Lammershoek Wines in the Swartland puts the Class in Rural
Lammershoek Wines is my 139th winery visit in South Africa. I met up with owner, Andreas Abold who is originally from Germany and is now living the South African dream.
“We chose to invest in the Swartland because we saw a potential here that’s on a par with the leading wine regions of South Africa.” - Andreas, Owner and CEO.
Lammershoek literally means “lambs’ corner” in Afrikaans and the legend goes that the baby lambs would hide in the forest on this estate from the "Lammervanger" meaning "lamb catcher"- A giant black eagle that would literally prey on small lambs!
This farm was first granted to Adriaan van Jaarsveld, a Cape Colonial “free burgher” in the early 1700s. He inherited the sheep and so even today, the owner has sheep and Nguni cows too!
It's quite a drive from Cape Town (about an hour) and then also a long gravel road to get to the winery so best you get there early and then afterwards, take a drive to Paarl for lunch.
Tasting Lammershoek Wines
Wine tasting needs to be booked prior and arranged with the winery. Once you get there, you will be greeted and shown to the tasting room. The tasting room has quite a lot of seats so I would recommend that you travel in groups of 2-8. The winery is a heritage vineyard site with some of their vines being older than 35 years.
Wine tasting was professional and informative and there is quite a list available to taste. If you are a lover of white wines and Rose - especially the unusual kind - then this winery is definitely for you. I don't want to give too much away but the wine is not only beautiful to look at but is also highly awarded.
My absolute favourite was the orange wine (of which I bought two bottles which was all my pocket could afford hehe). It is highly unusual as the white wine was fermented on the skins for an extended period of time. The result...something quite "funky" and different - a talking point for wine parties at home ;)
Lammershoek not only offers wine tasting but once a month, you can join in on their braai festivities. Tickets are available on the Lammershoek website.
Cellar Tour
The cellar was busy with punch-downs of their Shiraz and so I was lucky to view the Shiraz on the open cement tanks with Andreas. I also absolutely loved seeing the amphora tank as well as Syrah Rose which was busy with barrel fermentation.
In conclusion
I had a lovely time chatting to Andreas and tasting all the lovely wines on offer. I would definitely recommend this winery on sunny days for 2-8 people, not really for kids, who are interested in learning more about unusual wine and tasting quality produce. If you don't book the braai and wine session, be sure to arrive at the winery early and then afterwards you can go for lunch in Paarl.
I loved visiting this winery in the rural Swartland area.
Much wine love
Leanne
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Contact
LAMMERSHOEK FARMS AND WINERY (PTY) LTD
Tel: +27 22 48 22 835 | Email: info@lammershoek.co.za https://www.lammershoek.co.za/