Fairview

I love Fairview.

It was the first winery that Brett took me to over 3 years ago. In fact, it was one of our first "dates".

It's changed a lot in that time with the tasting room being redecorated, the restaurant enlarged and a steady stream of new servers filling your glass.

What I have realised though is that Fairview doesn't do nice wine. Maybe a lot of you will disagree with me but there are only 4 wines that I like and two are Limited editions. That is pretty poor when you see the extent of their collection. However, I am not faulting Faiview at all because they have done amazingly well because they know their market and they stick to it AND they make La Beryl Rouge which is my favourite wine in the entire world. Also, their cheeses are so delicious.

We chose our serving bar and weren't greeted with much joy by the servers, which is one of my pet peeves at Fairview. Back in the day (hate that phrase) the servers used to be like your best friends. They knew the wines, knew what you would like and didn't stick with just letting you have 6 wines to taste. Nowadays, it's like walking in to a prison. "Glass. Wine. Next", are the orders barked at you but let me not dwell on this too much because things can change....

Anyway, for this particular tasting, I decided to be adventurous and go for some white wines as well:

Riesling R35
Look: 
Faint yellow colour which doesn't inspire me with hope.
Nose: 
A slight hint of fruitiness to it but still resembles the odour of stale wee
Sip: 
Leaves a fresh taste in your mouth of bitter and sweet.
Swallow: 
It wasn't half bad. I've been really wanting to try this type of grape and as a first time, I had no real qualms with it.

Viognier R70
Look: 
Muddled yellow.
Nose: 
Remember when you went to visit your elderly Grandma and every time you went to hug her (which was never often) you would get hit with a waft of urine. That was what I got from smelling that wine.
Sip: 
I wouldn't say that I could taste the apricots but there was a slight peachy aftertaste.
Swallow: 
Very palatable so no complaints but I did have to hold my nose for it.

Pinotage (note the unhappy face)
Look: 
Reddish-purple but not proud like Plaisir de Merle

Nose: 

Sweet almost coffee-like tint to it.

Sip: 
Burnt coffee beans mixed with firewood. Very earthy

Swallow: 
I'm not sure why it had to taste like a vat of toxic acid. Maybe it was having a bad day, I know I sure was after spitting that away.

Special Late Harvest

Look: 
I love a strong golden colour and this wasn't it.

Nose: 

When your Special Late Harvest smells like cat litter then you know it's a very bad day.

Sip: 

Better than the smell but then that wasn't asking for much.

Swallow: 

They say it has a "long finish". What they fail to tell you is how the finish will have you almost coughing up blood. 

La Beryl Blanc

Look: 

Beautifully golden. How I imagine Rapunzel's hair to be like.

Nose: 
Stunning array of fruity scents reminding you of lazy summer days.

Sip: 
An orchestra of heavenly apricot and peach flavours floating around your mouth.

Swallow: 

Oh sweet mother of Abraham Lincoln. I've got golden syrup swirling around my stomach. I'm a very happy girly again.

As you can see, upon making friendly banter with our server, she blossomed into a starlett and was an awesome help.