Get ready for the Stellenbosch Festival

28 May 2010

The annual Stellenbosch Wine Festival will be held this year from 1-5 July 2010 and will offer wine and soccer enthusiasts from around the globe a jovial feast of wine and food in the cellars where they were made via a unique shuttle service through the winelands. With music, wine tastings, picnics and exclusive culinary experiences, the festival promises something for everyone.

Simonsig tasting room and winemakers

Art, soccer, music

The Stellenbosch Hills Tank Art Gallery, located in a refurbished cement wine tank, will open its doors for the first time to coincide with 2010 Wine Festival. The wine-stained concrete gallery walls create a unique and singular art encounter.

Da Capo Vineyards / Idiom Wines near Sir Lowry's Pass, has a five-a-side football field in the middle of its vineyards. It will hold a supporter's tournament on Sunday 4 and Monday 5 July, where visitors can have a kick-about wearing their countries' respective jerseys while being cheered on with vuvuzelas by their fans. Countries will be playing against each other, embracing the soccer fever that is sure to run high during the festival.

For the wine connoisseur, Hartenberg Farm off Bottelary Road promises a rare encounter - an exclusive three-stop cellar tour where wine lovers will take a trip down memory lane while visiting the various cellars on the estate. Visitors will also have the rare opportunity to rub shoulders with winemaker Carl Schultz and viticulturist Wilhelm Joubert at a braai hosted on Friday, 2 July.

Soccer fans can watch live screenings at the L'Avenir Café de Paris with great wines, fresh coffees and pancakes, baguettes and croissants served all day with French music in the background completing the Parisian café culture vibe.

Delaire Graff Estate offers live music by local artists Gerald Clark and Schalk Joubert. The Matthew Kruger Band will be performing acoustic and unplugged, in French and Afrikaans on Friday 2 July in the Chez L'Avenir venue.

Park 'n ride

Visitors can park at any of the allocated Park-and-Ride areas, or visit the Info Centre at Doornbosch, to purchase a festival pass and catch a shuttle to the wine farms. Tickets for the Stellenbosch Wine Festival are available at R150 a Day Pass and R500 for the Golden Pass. For a full programme of the 140 wine farms in the Stellenbosch Wine Festival, contact +27 (0) 21 - 886 4310 or go towww.wineroute.co.za.