This year we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the new winery and 324 years of passion, since Jacques de Savoye founded Vrede en Lust in 1688!

There are only 120 tickets available and a number of last year’s guests have already applied for bookings, so please book soonest to avoid disappointment.

The Harvest Festival is one of the highlights on our calendar! Those who want to harvest some grapes themselves, will be able to get into the vineyards with Etienne & Susan earlier in the morning – just come prepared with a change of clothes.

Wines to be released

The Boet Erasmus 2009, the Syrah 2009, and Caseys’ Ridge Elgin Viognier 2011. In addition, the 4 wines that make up the exclusive and limited release Artisan Range will be available for tasting and purchase to all guests. These wines are normally only available to Wine Club members: The Chenin-Chardonnay-Viognier 2010 (Elgin), the Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 (Simonsberg-Paarl), The Barrique Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (Elgin) and the newly releases Syrah 2010 from our Elgin vineyards.

Theme

Red and white. Please dress accordingly, the best dressed couple will win a special autographed set of the Vryersvoetpad 2008 wine released to celebrate the movie Semi-Soet!

Program for the day

11:00 Jess cocktail, grape picking and grape stomping
12:00 Starters and Federweisser served
12:30 Start of a long, lazy lunch with Wine on Tap!
13:30 Desert
14:30 Blessing of the Harvest, Balloons of Dreams and announcement of the Best Dressed Couple

From 11:00 – 16:00 Tasting of the newly released wines, Boulles  & live entertainment

De Savoye Day Lunch Menu

Duncan and his team at the Cotage Fromage have created a very special menu for the day:

Starter

• Baby onion quiches
•  Gazpacho

 Main

• Duck liver parfait
•  Hot smoked salmon terrine
•  Rare roasted fillet of beef
•  Chicken coronation
•  Cold meats and cheeses
•  Baby beef and chicken burgers
•  Lime potato salad
•  Curried chickpea salad
•  Tuscan panzanella salad

 Dessert

• Special selection of hand made Ice Creams

De Savoye Day Tickets

Public - R295 per person, Wine Club Members enjoy their WineClub discounts for themselves and one partner/guest. Wine Club Members also enjoy booking priority. Tickets include the Harvest Lunch, lots of wine on tap and all activities.

No charge for children of 12 years and younger – there will be a secure play area with nannies where food and cold drinks will be provided.

Only 120 tickets are available! To avoid disappointment, please book your tickets as soon as possible and confirm you’re booking by sending your proof of payment to Elzaan Louwrens. Please note that seats will be allocated on a strictly first-pay basis.

Banking details:
Vrede en Lust at Nedbank, Business Winelands
Branch code: 149821 Account number: 1498080960 Reference: “Savoye” and last name

Accommodation

Our accommodation is already booked up for the weekend, but there are a number of options nearby at a range of prices to meet all budgets!

• Cathbert Country Inn (4 Star) – 021 874 1366
• Babylonstoren (6 Star) – 021 863 3852
• Val d ‘Or Estate Guest House (4 Star) – 021 876 3902
• Le Franschhoek Hotel (5 Star) – 021 876 8900

We look forward to sharing this day with you!

Please note the winery will be closed to the general public on the 3rd of March.

The farm had 60Ha of old apple orchards and was quite rundown. But, it had a fantastic location along a high ridge, with slopes dropping down to the Palmiet River and the Kogelberg hydroelectric dam. The most important factor in the decision making process was the soil types found on the farm.

The two distinct soil types on the farm are Bokkeveldt shale and Table Mountain Sandstone (TBS) with a significant quartz component. The white quartz on the TBS soils are clearly visible around the dam in the Google Earth image above.

We renamed the farm Casey’s Ridge and started the redevelopment process immediately. The orchards were removed, nearly 16 Ha of vineyards were planted in the first year and long term  leases were established with Vrede en Lust and Rupert de Rothschild. Today Casey’s Ridge total vineyards cover more than 50Ha with about 30Ha in production. The vineyards should all be in full production by 2016.

We loved the TBS as it is a very lean, well drained soil that helps to produce high quality fruit by tempering the high growth character of Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz. Wine quality goes up when the vines have to work so much harder.

The large water body next to and above the TBS soils helps to moderate the climate and ensure cooler daytime temperatures during the ripening period.

We have also planted 2Ha Pinot Noir and 2Ha Riesling in the TBS, with a further 2Ha set aside for Grenache next year.

The shale occurs along the ridge at the top and on the warmer, north facing slopes, whilst the TBS is found along the Kogelberg hydroelectric dam and Palmiet River. The soils are ancient, deep and well drained.

The shale soils have gravel content of around 70%, which is really exceptional. Prior to planting, the soil test holes went down 3m without finding any clay! The deep, well drained soils are perfect for the likes of Chenin Blanc, Semillon, Chardonnay and a selection of the Bordeaux red grapes.

In addition to small blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, we also planted our first block of Cabernet Franc in the shale soils in 2007. We should see it first harvest in 2012.

We have added 2Ha of Pinot Noir and 2Ha of Riesling to the shale slopes this year. We hope the combination of fruit from 2 very different types of soil, will add to the complexity of the resultant wines.

Getting the vines into production has taken at least 2 years longer than it would take on the warmer Simonsberg-Paarl vineyards at Vrede en Lust. The vineyard development process has been more expensive and time consuming than originally estimated, but the slow development stems from the cooler climate and leaner soils. The quality will hopefully make up for the wait!

In 2010 we upgraded our winery at Vrede en Lust so that we could better handle the grapes we truck in from our Elgin vineyards. It did not make much sense to build a smaller winery on Casey’s Ridge given the distance, plus the cost the cost and complexity of zoning requirements. We now have a top class dedicated white wine production facility that works well and that has added a lot of value to our overall facility.

Our commitment to Elgin runs deep and the more we learn there, the more excited we are about the future of our Elgin wines. At present we produce a Sauvignon Blanc and a Viognier from Casey’s Ridge, along with the Barrique, a more serious Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc barrel fermented white blend. We also produced a small run of Elgin Pinot Grigio. In 2010 we made a low volume Chenin Blanc/Chardonnay/Viognier blend from our Elgin grapes under the Artisan Range label, which is exclusively to our Wine Club members.

The 2011 harvest was a more substantial, mature harvest, which gave Susan and Ansone the opportunity to play around with some new blends from our Elgin whites. The blend we all loved from the start, will be released in November as the maiden vintage of the Vrede en Lust White Mischief. The 2011 White Mischief is made from five different white cultivars and we really look forward to public reaction to the wine. There is also a very beautiful shiraz maturing in our cellar at present, due for release in a year or two.

As a member of the Elgin Wine Guild, we are participating in the upcoming ‘Elegantly Elgin’ wine tasting on the 21st of October at the Newlands Sun hotel in Cape Town. Our winemaker, Susan Erasmus, will be there to personally show her Elgin babies!

The unpredictable Cape weather had us seeing all our weather cover days used up in the first half of week one. Needless to say, this left everyone more than a little anxious about the rest of the Cape shoot. However, a quick e-mail to Mother Nature saw us blessed with just the right amount of sun and cloud to capture the pictures we only hoped we would manage to get!

From snow on the mountains to 30C days, we had it all, in just the right order to show off our beautiful country. Oh, and of course, we had a few actors in the foreground too.

What a stellar cast we have been allowed to make magic with! (See picture below) Between the lot of them, there was a chemistry on screen which pole-vaulted the dialogue off the page and provided fits of laughter on and behind the scenes. To have the top talent in the country so invested in the project has been exhilarating and humbling.

The Semi-Soet Cast

The production value on Semi-Soet is in a different league and from the rushes we’ve seen is going to look epic on the big screen.

And so we turn our lens to eclectic Johannesburg where we hope to show off how sexy and chic this world class city can look. From dramatic skylines to Aston Martin’s racing across Nelson Mandela bridge to three grown men on a scooter – Johannesburg is going to be its own kind of beautiful and we can’t wait to get started!

Cameras start rolling on Wednesday the 11th through until Thursday the 26th of May and we would love to share the experience with you. If you would like to visit the set please contact our production manager Jessie White on jessjjf_film@hotmail.com or Cell: 076 743 7579.

Thanks for your tireless efforts in going above and beyond in making sure that this film could be made. We believe you will be more than proud when you sit watching it munching on a big box of popcorn!

Scramble Productions

The event was sold out early! It was a very warm summer Saturday at Vrede en Lust, pretty much like we experienced for most of this harvest. We had to hire in 10 large fans at the last minute as the regular cooling breezes were missing. Hate the wind when I play golf but need it on the farm!

Thanks to my daughter Jess for taking the photos and making Jess cocktails.

Savoye Day 2010 Grape Stomp

EVENT IS SOLD OUT !!!

We invite you to join us at the annual Vrede en Lust ‘De Savoye Harvest Festival’ on Saturday 5 March 2011.

On De Savoye Day, we celebrate the 2011 grape harvest; honour the founder of Vrede en Lust; release a number of new wines and have a lot of fun!

This year we celebrate 323 years of passion, since Jacques de Savoye founded Vrede en Lust in 1688!

There are only 150 tickets available and a number of last year’s guests have already applied for bookings, so please book soonest to avoid disappointment.

The Harvest Festival is one of the highlights on our calendar.

Those who want to harvest some grapes themselves, will be able to get into the vineyards with Etienne & Susan earlier in the morning – just come prepared with a change of clothes.

Wines to be launched

The Boet Erasmus 2008, the Syrah 2008, the Classic 2006, the Barrique 2010 and our new Caseys’ Ridge Elgin Viognier 2010.

Theme

Black and white with a dash of red. Please dress accordingly, the best dressed couple will win a weekend at Vrede en Lust, staying over in the historic Manor House!

Program for the day

09:00 Continental breakfast for those taking part in the harvesting of grapes (Booking is essential!)
09:15 Harvesting of grapes
11:00 Welcome drinks – special Jess 2010 based cocktail
11:30 Grape stomping, Federweisser and zwiebelkuchen
12:30 Start of a long, lazy lunch
14:30 Balloons of Dreams and announcement of the Best Dressed Couple

From 11:00 – 16:00 Tasting of the newly released wines, Boulles competition & live entertainment

De Savoye Day Lunch Menu

Duncan and his team at the Cotage Fromage have created a very special menu for the day:

• Panzanela Salad
• Caprese Salad
• Quiche
• Chicken Nicoise Salad
• Fillet of Beef with Horseradish
• Salmon Terrine
• Variety of freshly baked Breads
• Desert: Chocolate Brownies and Creme Brule

Savoye Day 2010 Friends

Cost and payment

Public – R295 per person, Wine Club Members – R238 per person – remember to invite your friends. Wine Club Members will also enjoy booking priority.

Tickets include the Harvest Lunch, lots of wine on tap and all activities.

No charge for children of 12 years and younger – there will be a secure play area with nannies where food and cold drinks will be provided.

Only 150 tickets are available! To avoid disappointment, please book your tickets as soon as possible and confirm you’re booking by sending your proof of payment to lynette.nel@vnl.co.za. Please note that seats will be allocated on a strictly first-pay basis.

Banking details:
Vrede en Lust at Nedbank, Business Winelands
Branch code: 149821 Account number: 1498080960 Reference: “Savoye” and last name

Accommodation

Our accommodation is already booked up for the weekend, but there are a number of options nearby at a range of prices to meet all budgets!

• Cathbert Country Inn (4 Star) – 021 874 1366
• Babylonstoren (6 Star) – 021 863 3852
• Val d ‘Or Estate Guest House (4 Star) – 021 876 3902
• Val De Vie Luxury Villas (5 Star) – Ina Louw 082 566 405
• Le Franschhoek Hotel (5 Star) – 021 876 8900

We look forward to sharing this day with you!

Savoye Day 2010 Balloons of Dreams

Please note the winery will be closed to the general public on the 5th of March.

“Savoye Festival is the stuff movies are made about. Indulging all six senses. Dit is ‘n belewenis” according to one of our guests Susan Matthysen.

The Vrede en Lust ladies in Red: Back left sits Alice, standing Lynne, Ven, Martinique, Janina. Seated in front: Lynette, Marizanne, Anneke and Elzanne.

We have the complete De Savoye Day 2010 album online.

Everyone was dressed in red, white and blue and the Vrede en Lust girls were easy to spot in their red outfits!

A number of the more energetic guests started the day in the vineyards 8ham, where they realized that drinking wine is much more fun than making it.

Things got slightly messy with the grape stomping, but it ensured that everyone had a touch of red to fit into the “red” white and blue theme. The grapes harvested came from our Petit Verdot vineyard on Vrede en Lust.

The guests were treated to little taste of Germany with the “Trompetter Fest”: special fermenting white wine (low in alchohol and with higher levels of residual sugar) with a special ‘zwiebelkucken’ (an egg & onion tart). Not recommended as an everyday breakfast but a lot of fun once a year!

The jolly guests, enjoyed live music by the Hungarian Trio as well Newton, whilst the platters of food kept on coming and the wine on tap, kept on flowing.

Towards the end of the celebrations, everyone received a helium filled balloon, which they released after making a wish. A day to remember!

• For the brave ones, who wish to lend a hand to harvesting the grapes, the day will start 8am sharp;
• For the curious ones, the German ‘Trompetter Fest’ at 10am will introduce breakfast with a twist: serving special fermenting white wine with a special zwiebelkuchen;
• For the jolly ones, live music will play from 11am, whilst our popular Cotage Fromage will prepare lunch: Freshly baked breads, pates, dips, cold meat platters & cheese, pastas, salads and chicken casserole;
• For those who have some space left, will be delighted by chocolates with handmade Shiraz butter ice cream and cones!

Of course Vrede En Lust wines will be available on tap, along with the opportunity to sample some of our unreleased wines

Dress the part in blue, red and white French flair and come be a part of our 2010 harvest success story

There are only 200 seats available and they will be allocated on a strict payment RSVP basis.The event is booking up fast, so please book early to avoid disappointment!

• Venue: Vrede en Lust Wine, Simondium
• Date:   Saturday 13 March 2010
• Time:   Harvesting: 8am; Trompetter Fest 10am; Ends: 4pm
• Dress:  Red, White and Blue
• Cost:   R250 Inc VAT per adult inclusive of activities, food and wine, no charge for kids
• There will be snacks and refreshments for the kids and a jumping castle.

Only 200 Tickets available! Please RSVP by EFT Payment and email your proof of payment to lynette.nel@vnl.co.za

BANK DETAILS:  Vrede en Lust  Ac No: 149 8080 960, Nedbank Current Account: Branch Code: 149821/ Business Winelands: Reference: “Savoye” and your Name

Looking forward to sharing this day with you at Vrede en Lust!

Some of our guest may want to carry on through the night at the new Franschhoek Vendange event that night:

In keeping with the French heritage and, true to tradition, a long and exceptionally colourful harvest table will be set up in the centre of the town, welcoming locals and visitors to sit down to a sumptuous feast. A traditionally bountiful French inspired feast of mouth watering delights, prepared by some of the village’s passionate chefs, awaits. As if that wasn’t enough, guests will also get the opportunity to mingle with some of Franschhoek’s well-known and award-winning winemakers and sample the area’s finest wines.