Atmospheric ... Haute Cabriere restaurant's cellar setting.
The Franschhoek Valley owes much to its French connections, writes Ute Junker.
CAPE Town's best gourmet getaway lies just a little outside town - an hour's drive, to be precise. Three hundred years ago, the picturesque Franschhoek Valley was settled by French Huguenots, which might explain the area's dedication to the good things in life. Boutique wineries, expert charcutiers and world-class restaurants are just some of the delights in store.
Something sparkling
Cabriere Winery If you're looking for the best bubbles in Franschhoek, head for Cabriere, which, according to many locals, has some of the area's best sparkling wines. The best way to savour them is over lunch at the winery's Haute Cabriere restaurant. Built into the hillside, the restaurant combines an atmospheric cellar setting and tranquil valley views. The skilfully prepared food ranges from light options such as seared, sesame-crusted tuna tataki with Asian salad, avocado and ginger dressing, to sugar-cured springbok loin carpaccio with roasted beetroot, char-grilled asparagus and palm heart salad.
Round off the meal with a glass of the house specialty, ratafia. This unusual drop, made of poststill brandy blended with chardonnay, has lovely honey and tropical flavours. It goes well with dessert or can be served chilled as an aperitif.
Pass Road, Franschhoek. +27 21 876 8500, cabriere.co.za.
Cure-all
Bread and Wine Neil Jewell has a cure for everything. The expatriate English chef has gained a nationwide reputation thanks to the cured meats he serves at his rustic Bread and Wine restaurant, on the Moreson Wine Estate.
With more than 35 types of charcuterie in Jewell's repertoire, you never know what you'll find. If you're after something local, ask if there's any blesbok (a type of antelope) available. Jewell cures blesbok shoulder with a spicy mix of cayenne pepper, paprika, onion and garlic. Alternatively, he might have some lamb ham available.
"Most people think of ham as exclusively pork but the word refers to the back leg of an animal that has been cured," Jewell says. "It doesn't matter which animal; in Russia, they have bear ham."
Jewell says most of his creations are the result of a "3am moment", when he awakes with an inspiration. One led to Jewell using pork cheek to create a rich, peppery, coarse ground salami.
Moreson Farm, Happy Valley Road, Franschhoek. +27 21 876 3692.
Local knowledge
La Cotte Inn Why would anyone open a wine shop in an area filled with cellar doors? To Ludwig Maske, the answer is simple.
"There are around 50 different labels in the area and most of them are small-scale producers with zero budget for marketing," he says. For visitors keen to discover the best of what Franschhoek has to offer, La Cotte Inn is the place to go. Maske has thousands of bottles in stock, including many wines otherwise near-impossible to find. That includes such popular drops as the Boekenhoutskloof syrah (shiraz), a connoisseur's favourite found on the wine lists of some of Britain's best restaurants.
Maske's best asset, however, is his detailed knowledge of the area's wines and winemakers. Few people know as much about the region as Maske, who supplies the area's restaurants as well as selling directly to consumers. Tell Maske your price range and the sort of wine you're after, and he'll find the perfect bottle for you.
Corner Main Road and Louis Botha Street, Franschhoek. +27 21 876 3775, lacotte.co.za.
Culinary royalty
The Tasting Room, Le Quartier Francais When The Tasting Room's Dutch chef, Margot Janse, arrived in South Africa as a 17-year-old, she "knew nothing about food" - and South Africa in the early 1990s was not the place to learn. "The only cheese available came in bricks - you could choose between an orange brick or a red one," she says.
Needing to earn some money, Janse got a job in a restaurant and taught herself to cook. "I didn't know anything, so I'd experiment with whatever was there," she says. "Deep-fried pasta with strawberries? I gave it a try."
Janse is now an acclaimed chef whose restaurant regularly appears in lists of the world's best 50. But she has retained her penchant for experimentation, as anyone who sits down for one of her five- or eight-course degustation menus discovers.
Janse likes to play with contrast, juxtaposing flavours and textures, salty and sweet, crisp and foamy. Her dishes are presented like works of art. Tender gemsbok is served with butternut pumpkin puree, aubergine souffle, mushroom ragout and a tomato foam, while soya spaetzle are accompanied by cardamom sabayon and orange foam. If South Africa has a single culinary highlight, this is it.
16 Huguenot Road, Franschhoek, +27 21 876 2151, www.lequartier.co.za.
Best bar
Graham Beck Some people like to keep wine tasting simple: one table, two glasses and a couple of bottles. Others like a more sophisticated approach. If you lean more to the latter, then wind up your visit with a stop at Graham Beck.
Graham Beck is a serious name in South Africa. Having made his fortune in mining, he is now dabbling in wine. He's scored some big customers - his brut sparkling wine was served at US President Barack Obama's inauguration - and has invested heavily in a sleek tasting room that resembles a classy wine bar: think dark wood and polished marble floors; elegant artwork and louvred windows.
The must-try wine is the pinotage, South Africa's signature red wine. The pinotage grape - a cross between pinot noir and cinsaut - was bred here. For many non-South Africans, it's an acquired taste - typically smoky and earthy in flavour - but Beck's is considered one of the best.
Main Road, Franschhoek, +27 21 874 1258, grahambeckwines.co.za.
The writer travelled courtesy of South African Airways.
Trip notes
Getting there
South African Airways flies daily from Sydney to Johannesburg with connections to Cape Town. 1300 435 972, flysaa.com.
Staying there
The Classic Safari Company has a two-night package at La Residence, Franschhoek's most indulgent hideaway. Prices start at $2175. (02) 9327 0666, classicsafaricompany.com.au.
More information
franschhoek.org.za.
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