The Paarl OmmiBerg Harvest Celebration takes place on Saturday, 3 March 2018, from 10h00 to 17h00 and marks one of the most important events in the Cape Winelands – the annual harvesting of the grapes. This year’s OmmiBerg pays homage to all things harvest and visitors can expect a fun-filled day of activities to suit the whole family.

Landskroon assistant winemaker Daniëlle Brown, Wilandre Johnson of Paarl Tourism,  Danielle Slabber and Jacques Lategan of Domaine Brahms and Carike Heydenrych of Paarl Tourism getting ready for the 2018 Paarl OmmiBerg Harvest Celebration

So get your harvest groove on and head to this beautiful Boland region. Participating Paarl Wine Route members Boland Kelder, Domaine Brahms, Landskroon, Mellasat, Perdeberg, Rhebokskloof, Ridgeback and Windmeul are all planning a fun-filled day of activities for the whole family. The programme includes special harvest activities such as grape stomping and barrel rolling, cellar tours, unique tastings of the region’s award-winning wines, music, fabulous food and incredible wine promotions. Most venues are child-friendly with specific activities to cater for young visitors.

Boland Cellar is the place to be for a great outdoor vibe and festive atmosphere. As one of the country’s largest wine producers, Boland offers a great selection of varietals and wine lovers will be spoiled for choice with special tastings and great wine promotions. Cape Town Food Trucks are also pulling in for the day to ensure sumptuous snacks and gourmet bites. A special kids’ play area is available with activities for the youngsters.

An absolute must-visit for any keen collector is Domaine Brahms with its incredible TOEKA Stoor filled with collectables and memorabilia. Join the wine run or barrel races for a laugh. Try their fabulous breakfast or lunch. You can also get an incredible adult face painting for free. Kids will be enchanted by the colourfully decorated gardens and play area, while adult visitors can taste and buy great value wines.

Spectacular views meet visitors to Landskroon Wines, a centuries-old family farm. Special tastings are conducted in the tasting room, including young wines from the 2018 harvest. Bring your own blanket and chill out on the lawns with delicious snacks or win great prizes in the grape stomping competition, while the young ones have their own fun with face painting and jumping castles.

Start your day with a sumptuous breakfast at secluded boutique winery Mellasat Vineyards, home of South Africa’s first White Pinotage. Enjoy a cellar tour and barrel tastings, wine tastings in the tasting centre, grape stomping or a relaxing foot massage. Let the kids go for a tractor and trailer ride through the vineyards, go apple bobbing or slip `n slide.

Perdeberg, The Home of Chenin, is another super child-friendly venue with lots of activities planned especially for younger festival goers. Tutored tastings and special discounts on export wines will be available. The play park with foam pit, slides and jumping castle is a child’s delight with supervision provided, so that adults can enjoy the various tastings on offer.

Tucked against the granite hills of the iconic Paarl Rock, Rhebokskloof is a perfect family-friendly stop. The sprawling lawns next to the dam serve as a giant kids’ play park with supervision, which gives parents the opportunity to sample their fine wines and food offerings.

Stick to your fitness goals by entering the early morning Run the Vines trail run at Ridgeback Wines. Afterwards visitors can experience the serenity of the beautiful surroundings next to the lake with its elegant swans. Saviour the selection of Ridgeback wines in the tasting room or lunch at the stunning The Deck Restaurant.

Enjoy Windmeul Kelder’s award-winning wines as well as the freshest local produce from their Parskuip Neighbourhood Market and the monthly Farmer’s Market. Kick off the day at the Kontreikombuis with a delicious breakfast pizza, a traditional country breakfast or fresh roosterkoek hot off the fire. The supervised kids’ play area will keep the kids busy, while the adults enjoy harvest activities and special young wine tastings conducted by the winemaking team in the cellar.

Tickets are now available from www.webtickets.co.za at R150 per person (over 18) or R180 at the gates on the day. Children under 18 accompanied by an adult enter for free. Visit www.ommiberg.co.za or follow Visit Paarl on social media for regular updates, great give-aways and detailed programmes from each participating winery. 

OMMIBERG TURNS WATER-WISE

Grape Stomping Fun at Mellasat Vineyards - pictured from left to right is Carike Heydenrych of Paarl Tourism, Christel Liebenberg, Malanie Venter and Stephen Richardson (Mellasat) looking on.

Organisers of the OmmiBerg Harvest Celebration on Saturday, 3 March, have put plans in place to ensure that the event is water-wise and supports the massive water-saving initiatives of the Western Cape Government, Cape Winelands District Municipality and Drakenstein Municipality.

According to Annelize Stroebel, general manager of the Drakenstein Local Tourism Association, they are extremely cognisant of the fact that the province is in the midst of a severe drought. “All our event plans have included water-wise activations and we have liaised closely with the participating wineries to ensure that wine lovers can still enjoy this amazing celebration of the annual harvest, while conserving water. After all, the members of the Paarl Wine Route have to deal with water restrictions on a daily basis and have all become really savvy at saving every drop possible. Most of the farms have alternative water sources, which have been tapped into for a significant period already. Participants have adapted their activities to ensure that no water wastage will take place. Bottled water will be on sale at each venue as it has become the norm over the past couple of years,” mentions Stroebel.

Standard operating procedures on the wineries have included recycling, placing bricks in toilet cisterns and providing hand sanitizers to minimise hand washing. Several venues such as Boland Kelder, Perdeberg, Domaine Brahms and Ridgeback will be utilising portable toilets, which operates with chemical supply tanks of recycled water. Boland will be closing off their existing toilets for the duration of the event and an additional water car will be on standby.

Wineries such as Landskroon and Mellasat have cancelled the slip `n slides that normally form part of their kids’ entertainment and replaced it with jumping castles. Mellasat will also be offering hand sanitisers for hand washing and will be using their usual grey water collection facility to cover operational uses. Water collected through this system is treated again and then used for irrigation of the vineyards.

Rhebokskloof and Windmeul have independent water supplies and festival visitors will not place any burden on potable water supplies. Domaine Brahms also has two boreholes that are being used exclusively for drinking water and food preparation.

“We would like to ensure potential visitors that they will still be able to enjoy an exciting day with great wines, fabulous foods and plenty of harvest fun for the whole family. OmmiBerg celebrates the harvest, which is one of the most important periods on our agricultural calendar and as a single-day event, it does not place a significant burden on our water resources,” concludes Stroebel.

For more information, visit www.ommiberg.co.za.

Issued by: PERIDOT COMMUNICATIONS

Pictures: SUPPLIED 

©2018 Herman Lintvelt - WineTourismZA