Wine Tasting and Cheetah Petting

Today was a great day for wine tasting in South Africa - it's been cold and rainy, and most of us know there is nothing better than some good wine and relaxation on a rainy day. Even the kids had a good time with the scenic views, lunch, and cheetah petting. Our first stop was a small private winery - Jordan Winery in Stellenbosch (http://www.jordanwines.com/) - it was small and quaint. We left with a nice bottle of dessert wine to enjoy during our last 10 days in SA (you can carry on bottles of wine on flights traveling in country). Our second stop was Tokara Winery (http://www.tokara.com/) - also in the Stellenbosch region. I have been told that the wine tasting rooms are nothing like you see in the US - they are very modern with scenic views of the rolling hills and snow capped mountains. Tokara winery also specializes in olives and olive oil - we tasted some of that as well. Our next stop was the Spier Winery (http://www.spier.co.za/) for lunch and a visit to the Cheetah Outreach where we all got to pet a cheetah - amazingly, they purr just like a housecat. Connors near miss with the leopard made him the most hesitant. The Cheetah Outreach Program is amazing, and I would encourage you to read about it at http://www.spier.co.za/whattodoatspier/cheetah.htm. Essentially, they work to preserve the less than 7500 cheetah population (an endangered animal in SA). Our next stop was Kanonkop Wine Estate (http://www.kanonkop.co.az/) where Ari bought our next two bottles of wine - probably the best Pinotage we have ever had. Our final stop was the Glen Carlou winery (http://www.glencarlou.co.za/) - the best view of all. And, the wines weren't bad either. This winery is owned by the Hess family in Napa Valley (actually a Swiss family). We left with a dessert wine and a nice bottle of Syrah to be enjoyed somewhere along the way. So, rain or shine, the Campbell's and Foster's still find amazing ways to enjoy a foreign country!