Celebrating 323 Years of Passion with Vrede en Lust

Two of my Top 10 passions in life are food and wine and I can’t actually decide which one I like more. It’s a real toss-up. When I attended the Savoye Harvest Festival at Vrede en Lust last year I got treated to both and it was probably the best summer-style lunch I’ve ever had, or so I thought…

Jacques de Savoye founded Vrede en Lust in 1688 and this year marked the 323 year anniversary of this historic farm. A true reason to celebrate! This year also marked the birth of owner, Dana and his wife Anneke’s baby girl, which took place a mere 10 days before the festival. Cheers to that! Needless to say that the air was filled with Blue Grass style music, bubbling laughter and festive celebrations.

I have 2 words to describe the wines of Vrede en Lust: Affordable Luxury! Ok, that was stolen from the owner’s tongue, but he is 100% correct. It’s also interesting to note that 80% of Vrede and Lust wines are sold locally. WOW, pretty impressive! This definitely proofs that the grass is not always greener on the other side. The secret to their success is generic marketing, which seems to be working as their sales are up by 66% and Vrede en Lust wine club consist out of almost 1000 members and counting. This puts a big smile on my face. I love the fact that they place their focus on the local market and they deserve all the success coming their way.

Onto the food, oh my word! It was a feast of note and even better than the sensational platters of the previous year, which was hard to beat. Delightful summery dishes like salmon terrine, beef fillet with Horseradish sauce, a variety of salads and to die for brownies formed my stairway to heaven.

The guests went all out this year when it came to dressing the part. White and black with a dash of red were represented by most and the best dressed couple of the day walked away with a R30 000 prize. Let it be me next year pleeeeaaase!

True to tradition everyone wrote down a wish and attached it to the black, white or red balloons that was released over the lush green vineyard. I struggle to remember my wish from last year and probably wished for the same thing again. But who cares about wishes when you have 2 of your biggest passions in life right there in front of you?