A winter celebration of fine food and wine to start a weekend getaway.
Banish the harsh chill of winter with the taste of wonderful bounty from Helderberg farms and vineyards at the annual showcase of excellent local wine and food – Taste the Helderberg – on Friday, 8 June at the NH The Lord Charles Hotel just minutes from Cape Town, in Somerset West.
For the occasion, organisers have chosen a theme colour that denotes Helderberg quality: the colour purple; the mystical colour of royalty.
This will be the first time the event is held on a Friday and gives wine-lovers the opportunity for an idyllic weekend break-away to the countryside. Be among the first to sample latest wine 
releases and some of the region’s best on the Friday and then venture out to the farms on Saturday and Sunday to experience their provenance first-hand.
The Helderberg Mountain towers above the town of Somerset West as part of the Hottentots Holland range. On its shoulders, exposed to the cool breezes of False Bay, vineyards and other farm plantings have thrived for centuries. Its wine farms alone are a reflection of this timeline: from the historic to ultra-modern – all great.
Taste the Helderberg is a Winelands highlight for the great line-up of wines, many of which have achieved iconic status, as well as the chance to meet many of the winemakers, viticulturists and owners in person.
This year, visitors can look forward to an exciting addition to Taste the Helderberg: food theatre in the form of a mesmerising chocolate buffet installation.
The chocolate buffet brings a new dimension to the traditional culinary offering of pop-up food stands, with the course prepared live, during the run of the evening. Guaranteed to be another super crowd-pleaser, this unconventional food theatre production will be the exclamation mark on what promises to be a culinary experience of royal proportions.
In that spirit then, the funkiest-dressed couples will be identified and rewarded for their innovative use of a touch of purple.
Date: Friday, 8 June
Time: 17h00 to 21h00
Cost: R150 pp
Each ticket includes a glass, tastings and delicious chocolate. Local food will be on sale throughout the evening.
Tickets to the event are R150pp and should advisably be booked online at www.wineroute.co.za. If any tickets remain, they’ll be sold at the door.
For more information on Taste the Helderberg 2018 visit www.wineroute.co.za or call 021 886 8275. Taste the Helderberg is presented by the Stellenbosch Wine Routes. You can also participate in the event build-up on social media by following #DiscoverHelderberg.
To book accommodation at NH The Lord Charles Hotel, visit nh-hotels.co.za.
