It's a secret

Living in Stellenbosch does have it’s advantages – you are always close to your favourite wine farm (I have several.) While travelling to Paarl (which I do every weekday), I have noticed a wine farm, Arra. My lady pointed out that they had a special going and frankly I have never seen the wine on a menu – or even in a supermarket so I was not altogether eager on the idea of going at all.

Friday 23^rd of June I got into the car and went to Arra, not expecting much. In fact we decided on the way, that if the wine wasn’t that good that we would probably purchase a few bottles to cook with. (I have this nice recipe involving pinotage and onions – mmmmmm.)

I’m not going to tell you the specials that they have on (so make a booking.) What I am going to tell you is how really special the wine is. This is red wine county, they do have a few whites (viognier, blanc de noir and a very cheeky ‘Nobility’ [it's not a noble late harvest but is a dessert wine.]) I found that the white wines were smooth and easy-drinking. The Nobility makes a good partner to crème brulee.

They have the regular cab’s, merlot’s and pinotage’s as well as a few very nice blends, for example, a Shiraz/Mourvedre which I really enjoyed. One of the surprises was the ‘natural sweet Cabernet Sauvignon’. ‘Mm- a sweet Cabernet? I don’t think so’, you may be tempted to think. However you would be incorrect. It does have a touch of sweetness in it which works very well for a wine that is known to be dryer than sand in theGobi. And it works, very well actually. They have ‘reserved’ and ‘unreserved’ wines some dating to 2007 to last year. With a large selection of wines at excellent prices, you won’t have to ask your bank manager for a second loan on your home. Nor will you leave without a case or five.

Overall, the setting is really great. Our hosts were able to answer all our questions with regards to their wines that we had. (I had many.) When I asked about awards they pointed out the Michelangelo Silver Medel for there Arra Unreserved Pinotage 2008. As you have probably guessed most of their wine is exported and their biggest market is… Africa! You can visit them on any day (they are open till 6pmon a Friday), just call 021 875 53 63 or email info@arrawines.com, to book a tasting. To get there from direction Cape Town, take the N1 off-ramp to Klapmuts, turn right, cross the four-way stop, go across the bridge (for Peters sake drive under 60….) and after about 1 kilometre you will see the sign on the right.

http://capeinsight.com/2011/06/30/its-a-secret/