Earl rushed me to be ready by 7:30 and dragged me off to the local doctor’s office. Of course it was closed so we went to the harbour to check out what the fishing boats were doing and then went to OK Grocer for freshly baked croissants. By this time the surgery had opened and Dr Fourie kindly took a look at my injured hand. “Best to have it x-rayed,” she said so after gulping down a croissant and jam we headed to Bredasdorp. I am happy to report that there are no bones broken. We called Lauren and Allan with the good news. While waiting for them to join us we had a quick cup of coffee at Wimpy – Earl ordered breakfast. It took ages to come and he hadn’t finished when the kids arrived. Service at Wimpy Bredasdorp much to be desired! Anyway, the kids parked their car and we headed off to Robertson where Abrie Bruwer was expecting us for lunch.
Allan is a bit of a wine buff and a huge fan of Springfield so this visit was a special treat. Many years ago Earl had done some refrigeration installations for Abri and he is also a fellow Struisbaai fisherman.
The drive to Robertson from Struisbaai is very picturesque and of course we did some high speed bird-watching too. We totalled over 30 birds of prey of which most were jackal buzzards but there were also some steppe buzzards, black shouldered kites, yellow-billed kites and pale chanting goshawks. There were also Egyptian Geese, Spurwinged Geese and blue cranes aplenty.
Blue Crane – Our National Bird
Steppe Buzzard
Jackal Buzzard
Pale Chanting Goshawk
We were served with chilled Miss Lucy wine and Abri cooked fresh yellowtail in a way that we’d never experienced before. He sliced the fish thinly, coated it with a mixture of 1 and half cloves of fresh garlic, salt and vinegar mashed in a pestle and mortar and then dipped each piece in flour before shallow frying it in olive oil. It was served with pumpkin and salad and was to die for.
After lunch he took us on a tour of the farm. Allan was in heaven!
Today the winemaking is an incredibly sophisticated science. The equipment used is mind boggling. Abri is a fourth generation winemaker and his children are all training to join the family business. It certainly is in their blood.
Lauren and Allan enjoying a glass of Miss Lucy
Abri Frying Fish
A delicious lunch
View from the house
This sprayer negotiates the narrow aisles between the rows of vines – amazing
Examining the crop
This incredible contraption creates tensions the support wires for the vines using a winch and a stain gauge which regulates the strain on the wire on the wire so it does not break. The I beam down the side of the tractor allows the winch mechanism to cover three rows of vines.
First the bottles are washed
We watched the wine going in, being capped and finally they are ready for packing
We were also shown the cooling tanks which were huge and quite fascinating. Everything is so high tech. No more hand picking the grapes and stamping them with bare feet!
It was certainly an interesting day. Thank you Abri!
Diary of an Adventurous Retiree 