So I moved to Africa...

After jumping hemispheres the last couple years, meeting the most amazing people and drinking wine to die for (and making it, of course) I've decided to make my home in South Africa.
 
The main purpose of this of course is the man I fell in love with in New Zealand, Sean, as most of you know. After the hmming and hawing, we realized that if we wanted to stay together, we would have to choose a country. So, as Sean is a die hard South African...and I'm not necessarily finished traveling yet, we made the decision to 'settle down' here.
 
So, now we're here in Africa--Sean in Johannesburg, and me in Stellenbosch, the wine region near Cape Town. Check out the map, you'll see that Joburg and Cape Town aren't neighbors.  13 hours or so by car and 2 hours by plane. But at least we're in the same country!  The real 'settling down' will occur when I return from harvest in New Zealand in June.
 
I'm down here in 'Stellies' exploring the wine scene and staying with a friend who is a winemaker at a local wine farm. Sean has 'suited up' and goes to work everyday in Sandton (the CBD of Joburg).
 
I've been whirling about in Stellenbosch, getting great opportunities to broaden my wine knowledge and have fun while I'm at it.  I was invited to a vertical Chardonnay tasting at Thelema 1993-2011, by my Swedish sommelier roommate, Josephine. I went to not one, but two great going away parties for another lovely young winemaker, Alex, on her way to work harvest in the Barossa Valley of Australia. One at the Mulderbosch estate winery and another at a tiny Greek restaurant 'Yama's' in Sommerset West.  Through those parties I met even more amazing people, and have plans for rock climbing with a fabulous South African wine journalist; and, looking forward to a full, private tasting for Sean and I

at Mulderbosch, with another couple of awesome people.

Who WOULDN'T move to Africa for that face??

 
Not to mention a great local gf Jeannie (pronouced Johnnie) who has invited me out to dinner on the Cape Town waterfront, out for nights on the town and an unforgettable sailing trip just this last Sunday... Where I met even MORE cool people.
 
Sean came down a few weeks back and we had an ACTION packed weekend in Cape Town and Stellies. We started off the weekend with a Friday night braai (bbq for the rest of you) at my place with some new friends. Saturday we went to the 'Southern Ink Exposure' tattoo convention: surprisingly the first I've ever been to. We then spent a couple hours on the waterfront at Moyo's, enjoying wine and cocktails and lunch...and of course, each other. Then, we meandered down to the 'Body Worlds' exhibit, a traveling exhibit about the human body (with REAL dead plasticized bodies) that's currently in Cape Town. And then we capped off the night back at the tattoo convention's Saturday night party with some red bull and a phenomenal show by the Dollfins and The Shadowclub.
Sunday, we did our second turn at Van Ryn's brandy distillery (Sean's second favorite thing in Stellenbosch, after me) and had a tasting and picnic at Spier wine farm with three friends (Mauro-Portugal, Matias-Chile, and Candice-Joburg). Then, he unwillingly caught his flight back to Joburg...
 
Since before coming down to the Western Cape, many people told me how 'cliquey' the people can be down here; that the Joburg people are so much friendlier and willing to help you out. Well, I don't seem to be having any troubles at all and I have the healthiest social life since I was 16.

Not knocking you Joburgers though, see you soon enough!