WINE DESK HARVEST TOUR
- 3-day / 3-night land package
- 3-star accommodation – STANDARD (see bottom of page)
- 4-star accommodation – LUXURY
Price: LUXURY
on enquiry
(February/March 2011)
Price: STANDARD
on enquiry
(February/March 2011)
Inclusions: wine specialist guide; transport; 4-star accommodation for Luxury option and 3-star accommodation for Standard option (including breakfast); all tastings and entrance fees included in the itinerary; dinner on the first night; lunch on days 2 and 3.
Exclusions: all beverages – alcoholic or non alcoholic; all meals, except breakfast, unless specified otherwise; where meal suggestions are provided, these are for your own account
Tour runs in February and March (harvest season) and starts on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday only
LUXURY
Itinerary:
Your tour starts with a late afternoon arrival at the Spier Hotel: four star, luxury accommodation with the feel of a Bo Kaap (Cape Quarter) village. The shuttered windows, comfortable beds, and pools in each courtyard are designed to make sure that you leave behind the cares of the city. The first night's meal is at Moyo, a restaurant in the Spier grounds, with an authentically African flavour. Don't forget to get your face painted – Xhosa style!
Day 1
Fish is brain food, so add smoked salmon or haddock to your indulgent Spier buffet breakfast, and you'll be ready for the morning's brief lecture and workshop on “The wines of South Africa with a focus on the harvest” which will prepare you for your role as harvester at one of the Cape's best vineyards.
After all that concentration, you're sure to be feeling peckish, so we head off for an informal, Mediterranean-style lunch at the Fairview Goats Shed. You'll love the antics of the cheeky herd of 400 Swiss Sanaan goats, as they climb up to the top of their Rapunzel's tower. The goats may spend their day at play, but its hard work for everyone else at Fairview, making an impressive 25 varieties of goats' milk cheeses.
We while away the afternoon taking in three wine farms in three vastly differing wine-growing regions. In Paarl we stop off at the Seidelberg Estate, voted the best Art and Culture Experience in the Winelands, where you'll be able to watch glass blowers and bronze casters at work. In Franschhoek, we'll visit La Motte one of the valley's oldest wine estates, with its manor house dating to 1751. Next stop is in Stellenbosch at Alto Estate whose tasting room has breathtaking views across to Table Mountain, where we will sample the renowned red wines in which this estate specializes. We return to our hotel.
Dinner spent at your leisure and for your own account.
Day 2
Today the adventure really begins. Don your rough gear - we're vineyard-bound! We visit Uitkyk, a historic estate on the slopes of the Simonsberg Mountains, with its murals dating back to 1788 and impressive front door carved by renowned sculptor Anton Anreith in the late 1700's. Armed with picking shears, you'll take a tractor ride up to the vineyards to pick baskets full of grapes. Next stop, the cellar, where you'll be pressing grapes in the old fashioned way, bare feet and in a barrel.
If that doesn't make you hungry, the sight of the delicacies in your picnic basket certainly will. Add a bottle of wine and a blanket, and all that's needed is a spot of sunshine to snooze away the afternoon. If you rouse yourself from your siesta, there'll be time for a game of boule before heading back to the hotel for dinner at your leisure.
Day 3
Today you'll learn the secrets of winemaking and blending from the experts at KWV. One of South Africa's oldest wine cooperatives, KWV has been producing quality blends since 1918 so you'll be learning from the experts.
Next we will learn How to Pair Food and Wine, with Katinka van Niekerk, renowned specialist and advisor to many of South Africa's most celebrated chefs. She uses a simple but effective technique of show and taste in matching a line-up of seven wines with a selection of dishes. It's a fitting end to a very memorable three days in the vineyards.
Tour ends.
STANDARD
3 star accommodation is offered at Caledon Villa in Stellenbosch. This well-established Edwardian guest house is decorated with antique furniture and heirlooms from the Krige family, who were the original owners of the house and who have spread their roots in Stellenbosch for 9 generations. They will endeavour to make you feel at home immediately.
Tour ends.
* Itinerary subject to change: every effort will be made to keep the itinerary as it appears here; however, the final itinerary may vary due to wine producer schedules, availability, and factors beyond our control.
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