Creation welcomes Cape Epic to Hemel-en-Aarde

At Creation Wines on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge near Hermanus excitement is the order of the day as they prepare for the estate’s participation in the 2017 Absa Cape Epic on 21 March.

Creation will be providing one of the official water and spectator points and according to co-owner and marketing director Carolyn Martin no stone is being left unturned to welcome the riders and their supporters.

The Creation Tasting Room will open at 7h30 am on the day and Cape Epic supporters will be welcomed with Creation’s Elation Méthode Cap Classique, filled croissants, coffee, tea and fresh apples from the neighbouring farms. A scrumptious Cape Epic inspired menu will be available while there will also be an opportunity for tasting and buying Creation’s award-winning wines.

“Creation’s participation in the 2017 Cape Epic is a first and we’ve commissioned the gifted land artist Strijdom van der Merwe to create an installation which will feature as a landmark on the estate. His striking and innovative work of art is titled ‘Create your own Path’ and embodies not only the challenges we had to face when establishing Creation, but of course also the challenges faced by the Cape Epic riders,” says Carolyn.

As the event takes place on Human Rights Day it is fitting that the children from the nearby Pebbles Hemel-en-Aarde Education Project will be involved, supporting the riders with greetings and yellow flags. “The event will offer an opportunity to raise funds for these children who deserve a decent education as well as balanced nutrition,” Carolyn comments.

First staged in 2004 and covering some 700 kilometres, the Absa Cape Epic is an annual mountain bike stage race held in the Western Cape, South Africa. The race attracts professional mountain bikers from around the world, who compete in teams of two. To qualify for a finish, teams have to stay together for the duration of the race. The race is also open to amateurs, who enter a lottery in order to gain a slot. The course changes every year and the race lasts eight days – a prologue and seven stages. This year the first stage takes place at the seaside venue of Hermanus which according to experts has been turned into something of a mountain biking paradise “with a network of trails snaking across the nearby hills and valleys”.

Creation is proud to be part of this epic adventure, says the estate’s PRO, Dieter Odendaal. “By being chosen to host this international event our region can showcase its exceptional potential in becoming one of the foremost mountain-biking areas in the world. The scenery is unbeatable, the hospitality world-class, the people friendly and it is indeed one of the safest areas to mountain bike. The advantage of hosting the Cape Epic in the Hemel-en-Aarde is the priceless international marketing value it affords which in the long term will mean more visitors, more jobs and an injection to our economy as a whole.”