The Western Cape is well known for hosting a large number of wine festivals taking place throughout the year. A lot of these attract people from all over the region, some even flying in from all over the country. The result: too many people, too little wine! Robertson’s Hands on Harvest is quite different. Apart from being relatively new it is also run according to a number of events that take place at different wine farms, rather than having people buying a ticket to the whole event. A group of friends and I (now known as the Robertson Seven) decided to brave it last year and because we so thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, we went again this year.
Last year we tried our hands (and feet) at grape stomping and picking at midday in 36 degree heat and so decided to give this a skip this year (even though this was followed by delicious snacks and chilled wine while listening to a jazz band – all just for us!). This year we hired a taxi driver to take us around the whole day (no fun when one person can’t indulge in a bit (or a lot) of wine drinking). We found a guy’s contact details on the Robertson website. His name is Smitties Vervoer and he charged an extremely reasonable price of only R120 per person for all 7 of us for the entire day.
We started off the day at De Wetshof Estate (well known for their white wines, especially Chardonnay). Their wines are so brilliant they converted our friend Kelly from drinking only red wine to now preferring white wine (she recommends the De Wetshof Limestone Hill Chardonnay). So enamored with their wine, she promises to name her first child “Char” Donne”, a running joke throughout the weekend. For only R50 we were taken on a tractor ride through the vineyards followed by plenty of wine tasting (at 10am!) and a delicious meat/cheese platter. We were also treated to tasting fresh Pinotage poured straight from the barrel. A great start to the day, but we were on a tight schedule and so piled into the taxi onto our next stop, Springfield! Springfield makes some superb wines, and after a successful trip last year (and a quick jump in their lake) we decided we had to make a few purchases and do a little more tasting.
The Klipdrift Brandy Distillery was our next stop. Time for the mixing to begin (not sure how well a brandy and wine combo go!) We received a free ginger ale and brandy tasting on our entrance, a surprisingly refreshing combination. Next was something called a “Nog “˜n bietjie” which was so delicious I drank it way faster than necessary! A creamy combination of brandy and Nachtmusik with lots of eish (ice)! Vrandy was my nickname from then on as we rushed to climb into Smitties van with our takeaways”¦we were so hungry by this point we probably looked a bit like scavengers devouring our food as we rushed on to our next appointment: Tanagra Wine estate for a grappa demonstration/tasting (also for only R50).
Tanagra is a small private wine farm on the outskirts of Robertson. Run by a German couple, the farm produces red wines, rosé and grappa. We were treated to an array of delicious German homemade eats and some refreshing rosé while we watched a demonstration of grappa making, a very detailed process whereby all the stalks and the residual skins of the vineyard grapes are moved through a very techy looking machine under high temparatures to produce the alcohol. (We had all had quite a lot to drink so no note taking at this point!). Next all we had to do was taste the suspicious looking liquid. Not having really tasted a lot of grappa before, I was not very clever (or clear minded enough) and decided to take a huge gulp of the 43% alcohol. Not the ideal way to taste grappa I soon learned, it is VERY strong! We got to taste different flavoured grappas, all of which were very strong and not my favourite for the day. My other friends who obviously have a higher tolerance to alcohol and more of an appreciation loved the stuff! I preferred tasting the homemade Shiraz grape juice that the wine maker let us try, nice and refreshing in 33 degree heat.
We ended off our wine tasting day at the wine shop on the main road which sells most wines from the area at decent prices. Bags full of wine purchases, we felt decidedly happy and satisfied.
The Robertson backpackers where we stayed was a great place to end off the day with a glass or two of Graham Beck bubbly and a handful or two of niknaks lying about in the garden, reminiscing about the day.
THE DETAILS:
Robertson’s Hands on Harvest festival usually happens on the weekend of the 25th and 26th March. The full programme of events for this festival and others can be found on the Robertson website http://www.robertsonr62.com/
We stayed at the Robertson Backpackers, which has a number of different options for rooms and dorms, friendly staff and is very reasonably priced. There is an honesty bar with cheap drinks, along with an awesome Moroccan styled room at the back with hubbly bubbly for hire. Camping in the garden is also available. Visit http://www.robertsonbackpackers.co.za/ for rates and availability.
