Ken Forrester Wines

The FMC Chenin Blanc is consistently good – bush vines, barrel fermentation and a tiny bit of noble late harvest – a sumptious wine

@Annemie Siebrits – Dankie vir die terugvoer en jou gawe uitnodiging. Ons sien alreeds uit na die fees volgende jaar! Kaapse groete.

@ Carla Swanson
Ons by Ken Forrester Vineyards het die Helderberg Wynfees vreeslik geniet en was so bly oor al die gaste wat ons kon verwelkom. By sulke byeenkomste probeer mens altyd jou bes om nogsteeds persoonlike aandag aan elkeen te gee wat by jou deur instap en is vreeslik jammer dat ons julle ontneem het van julle kaasbordjie. Ons hoop dat julle wel nogsteeds jul tydjie by ons geniet het so tussendeur die gewoel van mense. Ek verwelkom jou terug na ons plaas toe om ‘n wynproe te kom geniet en ek belowe dat ek vir jou ‘n kaasbordjie sal maak met komplimente. Ek dink die Helderberg wynfees was hierdie jaar nog beter gewees as verlede jaar en volgende jaar sal ons verseker reg wees vir nog meer mense!

Groete, Annemie

I’ve been here once before and during the Helderberg Fest we stop over again to indulge in a few sips of their FMC and exchange a few words with Annemie who has become one of my celebs on the Stellenbosch wine route.

Our 5th destination during the Helderberg Festival. It was good to see Annemie again, but unfortunately there was no time for chit-chat this time around, cause see was spinning. The tasting room as well as the outside courtyard were buzzing with people from all over the world. Not a big surprise, cause they had the FMC (Forrester Meinert Chenin), the Gypsy and the Noble Late Harvest. All 3 these wines are absolutely fantastic, but unfortunately out of my budget. If it’s on tasting, you DOWN!

Die tuiste (of is dit kelder?) van die SA Chenin kampioen, was op ons lysie vir die Saterdagmiddag met die Helderberg Wynfees. Buite die kelder het ons ‘n groepie mans gewaar – bewapen met pyl & boog, terwyl hulle mik na ‘n teikenbord, darem onder ‘n wakende oog!

Ons het die klein, geplaveide patio van die proelokaal betree vir ons eie, beplande kolskoot wynproe en kaasbord. Stoele moes aangedra word, want die plekkie was gepak met feesgangers. Gijan (?) het half onbeholpe ons vrae probeer antwoord; later hoor ons hy is afkomstig van ‘n nabygeleë wynplaas en het kom help met die fees.

Annemie het vir ons twee kaasborde op bestelling gebring, net om dit weer voor ons honger oë weg te neem! Blykbaar het iemand anders ons voorgespring om die laaste twee kaasborde te bestel & te betaal. Sy het darem ‘n blokkie Dalewoodkaas en ‘n bordjie bagel-chips gebring as versoeningsoffer, en Gijan het wyn geskink: KF Sauvignon Blanc 09 – vrugtig en vars. Tussendeur rol Annemie haar oë as ons durf vra vir ons stempeltjies op die feesvorm – die plaas het duidelik nie so ‘n hoë opkoms verwag nie! En al die feesgangers wil blykbaar sit en aan ietsie knibbel en rustig wynproe. Die plaashond is die enigste ‘personeellid’ aan diens wat ongestoord en kalm tussen die feesgangers maal.
Die FMC 08 ikoon wyn is pure bederf en ons teug dankbaar aan die goue druppels. Laaste proe ons die KF Shiraz Grenache 04 wat vol speserye is.

Kolskoot? Met die feesreëlings het KF effe misgeskiet, maar die volbloedwyn het daarvoor vergoed.

Ken did a tasting at Union Square in New York City. I was extremely impressed by the FMC (Forrester Meinert Chenin)

The petit chenin and Petit pinotage are exceptional value for money wines we got to taste the FMC R240.
lovely place for wine tasting if its a sunny day and the cheese platter is a must have

On our arrival we were welcomed by Cindy, a big brunette with brown eyes and a lot of fur. She escorted us to the tasting room where we met Annemie Siebrits.

We started of with some FMC 2007, a Meinert Chenin. It was fresh, crisp and pricey, but extremely yummy! We also tasted the GrenacheShiraz Blend. According to Annemie, Ken Forrester is the only wine estate in South Africa to produce this Spanish variety.

Most of their wines are priced between R120-R160 and worth every cent. My personal favourite was the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon.

We had a great experience at Ken Forrester. The wine was great and the staff were friendly and down to earth. It’s a great place to relax with some friends over a cheese platter and a few bottle of wine.

Not only does this farm boast a variety of K9’s and horses, but also a supreme variety of stunning wines and we had the pleasure of tasting them all. Being a huge red wine addict myself (as the name suggests), I was pleasantly surprised by the unique and flavourful combination each wine had to offer. My favourite was the FMC (an icon chenin indeed), priced at R240, a pleasure worth purchasing if you want to spoil your tastebuds, in moderation of course. I also enjoyed annemie with her down to earth, no-thrills attitude, introducing every wine like it was a member of her family or a close friend. We didn’t see much of the farm, but the little we did see left a memorable impression. Overall a delightful experience and highly recommended.

@Annemie Siebrits – Oeps….too much wine and too little fact writing! Thanks for the correction!

A great place to chill and indulge in some fine wine! Love the friendly and fresh smelling dogs!

It was a pleasure having you over at our farm and we look forward to sharing another glass of wine with you again. Just a quick note to add to the Shiraz Grenache blend you mentioned in your article; we are actually the only farm in Stellenbosch area to grow the granache grape.

See you soon
Regards,

Annemie
Ken Forrester Vineyards