Something Elsje remains

If you want to see how wine was made in the Cape 50 years ago, visit Altydgedacht in 10 years, writes Neil Pendock

. BACKGROUND: Many of the big names in SA wine were started by women : Steenberg, Muratie and now Altydgedacht - a 413ha spread granted to Elsje van Suurwaarde, wife of the deputy to governor Simon van der Stel in the closing act of the 17th century.

The farm was put in Elsje's name as employees of the Dutch East India Company were prohibited from owning land - something Van der Stel's son, Willem Adriaan, found out when he was fired for setting up Vergelegen .

Today the farm is run by John and Ollo, sons of octogenarian Jean Parker, an art teacher from the Eastern Cape, who has supplied grapes to Nederburg for over six decades. Etienne Louw makes the wine.

. ARTISTIC MERIT: The old joke is that if you want to see how wine was made in the Cape 50 years ago, visit Altydgedacht in 10 years . Not much has changed since Elsje's day. Summer is the best season to visit the rustic tasting room as the coal stove belches smoke in winter. The 17th-century winery built from clay bricks is one of the last surviving original cellars in the Cape.

. UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION: Renosterveld is the name given to pockets of indigenous fynbos that have retreated to the crowns of hills in the Peninsula, driven upwards by farming pressures. On special occasions, such as the Seasons of Sauvignon Festival, or by prior arrangement, the Parkers organise botanical field trips in a Unimog .

. DID YOU KNOW? While Napoleon was in exile on St Helena, his secretary, Emmanuel, camped at Altydgedacht, until he was deported by the British for trying to organise an escape for the emperor .

. BEST WINE: US magazine Wine Spectator hailed the George Spies 1966 cabernet as "the one true classic wine ever produced in South Africa" and rated it an unprecedented 95 points out of 100. The wine was actually made by Jean Parker and her neighbour Phil Walker, from grapes grown on his Morgenster farm. George Spies was a Monis wine buyer who bought wine from Altydgedacht in the 1960s.

Today the farm's forte is pinotage, with a berth in this year's Absa top 10 pinotage list plus one of five finalists in the inaugural Perold Absa Cape Blend Competition.

But Michael Back of Backsberg fame has planted 4ha of pinot noir on a south-facing slope and the heartbreak grape of Burgundy should soon be shooting out the wine-show lights.

In the white department, Altydgedacht sauvignon blanc is always a safe bet and the 2011 vintage has delicate nuances of ruby grapefruit that work with grilled yellowtail.

. FOOD: Eat@Altydgedacht is a rustic restaurant, open for breakfast and lunch, Monday to Saturday from 9am till 3pm . Dine under shady trees next to a dam or inside the 300-year-old barrel cellar. Home-made meals are tasty and inexpensive and the signature dish is chicken pot pie. Contact Sharon on 0219757815 or e-mail eat@altydgedacht.co.za

Pampoenkraal is a wedding and function venue for up to 200 guests. Tucked away in a grove of oak trees, it offers an al-fresco dining experience, a thatch lapa and all cooking done on open fires. Contact Michelle or Lizelle on 0219132528 or e-mail info@pampoenkraal.co.za

. LOCATION: GPS waypoints: -33.84746951650101 longitude, 18.624875843524933 latitude.

. DIRECTIONS: Take the Durbanville Avenue exit off the N1 from Cape Town to Paarl and turn left at Tygerberg Valley Road.

. TASTING CHARGE: Free. Nice one!

. TASTING TIMES: Monday-Friday 9am-5pm ; Saturday 9am-3pm.

. CONTACT: Visit www.altydgedacht.co.za or call 0219761295.