I have to be honest and say that That Blogger LOVES a wine festival! This is why I was very excited to hear about the upcoming Agulhas Wine Festival being held from 28th to 30th May 2010 at the De Hoop Collection in the De Hoop Nature Reserve. The wine festival will showcase some of the award-winning wines from the Agulhas area – including Napier, Elim and nearby Gaansbaai. De Hoop is described as the “Jewel of the Western Cape” and really is such a beautiful setting for this festival and this is a great opportunity to taste some of the most delicate and decadent wines on offer from the area.
Wine estates on offer at the festival include:-
- Black Oystercatcher, Jean Daneel, The Berrio, Zoetendal, Strandveld Wines, First Sighting, Quoin Rock, Lamond, Brunio, Ghost Corner and Lands End
How exciting is that? Those are really some of my favourite wine estates and now they will all be gathered together in spot for tasting!
The festival begins on Friday evening with sundowners and snacks overlooking the De Hoop Vlei, where you can relax and enjoy the tranquil beauty of the surrounding wildlife and fynbos. On Saturday, from 11am to 2pm, the wine tasting starts and just to make the whole event even more decadent, you will be able to sample the freshly prepared canapés on offer. Later, from 6pm-8pm, another wine tasting will be held, followed by a sumptuous dinner at The Fig Tree restaurant, complete with wine pairing. On Sunday morning, the festival will close in style – with a luxurious champagne breakfast at the Fig Tree Restaurant to celebrate the area’s local bubbly.
Whilst the Reserve is open for day visitors, this is a fabulous opportunity to make this a “Weekend away with friends” type of event (Aren’t we always looking for a reason to get out of town?) There are plenty of accommodation options to choose from that suit all budgets. You can choose from the affordable campsite rondavels, an assortment of self-catering cottages and larger houses or the Opstal Manor House (which incl meals catered for at The Fig Tree Restaurant). If you are looking for something really special and more private, there is the beautiful Koppie Alleen set on its own overlooking the bay.
De Hoop Koppie Alleen Cottages
The Reserve is a World Heritage Site and really has so much to do if you are looking to take a break from the wine tasting. You can do some mountain biking, hiking, birding, animal spotting, snorkelling and even some whale watching! You are welcome to leave your vehicle at any time and wander around the reserve.
Black Oyster Catcher
De Hoop Nature Reserve is about 3 hours drive from Cape Town. It is in the Overberg region near the Southern tip of Africa can can be approached from either Bredasdorp or Swellendam. Reserve gates open at 7am and close at 6pm (7pm on Fridays). Late and early arrival can be arranged with Management at a small extra cost.
For further information, call the De Hoop Collection on 0861 33 4667 or the Cape Town reservation office directly on 021 405 4587 or email res@dehoopcollection.co.za.
You can also visit the website for more info www.dehoopcollection.co.za
De Hoop Collection
