South Africa’s Wackiest Wine Weekend

From June 7th-10th Robertson, South Africa saw its 9th annual Wacky Wine Festival. Rather than being centralised, the annual Wacky Wine Weekend is spread across the entirety of the Robertson Wine Valley at a number of different wineries. The upshot of this was that you could tailor make your event programme, by visiting the wineries of your choice. With over 70 participating wine producers, each holding their own events over the weekend, the variety of activities ensured that the festival unquestionably lived up to its name.

First port of call was to obtain a ‘passport’ for the festival, a sort of label for your wine glass that once paid for, allowed entry to almost all of the wineries for the entirety of the weekend!

As the most popular South African sport, it wasn’t surprising that viewings of weekend’s rugby matches was a common occurrence across the board of events, however it was far from the only spectacle that drew attention from revellers. Not to be outdone by the variety of beverages on offer, there was an abundance of food stalls, from gourmet dishes to burgers and with the weekend program serving as a guide, sustenance could be found to suit any craving…or budget for that matter.

Live music was also heavily featured, with acoustic sets, a jazz band and a blues set being just some of the few that were stumbled upon over the course of the occasion. Aside from the more traditional activities, many of the wineries appeared to have their own unique goings-on to draw visitors in, such as the Barrel Rolling Grand Finale Championship Race at Zandvliet Wine Estate, which offered up the delightful prize of a year’s worth of wine. Furthermore, trips through the Excelsior Estate via donkey cart were provided and guests could even have a go at blending and labelling their own bottles of wine.

Not to be forgotten was the wine tasting, available at every single winery with each offering up their finest. Suffice to say, attendees came ready to battle changes in weather and muddy farms with a catwalk’s worth of wellington boots, interesting costumes and wine tasting glasses in hand!

Enjoyed by children, teenagers and adults alike, there truly was something for everyone at what certainly was a wacky wine festival!

Guestaurant’s listing will post up next year’s event details when the info become available, until then mark your calendars June 6^th-9^th, 2013!