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Experience the Routes during Stellenbosch Wine Festival 2010

The 9th  annual Stellenbosch Wine Festival, one of the oldest wine festivals in the Cape, takes on an exciting new format this year and will be held a month earlier to give soccer fans the opportunity to visit the myriad of cellars that make up the Stellenbosch Winelands. From 1 – 5 July visitors will experience the Winelands in all their glory through an extensive network of shuttles between the farms participating in the Festival this year. Park your car at any of the allocated Park-and-Ride areas, or visit the Info Centre at Doornbosch, to purchase your festival pass and catch a shuttle to the wine farms of your choice.Participating farms are offering visitors wine tastings and untold activities including the opportunity to rub shoulders with your favourite winemakers. With more than 140 wine farms in Stellenbosch and various Park-and-Ride areas, visitors will have a hard time deciding which cellar  to visit next!

Enthusiastic soccer fans can also join in the wine extravaganza as transport to and from the Festival has been arranged from Cape Town. Visitors will also be able to travel to the wine farms using their own transport.With a host of wine experiences, entertainment, participating restaurants and exclusive winemaker encounters galore, book your Stellenbosch Festival pass now!

Tickets for the Stellenbosch Wine Festival are available on-line at R150 per person per day, and R500 for the Golden Pass for the entire duration of the festival. Kids under the age of 18 go free! For more information on the Stellenbosch Wine Festival, contact 021 886 4310 or visit www.wineroute.co.za.

What about the Kids?

Pack up the kids and head out to the Winelands for the 9th annual Stellenbosch Wine Festival from 1 to 5 July during the school holidays. Explore outstanding Stellenbosch wines in the very cellars where they were made via a unique shuttle service and have a jovial soccer feast while providing tons of entertainment for the kids, leaving no sour grapes during this fun-filled time.

Kids are invited to come meet Jerepigo the donkey at Middelvlei and experience one of his infamous cart rides around the farm as they make new friends with the animals including pygmy goats, geese and tortoises and feed them special treats that will leave their tummies full and satisfied.

Expect a little magic at Welmoed on Friday, 2 July with a real magician as mom and dad indulges in a Spitbraai or potjiekos at the Duck Pond restaurant.

For youngsters with a sense of adventure, why not saddle up for a 30 minute guided horse ride at Bellevue Wine Estate or get the whole family together for a tractor ride to the oldest commercially planted Pinotage vineyard in the world!

Then drive down to Villiera for a one hour express game drive and explore nature as you spot a wide variety of birds, Red Hartebees, Eland, Gemsbok, Springbuck, Bontebok, Bush pig, Zebra’s and many more! Villiera also offers a supervised crèche, giving mom and dad a chance to experience a Cap Classique tasting.

Café de Paris at L’Avenir has delicious treats in store for growling tummies including croissants, crêpes and baguettes. All quarter final games can be watched live at the Chez L’Avenir Venue and while parents challenge one another to a game of social boules, kids can get rid of that extra energy on the indoor jumping castle.

Delvera is bringing fairy tales to life on Sunday at 12h00 with a performance of Cinderella. Enjoy the show with the kids or wander off to discover interesting and unique homemade-art on the farm’s little shops.

Kids will also have the opportunity to get creative at Longridge with a Design-a-label competition. The winning label will be printed on a limited release wine festival bottle while a percentage of the funds will be donated to a charity. After all that work, your children can play games and watch a movie in the supervised kids entertainment section while parents try their hand at the Cellar Rat Race where they are expected to bottle, cork, pack and load a case of Longridge wine against the clock.

Drop the kids off at Bottelary Hills Wine Centre, where a dedicated kids area has been laid on so that parents can explore the wine farms in the area. With sand art, jumping castles, face painting and many more activities, children will never have a dull moment under the watchful eye of qualified supervisers and child minders.