Held last weekend, this festival was held on
individual farms in the Elgin Wine Valley, who organised their own events. You registered at Peregrine
Farm stall, were given your bracelet and wine glass and a comprehensive map (all included in the ticket price) and headed off. It has to be said that
you did have to prebook for some of the most popular events
We got up early and drove up the N2 to Oak Valley, where we were booked in for breakfast. It usually takes us exactly an hour and it did again. The weather was grey with a few spits and spots but
not unpleasant. This was our welcome "Discovery starts here....!"
Flowers and apples, two of the things
Oak Valley does as well as their wine, Wagyu beef, acorn fed pigs and the Pool
Room restaurant and deli
Apple box seats and lots of
umbrellas in the garden
Lynne chatting to Marketing
Manager Brad Gold
This is where you could taste
or buy all the available wines from
Breakfast muffins in the
restaurant. Rather too healthy for us
The glorious pool
There were four choices for
breakfast, we chose this Croissant with smoked salmon trout, red onions,
cucumber, cream cheese, and caper berries. A very good start to the day. As was
the good cup of black coffee
Chef Gordon Manuel in his
kitchen
We had long chats about food. We
always do
People began to arrive
Another stunning display. Oak
Valley farm flowers, which you will find in Woolworths and other flower vendors. Oak Valley is one of the largest growers of cut flowers
Time for a tasting
The wines available
The ancient oaks
From Oak Valley, we called in at Elgin Vintners' new venue.
They had a food truck and ice
cream in the garden
Inside the elegant tasting room
The wines for sale
Four almost well behaved imps waiting
for the band to start playing
Then it was off to Highlands
Road. Croquet was being played next to the dam
Winemaker Vanessa Simkiss had the wines were ready for
tasting
The views are lovely from the
terrace
Owner Michael White was behind
the counter serving wine and we met some old friends who were at the Festival
for the weekend
Pride of place a recent award
for the Sauvignon Blanc Reserve
Good live music
Off to Shannon to find that they
had Santa Annas from Gordon’s Bay cooking on their portable smoker
We were not sure what
Broadcaster Jon Meinking was saying. We did not owe him part of that bill! You
paid first then ordered your food or wine
They had put up a marquee as
rain was threatening. James Downes was behind the counter serving the wines
with his brother Stuart and Tanya Beutler, who looks after their exports on a normal day
A Radio day! Guy McDonald of
Magic Radio was also there with Jon Meinking and Seven Springs winemaker Riana van der Merwe
There is no hiding behind those
superb wines James. They are made by Gordon and Nadia Newton Johnson, one of
the reasons we like them so much
James & Libby Downes with their birthday girl
James and Stuart own the Shannon wine company,
James is the farmer - the vineyards are meticulous. Stuart is a major wine exporter and importer, in addition to his responsibilities at Shannon
Lynne chatting to
There was an art table for
children, supervised by Tanya Beutler's daughter
And good music all day from
The Santa Annas roasting their
pork and beef in the smoker. They serve Latin American and Southern Barbecue
style food and are available for hire
John made a good choice with
the roast pork with excellent crackling, chilli sauce, a baked potato with sour
cream and a salad. Lynne had the roasted short rib. Lots of them, falling off
the bone, but not a lot of flavour. This also came with a salad and a coriander
pesto. We are not fresh coriander fans
Girls having fun. Riana van der Merwe and Frieda Lloyd, Manager of Cape Whale Coast Tourism and Coordinator of the Hemel-en-Aarde Winegrowers' Association
A dog with lots of character,
owned by Libby Downes. This terrier treats an apple like a ball and wants you
to play along by throwing it. Only in Elgin, the Apple capital of the South
Yes, you are playing with me!
Gotcha! Note he has taken a
bite out of the apple too
The Palmiet River runs
alongside the farm and it looks full, but it is deceptive, the river is dammed
just a bit further down
Autumn leaves and olive season.
The rain had begun, it was time to head home. Thank you Elgin for a lovely day
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
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