There could be no better introduction to South Africa, called the Rainbow Nation by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, than lunch and a wine tasting at La Colombe restaurant with Francois Theunissen, marketing manager at Constantia Uitsig, a winery that is also a hotel and spa.
The wines are clean, fresh and well-made - Constantia Brut 2008 Methode Cap Classique, Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Chardonnay 2010, Semillon 2009 and a red blend from 2006. A menu of local dishes includes oysters and caviar, scallops and pork belly, quail and foie gras; and my first springbok is delicious.
No wonder La Colombe is regularly on the S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants list.
Groot Constantia is the oldest wine estate in the country and its gifted winemaker, Boela Gerber, decides I can't spend Saturday night alone, so he invites my friend Michaela Stander of Wines of South Africa and me for dinner at renowned restaurant The Jonkershuis. In a day of firsts, this is also my introduction to the Cape Malay curry. Malay slaves were originally brought over from Java, and many of their culinary influences can be found in the curries all over South Africa.
The second day of the tour is an introduction to some South African staples, courtesy of the Mischa Estate in Wellington. The Barns brothers - Andrew, the winemaker, and Gareth, who looks after the vine nursery - introduce me to biltong as we sample their 2009 Eventide Viognier and 2009 Sauvignon Blanc. Biltong is cured meat - beef, ostrich or game - and is as much a part of South African life as a braai, or barbecue. The family kindly invite me to one. The wines include the Roussanne, their first ever estate white wine, and what a beauty that is - clearly my pick of the wines so far. We then move on to the reds - Merlot 2009, Shiraz 2007 and Cabernet Sauvignon 2007.
The next day we depart for Boschendal, in Franschhoek, which dates back to 1685. The estate is set in a breathtaking location - 254 hectares of vineyards along the slopes of the Groot Drakenstein Mountains that descend to the Dwars River.