50 for 50: Skilpadvlei Cheesecake and Wine Pairing

Feb 6

To kick off the 50 for 50, we decided to go with breakfast then a cheesecake and wine pairing at Skilpadvlei.

Skilpadvlei

Ahh…breakfast on a wine farm. There’s really nothing quite like having a great meal overlooking the winelands.

Skilpadvlei is an Afrikaans word meaning “tortoise valley”, or as I like to call it “Turtle Valley”. It’s located on the Polkadraai Road, just a little distance off the R310 outside Stellenbosch. It’s a beautiful farm, and for me it invoked feelings of being in the American south, like old town Savannah, GA or Charleston, SC. This goes doubly true for the design of the restaurant.

Breakfast was really delicious and the portions were very generous. I had the Bacon Frittata (R85) and Kim had the Salmon Frittata (R105). Both meals were as big as the plate…and these weren’t little plates, either. The eggs were perfectly cooked, light and fluffy, and they were both very liberal with the ‘add ins’. These weren’t frittatas with a little bit of bacon or salmon, no. These were as big as my head.

Cheesecake and Wine? Yes, please!

After relaxing a bit, we headed over for their Cheesecake and Wine pairing. The tasting area is just as beautiful as the restaurant. We sat outside, underneath the canopy, so we could enjoy the morning without getting roasted by the South African summer sun.

Skilpadvlei’s offering is a pairing of 4 wines with various baked cheesecakes (which made Kim very happy) and will run you R100 a person. The pairings are:

2022 Sauvignon Blanc with a Kiwi Cheesecake
2022 Rose (Blanc de Noir) with a Guava/Musk Cheesecake
2021 Merlot with a Biltong and Blueberry Cheesecake
2020 ML Joubert (Cab Sav/Merlot) with a Black Currant and Dark Chocolate Cheesecake

Cheesecake and Wine

What could possibly go wrong?

My favorite pairings were the Rose and the Merlot. I think the Kiwi interfered a little with what is a good Sauvignon Blanc, and the ML Joubert is still a little young and could sit for a couple years.

Don’t be intimidated by the biltong and blueberry, either… it may sound a little strange, but trust me…it works!