IT'S ONE OF the most chic venues in South Africa's Cape winelands – a classy wine-tasting lounge, bar and terrace as well as a bistro at which to experience top whites, reds and bubblies on their own or while enjoying a good lunch or tapas dinner, inside or out. At Steenberg in Tokai, on the Constantia Wine Route below the Table Mountain National Park and Silvermine Nature Reserve, it's also possible to sample their wines in the cellar, or to go on a cellar tour before or after your tasting. Although the view from the terrace, across the water feature, rolling lawn and garden with the mountains beyond is tough to beat – you can also take a stroll though the garden and are welcome to wander off the path if you're interested in the surrounding vineyards.
In part, Steenberg is a serious sparkling wine cellar, with the consistently highly-rated Lady R Cap Classique at the top of a bubbly range accounting for some 60% of total production by volume – all of the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes for the sparklers brought in from outside Cape Town. However, it's Sauvignon Blanc that the farm specialises in when it comes to home-grown grapes – a number of different expressions, including the ‘standard' unoaked version, a Barrel Fermented Sauvignon Blanc and, in Steenberg's Flagship Range, the Black Swan, unwooded and with an impressive track record in terms of good panel ratings over the past 10 years. There's even a sparkling Sauvignon Blanc for when you feel like something that's simply “fun, fruity and fresh”, and so invested in the variety is the team that they've come up with a ‘Sense of Sauvignon' menu as a lunch or supper option whereby five courses are prepared for two people sharing, each dish pairing well with the ‘Classic' Steenberg Sauvignon Blanc.
Besides The Black Swan, the Flagship Range also includes a Semillon, the red blend Catharina (Merlot-led with Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec in support), named after the founder of Steenberg back in 1682, plus a Nebbiolo… Steenberg was the first wine farm in South Africa to plant Nebbiolo, from the north of Italy, and has made an interesting, somewhat medium-bodied red from this variety since the late 1990s – small volume, can sell out quickly.
And, positioned as the ‘Icon' wine that “encapsulates the finest of the Steenberg vintage”, there's Magna Carta, a white blend from Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon – the 2021 sold out at the time of writing, with the next vintage due for release in October.
Wine-tasting options range from R160pp for the bubbles (three sparkling wines) to R250pp for The Flagship Tasting (‘1682' Pinot Noir Cap Classique followed by the four Flagship wines). Best to book ahead.
