Cape Town - Darling, named after Charles Henry Darling, lieutenant-governor of the Cape in the 1850s, is a pretty postage stamp of a town, surrounded by vast farmland, vineyards, olive groves, nature reserves and made most famous by celebrity resident Pieter-Dirk Uys.
Recently I availed myself of Trinity Lodge’s Darling weekend package, arranged by owners Shaun and Debbie McLaughlin, which is a great introduction.
This includes a show at Evita Se Perron, wine tasting and lunch at Hilda’s Kitchen, olive and olive oil tasting at Darling Olives, beer tasting at Darling Brew Slow Quarter, dinner at Marmalade Cat and a Darling Museum ticket.
I started my tour by heading to the top of town in the company of Zia van Rooyen du Toit and Adre Rheeder at Ormonde Private Cellar. Here we sampled gorgeous wines from the Alexanderfontein, Ondine and premium Ormonde labels. I highly recommend the Ondine semillon and the award-winning flagship Bordeaux-style red blend, Ormonde Vernon Basson. Although it was a tussle between that and the Rhone-style Theodore Eksteen.
After a cellar tour with Zia’s husband, winemaker Michiel du Toit, Adre and Zia took me to the Marmalade Cat in town. The friendly polka-dotted shop is full of freshly baked aromas and a colourful collection of gifts and collectables chosen by owner Sandi Collins. Over a lovely lunch I learnt of the conditions that make Darling wines so distinctive (rich soil, hot summers and cooling winds).
Debbie McLaughlin tells me the pizzas at The Marmalade Cat are the best. High praise from this cordon bleu chef, who must be Darling’s busiest woman. She starts preparing delightful breakfasts at the lodge before heading to run the award-winning Hilda’s Kitchen restaurant at Groote Post.
Groote Post Manor House was once the home of author and grande dame of Cape cuisine, Hildagonda Duckitt, after whom the restaurant is named. What makes Hilda’s Kitchen such a gem is Debbie’s changing menus that include a dish from Hildagonda’s well-loved recipe books.
Almost as soon as I arrived at the restored 18th-century fort that is the Groote Post cellar and wine tasting centre, I was off on a game drive. Eland, kudu, gemsbok, bontebok, springbok and more roam the 2 000-hectare game camp, while endangered renosterveld and Atlantis sand fynbos is carefully conserved.
Winemaker Lukas Wentzel greeted our return with a glass of fine bubbly before we headed into the gracious manor house to taste further while Debbie prepared a feast. Despite being named the World Dairy Expo’s International Person of the Year in 2001, co-owner Peter Pentz made the bold move from dairy to wine.
“Nobody has ever told me they like my creamy milk, as they do with the Groote Post wines,” he says. The Old Man’s Blend, red and white, are popular and the Groote Post Kapokberg selections perfectly complemented the stunning food. I particularly enjoyed the estate’s riesling, chardonnay, merlot and shiraz.
A visit to Darling would not be complete without a turn at Evita Se Perron (Afrikaans for station platform). Pieter-Dirk Uys transformed the old station into the home of Tannie Evita Bezuidenhout, the most famous white woman in South Africa.
There wasn’t a show (check before visiting) but you can happily lose hours over a cuppa, or meet Tannie Evita as well as many of South Africa’s most loved icons and loathed aikonas. You can also lose hours at the Darling Museum.
Trinity Lodge has a lovely veranda, a patio under an old oak alongside the swimming pool, and a verdant garden area. The en suite bedrooms are tastefully furnished with hand-embroidered linen and goose-down duvets. There is a comfy lounge and smiling Martha on hand.
I strolled down the road to sample great craft beers at Darling Brew Slow Quarter, with meals to accompany. I then popped next door to The Darling Wine Shop to meet Charles Withington, wine negociant and entrepreneur.
This is the perfect one-stop place to sample wines at cellar-door prices, as well as olives and brandies. Charles has his own Withington label and proffered his Voorkamer brandy. Superb stuff.
There are 10 wild flower reserves in and around Darling and it is an ideal base from which to explore the West Coast National Park and the Fossil Park.
If You Go...
Check out: www.trinitylodge.co.za or call 022 492 3430/ 083 325 4148
www.ormonde.co.za www.facebook.com/ormondewines
www.grootepost.com www.facebook.com/grootepost
www.darlingwine.co.za www.withington.co.za
www.darlingbrew.co.za
www.evita.co.za
Sunday Tribune