The winemaker's wall of fame at The Royal Bar bears the mark of many producers from the Overberg and beyond. A shrine for passing winemakers who frequently drop into Greyton's famous little pub, the old walls are covered in scrawled memories. A ceiling made of old corks bears testimony to the many bottles consumed at regular wine tastings. Stern portraits of Queen Victoria, Rhodes, Churchill and Queen Elizabeth stare down disapprovingly at all the graffiti - along with bobby's helmets and the Union Jack.
According to a report in The Greyton Sentinel (circulation: 450), the garagistes of Greyton are now making their own wine - with a little help from their winemaking friends. Philip and Sandra Engelen, proprietors of Greyton Lodge, planted 500 Shiraz vines three years ago. In March this year, they made their first vintage, ably assisted by Clive Torr of Topaz Wine, Mark Howell of AntHill and Niels Verburg of Luddite. To be released in September 2005, it is maturing in one American and one French oak barrel.
Situated in close proximity to fourteen wine cellars in the Overberg/Walker Bay area and countless others in the Robertson Wine Valley over the mountain, Greyton is the perfect place for a country wine festival. One of the main events at the annual Greyton Winter Festival in mid-June, the Oak & Vigne Wine Carnival takes place in the old Moravian Hall from 10h30 to 17h00 on 19 June (see www.greytonrails.co.za for more info). With a boulle competition and new cellars like Major's Hill, Oewerzicht and Da Von Est which will launch its new Red Hot Mamma label, the annual event will attract 2000 visitors.
En route to Greyton, you'll find many of the newer wine labels of the Overberg and Walker Bay - including, Erica, Hemelzicht, Mauroma, Luddite, Iona, Urbane and Sumaridge.
The wine-list at Greyt-on-Main, a four-star auberge with a continental restaurant, showcases the wines of the region. Proprietor Helmut Richter, a wine fundi who brought in 1000 bottles of top French wines when he left Europe for Greyton, is the secretary of Greyton's active wine club. He comments, "Overberg wines are often overlooked. Our wine-list provides a focus. Greyton will be a new appellation one of these days."
If you're visiting Greyton during the festival, you should sample the wine-list at Greyt-on-Main along with chef Greta Richter's continental specialties that tempt with wonderful winter fare - signature fish quenelles, leberkaas rondelles, pork Wellington, eisbein, schnitzel and Bavarian pates. Helmut's wine-list features many of the signature cool-climate Sauvignon Blancs of Walker Bay - ranging from Newton Johnson's Cape Bay (R43) to Iona (R113) - as well as benchmark red wines like Beaumont Ariane and Luddite Shiraz (no snitch at R324), and Pinot Noir from Paul Cluver to Sumaridge.
Greyton has grown enormously over the last decade. The number of city slickers moving to the peace and quiet of the country has seen the village boom as a gastronomic destination with eight restaurants and one garagiste. The Saturday market provides a platform for the area's bakers, cheesemakers, jam-makers and cake-makers. Greyton even has its own chocolatier on main street in a scene reminiscent of Joanne Harris' Chocolat. After training in Belgium, Richard von Geusau opened the boutique factory two years ago - and now supplies inter alia Melissa's, the Mount Nelson and the Cape Grace.
Di Gillespie of von Geusau has participated in several chocolate and wine tastings with Waterford cellar at restaurants from 96 Winery Road to the Marine in Hermanus. She says they have matched the unusual flavours of their products with fine wine, pairing lavender chocolate with Chardonnay, rock salt chocolate with Cabernet Sauvignon, masala chai with Shiraz and early grey chocolate with Merlot (though she says this goes with most reds). Departing from Greyton with best-sellers like von Geusau's rose geranium and chili chocolate, we determined to find a match in the wine cellar at home.
For a brochure on the Greyton Winter Festival 2004 from 15 - 20 June, contact:
Greyton Tourism Bureau
Tel: (028) 254-9414
Email: greytoninfo@mweb.co.za
Website: www.greyton.net
Greyt-on-Main Restaurant & Guest-House
Tel: (028) 254-9722 or 083-974-3356
Email: richterscale@deunet.co.za
Website: www.greyt-on-main.com
Von Geusau Chocolates
Tel: (028) 254-9100/ 083-228-3431
Email: digiho@mjvn.co.za