Two days of
the Robertson Wine on the River Festival
We
and many of our fellow media colleagues really favour this festival. Held on
the banks of the Breede River in the middle of vineyards, they put up lots of
marquees and you get to sample the wares of the Robertson valley over three
day. We went on Saturday and Sunday and had a marvellous time, although
Saturday was perhaps a bit young and rather crowded for us. Sunday is calmer
and more relaxed. We like bumping into many of our readers and like to see lots
of you enjoying yourself at these festivals
Building bricks of wine
A warm Saturday at the entrance
Places to sit and enjoy the wines and the river
Clever dad. But who's got the baby?
Springfield is always one of the most popular
stands with their great range of wines
Klein Constantia tasting room manager Alan Wickstrom and his wife. A busman's holiday? But they had fun
I think he wants some more....
Colyn Truter was kept busy opening bottles and talking to the
customers on the Arendsig stand
Paul René Bubbly is very French in character and
was very popular too
They will be hosting an event on the 5th of November that
sounds fun
There is always a big crowd on Saturday
This lovely young lady was as captivated as
we were with the wines on the Quando stand. We took a case of Rosé and their white Chenin Viognier blend
home, such great summer drinking and very reasonably priced
Charmaine Delgado of De Wetshof had several of
their impressive Chardonnays to taste
A happy and very busy Bernhard Hess of Mimosa Lodge in Montagu, serving
tastes of their wines on their stand. The sushi and prawns they were serving were probably
the most popular food options and they sold out on both days
His wife Fida had the heavy task of coping with
all those food orders which she manages with such organisation
Come in number 345
When they see John's camera, everyone wants a
photo taken. Old friends Goolam and Denise Essop and a friend
This is what we are all here for, good wine and
lunch on the side of the river
Trips by tractor through the vineyards
Angela Fourie, PRO from Durbanville Valley,
celebrating with Beatrix Galloway,Wine Route Manager for the Robertson Wine Valley
King of the jungle? Falling to bits with moth
eaten lion. Not sure this is roadworthy. A sad reminder of John’s time with the
Volvo rally crew in the 70s
We began Sunday in the tent for a guided tasting
of the MCC's of the valley
led by Henk van Niekerk of Paul René.
Nice backdrop! and great bubblies. We tasted the Paul René Blanc de Blanc and
Brut Rosé, Villon Blanc de Blanc from Viljoensdrift, Philip Jonker’s The Ring
Blanc de Blanc from Weltevrede, Jacques Breuer 2010 Blanc de Blanc Brut Reserve from Bon Courage and the Graham Beck Brut Rosé
His bright and funny son had us amused as we
tasted
Smile for the camera Mummy! He has it off pat
Spring vines and fynbos across the river
Walking on water, no, fishing and crossing the weir
Riverside rushes
Holiday homes on the side of the Breede River at Viljoensdrift,
what a lovely place to come and chill.
Chatting during the tasting
One tasting followed another and we stayed for the
next one, which was Pinot Noirs and Merlots from the Valley. These are the first four, Pinots
The tastings are very popular and a lot of fun
Newald Marais of Kranskop (he was the winemaker at
Nederburg for several years) took us through the 8 red wines
The tractor tour crossing the weir. Yes it does
look weird
Sunday was a cloudy but warm day
The four Merlots we tasted
The river does look very full this year, but they
are worried about the drought continuing
More family orientated on Sunday with more space
Time for some lunch and some of that sushi. We copped
the very last order
Old mates Johan de Wet and Takuan von Arnim with
Christiane von Arnim, enjoying the festival
Time for some Biltong with Dave and Claudé Regester
lunch - Sushi and a pesto chicken wrap
Where did you get that hat?
Girls having fun. Gera de Wet and Christiane von
Arnim
Lynne with a grateful fan
Hmm. No she doesn't, she's a very early riser and
hard worker
It’s Bonita Malherbe, who used to run the festival
when she worked for Robertson Wine Valley. Now, as Marketing manager at Van
Loveren, she is constantly busy. Here she was trying to raise money for charity
and she managed to raise the most money on the day
I'm saying nothing
Messy people, there are plenty of bins and yes,
all the bottles are recycled, we saw a huge tractor load going off site the
following day
Pool party above the weir
© John & Lynne
Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016
