If I could give 3.5 here I would
Inbetween average and very good
Guide was cheerful and a nice enough chap and on time when collecting but after a while he did waffle. I came in this trip because I don’t know much about wine and wanted to learn about it. Shopping time in a stop off point I can do anytime, this was a vineyard tour. 3 vineyards part of the trip.
Stop 1 Was the most thorough, see the room with the barrels, then sit down and try a white a rose and
a red. Hints of caramel, vanilla, strawberry etc, little did we know that as the day went on it was going to be the same script but more progressively rushed on each stop.
Stop 2. Lovely place, sommelier there trying to manage a room with different tours all at once -didn’t get to try all the wines we were supposed to be trying before being ushered out to go to the lunch stop half an hour away.
Stop 3 (after lunch) tram ride through beautiful countryside, lovely, venue exquisite and reminding me of an old colonial place you see in the films
I’m glad we did the trip and the guys were nice folks but I must be honest and say I’ve come back still not knowing anything about wines other than they all have the same aromas apparently
There was a real international mix of people which was cool, the impromptu stop to see the Nelson Mandela prison where he was released from was a nice touch too. The guide was a nice guy and was there throughout. I blame the company more than the employees here, they need better planning and should make it more educational insisting that enough and equipped sommeliers are in attendance and able to educate
Feedback for the African Eagle company that organised this trip, the review form that you are asked to complete is more of an assessment of the guide’s performance than an opportunity for them to get feedback on the trip itself. From this I get the impression that they’re not the best company to work for and I’d wager guides come and go here if that’s what they’re more concerned about than genuine feedback which I hope they’ll benefit from if any of their hierarchy get to see this.
