The princess and the frog at 42/800 - Anura Vineyards, Stellenbosch

Wine farm 42/800 is Anura Vineyards in Stellenbosch!

I have rated this wine farm experience 4 star.

OVERALL RATING	WINE	SERVICE	FOOD	LOCATION
71%	78%	60%	75%	72%

 

ACTIVITIES and OTHER AMENITIES: 

• Wine tasting - R45 which includes 6 wines, cheese, preserves and cracker bread (exceptional value for money!)
• Restaurant
• Craft Beer bar
• Cellar Tour

BOOKINGS: Bookings are not essential but are if you are going to the restaurant.

WHEN TO GO: All year around.9:30am to 5pm Mon-Sunday, Sales and Cellar tours daily.Closed on Good Friday, Christmas Day and New Years Day.  CHILD/PET FRIENDLY? Not really. There aren't any jungle gyms and I didn't see any children when I visited. This is more of a tourist destination.

LOCATION: Situated in Stellenbosch about a 40 minute drive from Cape Town. Google Map

OTHER RATINGS:  Check out what others say about this farm on Trip Advisor by CLICKING HERE. 

Click HERE to view the ranking of this farm against others I have already reviewed.

Here is my experience:

It was an absolutely BLISTERING HOT day when I visited. 42 degrees! So I was glad to get under the shade and enjoy some wine on ice.The entrance is quite grand and you will drive a bit until you get to the actual wine tasting area. The wine tasting area has a lovely outside seating area which either overlooks a pond or the mountains and vineyards.

 Moving onto the signature series is the Anura LB Shiraz for R180 a bottle. It was matured in French oak for 24 months which resulted in a rich, ripe plum wine which exuded spicy black pepper notes on the nose.Some more serious wines is the Sangiovese (R180) and the Pinot Gris (R85). I could literally taste the honey in the Pinot Gris though it also had good acidity and it was somewhat spicy. Quite a heavy white wine but not woody. The Sangiovese 2014 only had 1200 bottles produced. All the grapes were hand picked  and it was matured in french oak for 20 months. It was similar to a Shiraz for me though it had notes of toffee and herbs too. These would make excellent wines to enjoy with food.The waiter felt so bad about the service that he surprised us with some more tastings. We ended up purchasing these two bottles for our Christmas meal :)  The Cape Cuvée was exceptional - a blend of Pinotage, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz which was aged in French oak for 24 months. A perfectly smooth and spicy blend for R240 a bottle.  The Frog Hill Sparkling Brut was a fun, easy drinking sparkling wine for R75.

Finally we tried the Anura 2011 Syrah limited release which is R160 a bottle. Think spices with a good full mouth feel of fruits such as dried peaches and apricot.Afterwards, we walked over to the Wagon Trail Brewery and craft beer bar. Eye candy!

 Be sure to catch a photo with the frog :) So which farm will be next?x