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Friday fun with Adi and Dry Dock
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From one busy season to another…
Things never really slow down on Kalmoesfontein – while the cellar and vineyard stood still for a brief moment in anticipation of harvest time, the venue kept going and hosted a few lovely weddings over the summer holiday.
From the last weekend of November with the new Mr and Mrs Liebenberg (pic by @liesieml)
to Judy and Roland’s long weekend celebration (pics by @carien_photography)
and Deborah & João’s international festival wedding (pic @marriageofficersymi)
we closed out 2019 on a roll. And got straight back into it with Rosie & Clint’s celebration on the second of Jan (pic by @ferventstories)
And wrapped up the pre-harvest season with Christian & Sebastian’s lovely intimate mid-week gathering (pics: @mareelouw_weddings | @quietriots_)
Now it is harvest time. The first grapes, from our younger vines, are starting to come in this week and the excitement is building.
Keep an eye on here and on our social media pages (@aabadenhorst on Instagram and AA Badenhorst Family Wines on Facebook) to stay in the know.
We know it is irritatingly late to say this – but happy 2020… we wish you great wines and beautiful celebrations, come visit
**Our luxury accommodation The Stables just opened up for the weekend ahead, the next available slot being only on 17 April. Contact Semma@aabadenhorst.com if you are keen for a last minute get away.
Animal farm…
We recently made a list of the animals on the farm, and it is quite a long one.
Appelliefie (a massive fluffy-in-winter dog that reminds of something in Harry Potter), Sanka (the second of his name, yes Sanka the first is dead man – it’s a Cool Runnings reference that you should know) Janis Joplin (the German not very good Shepard) Jan (the Percheron) Poon (the pony) and St John & Archie (just horses…)
Also Twinkles and Molly (or Holly?) the cats; five turkeys (for now, Black Friday is coming…); LOTS of chickens (different breeds – including a family called Adi, Cornelia, Samuel & Ana!); muscovy ducks; guineafowl and peacocks (although they are wild) and Adi’s parrots (different breeds, some noisier than others).
There is something called Freda (that I haven’t met) and Choppie (I’m guessing lamb); Ted the Tortoise; what feels like hundreds of bunnies and the latest addition, a mongoose.
Appelliefie loves entertaining guests…
That’s enough for now. More pictures at another time.
September stories
It has been a busy month!
Adi and Hanneke were in London for New Wave,
We received a nice thumbs up from Tim Atkin (and three wines with 95+ points)
Now Hanneke and crew are getting ready to harvest in Italy (looks like a lot of carbo loading at the moment if you keep an eye on Instagram)
While Adi is in Japan, for wine work obviously- it just happens to happen alongside the Ruby World Cup (great for Samuel who went along!)
Adi, (Eben) Sadie Family Wines, (Donovan) Rall Wines, Thorne and Daughters, (Chris) Alheit Wines and Crystallum Wines bottled with these beautiful labels for the Raffi Wine Collection (RWC – see what they did there…).
Meanwhile in the Swartland the canola yellow has come and gone, the wheat is slowly turning from green to gold (go bokke!) and temperatures are starting to rise.
Our next tasting day is fully booked, but keep an eye here and on social media channels for more opportunities to come visit –
Like early in November when we’ll be in Riebeek for the SIP tasting
(Tickets on Quicket)
and Malmesbury for a Heritage lunch with a bunch of local winemakers and chefs with Swartland roots.
More info / tickets via kick.bang.omnific@gmail.com.
Lekker naweek mense!
Weekend special
We once again opened our gates and cellars to a few guests this past weekend.
With a glass of Secateurs in hand we took a stroll through some vineyards to the Caperitif cellar for a few drinks and Charl’s world class braaibroodjies.
We walked back via the cellar to The Old House for a tasting and two courses (with vegan poeding nogal) lunch.
Adi and Hanneke are off to harvest in Italy for a couple of weeks so the next opportunity to taste and eat with them is only late in a October.
Keep an eye on our blog and/or social media for more updates.
Going corporate(-ish)
And now for something slightly different!
This week we hosted a team from Media24 for a corporate breakaway, our way.
A refreshing way to spend a few days strategizing and planning – our venue is multifaceted and even in a wet week our guests were cozy on the back porch.
And obviously Charl, Judy and Elsa cooked up some hearty meals, because workshopping can be hungry work.
A versatile venue, accommodation, meals and optional activities and creative workshops – we’ve got this!
For more info or to chat about how we can accommodate your weird and wonderful or work events, contact Semma@aabadenhorst.com.
Tasting day 27 July
Due to Ana & Samuel’s busy sports schedules we are aiming to kick start the July edition of our Tasting Days a little later than usual.
We will meet at the farmhouse at 15h00 for Caperitif Cocktails and Adi will then take you through to the cellar to start for a tasting starting at 15h30.
Charl will prepare two hearty homemade soups and bake his legendary sour dough breads to be served fresh from the oven to end off the afternoon.
Cost per person: R325
Semma@aabadenhorst.com to book
Welcome to the family…
Today we welcome the latest addition to the Badenhorst Single Vineyard Family, the 2018 Ringmuur Cinsault. Another name for international buyers and drinkers to try pronounce, Ringmuur (littereally ring wall) refers to the wall around the vineyard, in front of the cellar.
We already spotted Tim Atkin on Instagram claiming it to be “the best example of the grape I’ve tasted from the Cape”. Good start I’d say.
It is not all moonshine and grapes… Some days it sadly seems we are living in a time of extinction- too often we hear of another endangered species and this week National Geographic looks at one very close to our hearts.
Mentioned in a recent article on their website, Christine Dell’Amore says “The widespread loss of these native trees (Yellowwoods) has had dire consequences for South Africa’s only native parrot, the Cape parrot, which relies on yellowwoods for food and nesting cavities. An often-fatal virus called psittacine beak and feather disease has also taken a toll.”
You can read the full article (click here) which also features a link to a more positive story “Efforts Underway To Save Endemic Cape Parrot” (Click Click)
In our own little effort some of the proceeds we make on our Papegaai range goes towards the The Wild Bird Trust’s Cape Parrot Project and we hope every bit (and everyone) can make a difference.
It is high time we all become more conscientious of the wild things we love and would like to show to future generations!
Stoep Wyn 2019
If you are anywhere near Graaff Reinet this weekend – make sure you go check out Stoep Wyn! Adi and his friends are in town and it promises to be a great experience.
Last year we found out about Stoep Wyn from David Cope (Publik Wine Bar) and decided to check it out. And Adi booked to be there again before the weekend was even over.
I already got a picture of a food menu from Adi to kickstart my FOMO. It is blurry but that is likely cause he was on the move to order everything on the menu.
The event is on today and tomorrow on the streets and stoepe of this historical town. Adi is at Klub Libertas with (amongst others) Thinus Fram Kruger and Pieter Bubbles Ferreira.
Watch out Graaff Reinet!
Badenhorst Family Wines 