil and its colluding temptress - squares of thee most amazing Ciabatta. I could've sat there for days nibbling on Vampire defeating Garlic and Herb infused cream cheese, Bleu and Blanc so rich and well, blue, that Papa Smurf would give you the thumbs up. Peppered Chevin - a regular, albeit short lived guest in our fridge followed by Gorgonzola so creamy your heart didn't know whether to flutter or flat-line and even the Chakalaka, the black sheep of the cheesy family,  that initially reminded me of a strange homage to the NikNaks man, were all spectacular! 

Now, even though I've been wine tasting before, this was the first time that I didn't feel as though I had the right words to describe what was happening in my mouth. I felt almost stranded. Alone, without the words to make sense of what was happening. Which is  perhaps why the cheese and olive oil stood out from this experience a whole lot more than the wine did. Or maybe it's just that I do need to go on a crash course, kinda like the one Keanu Reeves gives his leading lady in "A Walk in the Clouds". It's almost spoon feeding wine knowledge - 1) smell white pepper corns 2) stick nose is glass -  "Wine Appreciation for Dummies", if you will.