Big Bottle Festival 2013
The Big Bottle Festival is the Western Cape's grandest annual wine tasting extravaganza and celebrates South Africa's finest "Big Bottle" masterpieces during a weekend-long festival.
The third Big Bottle Festival will be hosted on the weekend of the 23rd to 25th August 2013 at the renowned five-star Cellars-Hohenort Hotel in Constantia.
Having grown steadily since the inaugural event in 2011, the Big Bottle Festival's instant success was confirmed with South Africa's most celebrated winemakers and chefs coming together to create a unique approach to wine and culinary tastings. This weekend of exceptional food and wine comprises a Rare Champagne Tasting on the Friday evening, an exclusive Gourmand Five-Course Dinner Experience on the same evening. On the Saturday and Sunday there will be a Walk-About tasting.
Spearheaded by award-winning executive chef, Peter Tempelhoff, from the Liz McGrath's collection of hotels, the third annual Big Bottle Festival will showcase a panoply of culinary stars such as Edgar Osojnik head chef at Buitenverwachting, Harald Bresselschmidt celebrated chef from Aubergine Restaurant, Roland Gorgosilich of Bosman's Restaurant at the Grand Roche Hotel in Paarl, Gregory Czarnecki renowned for his work at the Waterkloof Estate and Brad Ball, Executive Chef of the world class Bistro Sixteen82 amongst others.
The Cellars-Hohenort Hotel will once again be the backdrop for this sophisticated weekend of fine wine and culinary delights coming together with the sumptuous Gourmand Five-Course Dinner Experience prepared and presented by renowned sommelier and wine consultant Jörg Pfützner and award-winning chef Peter Tempelhoff on the evening of Friday, 23rd August 2013. The five courses will be accompanied by exclusively selected wines from classic international regions such as Bordeaux with the tasting of an iconic 1983 Chateau Gruaud-Larose as well new cult wine Ladredo from re-emerging regions like Ribeira Sacra. Other wines which will be served on the evening include the 2011 Soalheiro Alvarinho Dócil, 2003 Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs from England, 1994 Quinta de Bágeiras from Portugal, 2006 Schloss Gobelsburg Grüner Veltliner Tradition Kremstal from Austria, 1983 Chateau Gruaud Larose from Bordeaux France and 1998 Niepoort Colheita Port most of which will be served from rare Magnums, Imperials and Methuselah.
In keeping with the connoisseur element of the Big Bottle Festival, the Champagne Tasting which takes place on the Friday evening, will centre around extremely rare champagnes which are not easily found locally with eight notable 2002 vintage cuvees from such houses such as Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, Dom Pérignon, Louis Roederer Cristal, Jacques Selosse Blanc De Blancs Grand Cru Brut Millesime and Egly-Ouriet Pere et Fils Brut Grand Cru. As an offering of some of the best Champagne vintages of the last 10 years, the tasting will be presented by Hendrik Snyman, one of the most knowledgeable and entertaining Champagne importers and MCC producers in South Africa.
The Big Bottle walk-about and tasting on Saturday and Sunday the 24th and 25th August allows food and wine lovers to experience the various wines from selected wine farms that have been invited to participate in the event. This will centre on the few wineries and estates in South Africa who are able to bottle wines in large bottle formats. All wines will be poured from big bottles during the Walk-About. These wine farms bottle in large formats, usually only for special occasions and limited releases, to showcase outstanding vintages either to mark a winery's anniversary or for charitable purposes. These magnificent bottles are synonymous with celebration, extravagance, enjoyment and they invoke a feeling of delightful, social decadence. Some forty of South Africa's top wine producers and importers pouring will be serving their best wines during this weekend. This is an event not to be missed. Participation is strictly by invitation only and estates such as Bouchard Finlayson, Hamilton-Russell, Iona, Delaire Graff Estate, Buitenverwachting, Neil Ellis, Jordan, Thelema Mountain Vineyards, Tokara and Klein Constantia will be participating.
Tickets for the Big Bottle Festival are available through Webtickets (webtickets.co.za) with the Walk-Around Day Pass priced at R400 (this includes food and wine), the Gourmand Dinner Experience priced at R1,980 and the 2002 Prestige Champagne Tasting priced at R2,300 per person.
Date: 23 August 2013 to 25 August 2013Time: 19:00 - 17:00
Venue: Cellars-Hohenort Hotel, Constantia, Cape Town
Cost: R400 - R2300