Taking place on the first official weekend of Spring (1 and 2 September), this year's Bot River Spring Weekend festivities will see plenty happening around the Overberg hamlet's famous bull-tide bash.
Hosted by the region's fun-loving and fancy-free wineries, these festivities will bring together food, wine, music and entertainment. These activities will be hosted by the various farms in the region, each celebrating the dispatch of winter with their own unique and Bull-inspired themes.
And because a bull fest isn't quite a bull fest without a race, there will be a Bull Race -- or, more specifically, a scavenger hunt for grown-ups.
Hosted by the Gallivanting Goose, participants are required to complete challenges prompted by a mobile phone app. This gives participants a chance to learn more about Bot River and win cool prizes too. NB: The game is limited to 40 people only!
For a taster, Goedvertrouw has yoga lined up in the vineyards, with a vinous twist while Villion Wines winemaker Kobie Viljoen will host a private cellar dinner at Barton Vineyards.
At PaardenKloof Ecology Lifestyle Estate, one of the first farms in the Western Cape to re-introduce the Nguni cattle to the region, you'll be able to interact with farmyard animals, let the children ride ponies and even buy Nguni skins and horns. There's a Fresh Farmer’s Market too, where you'll be able to shop for local produce, Protea flowers and nursery plants.
Estate-on-the-koppie Gabriëlskloof, which will launch its latest ROSEbud wine, will have its Little Spring Market as well as servings of salt & pepper calamari and steamed pork buns.
It's also an outstanding food line-up that joins the stellar wines at Wildekrans for the Spring Weekend this year too. Expect amongst others, Friday Steak Night and Saturday Curry Night as well as an ox braai with traditional sides like curried boontjies and phutu pap.
Chef Matt Manning, who perfected his trade in London’s finest Michelin-starred restaurants, will cook up a storm at Luddite where the Rivertones reggae band will play on Saturday night.
At Genevieve MCC, there will be sushi with a lively treasure hunt for children while the taurine theme gets a punt with bubbles and a game of boulles (pronounced "bull"). They'll be joined on the day by Thorne & Daughters, hoping to put on a spot of clay bull shooting.
Now, you may be wondering: what's with all this bull? Why, it's Bot River’s very foundation and the reason it's the wine route’s logo. Amongst the Khoisan people, the valley was once called Gouga – the place of cattle; the Dutch made the connection to butter, which led to its modern name.
In this sense, the bull represents fertility, virility, leadership and strength. More importantly, it connects the history of all inhabitants of the region for possibly over 1 000 years; a symbol of the meeting of diverse cultures; and, the sense of place offered in every glass of Bot River wine wherever it may be enjoyed around the world. Now you know.
For more information about the faBULLous Bot River Spring Weekend 2018 contact Melissa Nelsen at email [email protected].