Glassware

Two very different wines call for two very different glasses in Franschhoek. The first is the mature, often oak-fermented Chardonnay or Semillon, broad on the palate, built on texture rather than pure fruit. Such a wine needs room. A rounded glass with a wide opening, the kind typically used for white Burgundy, lets the wine's waxy, creamy character unfold instead of trapping it. A narrow Sauvignon Blanc glass would make the same wine smell of nothing but alcohol.

The second case is Cap Classique, the valley's traditionally bottle-fermented sparkling wine. Here, almost the opposite rule applies. A flat, wide saucer, the kind familiar from old films, lets the carbonation escape within seconds and squanders exactly what you're drinking the wine for. A slender tulip glass, by contrast, holds the bead together for longer and concentrates the aromas of yeast and ripe apple at the rim. At Cabrière's tasting room, Cap Classique is therefore always poured into the tulip, never the flat saucer.

Temperature separates the two wines as well. Cap Classique belongs in the fridge at six to eight degrees Celsius, whereas a mature Chardonnay turns mute at that chill and only reveals itself starting around ten to twelve degrees. Pour level matters too. A glass is never filled to the rim, or there's no room left for the aroma to gather.

With the valley's powerful red wines, the Cabernet and Shiraz blends, the height of the bowl matters most. A tall glass gives the tannin room to soften slightly before the first sip. Fill a small glass to the brim instead, and you'll only taste that same wine's hard, closed-off side.