Wine, gossip and biltong
Who says that only men can have a boys’ weekend filled with booze, sport and biltong? We girls can sure give our boys a run for their money in this regard.
This past weekend the annual Stellenbosch Wine Festival, presented by the Stellenbosch Wine Route, returned to the Paul Roos Centre.
The festival boasted wines from 150 wine farms, not to mention culinary delights, educational wine and food workshops and top entertainment.
When we arrived, we had a shock at how long the queue was but luckily it flowed quite quickly and soon we were ready, with our glass clasped in our hands, to sample some of the best wines in Stellenbosch.
Although there were many people and even more students, making it somewhat difficult to get a tasting and learn more about the wines, the atmosphere had an exhilarating vibe and buzz to it. Instead of getting agitated with the crowds, which I am sure some of the older folks would have, we surrendered to the flow of the day and enjoyed a light hearted, fun day.
A few of the wines we sampled and enjoyed included, but are not limited, as there are far too many to mention, to the following wine farms: Bartinney Cellars, Jordan Wines (which Sarah thought had the best wooded Chardonnay) Kanonkop, Ken Forrester, Mooiplaas, Monterosso, Stellekaya, Yonder Hill (which I thought the guy pouring the wine had the best blue eyes) and many more.
During the day, if you happened to get the munchies and would liked to have nibbled on something savoury, there was a great biltong stand that sold a delicious smokey salami stick called Cabanossi that we indulged in. Otherwise, for the culinary expert you could have done a wine and food pairing at certain wine stalls or treated yourself to the ultimate festival Spur burger.
It is quite impossible to visit all the tents and see and taste absolutely everything on one day before the festival closes at 17h00. You are spoilt for choice and the festival really gives you that chance to taste many different wines from farms that you never seem to get a chance to visit. The festival is truly a convenient wine tour of the Stellenbosch region under one roof.
At 17h00, the wine tasting officially ends but one is still allowed to linger on for a little while, savouring your last tasting and talking to other wine lovers. This part of the evening proved quite entertaining as this is when everyone loses their inhibitions and declare their profound philosophical proclamations. One such young student we met tried to explain his theory that, “your happiness is based on your expectations and your expectations are based on your perceptions and you are free to alter your perceptions if they do not meet your expectations”.
Seeing life through rose coloured wine glasses? Hmmm, I wonder? But at least the views of the Stellenbosch Mountains on a sunny day, paired by a good glass of wine are always magnificent.
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