Phoenix Rises: Delheim Harvest Festival Returns

Harvest Festivals are traditionally a way of saying thanks for blessings and abundance and at Delheim this year, spirits are running high. Devastated by fire a year ago, it is particularly poignant that Delheim is rising like a phoenix from the ashes in 2017 to celebrate Start of Harvest once again.

Press release received from Random Hat PR shares the good news:

Delheim’s annual Start of Harvest Festival is back! After a devastating fire on the Simonsberg Mountain put a cork in the event for 2016, it has been re-kindled with vigour and exciting changes. Now is the time book out the family calendar for January 28 and 29, when Delheim Start of Harvest Festival returns.

The event at the celebrated Stellenbosch wine farm is among the first to usher in the grape-picking season’s hustle-and-bustle. This is the time that farms across the winelands prepare to bring in the fruit; a time of joy after year-long toil and tending the vines. “The fire that swept through this area forced us to cancel the event last year, but we’re back – better and stronger,” says Delheim Destination Manager Charlotte Terblanche. “In fact, our regulars have been champing at the bit so if you’re planning to come, best book early.”

Once again, the ever-popular grape stomping is back. It is an ancient tradition across the world that’s symbolic of the fellowship of wine and guaranteed to ignite the fun. There will be live music and lawn games, too.

This time however, brave participants and eager observers will light up with enthusiasm for Delheim’s new barrel-rolling races – a laugh-a-minute and certainly not as easy as you might think.

As for the food, the harvest table format has been revamped. The feast is still on, but there will be even greater diversity and the opportunity to taste the eminent suitability of Delheim wines with food. Vegetarian options will be provided as well as a stand for dessert and an ice-cream truck.

With Germany being the birth country of Delheim patriarch and industry icon ‘Spatz’ Sperling, you can look forward to a few tasty specialities from this part of the world like tasty Bratwurst. Every food offering will be sold with the ideal Delheim wine. Think Bratwurst with a blue-blood Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz blend, or decadent sweets with a refreshing glass of Delheim’s famed rosé – SA’s first in the style made with Pinotage grapes.

Make Delheim Start of Harvest Festival your first date of 2017 and share in a slow and delicious, peaceful and dreamy weekend of endless family fun.

Entrance is R100 pp and R80 for children. Your ticket includes all the entertainment on the day; a Delheim wine glass; freshly pressed grape juice and a sweet ‘mosbolletjie’ on arrival;  plus free kids activities to keep the little ones busy. The festival is from 12h00 until 5pm on both days.

For more information or to book, contact the estate’s Garden Restaurant on tel: 021 888 4607 or send an email to restaurant@delheim.com.

Delheim Estate is located in the Simonsberg sub-region of the Stellenbosch Wine Routes, on the Knorhoek Road, off the R44.