La Motte Wine Farm — Attraction in Stellenbosch Local Municipality

What an incredibly different gastronomic feast we were dealt. As an ex chef, this was a tasting I was looking forward to for months.

The venue for our feast with newly acquired friends was La Motte Wine Farm, although we were whisked away in a 1970s refurbished Kombi to a historic 300 year old manor house just down the road from our meeting point.

I've been fortunate enough to have wined and dined in some luxurious places in my life such as Gary Rhodes' 24 in London and Jamie Lovers Fifteen in Cornwall but tonight was something special.

Our secret location was Jan Franshoek Veepos, not open to the general public but only via bookings many months prior due to popularity. The meeting point at the farm was a sight to behold, long scaped tree lined road to the manor house and friendly staff greetings with La Motte Cap Classique 2023, refreshingly cold in the early evening heat. Our first canapé was Biltong Lamington, smoked tomato consommé with fynbos, walnut, green fig and boerenkass mousse. Just a sumptuous prelude for what was to come.

After greeting our newly acquired friends for the evening and the fun drive to our secret location, we were greeted by very friendly staff washing our hands in warm lavender water in the lavender fields, amazing! ❤️

A refreshing palate cleanser of fresh juice perfectly prepared us for a sumptuous evening of food and wine pairing that ended in friends being made worldwide, or in this instance, table wide. There's something to be said about grouping a bunch of people in a communal setting.

There is way too much to be typed up into this review of what we had but suffice to say it was an evening of epic proportions or should that be portions accompanied by fine wines, cold and hot foods, meats and greens and exceptional wine

Ending off our evening with Moerkoffie and a fun thrilled Kombi ride back to our respective mode of transports was saddened only by having to say goodbye to our new friends from across the globe. What an evening for this socially awkward...

Visited today. Have been visiting every year in April for about the past 10 years. My wife and I always visit to see the full collection of Pierneef linos and woodcuts as well as the Pierneef oil paintings exhibition and then buy a few items. But now since the buildings was upgraded there was none, not even one. The walls were basically empty as was the restaurant. The staff just confirmed many quest asked where they were. They said it was moved to the main house where the public can't see them. In the main exhibition hall where all the Pierneefs previously hang, some young local junior artists had a workshop and offered their work for sale. This was such a disappointment. Even in their shops there was very little of Pierneef available for sale, only normal generic items. We won't be visiting again. Not worth a visit at all. There are plenty other wine farms, La Motte was different because they had a large and best Pierneef art exhibition in the country. Now...

I was looking forward to revisiting La Motte after their nearly two-year refurbishment and was not disappointed. It is magnificent. They have captured perfectly the blend between traditional architecture / building style and modern clean functionality, with a beautiful mix of wood, metal, stone and white walls. What impressed me the most was firstly, the overall vision and ambition - the way the landscape, forest, gardens and vines come together with the buildings to form a whole. As an example, see the vistas stretching through the buildings via huge doorways and enormous sliding glass doors. Secondly, the attention to detail, evident everywhere. For example look up and see the etched ceiling of the walkways. The care taken to build around trees and incorporate them. The beauty of the gardens. And of course the stunning views of the surrounding vineyards and mountains. It is a triumph and makes you feel joyous just...