Breakfast of Champions: Chocolate & Wine!

A trip to the picturesque wine country in the Western Cape made for a lovely two days of not only wine tasting, but also chocolate and olive sampling. As we drove into Stellenbosch, we made an unplanned stop at the Blaauwklippen winery, as it just called our names as we drove by. For five delicious wine tastings we only paid 35Rand ($4.60). The tasting room was cozy with a fire and natural lighting. I tasted my favorite wine of the trip here...a full-bodied Malbec. After the tasting, we checked in at our hotel, Stellenbosch Protea hotel, right across the street from the vineyard...how convenient! The second winery, Delheim, is known for its olives, wine, and luscious wine estate and vineyards. The tasting room is located in a dark, wooden cellar where you would expect some good intellectual conversations to infiltrate the candles dripping wax on the floor. The next morning we woke up to a beautiful breakfast buffet at the hotel, including ready made omelets and fresh fruit. This was only the first course in the breakfast of champions, as for the second course we experienced a heavenly wine and chocolate tasting at the Zevenwacht wine estate. This winery is known for its delectable homemade chocolate: a lemon milk chocolate, apricot milk chocolate, and a coffee dark chocolate. The chocolate/wine pairings (32Rand=$4.30) were thoughtfully planned out. Surprisingly, the pairing I enjoyed most involved the taste of coffee. I do not drink coffee, as I have never acquired a taste for it. But, the coffee flavored dark chocolate coupled with a full-bodied red brought out the subtlest taste of coffee, not too overpowering, but just enough to give you that nice aroma of roasted coffee beans settling deep in to your nasal passage. Very nice! Some people think that chocolate and wine do not belong together, I think it is a match made in heaven! Delightful!