It’s harvest season and we hope you’ve been indulging in all the celebratory activities that are sweeping through the Winelands.
The next big one to look forward to is Paarl’s OmmiBerg Round the Rock festival and it promises loads of entertainment and plenty of wine. You get to see the entire beautiful region as you travel from wine farm to wine farm and soak up all they have to offer.
The 14 Paarl Wine Route farms taking part include Boland Cellar, Domaine Brahms, Druk-My-Niet Wine Estate, Fairview Wine Estate, KWV Wines, Laborie Wine Farm, Landskroon Wines, Mellasat Vineyards, Nederburg Wines, Olsen Private Vineyards, Perdeberg Winery, Rhebokskloof Wine Estate, Under Oaks, and Windmeul Cellar.
Something unique that you can do at a harvest festival is to taste the young, unfiltered wines from the 2016 harvest. Grape stomping is a buzz word around this time of year and you have to try it at least once. There will be something for everyone in the family: grape games, tractor and trailer rides through the vines, guided cellar tours and barrel tastings, blending competitions, cork spitting, wine barrel golf challenge, boules, Jenga or croquet as well as vineyard horse rides.
There is so much to do at this festival that it’s a good idea to check out the programme and make a plan. Your day could start at the Windmeul Farmer’s Market at Windmeul Cellars from 8 am – 12:30 pm where you can grab a traditional farm breakfast and stock up on fresh produce. If you’re keen on getting down, the Outoppie Langarm Dance is for you. It takes place at Domaine Brahms estate from 7 pm until late, but you need to pre-book your spot. The lawns at Laborie Wine Farm are the ideal place for the kids to have fun with traditional games such as egg and spoon races, sack races, apple bobbing, and wheelbarrow racing. There will also be a jumping castle and a waterslide. For only R45, you can indulge in a Vinotherapy foot massage at Mellasat Vineyards. Live music combined with a grape skin foot massage will revitalise your soul and the soles of your feet.
There is plenty of musical entertainment lined up at each wine farm. Hot new Cape Town band, Slow Jack are set to perform at Laborie while Newton & Co and Bottomless Coffee Band will be playing at Boland Cellar. Ben Dey and the Concrete Lions will be dazzling audiences at KWV, and Tequila Band at Landskroon. Lize Mynhard, Sterling EQ, Loki Rothman and Danielle Bitton will be performing at Nederburg. Wicus van der Merwe and Desmond Wells and his band will entertain guests at Perdeberg Cellar.
Rhebokskloof is hosting the Run and Ride The Vines event in the morning. You’ll have to pre-register for the event, but registration includes your entry to the festival and other benefits too.
Your festival pass includes entry to the event (entry to the 14 participating wineries), a tasting glass, and access to events marked as ‘free’ on the programme. Kids under 18 accompanied by an adult enter for free.
For the kids
Each farm has organised special kid-friendly activities. Teens will love the gaming stations, and younger kids can choose from petting zoos, junior cheese master classes, traditional kids’ games, jumping castles, water slides, pony rides, and arty corners for the creative ones.
GIVEAWAY
We’ve got three double tickets to give away to this awesome festival. To enter, all you need to do is fill out the following online form and subscribe to our newsletter. Winners will be contacted via email or phone and our standard competition Terms and Conditions apply.
THIS COMPETITION IS CLOSED. CONGRATS TO REINER SWANEPOEL, DEBBIE EVANS AND ALEX KOSTERMAN.
OF NOTE
When Saturday 5 March 2016 at 10 am – 6 pm (earlier or later depending on the farm)
Where Paarl Wine Route (map)
Cost R120 for over 18s at Webtickets (Tickets are available at the gates of participating wineries at R150 per person)
Contact Suretha van der Spuy +27 72 654 6017, i[email protected], Social media event page, www.omniberg.co.za
Photography courtesy
