Cape Town - The first olive orchard was planted in Paarl in 1896. A decade later the region achieved an accolade for the best olives in the British Empire.
I acquired this titbit of history on a recent weekend away to one of the largest olive-producing valleys in the southern hemisphere with one of my gal pals, Thandanani.
We headed out on the N1 late on a wintry Friday afternoon to the Cascade Country Manor, set in the heart of the Paarl winelands against the backdrop of the majestic Klein Drakenstein Mountains.
The boutique hotel takes its name from the cascading waterfall on the property, which is fed by the Dal River.
On arrival we entered through a door on the porch that opened into a living room with a welcoming fireplace. Namibian owner Maika Goetze greeted us with little shots of hot chocolate and the friendly staff helped us with our bags .
We shared a modern double room with all the usual perks.
Since the owners are German there is a German TV station.
But there was not much time to dawdle. We’d arrived after dark and our itinerary said we had an olive oil tasting at 7.30pm.
We returned to the living room, where a very affectionate Jack Russell made himself comfortable on my lap. The little guy’s name was Kicks and his owner was Maika’s husband, Volker.
Volker is an olive aficionado. He is proud of the 900 olive trees that grow in his 100-year-old grove. He also grows indigenous Buchu, which is known for its medicinal properties.
The olive grove is the legacy of Ian Russell, the 13th Duke of Bedford. His fondness for the farm comes through in his biography A Silver-Plated Spoon.
The Goetze family takes great pride in the olive oil produced from this grove. Volker offers delicious olive-oil tastings and olive bread is baked daily at the hotel. He grows and produces a limited number of bottles of olive oil on Cascade.
He took us on a tour covering a number of brands, both from the Mediterranean and local.
“Olives with a big pip and less flesh have a high oil content,” says Volker. “It is the only fruit you can grow with no barbed wire. Nothing eats it. Not birds, not bees. It is too bitter to eat off trees.”
Five kilograms of olives are required to produce one litre of extra virgin olive oil, says Volker.
In the Mediterranean, we are told, lower grades of olive oil are also produced. Regular olive oil comes from a second pressing of the olives. Then there is pumice oil, which is what we often see on the tables of restaurants, because you can leave it out in the sun.
A question Volker is often asked is whether you can cook with olive oil.
“You can cook with it all you like … and use it six times longer than sunflower oil,” he says.
We were then treated to a three-course wine-paired dinner. It went on until midnight as the friendly Goetze regaled us with stories about his life running the hotel.
After a delectable full breakfast the next morning we took a walk to the waterfall.
Standing before the rushing water on a drizzling morning, I felt such reverence. I never tire of the beauty of waterfalls.
The only thing that could pull me away was a spa treatment. I was treated to a back, neck and shoulder massage combined with a hot-stone treatment.
The massages ran overtime, because the masseuse was just so good. I was instantly relaxed and destressed.
No trip to the Drakenstein region is complete without a trip to a wine farm, so we visited the Spice Route, which has a restaurant and wine, chocolate and beer tastings.
I had a Malabar braised springbok rump potjie with almond spatzle. Then it was off to a private tasting area. We were treated to wine and chocolate, a pairing of four DV Artisan wines with handcrafted Spice Route wines.
There is a world of chocolate on offer, literally, sourced from places such as Madagascar, Trinidad, Venezuela and São Tome.
Then it was a drive back to town for the final evening of our Cape Escape: Winchester Mansions on the Sea Point Promenade. A sublime treat was in store the next morning – the popular jazz brunch, highly recommended for jazz lovers.
We were allocated a large sea-facing room.
After a quick drink at the bar, I had a light supper of a baked goats’ cheese spring roll and spicy lentil curry.
The next morning we enjoyed a leisurely lie-in followed by brunch in the hotel’s courtyard. On the jazz front, we were entertained by Amy Campbell, daughter of UCT jazz studies professor Mike Campbell. She sang laid-back melodies while guests feasted on the buffet. I read the paper, nibbled, read more, ate more and … more, and capped my meal off with a little dessert. I gave the salads a miss but enjoyed a variety of dishes, including sushi, macaroons, curries, grilled meats, cheeses and breads.
The jazz brunch is a weekly event that offers great food and atmosphere, an ideal place to treat guests on special occasions.
l Martin was a guest of Cascade Country Manor and Winchester Mansions.
Special offers
l Cascade Country Manor is offering a reader special until the end of September: A one-night stay in a classic room, including a R400 spa voucher and a bottle of red wine, costs R600 a person.
l Winchester Mansions are offering a one-night stay from Tuesday to Saturday for R1 960. This includes accommodation in a junior suite, breakfast and a five-course dinner with wine pairing for two adults. - Weekend Argus