The 9th annual Stellenbosch Wine festival offers wine and
soccer enthusiasts from around the globe a jovial feast of wine and food
from 1 – 5 July as they explore outstanding Stellenbosch wines in the very
cellars where they were made via a unique shuttle service through the
Winelands. With music, wine tastings, picnics and exclusive culinary
experiences, the festival promises something for everyone.
The Stellenbosch Hills Tank Art
Gallery, located in a refurbished cement wine tank, will open its
doors for the first time to coincide with 2010 Wine Festival. The wine
stained concrete gallery walls create a unique and singular art encounter.
While at the estate, go nuts with Stellenbosch Hill’s Nuts about Wine
Experience as they pair delicious hand-picked nuts with their wines.
Simonsig and its signature
restaurant, Cuvée, will get the grapes and gourmet vibe going with live
music offered at the estate during the festival. The restaurant also
whisks winter blues goodbye with an exclusive two and three course menu of
comforting sensations created around the estate’s Labyrinth Cabernet
Sauvignon – named after the world’s first productive labyrinth vineyard
unique to Simonsig. For the more adventurous, Land Rover Experience will
present complimentary mini 4x4 off-road driving demos at Simonsig during
the Stellenbosch Wine Festival.
Da Capo Vineyards / Idiom Wines
near Sir Lowry’s Pass, have a 5-a-side football field in the middle of
their vineyards. They will hold a supporter’s tournament on Sunday 4th and
Monday 5th July, where visitors can have a kick-about wearing their
countries’ respective jerseys while being cheered on with vuvuzelas by
their fans. Countries will be playing against each other, embracing the
soccer fever that is sure to run high during the festival.
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For the wine connoisseur, Hartenberg
Farm off Bottelary Road promises a rare encounter – an exclusive
3-stop cellar tour where wine lovers will take a trip down memory lane
while visiting the various cellars on the estate. Visitors will also have
the rare opportunity to rub shoulders with winemaker Carl Schultz and
viticulturist Wilhelm Joubert at a braai hosted on Friday, 2 July.
Delaire Graff Estate has a special
treat in store for serious lovers of fine food. Enjoy live music by local
artists Gerald Clark and Schalk Joubert while enjoying a 3-course Winter
Warmer Menu in their superlative restaurant.
Visit Ken
Forrester Vineyards for their Winelands Best
Breakfast with a crispy potato rösti topped with poached eggs, a classic
sauce hollandaise and a choice of either salmon or bacon for only R50 per
person, which will be served between 9 – 12.
Intrigue your taste buds with an irresistible Cheese & Wine tasting – a
glorious marriage of Ken Forrester wines and artisanal Dalewood cheeses in
the beautiful rustic tasting room on the estate.
L’Avenir Wine Estates brings a
touch of French culture to the festival. The Matthew Kruger Band will be
performing acoustic and unplugged, in French and Afrikaans on Friday, 2
July in the Chez L’Avenir venue.
Soccer fans can watch live screenings at
the L’Avenir Café de Paris with great wines, fresh coffees and pancakes,
baguettes and croissants served all day with French music in the
background completing the Parisian café culture vibe.
Middelvlei Wine Estate invites
visitors to a relaxed, traditional potjiekos lunch where the whole family
can enjoy true South African hospitality during all five days of the
festival. They can also expect a dinner with a difference when the Momberg
family invite you into their home for
barbequed boerewors, smoked snoek with hanepoot
jam, a vast array of irresistible and mouth-watering national delicacies
and their award-winning wines.
In celebration of 2010, Warwick Winery
have created a unique indoor picnic area, where visitors will be able to
enjoy a winter warmer gourmet picnic. If your country’s team is playing on
the day, be sure to claim your complimentary glass of wine with your
picnic.
Waterkloof, the new cellar outside
Somerset West with its arresting architecture and panoramic views, sizzles
with cosy gatherings around the open fireplace in their stylish tasting
lounge where friends can enjoy daily wine tastings, complete with cheese
platters; curried mussels and fries or delicious lamb pie. Waterkloof’s
new restaurant also offers a winter warmer menu of three courses at R190
per person. Or why not saddle up for a picturesque Waterkloof wine tasting
on horseback. Hosted in partnership with the adjacent Orion Stables and
Riding Academy, these 45 minute fun outrides through vineyards and
indigenous flora culminate with a tasting of some of Waterkloof’s finest
cellar gems/
Welmoed (The Company of Wine
People), first granted to Governor Simon van der Stel in 1690, offers
barrels of fun at their estate with a magician, jazz band, jumping castle,
face painting and a free mini Spa for ladies.
With all these activities and much more
on offer at participating wine farms, a visit to the Stellenbosch
Winelands is a must for both locals and visiting soccer fans alike.
Park your car at any of the allocated
Park-and-Ride areas, or visit the Info Centre at Doornbosch, to purchase
your festival pass and catch a shuttle to the wine farms of your choice.
Participating farms are offering visitors wine tastings and untold
activities including the opportunity to rub shoulders with your favourite
winemakers. With more than 140 wine farms in Stellenbosch and various
Park-and-Ride areas, visitors will have a hard time deciding which cellar
to visit next!
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