Ormonde Wines — Attraction in Swartland Local Municipality

We stumbled across the Croquette and Wine pairing at Ormonde online, so we decided to give it a whirl. It is such a great idea, but I had to really dig around to find all the answers to questions such as cost and flavours from questions that other posters had asked before booking. More clarity online about the unique pairing and other offerings that Ormonde has would definitely not go amiss.

The garden setting is small and pretty, with a duck pond and space for the kids to run around. For us old toppies, we found the seating a bit uncomfortable as we like cushions and tables high enough so that we don't need to bend over too much to eat. There was a bit of confusion about where we should sit, as we didn't want to sit on the picnic benches on the slight slope and were told that we would need to share if we sat at one of the bigger tables. (Understandably so).

The Croquettes were delicious, and they were all paired perfectly with jams and mustard. The portions were generous, and the platter looked very impressive. Going against the grain here of almost every other post, we unfortunately did not enjoy the wines too much. We tasted most of the Ormonde range after the Croquette pairing, and the Pinotage and Malbec were the only two that we could say that we quite liked. Wine tasting is subjective, and this is absolutely the point - sometimes you win, sometimes you don't.

The tasting was well presented, and our hostess was very informative and attentive. The restaurant menu is creative, and from what we saw, the food orders looked rather delicious. We tried one of the speciality cheeses - The Cape Cobra - and it...

One does not simply pass through Darling without visiting the Ormonde wine estate or private cellar as we were told by the estate agent on a recent trip to look at property in the area. So I must admit, I have passed through this picturesque town a few times and ventured a few to other stops, but not the wine farm. BIG mistake, I’ve so learnt!

Where to start, the venue is set up on the hill, looking down the town, rolling green lawns with lots of shade under trees or umbrellas. The tasting is a very modest R50 p/p for the various tastings, either premium 3 wines or up to 8 of the estate range. The wines were well structured, and all from Darling, showcasing some of the finest terrior on offer. The style of wine, is classic, a bit old world in my opinion, with some French roots in the styling. For me the stand outs were the Bordeaux blends, and Malbec & Cab Franc single cultivars.

What was an absolute showstopper, was the cheese & charcuterie platter, with a veg option too. Wow, a show-stopper to match the amazing wine tasting experience. Complete with small sweat treats too.

A truly amazing experience, that I can not encourage enough for those looking for wine tasting experience with a difference, and at half the cost of most on offer. Plus a host of other things to experience in the town of Darling, from sweets to beer and wine bars. A worthy day trip...

5⭐s! Surprisingly, amazing tasting experience today especially for the single vineyards🍷❤️ The R280 cheese board were all homemade and more than enough to feed 2 person for lunch and it was deliciously fresh😋 Highly recommend the visit if you are at Darling area! They also have an awesome lunch menu too! All wines have different characteristics, nose and body, but the reds stood out the most for me. Manager/Owner/family member's knowledge on wines and how they cultivated their clone from France to suit their geographical environment was interesting to know and learnt something new🙏

UPDATES AFTER 2 years for this review and still is as amazing. Even better now there are different special seasonal pairings from pate to crochets that will definitely tandalise...