Avid wine connoisseurs and mountain bikers are in for a treat: a six-week-long excursion across the Cape Winelands promises adventure and great wine all in one trip.
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The Chenin Safari combines great wine with mountain biking. Legal-age mountain bikers and any other members of the public are welcome to join in, create their own itineraries, and stop at any of the 30 participating Chenin Safari wine farms.
Christina Harvett, manager of the Chenin Blanc Association, says participants could also win prizes during the challenge, such as luxury boutique getaways for two, wine and gourmet hampers and women-only guided rides. ‘You could be in line for some great prizes or just have some terrific, fitness-boosting cycling fun over the course of six weeks. Either way, if you come with an appetite for adventure and great-tasting wine you simply can’t lose. Visit a total of six Chenin Safari stops during the period, upload your images taken at each stop and you’ll earn a designer #Drink Chenin cycling shirt. That’s why it’s essential to register for the Chenin Safari and provide your cycling top size from the get-go.’
Apart from winning prizes, riders will get a chance to explore some of the most scenic vineyards in the Cape while sampling vintage and new-release wines. ‘There will be complex, old-vine Chenins, light, fresh Chenins, wooded, unwooded, still and bubbly wines, steely dry, rich and deep, off-dry and sweet expressions to try. The stylistic range covered by the many wineries involved will be a safari in itself.’
The participating wine farms range from the West Coast to Darling, including Swartland, Bottelary, Stellenbosch, Helderberg, Simondium, Paarl, Franschhoek, Worcester, Wellington, Rawsonville, Tulbagh and Villiersdorp, as well as the Breedekloof and Du Toitskloof mountains. ‘The intention is to have responsible fun,’ says Harvett. ‘We want participants to pace themselves, stick to the legal drinking limit and use the entire six-week period to fulfil their challenge commitments. In fact, we aren’t even limiting the challenge to cyclists. You can drive to each stop if that’s what you prefer.’
The wineries can be visited independently, on your own route and timetables (coinciding with winery operating hours), or alternatively, riders can join the Chenin Crew in pre-scheduled group events. These include the Breedekloof Gravel & Grape (6 May), Darling Hills (20 May) and Bottelary Hills Renosterveld Conservancy (2 June) events, culminating in the #DrinkChenin Day Family Festival Fun Ride (10 June). Cyclists who are part of any of these groups will receive entry discounts.
The annual #DrinkChenin event at Backsberg Family Wines will feature the top 20 chenin producers. In addition, the event will also have live music, food and activities for the kids.
For more information or to register for the Chenin Safari, visit the website.
- Dates: 6 May to 10 June
- Locations: Stellenbosch | Swartland | Wellington | Tulbach | West Coast | Franschhoek | Paarl | Breedekloof | Worcester
- Website: chenin.co.za
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Picture: Supplied