Heritage Month events in Stellenbosch

Steeped in history, vibrant Stellenbosch offers so much more than just quality wines. During September, the City of Oaks will be celebrating the entire Heritage Month with a rich tapestry of old and new attractions, which are just waiting to be explored.

As part of a dual wine tourism marketing campaign, Stellenbosch Experience, the wine route and Stellenbosch 360, have come up with a treasure chest of ‘local is lekker’ activities for the young and old to enjoy.

Annareth Bolton, CEO of the Stellenbosch Wine Routes, says with Stellenbosch’s enviable wine lifestyle also comes a multi-layered history and charming, yet contemporary culture weaved throughout this forever young town, and that is what they want to bring to life during the month of September.

As part of a dual wine tourism marketing campaign, Stellenbosch Experience, the wine route and Stellenbosch 360, have come up with a treasure chest of ‘local is lekker’ activities for the young and old to enjoy.

Highlights on their heritage menu for 24 September include numerous Braai Day get-togethers that will add a tantalising twist to this South African pastime. Fires will be lit at Delheim Estate for a traditional snoek braai, a Bring & Braai party will attract a merry crowd at Hazendal Estate, while Hidden Valley have teamed up with renowned chef, Bertus Basson, for a 2014 Gourmet Braai & Wine Festival with smoking hot events on 22 and 24 September.

Bodega restaurant at Dornier Estate will serve up a special Braai Day bill of fare, sizzling with an upscale version of the traditional barbeque, and the iconic Lanzerac Hotel & Spa goes all out this year with a royal Heritage Banquet featuring a buffet lunch to complement their heritage wines.

The iconic Lanzerac Hotel & Spa goes all out this year with a royal Heritage Banquet featuring a buffet lunch to complement their heritage wines.

Asara Estate will host a Pure Food Braai Market with producers sharing tips and tricks on how to make your braai all the more enjoyable and live music and kiddies’ entertainment adding to a fabulous day out with the family. Also, do not forget about Middelvlei’s popular Boerebraais on offer, seven days a week, where homemade potbrood, ‘braaibroodjies’ and Ouma Annie’s pumpkin fritters put the Momberg Family in a league of their own.

Those in search for some cultural engagement and enlightenment can set foot on one of Bites and Sites’ inspirational township walks through Kayamandi, complete with an authentic Xhosa lunch prepared by the ‘mammas’ who are ready to welcome you into their homes and hearts.          

Their Foodies on Foot tours are also popular, so why not spice things up - get your friends to join you for a Cape Malay Cooking adventure and learn more about the traditions of the Cape Muslim community.

Those in search for some cultural engagement and enlightenment can set foot on one of Bites and Sites’ inspirational township walks through Kayamandi, complete with an authentic Xhosa lunch prepared by the ‘mammas’ who are ready to welcome you into their homes and hearts.

Craving more of that Ubuntu spirit? Then head down to the Stellenbosch e’Bosch Heritage Festival in the famous Die Laan on the Eerste River on the 24th. Various communities from neighbouring ‘dorpies’ will bring an eclectic mix to a buzzing festival site, which stretches from the historic Ou Landbousaal to the Coetzenburg Bridge. The festival includes stalls of authentic Stellenbosch products and food, a beer and wine tent, braai sites, captivating art exhibitions and live music by local talent from various communities including well-known and loved musician, Valiant Swart.

Other festival attractions for the more adventurous include the Spier Eerste River Challenge, an elite paddling contest, which finishes 11km downstream at the Spier Wine Estate as well as the highly popular Eerste Tube Race, which finishes just below the festival site. 

Annemarie Ferns, CEO of Stellenbosch 360, says this festival is the perfect hotspot to meet and mingle with genuine people and authentic offerings that make Stellenbosch such a real and memorable destination. She says they love how the festival builds bridges and brings the different communities of the ten dorpies in Stellenbosch together and are proud to be involved with it.

Other festival attractions for the more adventurous include the Spier Eerste River Challenge, an elite paddling contest, which finishes 11km downstream at the Spier Wine Estate as well as the highly popular Eerste Tube Race, which finishes just below the festival site.

To end your Heritage Month on a high, the wine route is hosting their inaugural Savour Stellenbosch Valley experience at Neethlingshof’s Manor House on 27 September, World Tourism Day, for a celebration of cultural diversity and the area’s rich and varied narratives. This is in keeping with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation’s (UNWTO) theme for this year’s World Tourism Day, Tourism and Community Development.

The Stellenbosch Valley sub-route is home to a myriad of wine estates, hotels and restaurants, and participants such as Middelvlei, The House of JC Le Roux, Van Ryn’s Brandy Distillery, Fleur du Cap and Neethlingshof will add their own unique flair and tastes to the evening. Each of the wine farms will offer up to five wines for tasting, while celebrated chefs will lend gourmet glee with their signature sweet and savoury indulgences. Tickets cost R300 per head, including all the wine tastings and food.

Other wine tourism attractions to explore during the month of September include a visit to Spier Estate, for their Gables Audio Walk, a fictional account of the reality of life on a Cape wine farm in the early part of the 19th century.                                                                                                

One simply hires a headset and an audio device and is guided to various points where the story unfolds, narrated by Sannie de Goede, the ghost of a fictional slave on the eve of her freedom. The estate also offers a Heritage Walk through fynbos and lures guests with a captivating 42.6 square metre outdoor mosaic sculpture, The Dying Slave, conceived by Marco Cianfanelli and created by the Spier Architectural Arts.

A stopover at the Van Ryn Distillery to watch skilled craftsmen practise a dying art, making up barrels of French oak at the on-site cooperage, also makes for a riveting, Proudly South African encounter.

And if you are into art, make a date with Tokara on 11 September for their Wine Made Art event. It will see 45 students from the Marié Stander School of Art literally transform wine into art when they dip their paintbrushes in 2011 TOKARA Shiraz, to visually portray their interpretations of this year’s theme: 2014 World Design Capital – Cape Town.

For more information on these Heritage Month events, contact Stellenbosch 360 on 021 883 3584 and visit the Wine Route website.