Upon driving into the estate, I almost hosed myself when the photographer, Mark, gasped, “Oh my God, that horse is dead!. It was in fact a filly taking a rest in the midday heat and when recounting the story to estate personnel, we were told that people often phoned from the roadside in a total state of panic to inform them of yet more ‘dead horses’. For future reference, horses also lie down for a snooze…
Avontuur was bought by the Taberer family in the early 1980’s. They had already been breeding racing horses in Zimbabwe, but wanted to focus a bit more on the wine-making side of things.
In 1989 one of their most famous horses, Right Prerogative, won the Durban but in an unfortunate twist of fate, perished on his return journey to Cape Town in a sad accident. It was after this that a heartbroken Tony Taberer decided to stop racing and rather focus on breeding.
Now, the majestic stallion, Var, imported from France, is their top priority and the stunning silver mare, Saraband, has produced some of the top racing horses on the continent.
On the other side, the wine collection at Avontuur is just as impressive, but what really caught my interest was their fabulous wine cocktail selection. My favourites were the Vanilla and Berry Martini made of vanilla and berry puree and Klein Avontuur unwooded red. Shaken baby!
I also loved the Orchard Breeze, which is pressed apple and Avontuur Sauvignon Blanc, a fruity violet infusion and fresh lime. Sublime.
Actually, now I think about it, I loved all of them, the Avontuur Mojito and Bellini-Tini were just as amazing and yes, I tried them all. Why not? At R25 each, so would you!
Of course, I simply had to sample their fine wines and was pleasantly surprised.
The Premier
Range of wines are all named after some of their top horses and when the winemaker, Natalie Nel, was faced
Avontuur Jockey MJ
with a particularly difficult task of developing a blend to be named after one of the estate’s most loved stallions who was considered to be a ‘part of the family’, Dominion Royale, she did the most phenomenal job of it.
The white Saraband (Sauvignon Blanc) and Luna de Miel (Chardonnay) are light, have beautiful aromas and have a divine palate to suit.
The red Minelli (Pinot Noir) tends to fly off the shelves and the Baccarat (Bordeax Blend) and Dominion Royale (Shiraz)
c
an be compared with some of the top wines around.
They're all good
Avontuur also produce superb brandies and their 10 YO potstill brandy is sold in a beautiful, handmade gift box for only R350. A great gift for any brandy-lover.
At the end of yet another amazing day in the Cape Winelands, I realised once again how privileged I am to have all of this on my doorstep. Now I’ll just wait for October to come around again, so I can get started on my outfit for next year’s J&B Met and enjoy livin’ the life.
Cheers! Maryna with Avontuur marketing guru Cobie van Oort
For more information on Avontuur wines, their cocktail recipes or retailers in the Gauteng area click here
