2010 Stellenbosch Wine Festival – The best to date
This year must have been the best Stellenbosch Wine Festival that I have attended to date. Why? It was not just another student piss-up like the previous festivals that were hosted at Paul Roos Gymnasium. This year the Stellenbosch American Express® Wine Route decided to showcase the true beauty of the winelands by hosting the event at 140 wine farms across the Stellenbosch region. A brilliant idea that was executed to the tee and a weekend that will be remembered by many local and international wine enthusiast for a long time.
Some might say that the price was a bit steep at R150 per person, but after attending the festival on Saturday, I realised that the price was not to bad at all. Apart from the fact that you could park you car and catch a ride with one of their shuttles for FREE to the estates, the wines on offer were of exceptional quality and the service at the farms we visited were flawless. It was also not over full and you did not have to fight your why through hordes of people in order to get a glass of wine, which is normally the case at wine festivals.
A group of us decided to take a Winefly Taxi from Cape Town to Stellenbosch and it was one of the best decision that we could have made. We did not have to worry about drinking and driving. Even so, the Stellenbosch Festival organisers placed a lot of focus on responsible drinking. They handed out various quirky stickers like “I am the responsible one” and “Serious Spitter” which definitely hit home. We were not as trashed compared to the previous year’s Stellenbosch Wine Festival, which reminded me a lot of Winex. Travelling from one estate to the next, provided us with well needed breaks in-between tastings and having all your friends in one big bus definitely contributed to the fun we had. The people in our group all agreed that it was one of the best winelands experiences that they’ve had in a long time.
So if you look at it from a marketing point of view, was it worth while for the wine farms that participated? Did they sell wine? For sure!The nice thing about visiting wine estates is that each one provides visitors with something special and unique. The only uniqueness that you will find at a “all under one roof” wine festival is the farm names and their wines. People get drunk quicker and are less likely to remember the farms or the wines and at the end of the night leave without buying a single bottle. We bought several bottles on Saturday, which we either enjoyed at the farm or took home. The fact that they offer a variety of activities on the wine farms, other than just wine tasting, turns the focus to the brand and also contribute to responsible drinking.
If I have to fault something it will have to be the small tasting glasses, but that’s just a pet hate of mine. I enjoy drinking wine out a a big glass, especially when it’s fine wines. But life is what you make of it and it was up to me to decide if this one small pet hate of mine is going to spoil my entire festival. You can’t please everyone and some people might just prefer a small glass to a big one.
Will the Stellenbosch Wine Route stick to this winning recipe next year? I truly hope so. I’m sure you will find people who will look for faults, like me and the small glasses. People like to view their opinion and to criticize things, especially if they’ve paid for it. Criticism can be ignored or acknowledge and it’s up to the estate and the Stellenbosch Wine Route to use it or lose it. No one is perfect, but one can always strive to improve where fault is found.
We had a remarkable time in the winelands. We were surrounded by beauty, great company, a variety of choices and amazing wines. R150 is actually a small price to pay and you can’t put a price tag on good times and memorable experiences – that’s priceless!
Caption: The group of Wine Flies who had a blast at this years Stellenbosch Wine Festival.
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