Things may be relatively quiet in the vineyards right now, but there's certainly no lack of activity on the Cape's wine routes. Enterprising wine producers use the winter break to attract visitors to their cellars at a time when they are free to chat about their products.
What a great way to get to know more about our wines and the people who make them.
In the Breedekloof area, which is near Worcester, they will hold a Soetes and Soup weekend. It starts tomorrow morning and runs until Saturday afternoon.
Visitors to any of the wineries in the area will be treated to a mug of warming, home-made soup and special offers on their famous fortified wines. There will also be exhibitions of home-made jewellery, cheese and olive tastings and red wine tastings straight from the barrel.
One of the wineries in the area, Badsberg, has consistently won gold medals for its Red Muscadels at the Veritas and Muscadel Association competitions. These warming winter wines are reason enough to visit this pretty region.
Details from Doug Carew on 021-790-9914.
Closer to Cape Town, the five wineries in the Devon Valley will present an unforgettable tour through their spectacular area on August 1 and 2 as part of the Stellenbosch Wine Festival.
The tour begins at Stellekaya and includes stops at Stonehill, Devon Valley Hotel, Clos Malverne and Middelvlei, each offering delightful wines paired with specially selected dishes.
The tour is limited to 40 guests and the cost is R180 a head, so early booking is essential.
To secure your place, call 021-883-2565.
The recent Terroir Awards produced some surprises and some expected results.
Grande Province, in the Franschhoek area, produced the winning Cabernet Sauvignon and also the top-scoring Chardonnay. Nuy Wine Cellar, near Robertson, won the award for the best White Muscadel (which comes as no surprise), but also the best Colombard, which shows what a versatile piece of terroir that is.
Durbanville area scored well in a number of categories, with De Grendel producing the winning Merlot (2006) and Meerendal entering the best Shiraz (also 2006). Both of these cellars have won awards in this competition before.
Klein Constantia's 2006 Marlbrooke red blend won its category for the second consecutive year, while Doolhof, near Wellington, repeated last year's win with their 2006 Pinotage.
Du Preez Estate, in the Breedekloof area, produced a surprise, entering the top-scoring Methode Cap Classique sparkling wine, their Hendrik Lodewyk Cap Classique.
Less of a surprise was that Neethlingshof Estate in Stellenbosch won the Noble Late Harvest category with their 2006 Lord Neethling Weisser Riesling Noble Late Harvest. This cellar has gained a reputation for producing excellent botrytis wines.
Although the competition is held to highlight the different terroirs that make up the Cape's wine areas, the credit for these wins must go to the winemakers, who have shown they are able to extract the very best quality wines from the terroirs in which they work.