NEWS DIARY
TAILORED TASTINGS
Franschhoek’s beautiful La Motte wine estate has a generous visitor offering – from the fantastic art gallery with acclaimed Pierneef originals, the show vineyard at the entrance to the tasting precinct, farm shop, restaurant and tasting centre. So the fact that it has won international awards for the richness of its visitor experience from the Great Wine Capitals network should come as no surprise. But the La Motte team are always looking to innovate and broaden the offering – and their latest initiative is the introduction of a curated wine tasting experience. Monday to Friday, guests are encouraged to dig a little deeper and explore the world of wine – or their relationship with wine – a bit more. A new addition to the tasting lineup is the varietal glass-specific tasting. Hosted by a taste ambassador, guest are seated in a private tasting area and guided through the five wine showcase – each in a Riedel glass unique to the specific grape. This option is available on Mondays and Wednesdays at 10h30 and, like all
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experiences, must be booked online at least 24 hours in advance. (www.lamotte.com) Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10h30 there is a specialist Vinoteque tasting, allowing guests to sample matured wines. Exclusivity is again guaranteed, along with expert staff leading the tasting. The third option is the wine and food tasting which is only offered on Fridays, again at 10h30. It’s one of the reasons La Motte was the Drinks International Best Wine & Food Matching Experience winner an unprecedented five times! Five La Motte wines with five tasting portions from the Pierneef à La Motte kitchen is something special: modern interpretations of authentic South African heritage cuisine that demonstrate the collaboration of chef Eric Bulpitt with cellar master Edmund Terblanche. This takes place in the elegant restaurant rather than the tasting centre, for obvious reasons! All prices and necessary information are on the La Motte wine estate website: www.la-motte.com
FORAGING FOR FUNGI IN FORESTS
Lockdown might have brought economic activity to a standstill for a short period but people still need to plan events and excursions, now more than ever! Delheim, the celebrated wine farm on the Simonsberg outside Stellenbosch, celebrates a decade of guided mushroom foraging in 2020. Initially, it announced its dates for the wild foraging of mushrooms in their mountainside forests as taking place on 16 June and 3 July. At the time of going to press, it’s not known whether these dates will be coronavirus affected or not – but the option of contacting Delheim and ascertaining the final dates still exists. “Ten years ago, people were even less familiar with mushroom foraging than today,” Delheim’s Nora Thiel said. Having grown up on the farm with her father “Papa” Spatz Sperling being an avid fungiphile, she showed a few people how it’s done and the idea for organised forages was born. “It took three years before we could
