Dim lights
Flock to the Paarl rock – the largest in the winelands, on Saturday 10 March for the OmmiBerg ‘Round the Rock’ festival

Enjoy a daylong indulgence in sweetly seductive part-fermented wine, sumptuous savoury treats, live music and ambient tranquillity at 12 wine farms.

Top crisp, fresh bread with charcuterie and cheese and find a cool spot on a vine-bedecked lawn to nibble, glass in hand. Sample some bubbles with savouries, relax in a red-wine bath or recline a bit to treat your feet to a grape skin foot massage. For something different, sample some grappa or chocolate paired with wine, try the refreshing EGA salmon-pink drink, or slice into chocolate salami while soaking up some jazz. Step into a vat and squelch your feet through grapes that come up to your knees, and invite your children to join you to burn off some energy. Kids can enjoy a pony ride, tractors or slip ‘n slide, balloon shaping, face painting and kids’ croquet; and perhaps a small snooze as the sun descends behind the beautiful ‘berg’.

Early bird tickets for adults are priced at R60 from www.computicket.com, or R70 on the day at each of the 12 participating estates, while accompanied children aged under 18 enter for free. Unfiltered wine, live music and Zwiebelkuchen (onion tart) tastings are free throughout the event, while sit-down meals and special activities should be booked in advance and are payable separately. Participating wineries include Boland Kelder, Druk my Niet, Fairview, KWV, Laborie, Mellasat, Nederburg, Rhebokskloof, Ridgeback Wines, Spice Route, Under Oaks and Windmeul Kelder. Also participating will be Du Poort Heritage Centre.