However, this year saw a different turn of events, and instead of cancelling the organisers saw this an opportunity to take the festival to the people. A 10-day countdown, which commenced on 1 July, took viewers through a virtual journey of the Franschhoek Valley as each day revealed a new experienced. Some of the experiences included cellar tours, a walk through the garden of Babylonstoren, a guided tour of the village, a sneak peek at the collection of vintage cars at the Franschhoek Motor Museum as well as the highly popular cook along with Franschhoek local and celebrity chef, Reuben Riffel. Linked to the daily reveals were unbelievable offers, affording the public to make use of unforgettable deals. Although only revealed on the day these offers are still available until the end of July.
Saturday, 11 July, which would have been the date for this year’s event, saw the virtual festivities wrap up with a day filled with Franschhoek celebrations. A sabrage, cooking demo, virtual wine tasting and live music show were all part of the day’s line up.
“With no blueprint to work off we didn’t know what to expect, but we were blown away by the response. We had the opportunity to engage with followers who, in the past, wouldn’t have been able to attend the festival, and simply with the click of a button they were able to experience the valley through our eyes,” says Franschhoek Wine Valley CEO, Reinher Behrens. “Not only was engagement with our followers crucial, but we have also grown our social media following substantially across all of our platforms, which these days is key in getting your message out to the greater public. We reached just over 500 000 people in total via our relevant social media platform with this campaign.”
As one of the country’s leading winelands destinations this has certainly paved the way for future virtual festivals. Watch this space for more details on upcoming Franschhoek events.