It’s fine, dining in Durbanville

The Durbanville Wine Valley has expanded significantly in the last few decades.

From just a handful of wineries with regimented tasting hours, the region now boasts 12 producers and related epicurean experiences ranging from olive tastings at Hillcrest, quirky Method Cap Classique and macaron pairings at Canto, and formal fine dining at De Grendel to lazy, casual bistro lunches at Anna Beulah Farm (where inquisitive llamas may greet you on the stoep or owner and former international fashion model Tanya Fourie may be spotted picking olives).

Yet, beyond the town itself, the horizons are still wide, the vast landscapes still uncluttered by excessive modernity, the weight of the summer air heavier than nearer Cape Town’s coasts.

Cassia

And Nitida seems entirely unchanged since our last visit more than 10 years ago. It still grows and bottles lesser known and underappreciated Sémillon and riesling varietals. At the estate’s fine dining restaurant, Cassia, the comforting familiarity coaxes me to choose exactly the same dish I relished then, the slow-roasted pork belly.

“We can’t take it off the menu,” says manager Lisa Farrelly. The meat is succulent, the citrus-soy sauce lip-smacking, the accompanying red cabbage tangy-sweet and delicately herby. For how long does the pork roast? I ask Farrelly. “Long, very long,” is all she will reveal.

It’s the kind of dish that lingers long in the memory — but I pledge not to wait another decade before revisiting Cassia.

La Romantica

Meerendal is probably the best-known Durbanville wine estate, partly attributable to having regularly hosted the Cape Epic mountain bike Prologue or Finale stages. Its cycle trails and weekly park run draws hundreds, some of whose shapes and sizes betray that they come here primarily for post-exercise prandial enjoyment.

During the week it’s quieter; suitable, indeed, for a leisurely lunch. La Romantica fits the brief. Chef-manager Adrian Cook epitomises how seriously this Italian themed restaurant takes its food and hospitality.

“We’re like a family,” he says of his team. His face and words, and the venue, remind me of the 1990s Cinzano Spumante TV commercial — all is quiet in the village until it’s time to eat, drink and be merry.

I’ve yet to be convinced of a better start to an Italian meal than arancini. La Romantica’s version is near perfection, the still ever-so-chalky bite of the risotto balls offset by the silky mozzarella centre and a delicately-crumbed coating. The basil pesto and lashings of parmesan are an unnecessary but appreciated bonus. I know what my wife’s thinking: “Shall we just order a bottle of wine and a large plate of these?”

But Italian food is about generosity, and we slow down, taking time to savour the alchemy of simple ingredients transformed into magical flavours. We agree the linguine frutti di mare is a special dish, the unctuous tomato sauce balanced by the delicate seafood. There’s a surprise, too, as Cook flourishes a bamboo steamer of prawn wontons. “I know, I know,” he responds to my raised eyebrows, “but it’s important to try different things occasionally.” His nod to the East is so good that my wife changes her mind: next time she’ll flip a coin on a double portion of the arancini or the wontons.

True to its name, La Romantica also hosts a weekly dinner date night. Eat, drink, be lucky, says the wine list heading, and the estate’s appropriately named The Chapel sauvignon blanc 2023 is surely a hit on those nights. Where does maître d’ Chelsea Jordaan spend her date nights? “Working here, of course,” she smiles. “I love making people happy.” 

Groot Phesantekraal.

Turning off one of Durbanville’s main arterial roads, it’s still some way to the winery, tasting room and restaurant at Groot Phesantekraal. It is indeed a large farm; around another dusty corner the second part of the name becomes clear: an imposing rock formation looms large, unmistakably in the shape of a guinea fowl or pheasant.

We’ve come here for two reasons. One of the most unusual wines I’ve enjoyed recently is Groot Phesantekraal’s 2023 chenin blanc. But tasting room manager and sommelier-in-training Prosper Gozho advises that it is completely sold out.

Disappointment is mollified in the restaurant. The rustic interior is a restored manor house and stable, the 18th-century Dutch porcelain, paintings and tiling, flagstone flooring and cool thatch transporting guests back 250 years to the farm’s origins.

The food, however, is modern — and popular, evidenced by the table of 30 behind us. My wife and I share a heaped bowl of mussels for two. The broth is one dimensional, overloaded with salt and celery. But the mussels themselves are cooked to perfection: plump, briny but sweet, not a single one of the generous dozens at all chewy. My wife mutters that conversation is difficult while eating mussels. So in contented silence we tuck our bibs tighter and eavesdrop on the jovial neighbouring diners instead.         

Taking a quick detour back to the wine tasting room before we leave, Gozho confirms that the chenin 2024 vintage will be bottled in May. Reason enough to return to Groot Phesantekraal soon.

Cassia, Nitida Wine Farm, Tyger Valley Road, Eikenbosch 021 976 0640

Groot Phesantekraal Restaurant, Klipheuwel Road (R302), Durbanville 021 825 0060

La Romantica, Meerendal Wine Estate, Vissershoek Road, Durbanville 028 008 5280