Be sure to contact us we are ready to assist with the planning of your day-trip, weekend or holiday in Stellenbosch!

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Elvin Stokes
5 years ago
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It is harvest time in the winelands, and we are having barrels of fun! We cannot wait to welcome you to our beautiful town, and would like to wet your tastebuds with a few upcoming events.

Don a festive attitude and head out to Eikendal Estate, when they pay homage to 31 years of quality winemaking with its popular Weintaufe Harvest Celebration on Sunday, 4 March.

attracting a vibrant crowd of families and friends each year.

1 It is harvest time in the winelands, and we are having barrels of fun! We cannot wait to welcome you to our beautiful town, and would like to wet your tastebuds with a few upcoming events. Be sure to contact us we are ready to assist with the planning of your day-trip, weekend or holiday in Stellenbosch! Don a festive attitude and head out to Eikendal Estate, when they pay homage to 31 years of quality winemaking with its popular Weintaufe Harvest Celebration on Sunday, 4 March. What started out as an intimate ceremonial blessing to celebrate the end of the harvest at Eikendal more than 3 decades, has evolved into a not-to-be-missed highlight on the social calendar, attracting a vibrant crowd of families and friends each year. Bring your picnic blanket and claim your spot at the water s edge for the perfect ending to your weekend with Eikendal wine tastings, live music entertainment, craft stalls, lucky draws, vineyard tractor rides, fly fishing, barrel stomping, pony rides and loads of kiddies entertainment to set a merry mood. Delicious food and wine will be on sale so why not swap the Sunday roast for a sublime afternoon on the lawn in the great company of Eikendal. Entrance to the Eikendal Weintaufe 2012 is R60 per person and includes a complimentary glass and barrel tasting for adults, whilst children under the age of 12 get in for FREE. Tickets will be available at Eikendal prior to the event or at the gates on the day. The event starts at 10h00 with the official baptism and tasting of the new Eikendal wine at 12h00. For more information on the Eikendal Weintaufe 2012 or to book your tickets prior to the event contact the cellar on Tel: or send an to info@eikendal.co.za.

Join Overgaauw on Saturday 3 March when they celebrate mid-harvest and the gift of the vine, from 11:30-17:00. R150 for adults include 2 glasses of wine, potjiekos, salad and something sweet.

More than twenty top Stellenbosch wine cellars will descend onto Delvera agri-village, when thegreater Simonsberg sub-route shares its finest gems during a vibrant Market Day on Sunday, 11 March 2012.

The younger crowd will have barrels of fun in the play corner or enjoy go-cart rides, the trampoline, jungle gym and a Kids Theater (12h00 at R40 per child). Also blend your own wine with Clive Torr!

2 Join Overgaauw on Saturday 3 March when they celebrate mid-harvest and the gift of the vine, from 11:30-17:00. R150 for adults include 2 glasses of wine, potjiekos, salad and something sweet. R50 for the kids include juice, potjiekos, salad and something sweet. For reservations please phone , or reservations@overgaauw.co.za. More than twenty top Stellenbosch wine cellars will descend onto Delvera agri-village, when thegreater Simonsberg sub-route shares its finest gems during a vibrant Market Day on Sunday, 11 March Young and old can delight in a fun-filled family day blended with the finest wines from the Simonsberg area, country food, craft stalls with proudly local produce, harvest activities and horse rides. The younger crowd will have barrels of fun in the play corner or enjoy go-cart rides, the trampoline, jungle gym and a Kids Theater (12h00 at R40 per child). Also blend your own wine with Clive Torr! Live performances by the vibrant Stellenbosch band, Manouche, celebrated for their foot-stomping, hip-swinging jazz vibes, will add rhythmic soul to this Winelands soiree. The Vine Hopper will provide a shuttle service to and from Stellenbosch on the day. The Simonsberg Wine Route Market Day starts at 10am and entry is FREE. For more information about the Simonsberg Wine Route Market Day, click HERE. In commemoration of the first Cape harvest on 2 February 1659, the inimitable Spatz Sperling, owner of the Delheim Wine Estate outside Stellenbosch, was awarded the prestigious 1659 Medal of

3 Honour for his indelible contribution to the South-African wine industry. The 1659 Medal of Honour which was last awarded in 2004 was presented to Sperling for his lifelong pioneering efforts towards innovative marketing initiatives in the wine industry. One such pioneering marketing tool devised by Sperling, in collaboration with the late Frans Malan of Simonsig and the late Neil Joubert of Spier, was the country s very first wine route system to entice visitors to the wine farms in the Stellenbosch region. The Stellenbosch Wine Route was founded officially in 1971 and this ground-breaking initiative has changed the face of wine tourism in South Africa. Spawning a host of similar regional wine routes of which there are 18 today, the Stellenbosch Wine Routes remain the biggest and most visited of them all. Photo : Natalie Gabriels Die Burger The business of selling and marketing Delheim s wines also occupied Sperling during the 1970s. It was one such exercise, in the form of a by-invitation-only wine auction in Delheim s cellar in 1974 to raise money for Stellenbosch Rotary of which Sperling was president, that provided the impetus for the inaugural Nederburg Wine Auction in 1975, still one of Cape wine s premier local and international sales and marketing events. In addition, Sperling recognised the natural symbiosis between wine and food and its role in wine appreciation by, in 1972, introducing cheese boards for wine lovers visiting Delheim over the lunch hour. These later expanded into the more substantial Vintner s Platter, in turn becoming Delheim s Garden Restaurant. The concept was quickly embraced throughout the winelands, with few Cape wineries today not offering a platter, picnic or fully-fledged restaurant, many among the country s finest dining establishments. Other significant contributions by Sperling over the years include the country s first pinotage rosé and the Cape Winemakers Guild, co-initiated by his then winemaker Kevin Arnold (now co-owner and winemaker of Waterford Estate), in Africa has been very good to me. I arrived in South Africa in April 1951 as a 20-year-old World War II refugee with basically nothing, but the wine industry took me under its wing and cared for me over the years, shares Sperling. Stellenbosch Wine Routes, together with SA Tourism France, recently hosted a group of prominent French Media in South Africa as part of their annual Coupe de l Info. The group of 27 journalists, television and radio presenters arrived in South Africa in undoubtedly one of the hottest weeks but loved every second and was very happy to get away from the sub-zero temperatures in Europe. After a quick visit to Cape Town s sites they arrived in Stellenbosch premier wine region of South Africa. First stop in Stellenbosch had to be AmaZink Live. The show and the hospitality were truly amazing and Sylvère-Henry Cissé of Canal + attested to this shortly after the end of the show in a live radio interview with Radio France. The group was also introduced to other local traditions such as a Boerebraai at Middelvlei - it was the first time (braai experience) for many of them. On Sunday morning L Avenir Estate treated the group to grape stomping and a wine blending competition. They ended off their visit to Stellenbosch and South Africa with a visit and picnic at Warwick Estate. According to Linda Sangaret, Country Manager for SA Tourism France the trip was a huge success and most of the journalists said they will definitely be back to experience more of Stellenbosch and South Africa.

The winner of the Coupe de l info 2012 and the photo competition will be announced at a function to be held in Paris on the 15th

4 SA Tourism currently has a photo exhibition running in Paris of the photographs taken by the group during their visit to South Africa. The winner of the Coupe de l info 2012 and the photo competition will be announced at a function to be held in Paris on the 15th of March For all our French readers, please visit the French version of our website, click HERE. Also be sure not to miss the US Woordfees in Stellenbosch, 2 to 11 March. See you there! Annareth Bolton CEO Stellenbosch American Express Wine Routes

5 Proudly sponsored by:: Stellenbosch American Express Wine Routes, Suite 224, Postnet, X5061, Stellenbosch, 7599 Tel: Fax: info@wineroute.co.za

STELLENBOSCH SOUTH AFRICA

STELLENBOSCH SOUTH AFRICA Year-End Functions & Team Building Activities Experience the finest of Handmade Hospitality in the heart of the Stellenbosch Winelands. The Devon Valley Hotel showcases breathtaking views of the olive