Beginning at the beginning

July 27, 2019Once Upon a VineyardPinot Noir,Plettenberg Bay,wine farm,The Crags,heartbreak grape,ploughing the land

For the last twenty years I’ve been teaching at Bay College (now Greenwood Bay…

by Joanna & David

The Chainsaw Massacre

July 19, 2019Once Upon a VineyardPlettenberg Bay,wine farm,The Crags,environment,eradicating alien trees,Stihl,Husqvarna

Over the years I made various assaults on the wattles with my chainsaw but my…

by Joanna & David

The dumping ground

July 13, 2019Once Upon a VineyardPlettenberg Bay,wine farm,The Crags,chic shack living,shabby chic

  Back in the day the farm was a bit of a dump – in the literal sense of…

by Joanna & David

Lighting the Lounge

July 6, 2019thank heavens for dogs,Once Upon a Vineyard,Plettenberg Bay,wine farm,The Crags,chic shack living,shabby chic,Eskom,electricity,lighting,Dogs of the vineslife with dogs

The “lounge” was pretty well-made and lined with tongue and groove but the…

by Joanna & David

Bohemian Bedroom

June 29, 2019Once Upon a VineyardPlettenberg Bay,wine farm,The Crags,chic shack living,shabby chic,bedroom,Dogs of the vines,let sleeping dogs lie

The “bedroom” was tiny with an even lower ceiling than the bathroom and we were…

by Joanna & David

Kitchen confidential

June 22, 2019Once Upon a VineyardPlettenberg Bay,wine farm,The Crags,chic shack living,shabby chic,kitchen,Dogs of the vines

As far as the kitchen was concerned, there wasn’t one. For the first few years…

by Joanna & David

"Chic" Shack living

June 15, 2019Once Upon a VineyardWine,Pinot Noir,Plettenberg Bay,wine farm,wine of origin,The Crags,chic shack living,shabby chic,bathrooms,dogs like showers

I’m tall but not unusually so. Our shack however, was designed for unusually…

by Joanna & David

Roughing it

June 8, 2019Once Upon a VineyardWine,Pinot Noir,Plettenberg Bay,wine farm,wine of origin,The Crags

When the land we live on was subdivided, our portion amounted to about eight…

by Joanna & David

Upping sticks & moving

June 1, 2019Once Upon a VineyardWine,Pinot Noir,Plettenberg Bay,wine farm,wine of origin,life with dogs,packing & moving with dogs

Jo and I moved to Plettenberg Bay from Grahamstown, in the early nineties. I’d…

by Joanna & David

Meanwhile, back in Makhanda

May 26, 2019Once Upon a VineyardWine,Plettenberg Bay,wine of origin,Grand Hotel Grahamstown,red wine,wine cellar

I’ve always been a red wine drinker. In Grahamstown where I grew up, there were…

by Joanna & David