Wine Harvest Festivals 2012
Delheim Start of Harvest Festival
Date: 28 January
Tickets: R50 per person. Children under 18 free of charge. Only 130 tickets available.
Get knee-deep in grape juice to the tunes of a live jazz band. Gather from 12 noon on the shaded riverside lawns behind the cellar. Picnics featuring gourmet cuisine can be pre-booked. Food available on the day will include beef fillet ciabattas, bratwurst hot dogs and chicken salad. A competitive grape stomp relay event to be held at 3pm with prizes up for grabs to winners and grinners.
Your ticket includes entry to the festival area, live jazz, a glass of partially-fermented grape must, a traditional sweet mosbolletjie, a cellar tour at 12h30 and participation in the grape stomping competition. Picnic hampers can be pre-booked at R130 per adult and R65 per child. Delheim wines, soft drinks and coffee will be on offer throughout the day.
Visit www.delheim.com.
Hanepoot Grape Picking at De Krans
Date: 8 February – 3 March
De Krans Wine Cellar will once again offer visitors the opportunity to pick deliciously sweet Hanepoot grapes. This experience can be enjoyed every day (except Sundays) from 08h00 until 16h00 during the above mentioned dates. Grapes cost R4.90/kg and visitors are welcome to bring their own containers. Containers can also be purchased at De Krans. The Vygieshof Home for the Aged will be offering delicious braaivleis meals on Wednesdays and Saturdays, between 11h00 and 14h00 (booking is essential). You will also have the opportunity to sample, at no extra cost, De Krans’ range of 2011 award-winning wines (such as their Cape Tawny Port).
For more info: Phone 044 213 3314 Email: dekrans@mweb.co.za.
Robertson Wine Valley’s ‘Hands-on Harvest’ festival
Date: 24-26 February
The fourth Hands-On Harvest Festival offers visitors a chance to partake in: grape picking, bunch sorting, stomping your own grapes, grape vs. wine tasting, a harvest market, vineyard tractor trips, a wine blending experience, wine tasting by horse cart…. and much more. The group sizes for activities are kept small to ensure that you have the very best hands-on experience. All activities need to be pre-booked by 22 February.
Visit www.handsonharvest.com.
The Spier Harvest Festival
Date: 25 February, 10h00 – 16h00
Tickets: R70 per person (includes a wine glass as well as 5 tickets that can be used for either wine tasting or games. Tickets can only be purchased at Spier on the day).
Spier celebrates its annual harvest on the banks of the Eerste River. Cellar Master, Frans Smit, will bless the harvest and his winemaking team will lead the annual grape stomping challenge! Bands will be playing throughout the day, there will be a market offering delectable treats, and while you are there you can taste Spier’s award-winning 21 Gables and Creative Block wines as well as their Method Cap Classique.
Visit www.spier.com.
Grande Provence Harvest Festival
Date: 25 February
Tickets: R290 per adult & R130 for children under 12. Adult tickets include a bottle of Angel Tears wine on your departure. Special rates will be given to groups of 10 or more.
Start the day with coffee and muffins on arrival. With a satisfied belly take a tractor ride down to the vineyards for grape picking. Make your way back to the cellar for a tour, wine tasting and talk by Jaco Marais award-winning wine maker. Now the fun part! Stomp the grapes in barrels! Reward your hard work with a braai accompanied by live music in the garden under the old oak tree.
To join the Grande Provence Harvest Festival contact Nicole on 021 876 8600
or email reservations@grandeprovence.co.za.
Darling Cellars Crush Day
Date: 25 February. Arrive 07h00 for 07h30.
Tickets: Adults R220 pp , Teenagers (13 -17) R150 pp, Children (12 & under) R80 pp. Includes a whole bunch of goodies. Bookings are essential.
Picking, Crushing, Eating & Drinking in the Sun! The day includes breakfast, picking and crushing your own grapes (plus your very own wine and lable to come 8-10 months later!), label design competition. A traditional West Coast lunch & Wine tasting is available.
For more information and bookings contact Johan on 022 492 2276
or email tasting@darlingcellars.co.za.
Avontuur Harvest Festival
Date: February - March.
Tickets: R200 per person including Avontuur breakfast, bubbly & coffee
Avontuur’s harvest runs during February and March. Only available on week days. Caters for groups of 6 – 10 people (great for team building). Booking is essential so be sure to contact them before you head out to the estate.
Visit www.avontuurestate.co.za.
Vrede en Lust’s De Savoye Harvest Festival
Date: 3 March
Tickets: approximately R295 per person. Only 150 tickets available.
Details for this event have not yet been updated on the website but expect similar running’s to previous years’. Tickets include the Harvest Lunch, lots of wine on tap and all activities. No charge for children of 12 years and younger. There will be a secure play area with nannies where food and cold drinks will be provided. Keep a close eye on the website for the latest information regarding the festival.
Visit www.vnl.co.za.
Harvest of Joy
Date: 3 March
Harvest of Joy is held on the banks of the Breede River between Worcester and Villiersdorp. It offers activities such as river boating, canoeing, mountain bike competition, as well as wine and olive tasting of all the cellars and estates in the Kwaggaskloof area. Participating cellars include Alvi’s Drift, Stettyn Cellar, BC Wines, Aan de Doorns, Eagles Cliff, and Overhex Wines.
For more info visit www.worcesterwineroute.co.za.
Eikendal Weintaufe
Date: 4 March
Tickets: R60 per person (includes glass and barrel tasting). Kid’s under 12 free.
What started out as an intimate ceremonial blessing to celebrate the end of the harvest at Eikendal more than 3 decades ago, has evolved into a not-to-be-missed event. Eikendal is known for its acclaimed Chardonnay and superb flagship reds. Visitors will get to taste the cellar’s first wine of the 2012 harvest – the flagship Chardonnay– straight from the barrel, after it has been baptized.
Bring your picnic blanket and laze at the water’s edge with live music, craft stalls, lucky draws, vineyard tractor rides, fly fishing, barrel stomping, pony rides and loads of kiddies entertainment. Food and wine will be on sale.
For more information on the festival or to book your tickets prior to the event contact the cellar on
Tel: 021 855 1422 or send an email to counter@eikendal.co.za.
Paarl Omniberg ‘Round the Rock’ Festival
Date: 10 March
Tickets: R60 for over-18’s (includes wine tasting of young wines and a commemorative glass).
A harvest festival perfect for the family. For the adults: preview young unfiltered wines, pick your own grapes, stomp grapes and learn how a grape press works. On top of this you can also test your winemaking skills by creating your own blend! Kids can take tractor rides, enjoy jumping castles, slippery slides, pony rides and a ride on the famous goat's wagon.With 12 participating farms it is good to know that a shuttle service will run between farms.
The participating farms are Druk My Niet Wines, Boland Kelder, Fairview, KWV Wine, Laborie, Mellasat, Nederburg, Rhebokskloof, Ridgeback Wines, Spice Route, Under Oaks and Windmeul Kelder.
Visit www.omniberg.co.za.
Wellington Wine Harvest Festival
Date: 17 – 18 March
Wellington celebrates the bounty of their harvest with the 6th Wine Harvest Festival. Spend the day or better yet make a wine-filled weekend of it with family and friends. You can book your accommodation here. The full programme and list of participating farms has not yet been confirmed but keep a close eye on the festival’s website for the latest developments.
Visit www.harvestfestival.co.za.
Durbanville wine valley’s The Feast of the Grape
Date: 21 March
The Durbanville valley celebrates the fruits of their labour with the annual Feast of the Grape. Hosted on twelve wine farms and falling on Human Rights Day, the event marks the end of the grape harvest and the arrival of autumn with a one-day feast filled with grape gastronomy, country fare, live music, squishy grape-stomping, hay rides in the vineyards and, yes, plenty of seasonal wines to sip.
Participating wine farms include: Altydgedacht, Bloemendal, D’Aria, De Grendel, De Vallei, Diemersdal, Durbanville Hills, Hillcrest Estate, Klein Roosboom, Meerendal, Nitida and Phizante Kraal.
Visit www.durbanvillewine.co.za.
Franschhoek Oesfees
Date: 24 March, 10am - 9pm.
Tickets: Early bird R95; Pre-booked online R110; At the gate R130.
The Franschhoek Oesfees is held at Solms-Delta Wine Estate. It is a heartfelt ‘thank-you’ to the valley’s farm-workers, to celebrate their hard work and bless the year’s harvest. Expect artists from all over SA entertaining thousands with the sounds of Cape rural vernacular music such as Ghoema, Cape Jazz, Langarm, Vastrap and Boeremusiek. Headline acts include David Kramer, Theuns Jordaan, Chris Chameleon, Emo Adams, Hot Water, Tribal Echo and Hannes Coetzee, and many more. Local ‘Kaapsekos’cuisine will be served.
Visit www.solms-delta.co.za.
Mont Rochelle Hotel & Mountain Vineyards Harvest Festival
Date: 24 March
Tickets: R490 per person
Wine enthusiasts who prefer a more personal harvesting experience can enjoy a fun-filled day for a small group of guests in this working wine farm in the Cape Winelands. Starting with a hearty early morning breakfast, followed by grape-picking, grape-stomping, a tour of the wine cellar and wine tastings, as well as a delicious al fresco lunch at the Country Kitchen restaurant, with live music providing the vibe. A game of traditional French boules rounds off the day. There is also a special gift to take home with you.
Advance booking is essential. Phone (021) 876-2770, or email sales@montrochelle.co.za
Visit www.montrochelle.co.za
