South African Break Aways, Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday #23

We all have these photos … throwback photos!

It’s described as ‘nostalgia-inducing pictures … from a different era of your life”.

Every Thursday we will throw a few photos of ‘way back when’ on our blog. Why on a Thursday? Because it’s just a day away from the weekend … and we love weekends!

You are welcome to join in or just enjoy the photos (#TB Thursday).

August 2016 – Klipdrift Brandy Distillery (Robertson, Western Cape Province, South Africa)

Today’s throwback post is such a nice memory. Some of my colleagues at the hospital where I worked organised a weekend getaway. This involved a tasting at a brandy distillery and a ‘braai’ afterwards.

Robertson:

This quaint village is located in the fertile Breede River and known as the valley of wine and roses. It is also at the heart of the wine route – Route 62. The distance between Cape Town and Robertson is 160km (99 miles) and takes you through a picturesque area of ​​mountains and winelands.

Klipdrift Brandy Distillery:

Whether you are a brandy lover or not, you will enjoy a visit to this distillery. The estate has been making wine since 1850 and estate brandy dates back to 1936. You can mix your tastings with a tour of the world-class distillery.

Amper Tuis (translated to ‘Almost Home’)

After our tour of the distillery, we went to the Klipdrift House where we had a lot of fun while tasting the different brandy’s!

Maak Jouself Tuis (translated to ‘Make Yourself at Home’)

Wonderful collection of clocks

The brandy we tasted

On the cellar tour we learned that some of the barrels of brandy take up to 21 years to mature! That’s a long time to wait for that perfect brandy, right? We had the opportunity to taste Klipdrift Export, Klipdrift Premium, Klipdrift Gold and Klipdrift Black Gold.

Berto with a glass of brandy (the sign behind him says: ‘Save water’) 😉

Our tasting glasses of brandy were accompanied by something sweet (nougat) and something salty (sausages).

Something sweet

Something salty

The Brandy tasting

We ended the tasting with some brandy cocktails and a lovely chat around a table at the Klipdrift House.

My brandy smile and Berto’s serious brandy face

A cool group of brandy tasters

Rooiberg Winery (translated ‘Red Mountain’ Winery):

The next day, on our way back home, we stopped at the Rooiberg Winery just outside Robertson. Besides good wine, a shop/bakery and a restaurant, you will also find the biggest chair in Africa here.

The biggest (red) chair in Africa

Wendy and René on top of the Red Chair

It was great to look back on a wonderful weekend. One must remember to capture these weekends as well, because one day we may move away from each other. But then we can always pick up a photo and remember the good times!

Special colleagues (but also good friends)

Note: Some photos were taken by myself and others were taken by René Hardinge and possibly Righardt du Plessis … but with all those brandy tastings, I can’t remember which photo belongs to whom.

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40 thoughts on “Throwback Thursday #23”

  4. What a great way to spend time with friends all while learning about brandy. I had no idea that for some of the barrels of brandy, it takes up to 21 years to mature! Thanks for sharing and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx

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  5. Pingback: Throwback Thursday – Ritva Sillanmäki Photography

  6. Sounds like a lot of fun! I’ve done wine tasting and also beer but never brandy. With a good group of friends it can become very entertaining! And yes, the photographs are good to keep. On our beer tasting outing one of the group (not us of course) picked up a camera that someone had left on their chair while they went to the restroom, and took a bunch of random photographs of different people But of course we never got to see the owner try to remember taking them. Who were those strange people! It was a long day, round trip New York-Denver-New York and we must have laughed the whole time. Grant just came by and exclaimed “Klippies” ! Apparently he remembers it well!

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    1. Haha 😄, that camera story is so funny Carolyn! I can only imagine that person’s confusion afterwards! Oh, I wanted so badly to use the word “Klippies” in this post, but knew most of our readers wouldn’t know what I was talking about. Kudos to Grant for remembering this!

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    1. O ja, dis heerlik om so terug te kyk … en te onthou hoe ons gelag en gesels het (met geen bekommernisse op daardie oomblik nie)!
      Ek het nou gou gaan oplees oor die twee stoele. Dit blyk dat Rooiberg se groot rooi stoel nog steeds die grootste in Afrika is (dis 9m hoog), terwyl die een by die Plaasmol 6m hoog is … maar dis darem die grootste stoel van die Weskus 😁).

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  10. Pingback: Throwback Thursday #23 – nowathome

  11. Great trip shared with friends Corna. Though I’ve been on numerous vineyard and brewery tours I’ve not experienced one focussed on brandy, My husband would have been in his element! Hope you both have a lovely weekend, we’ve got an extended break here for May Day, weather not great though.

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    1. This was also our first brandy tasting … and it was so much fun (as you can probably see from the photos 🙂). We also have a long weekend – our public day on Monday is called Labour Day. And no surprise here regarding the weather: The sun is shining and it’s warm! Enjoy your weekend Marion.

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    1. Haha 😄, we look happy, right? It was a fun trip – one that everyone enjoyed! Yes, thank you Hannah, Berto is doing very well. We started walking longer distances again on weekends and all is going well. He has to go for tests again in a month so that the doctor can see how much improvement there has been – we believe it will be a positive visit.

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  13. What a great weekend Corna. I mostly stay away from strong alcohol but I do genuinely enjoy ”a taste’ of brandy. I would have heartily accepted both the sweet and salty accompaniments too (nougat and sausages mmmm). Berto’s serious brandy face made me recall Bill Murray in Lost in Translation ha ha. I think he could have a future as an actor in Brandy commercials. “For relaxing times in a serious world… be like Berto and drink….”

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    1. Sometimes you need a fun weekend away – to just chill with friends (and some brandy) 😉. Haha, we had a good laugh now at your ad … you’re right, there is a bit of a Bill Murray face. I can tell you this: While the photo was taken, we all burst out laughing (that’s why I have such a big smile), but Berto kept that serious face perfect for the photo! And he likes the idea of being in a Brandy commercial 🤪.

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  15. Sounds like a fun and memorable weekend getaway with good drinks, food and company! I’ve never actually done a brandy tasting before, but it sounds like it’s something to add to the list of things to try! I don’t think I could pull off Berto’s serious pose though! So good!

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    1. It certainly had all the elements for a fun weekend! I don’t usually drink brandy and wondered if I would enjoy the tasting session, but then it turned out to be quite nice 😉. Oh, that serious face of Berto … it was the joke of the weekend!

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  16. Looks like a great weekend, and that it was filled with lots of fun. I also don’t drink brandy, but thanks for sharing Corna 💕🌸, a good to add to places that can be enjoyed with family and friends.

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  17. Pingback: Throwback Thursday – Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
  19. Pingback: Throwback Thursday #25 – nowathome

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