Virtual and on-site wine tastings at this Franschhoek Wine Farm

Or do this specialised La Motte wine-tasting virtually

La Motte, in the pretty wine region of Franschhoek, is known for its award-winning wines and slick operation. It’s a wine estate with a museum packed to the rafters with iconic South African art, an excellent restaurant, and the farm is beautiful and you can hike it. 

Its raison d’etre is the tasting facility, all exposed brick and glass, where you can taste the wines the farm produces. It’s a lovely space, with a large fireplace that makes the space cosy in winter, and nice and airy and light in summer.

You can see the barrels from the tasting room, which has numerous seating variations. Image: La Motte

TASTE THE CURRENT VINTAGES

The list of awards La Motte has won for its wine is long. It has a broad range of vintages, from sauvignon blancs and chardonnay to the Méthode Cap Classique, and a range of reds. All these can be sampled – and bought – along with the limited volume premium Pierneef Collection. 

Your tasting can be as exclusive as you want it to be. Image: La Motte

The costs of a tasting vary according to which wine you select to sample, but if you buy R500 or more bottles to take away, the tasting comes free. 

LEARN ABOUT HISTORY + SPECIALISED GLASSES

There’s a special private tasting room in the facility. Here you can sit down with a wine ambassador and taste the limited-edition older vintages and hear how wine-making at this estate fits within the broader context of the industry in the Franschhoek Valley and the Cape – there’s a lot of history they’re proud of at La Motte.

Did you know that different shapes can affect certain wines? Image: La Motte

Another experience especially tailored for the wine fundi is tastings with various Riedel wine glasses, showing how their shape and design brings out the characteristics of specific wines. Both of these experiences cost R250 per person and booking is essential.

THE ENTIRE PROCESS CAN BE VIRTUAL

It’s possible to do some of these tastings online. If you order 12 bottles of wine, the virtual tasting will be free. Alternatively, you can book for a virtual guide for the wines that you do have, and the wine ambassador will customise the tasting accordingly. 

Order 12 bottles of wine and your virtual tasting will be free. Images: La Motte

While virtual tastings are great for those isolating or too far away to make the trip, it’s worth going in person because there’s so much on offer, from hiking the farm to seeing the substantial Pierneef collection at the museum, at La Motte wine estate.

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DISCOVER MORE OF WHAT CAPE TOWN HAS TO OFFER

You can also taste rare, limited, premium vintages at La Motte.

Before settling in for a drink, consider exploring the beautiful estate on a hike.

Make a point of seeing the permanent Pierneef collection and temporary exhibitions at the museum La Motte Museum.

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