Cape Town – Buitenverwachting is one of my favourite wine farms. Whenever I enter the gates and drive through the vineyards I feel happy.
On February 28, from 4pm to 8pm, the sixth annual Constantia Fresh festival takes place there, on the lush green lawns under the oak trees, celebrating not only the wines of the valley but also those carefully selected from other regions for, well, their freshness.
You’d be forgiven for thinking this means sauvignon blanc, which is widely considered to be a “fresh” wine, but the day is about more than that. Organiser Jörg Pfützner said: “The prime objective of the festival is to show wines with a sense of freshness. Some of the finest sauvignon blancs in South Africa come from the Constantia valley, but there are only so many you can taste. To have a successful festival we have to look further afield than that.”
You will find wines not only from the Constantia producers – Buitenverwachting naturally, Beau Constantia, Constantia Glen, Groot Constantia, Klein Constantia, Eagles’ Nest and Steenberg – but also Cape Point Vineyards in Noordhoek, Iona, Oneriric and Paul Cluver among the Elgin representatives, Beaumont and Luddite from the Botrivier area, several from the Hemel en Aarde valley like Hamilton Russell, Bouchard Finlayson, and Creation Wines, Hermanuspietersfontein on the south coast, Chamonix in Franschhoek, and several from Stellenbosch including Tokara, Raats, Glenelly, Thelema, Delaire and many more.
Other regions showing off their wines are the Swartland, Piekenierskloof, and those of “gypsy origin” – Blackwater Wines, Yardstick Wines and Vins Dorrance. All in all, nearly 50 wine farms will be pouring around 200 wines. I think I just died and went to heaven.
Pfützner’s criteria for a Constantia Fresh wine is that it should be thirst-quenching, from a cool climate, and have the ability to lift, have energy, and be vibrant. These qualities can be found in reds and whites, and older vintages as well as the younger ones.
But that’s not all. While lolling around on the shady lawns we’ll be pairing our wines with canapés and other delicious treats prepared by chefs closely linked with wine farms, many of whom run kitchens in wine farm restaurants – chefs like Bertus Basson, Brad Ball, Peter Tempelhoff, Christian Harbeck, Edgar Osojnik, Shyam Longani, Garth Almazan and Jacques Theron. Chefs who know wine as intimately as they know food. Yes, definitely heaven.
Just in case you grow weary of all this wonderful food and wine, there will be an antique and collectables market, art and live music by Ernestine Dean and Sannie Fox. Bookings are on a first-come, first-served basis, e-mail [email protected] to make sure you get a spot.
Tickets for the festival are R450 and can be bought from participating wine estates or from www.webtickets.co.za. The ticket price includes a glass, tasting of 200 wines, and the food.
See www.constantiafresh.com or contact Fine Wine Events on e-mail at [email protected]