Conferences and expos

Feel festive in SA's wine heartland

Brad Morgan

28 July 2009

The Stellenbosch Wine Festival takes place from 30 July to 2 August. The Western Cape town is famous for many reasons, including its history, its natural beauty, a world-class university – and of course, its wine.

The annual festival draws thousand of people to the beautiful Winelands. Over 100 wineries will be on show, with more than 500 wines to taste, along with mouth-watering delicacies and entertainment. It happens at the Paul Roos Centre in Stellenbosch.

Wine Connoisseurs Evening

On Thursday, 30 July, a Wine Connoisseurs Evening takes place at which festival guests will experience tutor tastings. They will also have the opportunity to meet their favourite winemakers and participate in interesting talks on wine. Tickets include a welcome snack and bubbly on arrival, as well as a special testing glass.

On the same evening, at Delheim Cellar, songwriter and singer Lize Beekman will perform in aid of Stellenbosch Child Welfare. The evening includes dinner and wine. For more information, call Delheim on (021) 888 4600.

Wine and food go together, and that is why one of the new additions to the Festival is the Gourmet Lane. It will host top Stellenbosch restaurants, showcasing their signature dishes.

A new entertainment area will provide more food stalls than ever before. There will be seating and live entertainment. Included among the performers will be Zamar, a group founded in Stellenbosch and made up of young, energetic musicians from around the world. They have created a style that is traditional, cosmopolitan, and unique.

Clover Demo Kitchen

The Clover Demo Kitchen will be hosted by chef Craig Cormack and friends. The fun themes include Hot-Love-In-Here and Magical Mushrooms. Raffle tickets will be on sale and a clover hamper will be given away at each session. All proceeds will go to the Clover Mama Afrika Project.

Last year, the Festival donated all their entries from the Clover Festival Cafe to the Mama Afrika Project; Clover Mama Afrika is a national social upliftment project which seeks to assist and support communities at grassroots level in an enabling and empowering manner so that they can help themselves and those around them. The project's main involvement is with women who look after abused, abandoned, orphaned and HIV/Aids children. as well as the elderly.

Another hotspot is the Checkers Taste Theatre, which will provide lively entertainment throughout the weekend. It will present theatrical food and wine pairing sessions and promises to surprise.

For wine lovers, The Vineyard Connection Wine Shop is a must. Festival goers will be able to purchase wines they have tasted at festival prices.

Brandy

The festival will also showcase brandy and tastings of an array of special and aged brandies will be available from brands including Flight of the Fish Eagles, Klipdrift Premium, Van Ryn and Oude Meester.

There is no need whatsoever to drink and drive. The festival can be enjoyed by making using of its shuttle service. The festival website provides information on departure schedules. Booking is essential.

Children are not forgotten, and Sunday is a special Family Day. While parents taste wines, children will be properly catered for and amused.

Accommodation is plentiful and accommodation venues, prices, websites and contact numbers are available on the Festival's website.

Die Burger Mountain Bike Challenge

Stellenbosch is a sporting hotspot and will also host Die Burger Mountain Bike Challenge on Saturday, 1 July. It is raced over four different distances – 60, 42, 30, and 15 kilometres – and starts at Paul Roos Gymnasium.

Afterwards, a number of wines from Stellenbosch wineries will be available for tasting, and all Mountain Bike Challenge entrants will be able to enter the festival at a discounted cost.

The full festival programme, as well as a comprehensive weekly programme detailing the delights of the Winelands, plus everything one could wish to know, is available on the Stellenbosch Wine Festival Website.