Food · Stanford

A table under the oaks

In Stanford, lunch is still a three-hour institution. We photographed one from first bottle to last plate.

Johan Botha · 9 February 2026 · 4 min read

A table under the oaks

There is a specific kind of Overberg lunch that begins at noon and ends when the light goes flat: long table, borrowed chairs, someone's Chenin Blanc from the boot of a bakkie.

Nothing about it is styled. The bread arrives torn, the wine arrives warm and is quickly buried in ice, and the best plate of the day is usually whatever the neighbour brought.

It is the most South African wine experience there is, and no tasting sheet has ever come close to it.

The wine tasted better because the afternoon was slow.
The last hour of harvest
What the glass cannot tell you
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Stanford
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