Cape Town - Minutes after opening, the Root 44 market on Audacia Wine farm in Stellenbosch is crowded with people, browsing through the stalls and sampling an array of food.
It is Saturday morning and there are a lot of green and gold-clad supporters before the game in which the Bokke redeemed themselves.
By 11am the beer is flowing and people pour in with children in tow, dogs on leashes and laps, and grandparents.
The market, which opened at the beginning of 2013, is surrounded by mountains and vineyards. One of the best spots to check out the action is from a tree house which gives a bird’s eye view.
Wine lovers, allergic to sulphur, can still enjoy their favourite tipple because Audacia infuses its wine in stainless steel tanks with Rooibos and Honeybush chips instead of using allergy-inducing sulphur.
Executive assistant at Audacia, Fiona Kleyn, said the technique had been patented and the wine farm had just released a white wine in addition to its reds.
There is even a doggy bar, which has water for thirsty hounds.
There are about 100 traders at the market, which attracts thousands of people every weekend.
Traders are housed in marquee tents and there are plenty of sheltered seating areas for for visitors to relax in comfort and listen to live music.
Knife-maker Robbie Ferreira from Kleinmond has been trading at Root 44 since the start, and says on busy Sundays up to 9 000 people descend on the market.
He is from Steytlerville in the Karoo and grew up with “horses, guns and knives”.
Ferreira uses wood, bone and horn to give the handles character and imports his steel from Sweden and the US.
His business is called Inyathi, which means buffalo in Zulu.
“Being a hunter I have a lot of respect for buffalo although I wouldn’t shoot one. I only hunt for the pot.”
Ferreira says he made his knives for everyday use.
He has an impressive sabre which is used for sabrage – the technique of opening a bottle of champagne with a blade.
The sword is slid along the body of the bottle to break the neck away.
“You have to use the back part of the sabre and hit it in the right spot,” he says.
Onlookers have to beware though, as the neck can travel 20 metres or more.
Some of the more fancy and decorative knives take up to 45 hours to craft.
He says his knives are popular with tourists, farmers and hunters.
His wife Lettie works with him, making leather belts and bags.
Tashi Amer, originally from Pakistan, paints freestyle temporary henna tattoos on hands, feet and backs. She studied the ancient art in Pakistan and has been tattooing for 15 years.
“Most of my regulars are students from Stellenbosch University,” she says.
Belinda and Peter Remane run Quirky Creations, which imports handcrafted and recycled materials from Malawi.
They have outdoor furniture constructed out of recycled plastic tubing and an assortment of ornaments, including a pig made out of a gas cylinder, hollowed out so that flowers can be planted in it.
Food is a big part of the market with a range of international influences. There is everything from pizzas and burgers to sushi, eisbein, wraps, fish and chips, paella and hot dogs.
A typical South African stall is the braai bar run by former civil engineer Danie Liebenberg, who uses his Dutch grandmother’s secret curry sauce to flavour the meat. He is used to catering for the masses, saying when he was still in engineering he braaied for up to 1 000 workers at a time on his construction site.
For those with a sweet tooth there is hand-made chocolate and home-made ice cream.
Jackie Smithers started with a small ice cream machine four years ago and now makes 40 flavours like Rocky Road, Peanut Butter, Blackcurrant, Lemon Curd, Chocolate and Oreo.
Her ice cream has no additives or colourants – she uses vanilla pods and extracts – and also makes frozen yoghurt and sorbet as well as a dairy-free variety using coconut milk. Smithers started with some of her mother’s old recipes but these days asks her children to give give the aye or nay to new flavours.
There are activities for the children as well, including minigolf and an indoor and outdoor gym.
l Root 44 is on the R44 and Annandale Road, Stellenbosch
Cape Argus