Jacqui Rabe | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

Paulina de Villiers was the first woman farm owner in the Winelands, now called Rickety Bridge, having received the farm in 1797. The wine estate has named its premium wines and its new Bistro restaurant after this feisty lady, whose spirit is said to still be felt in her vineyards!

We experienced the Paulina’s Reserve wines on Saturday, visiting Rickety Bridge on the new Franschhoek Wine Tram, and having been brought to their wine tasting centre with their Dodge converted into a vehicle with seating to transport the Wine Tram visitors from the train track. We were invited by Sales Manager and Restaurant Director Jacqui Rabe for lunch on Sunday, to experience the new Paulina’s restaurant.

We sat on the terrace, under Rickety Bridge branded umbrellas, and the area filled up quickly, showing how popular the restaurant has become since it opened officially three weeks ago. Even winemaker Wynand Grobler, also a Director of the restaurant, came for lunch with a group of his friends. The slatted tables and chairs are wooden, with no table cloth or place mat. Each table has a wooden salt and pepper grinder, with paper serviettes. We met the new Manager Joanna Hurlston, and the new Chef Melissa Bruyns, who has previously worked at The Westin hotel, and Haute Cabriere. Chef Melissa sources produce locally, and has a vegetable garden on the farm, from which she harvests carrots, herbs, and baby marrow, and will be speaking to Daniel Kruger about sourcing some of his herbs and vegetables from La Motte’s herb and vegetable garden too.

The menu is printed on strong A3 recycled board, and has the winelist on the reverse side. A blackboard announces the weekly special, which was delicious marinated char-grilled artichoke hearts on Sunday. In the starter section, each item comes as a half and full portion, in a tpas style, and are meant to be shared for the table. The main courses and desserts are offered in one size only. Each item on the menu has a suggested pairing with one of the Rickety Bridge wines. The menu will change regularly, to tie in with seasonal produce changes.

Jackie ordered the artichoke special; a variety of tempura vegetables served with three dipping sauces (R38/75), the pairing suggestion being Paulina’s Reserve Semillon; and Seafood Risotto served with braised fennel and topped with Café de Paris butter and pecorino (R45/R88), best paired with the Paulina’s Reserve Sauvignon Blanc. Guy shared a taste of his delicious Crayfish Bisque deglazed with Rickety Bridge Chenin Blanc (R50). Other starter options, available in half and full portions, are Caeser salad (R36/R72), cute-looking Franschhoek salmon trout fish cake burgers served on a beetroot roll and topped with lemon aioli (R43/R85), Saldanha mussels (R50/R95), and a leek and asparagus flan drizzled with chive oil and greens (R40/R83). We shared our main courses too, being the crispy pork belly with fried greens, wasabi mash, and sweet chilli and ginger sauce (R112), which was paired with Rickety Bridge The Foundation Stone; the most tender Karoo lamb chops with creamed potato, wilted baby spinach and Rickety Bridge Merlot jus (R135), paired with Rickety Bridge Merlot; and Grilled Baby Calamari served with chourizo, rocket, roasted cherry tomatoes, and coriander dressing (R87), paired with Paulina’s Reserve Chenin Blanc. Other main courses include 250g grilled Chalmar rib eye steak (R125), Grilled line fish (R108), and linguini (R75). Sauces cost R30, and side orders R15 – R25. Guy and I shared the Tasting trio of chocolate desserts, consisting of a dark chocolate brownie, milk chocolate tart, white chocolate mousse, served with chocolate ice cream (R40), accompanied by a LavAzza cappuccino. Other dessert options are a trio of baked puddings, a trio of tarts, and a seasonal fruit platter, all costing R40.

The winelist offers Rickety Bridge and Paulina’s wines, with a R20 mark-up only relative to the cellar door pricing. In 1996 Rickety Bridge launched its Paulina Reserve range, and it is 30% wooded, we were told. Most wines are available by the glass and bottle. The Rickety Bridge Brut Rosé costs R38/R135, the Rosé R20/59, and the Sauvignin Blanc, Chenin Blanc, and range from just over R20 per glass to R70 – R80. The Rickety Bridge Semillon, and Paulina’s Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, and Semillon range in price from R75 – R110 per bottle. Rickety Bridge Merlot, Shiraz, PInotage, and Foundation Stone range from R30 to R145. The Bridge costs R395, and Paulina’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon R 200.

It was a lovely afternoon lunch, allowing me to get Jackie and the wine estate better, and seeing staff who had previously worked at other restaurants before again. The service was good, and the prices at Paulina’s are very reasonable, and the portions generous, making it a definite to return to.

POSTSCRIPT 5/12: The restaurant has provided details of its dinners starting tomorrow. The 4-course Tasting Dinner Menu costs R 280/R360, the 6-course R 380/R500 (the second price includes wines).

Paulina’s, Rickety Bridge, R45, Franschhoek. Tel (021) 876-2129 www.ricketybridge.co.za Twitter: @PaulinasRB Monday – Sunday lunch. Dinners will be served on Thursday, Fridays, and Saturdays from 6 December.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage

Yesterday the Franschhoek Wine Tram operated for the first time, having been eagerly awaited, after its introduction was announced more than two years ago. In the first month the Wine Tram will only travel between its starting platform, and Grande Provence and Rickety Bridge, but will expand from 15 December with an additional hop-on hop-off bus service.

We have written previously about the Wine Tram, and its owners David and Sean Blyth, a father and son team who are avid train fans. They identified the potential to introduce a tram service, a modern built tram based on the Brill Tram design of the 1890’s, as a hop-on hop-off service for tourists and winetasters wanting to taste wines without having to drive themselves.

Having received a newsletter about the new tram service early yesterday, announcing its opening day, my colleague and I made use of a two hour gap before guests arrived to try out the tram. We thought the station was alongside Franschhoek Cellars, where the tram has been securely parked since it was completed. It was a little further along, past the old Pippin Farm Stall (soon to open as The Stall), one seeing the tram in an open field, that one reaches by turning left just after The Siding, where Graham Beck now has its marketing offices, and first left again, following a road alongside the track. It was impressive that we could pay per credit card in the middle of nowhere, receiving an SMS notification of our payment, having been asked for our ‘South African’ cell number! The tram, sporting French flags, was waiting to depart (every hour, on the hour), and goes to Rickety Bridge first, where one can be picked up every hour, allowing one to spend more than hour there to taste and buy the Rickety Bridge wines, buy from their gift shop, play boules, stay over, and enjoy lunch at their new Paulina’s restaurant. On the way back, one can get off at Grand Provence, to enjoy their restaurant, art gallery, and tasting room.

The tram track uses that of the original railway that transported wine and fruit from Franschhoek, a line that has been dormant for ten years, an informative commentary spoken by recent new Franschhoek property owner Malcolm Gooding, well-known as a radio and TV voice going back to Springbok Radio days, informed, unfortunately at times inaudible due to some noisy children on board. The tram travels along the tree-lined track, and the vineyards of Grande Provence and Rickety Bridge. The tram crosses side roads, and must stop at each of these, its staff getting off, and waving red flags, with a hooter going off too. We were told that clients get on on a first come, first served basis. No food and drink, nor smoking, is allowed on the tram. An environmentally friendly bio-diesel is used to fuel the tram.

At Rickety Bridge we got onto a 1950’s farm Dodge truck that has been transformed into a vehicle transporting one to the tasting room and restaurant. One is given a list of eight Rickety Bridge and four Paulina’s Reserve wines, and one is allowed to taste five of these for free, as part of the ticket price of R60. Paulina de Villiers was the first female owner of a wine farm in South Africa in the 1800s, and the wines and restaurant have been named in her honour. We were lucky to find Sales Manager Jackie Rabe and her partner Guy Kedian at the wine estate, and were spoilt with a personalised wine tasting. Rickety Bridge is the entry level wine range, and is unwooded, while the Paulina’s Reserve range is partially wooded. Guy shared that Chenin Blanc once made up one third of South Africa’s vine production, and that it was largely used to make brandy, a large part of it consumed in the army. When the compulsory conscription came to an end, the consumption of Brandy & Coke fell dramatically, and many farmers removed their Chenin vines, this varietal only making up 20% of the country’s vine production currently, yet it is still the largest varietal. Rickety Bridge still has 34 year old chenin vines, which are full of flavour. Interesting is that Semillon vines dominated 250 years ago, and Franschhoek is particularly well suited to grow this big wine varietal. Rickety Bridge is best known for its Shiraz. The Rickety Bridge range consists of Sauvignon Blanc 2012, Chenin Blanc 2011, Semillon 2006, Rosé 2011, Merlot 2008, Pinotage 2011, The Foundation Stone 2010 (made from Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Tannat, and Cinsaut), and Shiraz 2010. The Paulina’s Reserve Range consists of Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Chenin Blanc 2010, Semillon 2008, and Cabernet Sauvignon 2009.

We did not have time to get off at Grande Provence, but the farm tractor with a trailer with seating fetches the guests from the La Provence platform, and transports one down to the wine cellar, the tasting room, the delectable restaurant for which Chef Darren Badenhorst and his team cooks, and an award-winning art gallery, winning Best Art & Culture recently in the Great Wine Capitals Global Network awards.

We are confident that the visitors to Franschhoek will enjoy their outing on the Franschhoek Wine Tram, and at the two inaugural wine estates Grande Provence and Rickety Bridge. From mid-December the route will expand to include Dieu Donné, Platter Winery of the Year 2013 Cape Chamonix, Haute Cabriere (which will offer a welcome glass of Pierre Jourdan MCC), and the Huguenot Museum, utilising a special bus, also on a hop-on hop-off basis, in conjunction with the Wine Tram. There is no doubt that current wine tour operators could see the Wine Tram as a competitor.

POSTSCRIPT 18/11: It was impressive that Sean Blyth called on Saturday evening, to obtain feedback about the Wine Tram trip, and has made changes already as a result, for example children may no longer travel unaccompanied by the parents.

POSTSCRIPT 21/12: Sean Blyth sent an update e-mail today: To give you an update, we have had a excellent response from passengers re the service with several positive reviews on Tripadvisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g469391-d3536165-Reviews-Franschhoek_Wine_Tram-Franschhoek_Western_Cape.html

We are averaging about 50-70 passengers a day at this point and this is with very little marketing. We have also opened our new ticket office in Franschhoek which has been a great way to attract passengers. Top Billing will be doing a segment on the tram with the shoot lined up for mid Jan – this should be great exposure. We are now getting ready to launch the bus service early next week which will extend the stops from 2 to 6 – will you been in Franschhoek next week to join us as our guest to experience the full product?

POSTSCRIPT 26/12: Today the Franschhoek Wine Tram has announced that the Franschhoek Wine Bus has begun operating, stopping at Chamonix, Dieu Donné, Haute Cabriere, and the Huguenot Museum, in addition to the Tram stops at Rickety Bridge and Grande Provence.

Franschhoek Wine Tram, Tel (021) 300-0338. www.winetram.co.za Twitter:@WineTram. Monday – Sunday 10h00 – 17h00. R60, includes one complimentary wine tasting.