There isn’t a wine bar in Stellenbosch I have visited as often as Bartinney. I like it so much that I have to think about it why I do… Trying now to figure it out, the clearest feeling that comes to mind is that…  it’s easy going.

All kinds of people meet up there…people of different ages … different jobs and backgrounds. The terrace is just on the stoep, a Dutch but also an Afrikaans word for the sidewalk … it looks cozy and the baskets and vases full of protea’s, which grow on the farm, are very welcoming. Inside it’s decorated with dark wood and one of the walls is covered with an enormous picture of the Bartinney wine farm. Oh and not to forget, the host and the people working there are most wonderful!
In the same way that I have a passion for this land … I can feel the owner’s passion for their wines and their loyal visitors.

Quite a while ago we decided to go there, weekly, on Wednesday afternoons to meet friends, relatives and ‘friend of friends’…so every week there are different faces but there are a few regulars who can’t miss out. Like myself of course.
We call it our bookclub, but the most discussed text is probably the wine label.
In summertime we prefer the Noble Savage rosé and the Chenin Blanc…in winter we go for their Noble Savage Cab / Merlot…

Without a  doubt I must say that I prefer the more full-bodied Bartinney wines, like the nice bottle of Elevage (Bordeaux style red) we had the last time we were there   …  but Please decide what you like and combine it with a nice platter of cheese or meat. We never have wine without the biltong, olives and bread but everyone has their own tastes.

If you are in the area and brave enough to say hi… meet me on a Wednesday afternoon in Birdstreet, Stellenbosch. We always welcome new faces and good stories to enrich our lives!

One of these day’s I will go and visit the wine farm up on Helshoogte, so you will hear more about that!
I just have to find out the story behind their payoff line …‘Wine made on a mountain’!

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