At the London Wine Fair. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
This wine may be new to you or some of the people you know, but it has been around for a long time. The wine was drunk by Napoleon and previous royalty. Also by Jane Austen.
You can visit the vineyard which is said to be one of the prettiest in the world. Between two oceans, which adds to the appeal of the location and its beneficial effect on the wines. The place is only 20 mins from Cape Town.
60% sauvignon blanc white.
My favourite wine from there is the sweet wine. Very more-ish.
They are on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram.
The Yiddish word shtetl means town, little town, or market town. I thought it meant village. It has nostalgic and romantic associations, unlike ghetto, which was an area of forced confinement, like the ghetto or ironworks area in Venice which was the origin of the word ghetto. Shtetl evaokes nostalgia, like the work kampong in Malay.
You may have see reproductions of a Shtetl in the film Fiddler On the Roof, written by Shalom Aleichem. (Shalom Aleichem a nickname or penmame meaning peace to you in Yiddish. Shalom, or salaam in Arabic, means peace, as in the name of the city, Jerusalem, meaning city or place of peace. You might also remember the words Shalom Aleichem from the song, Havenu shalom aleichem, we bring you or wish you peace, which is the chorus endlessly repeated until you know it by heart.
South Africa and Lithuania
You can see reproductions of a shetetl street and the one room living dining room of a shtetl house in Cape Town's Jewish museum in South Africa, which reproduces a shtetl in Lithuania, and which you can see in Wikipedia. (I went to the Cape Town Jewish museum and was agreeably surprised to see that the Jews of South Africa had supported the later hero Nelson Mandela, even buying a farm where he could hide out before he was eventualy captured.
I am sorry that the Ukrainian song does not have the word in transliteration. If I find it later I shall add it. If you know it, please add a link in a comment and/or send it to me. I hope you enjoyed the songs and catchy music.
Regarding Lithuania, the capital is Vilnius, and it has monuments and a trail to the famous Vina Gaon, meaning Vilna guru, genius, leader.
When I visited South Africa I drove out of Cape Town to lunch at a winery. On my next trip I shall research wineries carefully in advance, checking which ones have great restaurants, interesting wines to taste, unusual buildings or special landscapes.
A new friend who has often visited her family in South Africa told me about the three wineries where they take visitors out of Cape Town. I saw her photos and you can see photos and read her write-ups on TripAdvisor.
1 Belaire Graff
The Belaire winery (bel or belle meaning beautiful, aire is air) was bought by the jewellery Graff and made even more beautiful. Stunning views of a mountain like the Matterhorn with a sharp triangular top, foliage and flowers such as birds of paradise, yellow and purply blue.
The whole area is landscape gardened and adorned with giant sculptures depicting the people and animals of South Africa, twin human heads, and man-size gamboling animals.
Inside you find two great restaurants. I liked the light fitting of a flock of swallows circling. The choice of restaurants is Asian or Western.
2 Vergelegen Winery
The name is pronounced Fair - che (like Scottish loch or clearing your throat) lechen (again a clearing your throat ch). The name means long leg, or remote place, originally quite a walk from anywhere.
It's a traditional and local Cape Dutch house with beautiful gardens. For a contrast, then see:
3 Ernie Els Winery
A granite structure, ultra modern, with a big oak door, and views, great for a light snack.
You might want to reverse the order of direction or start with number two, the traditional one, and end with the sculpture garden and linger over a meal stop.
