What was supposed to be a lazy Saturday afternoon spent in the warm glow of a fine winters day, sipping great wine and enjoying the company of friends and family turned out to be a laugh. Before I go any further let me say that Nitida Cafe and Nitida Wine farm seems to be two separate entities, my experiences and issues are with the Cafe and therefore not the farm. But as the Nitida experience encompasses the Wine Farm and the Cafe it is very difficult to be critical of one and not the other...
Were do I start. We booked a table only to be told on arrival they were aware of the booking but they hadn't actually made a reservation. Bizarre. Only 4 wines to choose from, and not one from Nitida! Surreal. They did have Chateau Libertas and Durbanville Hills mind you. Apparently the reason for the lack of Nitida Wines is a dispute between the Farm and the Cafe regarding pricing of Nitida Wines. Who cares. The menu had about 6 items, boring Cup-a-Soup, Pasta and Sauce and the rest so uninspiring I forgotten what they were. The less said about Cafe Nitida the better. The sad thing is the stunning location, vineyard views, rolling lawns etc are all let down by poor management.
I did manage to taste a few wines from the tasting room. As expected the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc @ R75 per bottle was simply delicious. Loads of goose berries, nice balance between acid and fruit without the need to take a Eno after the first glass. Other stand out wines were the 2006 Calligraphy @ R115 per bottle and the 2007 Pinotage @ R75 per bottle.
Will I be back in a hurry...think not. Pity.
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I've had a bad experience at the tasting room once, so I figured the Cafe will probably be just as dodgy. Shocking that they are called Nitida Cafe,that they are on Nitida's premises, but they don't sell their wine! How bizarre. I think they should consider changing their name, cause they are obviously giving Nitida a bad name.
ReplyDeleteNitida do have some great wines, I agree.