A very elderly gentleman (mid nineties) very well dressed, hair well groomed, great looking suit, flower in his lapel, smelling slightly of a good after shave, presenting a well looked-after image, walks into an upscale bar. Seated at the bar is an elderly looking lady, (mid eighties).
The gentleman walks over, sits alongside of her, orders a drink, takes a sip, turns to her and says, "So tell me, do I come here often?"
As the sands of time trickle, seemingly at an ever-increasing rate, through the hour glass of life, it becomes ever more important to stop and reflect on the quality moments in life, whilst we can still remember them! I cherish the memory of our family's day-trips to the seaside, loading up the Ford Prefect with picnic basket, deck chairs and windbreak on the roof rack, an inflatable spotty horse and scratchy woollen swimming trunks. Nobody had heard of sunscreen, cool-boxes or Speedos in those days! We would leave early, and head south towards Littlehampton. It didn't matter what the weather was like, because Dad said it would clear up later, and sometimes it even did!
The 70 mile journey would take 2-3 hours, depending on how long it took to get through Guildford - this was pre the bypass! As we drew closer, anticipation would mount as my sister and I craned our necks to see who would be the first to "see the sea". (In later trips, I was able to sit on my sister which gave me something of an advantage!)
When we arrived, we would unload the car, having to make 2 or 3 trips to the beach from the carpark, and would then settle down for 4 hours of sandblasting, paddling in the freezing sea, burying Dad in the sand, and eating gritty lettuce, before having to reverse the whole procedure to get back home. Ah, it was wonderful!
So what triggered these moments of glorious nostalgia? It was a tasting of wines from vineyards that are claimed to be the closest to the Atlantic Ocean in the world. Some 4 hours north of Cape Town (probably 6 hours in the Ford Prefect) lies Vredendal, and due west you will find Bamboes Bay, and there you will find Fryer's Cove. This is the home of vineyards that are just 600m from the ocean, and that unmistakeable, unforgettable smell of the ocean is captured in every bottle of Fryer's Cove wines. None more so than with the 2005 Sauvignon Blanc which has just become only the second Sauvignon Blanc to receive the coveted Five Star award from Wine Magazine.
Open the bottle, pour the wine, and you are immediately hit with a sea-spray freshness, but to me, also a saltiness, which initially I found a little off-putting. But then there are waves of asparagus, tinned peas, secondary hints of tropical fruits, some even picking up citrus aromas.
My first taste also left a slight saltiness on the lips, like eating those packets of crisps that used to have the twist of salt wrapped up in blue paper, but my mouth was then filled with flavours of gooseberries, figs, and litchis, and a lingering aftertaste that ended slightly sweet. This is a big complex wine that reminded others of a typical Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc. It was also the accompaniment to some perfect West Coast food in the form of mussels, fresh snoek and crayfish.
The winemaker, Wynand Hamman, and the viticulturalist, Jan van Zyl, are actually brothers-in-law, and when it was announced that they had achieved Five Star status with their wine, their surprise and gratitude were plain for all to see.
For all of us, it was certainly a night to remember - A Night at the Seaside!
Fryer's Cove Sauvignon Blanc is available in limited quantities from Manuka Fine Wine Stores, together with many other award-winning wines.
Stephen Digby
Manuka Somerset West.