Durbanville has many farms. Eleven participated in the Festival.
We visited two, Klein Roosboom and Meerendal.
The band at Klein Roosboom and the lunch crowd starting to gather
We visited two, Klein Roosboom and Meerendal.
The band at Klein Roosboom and the lunch crowd starting to gather
Their kuipe
(old concrete wine tanks ) have been turned into wine storage rooms
We tasted
through their four sauvignons blanc and three reds
Great T-shirt,
happy reveller
On every farm
you could taste the 2012 Sauvignon from each of the 11 farms involved.
A huge
selection of ‘portable’ food outlets came to trade for the day
One of them, with good choices and reasonable prices. Sadly the weather was not great
Put kids in a
sandpit and they are happy for hours. More relaxing time for their parents
Meerendal’s
beautiful Manor House, now a small boutique hotel.
What we came
for - it was incredible value, as it also included the Sauvignon on tap.
Meerendal’s
functions and conference facility, great for weddings too.
They have very large
kitchens.
A warm welcome from Bennie Howard, Meerendal GM.
Lynne had a mouthful of wine when John took the photo; it is NOT a grimace.
Lynne had a mouthful of wine when John took the photo; it is NOT a grimace.
Course No 1,
Crab stick salad
Course No 2, a
creamy West Coast Mussel Soup
Help yourself
to the Sauvignon on Tap
Bennie Howard
making sure everyone has some
Served from
the barrel by the carafe or glass
The huge
buffet table in the middle of the hall. The band was against the wall behind
it
A family
having a great day out
Braaied
snoek and roosterbrood baked on the braai
It is
traditional to have a dollop of apricot jam with the bread and the snoek,
which
had lots of easily removable bones
The band, Placid
Notes, who played lovely songs for hours and hours
The versatile singer and flautist with the band
They even played a song for the children
Malay Curried
Pickled fish, a real Cape
Cold fish
salad
A refill of
the splendid Sauvignon is needed
Helpful and
willing staff
The smokers’
table outside on the porch
Errieda du
Toit, the PR person who handles Durbanville's promotions,
having a bit of lunch before
heading off to another farm
A relaxing
Sunday
Braaied
Yellowtail
It is spring,
so we did need a nice roaring fire in the room
Double handed
pourer
The decor is
plain and simple and can be dressed up for any occasion
Ladies who
lunch
Yet another
course: Paella
As the
afternoon wore on and the sun came out, people started to really enjoy
themselves
Lynne’s
absolute favourite, crayfish tails beautifully cooked on the braai,
still sweet
and tender and slightly smoky from the fire
The joys of a
jumping castle
Lovely view
across the Durbanville valley with vines just beginning to bud
Dessert was
another South African classic – Koeksisters:
Crisp plaited doughnuts, dipped in
cinnamon syrup.
Photographs ©
John Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2012
