Celebrating wine from the mountains – Simonsberg and Helderberg 2013.
The dusting of spring snow on the mountains around Stellenbosch brings with it the announcement of the first Checkers Battle of Die Berge Wine Festival 2013, which will take place between the 13th and 14th of September 2013 at Muratie Wine Estate. The festival pays homage to grapes grown on the slopes of mountains, and to the erudite people crafting the wine from those grapes.
In the Western Cape, mountains have a towering and charismatic presence, converting tourist snaps into picturesque chocolate box scenes. Their altitude also translates into quality in wine, justifying the expense and efforts of making wine in the mountains. As you’d expect, high altitude vineyards tend to have rockier soils and better drainage than vineyards located on the valley floor or hillside, lending itself to more intense flavours with finer palate definition. Can one taste the difference between mountain terroirs, though?
Stellenbosch, synonymous with quality wine in South Africa, is surrounded by mountains. Perhaps the most famous of them are the Helderberg to the South and the Simonsberg to the North-East. These two magical wine mountains have been chosen as the subjects for this year’s Checkers Battle of Die Berge Selection. Do wines from the Helderberg and Simonsberg mountains have distinct flavour fingerprints? What are the best examples to convey this idea to consumers?
In answering these questions and making our selection, we have invited wineries in the Simonsberg and Helderberg Mountains in the Stellenbosch region to submit wines made entirely from grapes grown there. Participation to these wineries is free and the legendary Danie De Wet will lead a panel comprising seasoned judges Winnie Bowman CWM, Maggie Mostert, Tariro Masayiti and Higgo Jacobs in critically assessing entries in three categories: Red, White and Pocket–Friendly (under R80 ex cellar). Wines will be grouped by mountain and category and judged blind. The chosen selection of 6 wines (3 Helderberg and 3 Simonsberg) will be promoted and sold by Checkers in the run-up to the festive season with obvious benefits to producers as well as the Stellenbosch region in relating a tasteable sense of place to consumers.
The final selection will be announced at the Checkers Battle of die Berge Spring Picnic, held at Muratie Estate on Saturday 14th September 2013 from 11h00 to 16H30. The event is proud to be partnering and showcasing the judging and selection for the Western Cape Provincial Round of the Shoprite Checkers Championship Boerewors Competition. Invited media, dignitaries, judges, competitors and consumers lucky enough to get tickets will be able enjoy a taste-around of these magnificent mountain wines alongside some of the best boerewors in the country. Checkers’ own gourmet boerewors rolls, cheeses and famous Deli products will be on sale and revelers can soak up some of the spectacular scenery and entertainment during the course of the afternoon.
Tickets are available at Computicket outlets or online at www.computicket.com: Adults get in for R140 and children between the ages of 12-18 get in for R60. Children under 12 enter free. Please note only 150 public tickets are available. Enquiries can be directed to [email protected] or contact Jonathan +27797071425. You can also follow us on twitter at @battleofberge or @CheckersSA, or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Battle-Of-Die-Berge/702585323091903.
We look forward to welcoming you to Die Berge!
