Franschoek Afrikaans for French Corner, is a small town in the Western Cape Province and one of the oldest towns of the Republic of South Africa. It is about 75 kilometers from Cape Town and has a population of app 18000 people, easily doubling on weekends when the Cape to party. Cape Town is only a 45 minutes drive away. It is a posh upmarket place where expensive cars and Harley motorbikes are a standard sight. In 1688, French Huguenot refugees began populating the valley establishing farms and businesses bringing with them their experience in agriculture and wine making. The name of the area soon changed to le Coin Franais, with many of the settlers naming their new farms after the areas in France from which they came. La Motte, Champagne, La Cotte, Cabrire, La Provence, Bourgogne, La Terra de Luc and La Dauphine were among some of the first established farms. Most buildings in the village and the farmhouses still retain their original Cape Dutch farm style, although nicely renovated, suiting modern luxuries. These farms have grown into renowned wineries. Many of the families surnames in the area are of French origin and are still today in Huguenots
family possession, e.g. Du Toit, Marais, Du Plessis, Malan, Malherbe, and Joubert. This heritage is shown today by the Huguenot Monument, which stands at the end of the town. The nearby Huguenot Memorial Museum adjacent to the monument explores the history of the French Huguenots who settled in the Cape, and especially in the Franschhoek Valley. Architecture in much of the village is unspoiled, as restrictions have been placed on the extent of renovations and new construction is allowed, in order to preserve the spirit of the original settlers to the area. Franschhoek is notable for having some of the top restaurants in the country within its borders, as we have also found out last night. This fact, together with the strong wine culture, and pristine natural and architectural beauty has made Franschhoek into what many describe as the food and wine capital of South Africa. The city hosts with the restaurant Le Quartier Franais one of the top 50 restaurants in the world, (according to the S.Pellegrino worlds 50 best and has a famous Belgian Ptisserie for pralines. If you want to be cool here you act Francophile !!! No problem, thought Nenad and gave his English a
twist of French accent..... The shopping experience in Franschhoek is very interesting with several independent boutiques and menswear shops and quality homeware stores, but also local markets with handcraft and other innovative gimmicks to buy. We could not resist and bought especially dyed with African red earth and savannah herbs. Our called Le Petit Paris, follows the French old style with original walls from more than a century ago. The walls are very clairaudient and we were asked to tone down when in the room, as much can be heard in the room next door... what about French romance in this Huguenots place.....
Disappointed with the degustations of the previous day we gave it another try later this morning at the Graff vinery. The correct name of the place is Delaire Graff Estate. Lets talk about the owner first, before we talk about his wine. Laurence Graff is an English jeweler and billionaire businessman, best known as the founder of Graff Diamonds. So he made his money in this upmarket luxury segment, where quality consistency of the product and marketing is key. He applied this approach also into wine making. Supported by the best specialists money can
buy, he build this property to an icon location. Helped with the incredible views which provide the perfect backdrop to the estates outstanding restaurants, winery, exclusive Lodges, Spa, luxury boutiques and art galleries. For these reasons, Delaire Graff has quite rightly gained itself a reputation as one of the leading wineries in the Southern Hemisphere (according to several wine magazines).
