Winter has arrived in the Cape with a rush and a roar and most of us are cowering from the wild winds and almost horizontal rain.
In true can-do spirit the wine farmers are making the most of the season and are planning warming events to keep their customers cheerful.
Nine farms in the Durbanville region are planning their second annual "Soup, Sip and Bread" event to take place on June 6, which is a Sunday.
They will offer warming soups, a selection of the area's good hearty red wines and live music to keep the pulses racing, all in a friendly rural setting.
Last winter's debut event proved a sell-out.
The wine farms participating in this family event are Nitida, Meerendal, Hillcrest, Durbanville Hills, Diemersdal, De Grendel, D'Aria, Bloemendal and Altydgedacht.
"Imagine Tuscan bean soup with merlot; minestrone with Barbera; or shiraz with biltong soup and soft glëwein bread," says Michelle van Staden of the Durbanville Wine Valley Association.
"Soup and bread have been symbols of warmth and conviviality throughout the ages. Bring wine into the mix and we offer visitors an experience they won't easily forget.
"Festival-goers can traipse from farm to farm to taste wine, or simply settle on one farm for the day - feasting on winter-inspired dishes and sipping on wine from our casks."
The full programme can be found on the Durbanville Valley's website, www.durbanville.co.za, and details can be obtained by calling 083 310 1228.
Bookings can be made at any of the individual participating wine farms.
Stellenbosch's annual Wine Festival takes place from July 1 to 5 and several of the participating wineries are offering special festival-related programmes.
At Hartenberg Estate, on the Bottelary Road, for example, there will be an interesting series of wine-and-olive pairings. They will form part of small-group tours of the estate, each catering for just six people.
Visitors will be taken through the underground cellars with stops along the way for food and wine-tastings, guided by cellar master Carl Schultz and viticulturist Wilhelm Joubert.
A highlight of the Hartenberg experience will be a gourmet dinner on the Friday (July 2) evening.
The cellar and food pairings cost R60 a head and the charge for the dinner will be R250.
Booking is essential and this can be done by contacting Hartenberg at 021 865 2541, or by sending an e-mail to: [email protected]
While looking for good warming winter wines, don't miss Weltevrede's delicious duo, Oupa se Wyn and Ouma se Wyn.
Winemaker Philip Jonker makes these charming wines in the same way his grandfather used to and with grapes from very old vineyards planted generations ago that still manage to produce a small crop each year.
The Oupa se Wyn is a blend of red muscadel and muscat de hambourg, while the Ouma se Wyn is made from a single vineyard of muscat de frontignan.
The latest vintage of each to be released is the 2007, available at the farm at R55 a bottle, or in a R135 gift pack with one of each.