International Pinotage Day was celebrated with enthusiasm this past weekend in the shady gardens of the Leriba Hotel in Centurion, when around 1000 fans descended on the 18 wineries presenting their Pinotage’s, paired with interesting biltong flavours by Billa ‘B & Co Biltong Deli, a new local biltong outlet.
“We were impressed with the attendees in their purple and white gear who were keen to learn about the diversity of Pinotage and brave enough to try new wines, “ says organisor Björn van Oort of CVO Marketing, the Cape-based owners of the event.
“The support of the Leriba team and Montagu Dried Fruit & Nuts who assisted charity organisation The Pebbles Project to create the “Kidz Zone”, were hugely influential in making it such a success,” he explained.
Participating wineries were: Altydgedacht, Beyerskloof, Delheim, Flagstone, Kaapzicht, Koelenhof, La Couronne, Lanzerac, L’Avenir, Mellasat, Overhex/Balance wines, Perdeberg, Rhebokskloof, Slanghoek, Simonsvlei, Van Loveren, Vriesenhof and Wellington Wines.
After such a successful first attempt, the feeling amongst sponsors and participants are that 2018 can’t come around soon enough. International Pinotage Day is on the second Saturday of October annually and the weekend of 13 and 14 October 2018 has therefore been “booked” to bring the festival back to Leriba and create more fans for these two iconic South African products.
In the Western Cape the Pinotage & Biltong Festival is moving to a new venue after three years at L’Avenir Estate. Perdeberg Winery in the Agter-Paarl region is the new setting and the festival takes place on 14 & 15 April 2018.