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Worcester Travel Guide in the Winelands - South Africa

The town of Worcester in South Africa was founded in 1822. The town today is mainly the service centre for the surrounding wine and fruit growing areas in the Breede River Valley. Worcester lies at the N1 freeway connecting Cape Town and Johannesburg and is an ideal place for a stopover, since it has some interesting tourist attractions to offer.

At the Kleinplasie open-air museum one can gain an insight into the living conditions of the first settlers. A farm from the 18th century, a hut of the Trekboers and a Khoikhoi camp have been rebuilt and furnished true to detail. Actors in historical dresses reinvoke the rural life of the old days. Visitors can watch how they manufactured soap, rolled tobacco, forged horseshoes, milled wheat, spun wool and much more.

To the wine lover, Worcester offers a big Wine Tasting Centre, where one can savor the excellent Breede River wines. Definitely worth a visit is the KWV Brandy Cellar, where one can gain an insight into art of brandy distillation.

Another attraction is the Karoo National Botanical Garden, about one kilometer north of Worcester. In this 144 hectare semi-desert nature reserve one can find a whole spectrum of Karoo plants.

Glider-flying enthusiasts find the only glider flying airfield in the Cape in Worcester. The Cape Gliding Club owns a whole range of one or two-seater glider planes, a towing aircraft and a tarred runway. Flying activities are usually limited to the weekends only. Visitors are welcome and can, under the supervision of a teacher, try flying themselves. Thermal winds and weather conditions in the Breede River Valley are excellent most of the year.

Worcester lies on the main route to and from Cape Town, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth. With its wide range of services and commercial facilities, it has become the business and shopping centre for the entire valley and surrounding towns.

Things to See and Do:

Kleinplasie:

The Complex (next to the Robertson Road) comprises the agricultural showground's, an Open Air Living Museum, restaurant and wine cellar, as well as the Reptile World.

Kleinplasie Open Air Living Museum:

The unique open air museum depicts the lifestyle of the early pioneer farmers. Throughout the year a variety of activities are presented.

Karoo National Botanical Garden:

This jewel of a garden with 144ha of natural semi-desert vegetation and 10ha of landscaped gardens, features the unique plants of the drier parts of the country. Its greenhouse boast world famous collections of stone plants.

Brandy Route:

During the 325th brandy producing year in South Africa in 1997, the world's first Brandy Route was introduced, causing a stir amongst the world media. Public awareness was roused and brandy-lovers set about finding out more about the production and finer side of this noble fruit of the vine, by visiting the cellars along the Brandy Route.

The KWV Cellar, the largest of its kind in the world, is one of eight cellars on the Brandy Route. It's uniqueness lies in the 120 Woudberg potstills, huge maturation cellar and demonstrations of the ancient craft of barrel-making by the coopers.

The Olof Bergh Solera Cellar, at Goudine, is the other cellar in the Worcester region. Small but prolific, it accommodates 22 Woudberg copper potstills, similiar to those used in Cognac, France, for the distillation of high quality colombar wines. It is the only cellar in South Africa to practice the famous Spanish Solera method of maturation and blending.

Institute for the Blind:

Visitors are invited to come and see how the visually impaired are trained and how they work.

Institute for the Deaf:

Visitors are invited to come and see how the hearing impaired are trained and how they work.

Nuwe Hoop Centre for the Hearing Impaired:

A centre where children between the ages of three and twenty one years receive formal and technical training. Visitors are welcome.

Architectural Walking Routes:

Worcester was laid out according to a definite plan with parallel streets. This enables the visitor to take an easy walk through town and visit some prime examples of early architecture. Brochures are available at the Tourism Bureau.

Gift and Antique Shops:

Several interesting shops are dotted around town.

Gerald Crawford was born in South Africa, studied electronics, telecommunication, eco-travel and african travel concepts. He taught responsible tourism in South Africa. If you have any questions or comments please e-mail me on. E-mail Address: southafricantravelarticles@12234455.co.za Website Address: www.12234455.co.za

Drinking Wine



Merlot is the name of the grape used to make merlot wine. This wine has been used as a blending wine for hundreds of years because its flavor is so gentle. The typical flavor for a merlot is plum. This goes well with just about any medium-body dish, like burgers or pork chops.
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Wine Appreciation



Consider light saut�ed snapper with something light, such as Sauvignon Blanc, and pan-seared salmon with something richer, such as French Pinot Gris, Chardonnay or even a light red, such as Pinot Noir.
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Wine Developers



the easiest wines for most new drinkers to handle are the white zinfandel and white merlot style. These are very sweet in the grand scheme of things, but to someone used to drinking sugary sodas they will seem "normal". Think of this as someone taking coffee and dumping 5 creams and 5 sugars into it. Yes, it's barely coffee, but it's a start!
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Conundrum Wine



Swirl the wine around the glass. If you�re a beginning swirler, do this with the wine glass on a flat surface. It�s less risky. Swirling allows the wine to release its aromas as the alcohol vaporizes during the swirl. Smell deeply and try to identify what you sense. The nose can detect thousands of flavours and the tongue only four, so much of wine is �on the nose.�
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Calistoga Jazz Festival

Cool Jazz and fine wine tasting will be held Saturday, March 6 at many of the popular restaurants, galleries and shops in walkable downtown Calistoga. Jazz Paks can be purchased in advance or the day of the event and include a Mustard Festival logo wine glass, five wine tasting coupons and discount coupons.

Sonoma County Current Events

Featured Sonoma County Event: Rodney Strong Winemaker Dinner. The Inn at the Tides, Bay View Restaurant in Bodega Bay proudly hosts Winemaker Michael Eddy of Rodney Strong Winery for a spectacular 5-course dinner including a specially selected wine with each course. Reservations are a must!


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