What a year it has been so far for Orange River Cellars – and we are only in June! Besides an excellent harvest of high quality grapes from which a string of more superb wines have been made, the Northern Cape’s stalwart wine cellar has already excelled at three leading wine competitions.

There was the SAA Wine Awards where the cellar’s Colombard took the honours as the Best White Wine in South Africa. At the Top 100 SA Wines, the Straw Wine secured a place among the Top 100 wines in the country, followed by Gold Medals for both the Orange River Cellars Lyra Vega 2013 red blend and the Red Muscadel 2015.

And recently the White Muscadel 2015 was named the only winner of a sought-after Platinum prize at the annual Muscadel SA Awards.

The other big event is the Orange River Cellars Wine Tasting Centre that officially opened its doors during the weekend of 27 and 28 May to the great excitement of the wine community, the cellar staff and residents of Upington who now have their first wine tasting venue of international calibre.

It was a privilege to have Mr Japie van Wyk, who was chairman of the board at Orange River Cellars from 1975 to 1986, in attendance to cut the ribbon and usher in this new chapter in the history of the cellar.

According to Mr. Herman Cruywagen, executive manager at Orange River Cellars, the new wine tasting centre is another proud milestone in the cellar’s history.

“It has been proven internationally that wine tourism is one of the major drivers for any wine producer,” says Cruywagen. “It is also the segment of the South African wine industry that has shown the biggest growth over the past few years, and this stunning wine tasting centre will definitely help to build the Orange River Cellars brand on many levels.”

“No only does it offer the growing number of visitors to the Northern Cape the opportunity to experience our award-winning wines in a beautiful and convenient venue, but it also brings a world-class wine facility to the doorstep of the local community. Good wine, hospitality in a professional environment and knowledgeable staff will ensure that this tasting centre elevates interest in Orange River Cellars and our unique wine region with every encounter it hosts, whether it’s wine tasting, learning about wine or just having a good time.”

Visitors are enthralled by the beautiful, open space and the convenient atmosphere in which the wide range of wines can be experienced. Then there is also a variety of gourmet food pairings for visitors to choose from, each with tasty bite-sized treats to complement the different wines. Cheese, olives, biltong…these are just a few of the local delights that will make the wine tasting and visitor experience even more enjoyable.

With the winter holidays around the corner, the new centre will be inundated with tourists on their way to the North, so now is the perfect time for every local resident to get acquainted with this gem of a wine centre.

For more information, go to http://orangeriverwines.com/wine-tasting-centre/.