Monday, February 20, 2017

Muratie's Harvest Festival - family fun under the Simonsberg

Muratie opens its doors each year for their Harvest celebration and have a relaxed day in the garden with food, good music, lots of wine and fun. We saw the new Art Gallery, passed on the opportunity to stomp some grapes (much enjoyed by the youngsters), tasted their new fermenting wines, took a tractor ride through the vineyards and chilled under the trees with a huge box full of grapes, figs, cheese, bread and other delights accompanied by their wines. It was "Cool bananas" as the chilled Capetonians say
The fun begins with the grape stomping
We preferred to venture into the cellar for the tasting of the juice and fermenting wine
Supervised by winemaker Hattingh de Villiers, here pouring some wine for us to taste
It was a good, interested crowd
Carefully sipping the fermenting young wine. Sensational flavours of fresh fruit like nectarines and plums. But you don’t want to swallow too much or you will start to ferment. Next to Lynne is broadcaster Jon Meinking, tweeting
Rijk Melck discussing the harvest and the wine
Time to taste a tank sample of the Pinot noir
Peter Kampmeinert tastes a little
You could buy hamburgers, boerewors rolls, smoked salmon sandwiches, samoosas and other delectables for lunch
We had a few of these delicacies on the media table to share. Freshly baked bread, a selection of cheeses, ripe figs and grapes, humus, tapenade and pesto with koeksisters and chocolate brownies
Busy cooks
Under the umbrellas enjoying the day
We drank the Laurens Campher, an inspired blend of Chenin, Sauvignon Blanc Verdelho and Viognier. It was so much enjoyed. Stone fruit, nuts, a little smoke and richness from the Viognier
Magnums of it on our table
A colourful Greg Landman of Country Life enjoying the day
Tractor rides through the vineyards every half hour
No, “we are not drinking coals from Newcastle”, say Yvonne and Peter from Holland, it’s wine for us today
Our skilful tractor driver, Paul
On the way up the hill
Smile! He's a Hashim Amla fan
Enjoying the ride together
In the far distance the Peninsula and Table Mountain
Strange cloud patterns, hinting of rain. It never came, just more heat and wind. The vines were laden with grapes awaiting harvest
Sentinel pines at the farm entrance
The band is always good
A happy day
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017

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