Franschoek Uncorked and Solms Delta & Lynx Wine Estates

This weekend I convinced five friends to join me at Franschhoek uncorked, and we had a fantastic day. This was the first year of the Uncorked festival and it’s difficult to review this festival is it is not centralised. Each estate organises some sort of activity or theme for the enjoyment of the visitors. We did not even make it into Franschoek so I don’t know if anything special was happening in the town itself. We decided to check out the vibe at Lynx estate as they had a spanish fiesta theme with tapas and live spanish music (a recipe for a good party). On the way we stopped at Solms Delta because I wanted to check out the picnic spot I have heard so much about, plus I was keen to have a look at their new restaurant, Fyndraai.

The picnic spot is pretty good, amongst the trees and next to the stream. Very tranquil, with the pleasant sounds of birds chirping and the stream rushing along. You can order picnics from the restaurant. We did some al fresco wine tasting which is a great idea on a lovely day. It’s a waste to be inside a dark cellar tasting wine when the sun is shining outside. All of the tables share a lovely view of the vineyards and the  mountains. This area is also the al fresco section of Fyndraai restaurant, so an awesome option for al fresco lunch. The restaurant looks very interesting, the floor is glass and below are shallow archeological excavations. The area is apparently full of historical artefacts. I’d love to see the restaurant at night, it will be stunning.

After wine tasting, we headed off to Lynx estate. I had never heard of it to be honest, and I realised why. You have to take the R301 to the left before you hit Franschhoek (something I’d never done). We met Rob from Haut Espoir there and he introduced me to Dieter Sellmeyer, the winemaker. Rob tells me that Dieter is passionate about farming and producing wine in an environentally friendly way, which makes me like Lynx wines before even trying them. When I did try them, I liked them even more! The Voigner is amazing and the Rosado went down a treat all afternoon.

We tried all the different tapas and enjoyed the live spanish guitar music, all while basking on the sunshine and appreciating the lovely view of the vineyards backed by mountains. We arrive there at 1pm and only left after 6pm. It was a great day.

http://www.franschhoek.org.za/festivals