Fancy some champagne, live music and food from among the finest eateries in the Natal Midlands? Then head over to the inaugural Meander Fine Wines Champagne and Bubbly Festival being held on Piggly Wiggly Farm in Lions River on April 30.
Following the huge success of last year’s Diemersfontein Pinotage on Tap Festival, Meander Fine Wines has joined forces with Hartford House, Granny Mouse, La Lampara and The Corner Post as well as a host of the country’s premier wineries and bubbly producers for a day of eating, drinking and being merry.
Cabriere Estate will perform sabrage – ceremoniously slicing off the top of a champagne bottle with a sabre – while in attendance will be the winemakers from Cederberg, Colmant, De Grendel, De Wetshof, Pierre Jordaan, Klein Constantia, La Motte, Saronsberg, Steenberg, Simonsig, Ross Gower, Groote Post, Muratie, Dieu Donné, Darling Cellars, Quoin Rock, Weltevrede, Goeverwacht, Graham Beck, Môreson, Morgenhof and Villiera.
Pommery and Billecart-Salmon champagne houses will add that final touch to elegance and sophistication with tastings of the wine-making technique so famously perfected by the Benedictine monk Dom Perignon more than 350 years ago.
“This will be an opportunity to experience the finer offerings from the Midlands; spend a day – or the whole weekend – in the country and pose the questions to the winemakers that have puzzled or amused your wine-drinking evenings. Last year’s festival reflected the huge interest for wine among Midlands residence and this takes that experience to the next level,” says organiser Trevor Gower.
The R200 ticket price includes a champagne glass, book of meal and wine-tasting vouchers and hours of live music in a relaxed atmosphere. The doors open at noon and the festival ends at 6pm.