About the Author

Kim Drake

Wine Curator

“When a winemaker gets the wine right, it is pure joy, like sipping a wonderfully painted artwork from the Louvre.” These are the words of Kim Drake, Londolozi’s Procurement Manager turned part-time Sommelier. Kim’s love of wine first started developing in 2010, shortly ...

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29 Comments

on Girls Tour ~ Pair Londolozi With The Cape Winelands

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Linda From California
Senior Digital Ranger

This little get away with the girls was well worth it and one they will remember for the rest of their lives. The pictures of the places you visited are beautiful. Hmm, chocolate with wine, that’s a new one for me. What chocolates were paired with the wines?

Kim Drake
Digital Ranger

Hi Linda, the chocolate and wine pairing is a great experience, and interesting to see how the wines complimented and elevated the chocolates. The chocolates used are specially made for Waterford and have been designed to pair with their wines. They pair the Kevin Arnold Shiraz with a Masala Chai flavoured dark chocolate, the Cabernet Sauvignon with a rock salt dark chocolate and the Heatherleigh (a dessert wine) with a rose geranium flavoured milk chocolate.

Marinda Drake
Master Tracker

Beautifully written Kim. Lovely blog.

Kim Drake
Digital Ranger

Thank you.

Joan Schmiidt
Master Tracker

Kim, I loved all photos🤗

Kim Drake
Digital Ranger

Thank you Joan, it is such a picturesque part of the country.

Michael and Terri Klauber
Guest contributor

Kim, So great to read a post from you and see the gorgeous photos of some of our favorite vineyards and friends! You know what great fans we are of the incredible wines from South Africa and we are proud to serve so many of them at our restaurant! All of the properties you visited are first class, especially Hamilton Russell!, and as always you have impeccable taste and always find the best wines. We are still working closely with Stark-Conde on the special wines that they make for our restaurant, and think you should take a visit to that beautiful spot on your next visit! We miss you and the Londolozi team. Thanks for always introducing to us to the newest and best of the Cape Winelands on every visit to Londolozi!

Kim Drake
Digital Ranger

Hi Michael and Terri, it was lovely to have some inspiration to write a post again, I really should do it more often…. I will definitely make a plan to visit Starke-Conde on my next trip to the Cape. Hopefully we will see you both soon at Londolozi?

Ian Hall
Master Tracker

Oh wonderful, I have one last safari planned and the thought of combining Londolozi with the Winelands and the Botanic Gardens is attractive to say the least

Kim Drake
Digital Ranger

Hi Ian, I would definitely recommend a trip to the winelands before or after a visit with us, always lovely to see another part of the country and enjoy some more good wine. Let me know if you’d like any winery recommendations.

Wow! I like wine. More stuff on South Africa othe than Londolozi would be appreciated.

Kim Drake
Digital Ranger

Hi Kirill, I’ll try get back into writing some regular wine blogs, it is always lovely to share more information on the great wines produced in South Africa. As I always say, we do make the best in the world 😉

Mary Beth Wheeler
Guest contributor

Fascinating story of your wind country adventure, Kim! It’s great that you know so many of the vintners so were able to have such personalized tastings! We live near the Napa and Sonoma valleys and so enjoy our tasting days, too. Thanks for sharing!

Kim Drake
Digital Ranger

Thank you Mary Beth, it is a bonus to know and have great relationships with the families of the wineries we support. I love nothing more than actually going into the back of a cellar and experiencing the heart and soul behind the great machine producing the wine. I sometimes wish it was a little closer to home, but always a worthwhile trip.

Christa Blessing
Master Tracker

What a great trip! Would like to visit all those incredible places.

Kim Drake
Digital Ranger

Thank you Christa, you definitely need to start planning a trip….

Valmai Vorster
Master Tracker

Kim you certainly do know your different wines . Your foto’s of the different wine cellars and the surroundings are beautiful. It seems to me you have travelled much and learn’t a lot on the different wines, and also tasting them. What a wonderful way to spend a few days with your lady friends, tasting different wines, seeing the beautiful scenery there and at the same time catching up on each other’s news. Wonderful story Kim.

Kim Drake
Digital Ranger

Thanks you Valmai. It was wonderful to be able to share what I have learnt about our wine industry as well as my passion with my friends and let them experience a little bit of what I love so much. At the same time creating our own special memories.

Karin Maclarty
Explorer

Very nice blog Kim. Pop in for a glass of wine with us next time.

Kim Drake
Digital Ranger

Thank you Karin, I will definitely make a plan to pop in.

Denise Vouri
Guest contributor

Kim, what a fantastic girls’ trip. I know we spoke a bit about it but seeing your photos brought it to fruition. My next trip to Londolozi will now definitely include a side trip to the wine districts- hopefully you can recommend a good itinerary for a few days! I thoroughly enjoyed the new SBs I tasted thanks to your kindness and only wish I could find them here in Northern California. Since I have the Napa and Sonoma Valley wineries an hour away, the impetus to stock South African wines is rather spotty in our stores. Oh well, just another reason to return. I will also add that I felt extremely safe during my travels to South Africa last month. All protocols were followed everywhere. Thank you South Africa !!

Kim Drake
Digital Ranger

Thank you Denise, I’d be happy to help out recommendations. It is such a lovely area to visit. It is a pity you can’t find some of our great wines back home, but we also need to keep some for ourselves I guess :). But definitely a reason to return….

Leonie De Young
Master Tracker

I really enjoyed your blog Kim and it made me thirsty and hungry as you were describing the wine tasting and eating pizza and fish and chips. What a nice way to have a girls getaway and especially so following lockdown. Thanks for sharing with us.

Kim Drake
Digital Ranger

Thank you Leonie.

What a great read – an absolute dream trip!

Kim Drake
Digital Ranger

Thanks Debbie, it was a wonderful trip.

Chelsea Allard
Master Tracker

That sounds like the perfect trip. We started our trip there in Stellenbosch before coming to Londolozi. It was only two days so we didn’t see as much, but I would absolutely go back. The vertical tasting sounds interesting. In North Carolina, USA where we live, there is a booming wine culture, but none of the vineyards I’ve visited offered this type of experience. Perhaps I’ll request one next time. 😊

Vin Beni
Guest contributor

Boys enjoy the same types of tours!
Lunch at the Hamilton-Russell estate with Olive and Anthony (and their dog) is one of our favorite memories. We also enjoyed Elgin.
See you in a few weeks!

Paul Canales
Master Tracker

Sounds like a tremendous trip Kim!!

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