An exclusive opportunity to explore the making of Cape Blend, from its individual components to five acclaimed vintages at the table.
The highlight of the day will be the in-depth, two-hour Cape Blend Deconstructed workshop, led by Idiom winemaker, Reino Thiart, and owner, Roberto Bottega. Guests will work from the individual components upwards, using wines from the 2025 vintage, currently still in the cellar, to understand how a Cape Blend takes shape.
The session will explore the role of Pinotage at the centre of the category and the contribution of the varieties around it: how each brings aroma, structure, texture, freshness and length; how fermentation and oak influence expression; and, ultimately, how these individual dimensions are brought together to create a wine of balance, complexity and international stature.
Guests will taste the component wines individually before working in small groups to construct their own Cape Blend, putting the principles explored during the session into practice. It is an unusually unique perspective on winemaking: an opportunity not simply to taste Cape Blend, but to understand the decisions, precision and creative judgement behind it.
Following the workshop, guests will move upstairs to Idiom Restaurant for a five-course South African-inspired lunch, paired with five vintages of Idiom Cape Blend. Having explored the varieties separately and experienced the process of bringing them together, guests can then taste how Idiom’s own Cape Blends have found their expression across five different vintages.
Idiom has established itself as one of South Africa’s leading exponents of Cape Blend, with numerous accolades at the Perold Absa Cape Blend Awards with five different vintages achieving ‘Winner - Top 6’ honours - a remarkable record that reflects the producer’s longstanding exploration of Pinotage and its potential within a world-class blended wine.
Together, the workshop and lunch offer a compelling journey through one of South Africa’s most distinctive wine categories - from component wines and composition to the complexity of the finished Cape Blend in the glass.
For those who have ever wanted to understand what defines a great Cape Blend, the role Pinotage can play within it, and what elevates a collection of individual varieties into a world-class wine, this is a unique opportunity to experience the process first-hand.
Idiom Cape Blend Experience
Saturday, 19 September 2026
Arrival from 10h30
Cape Blend Deconstructed Workshop: 11h00 - 13h00
Five-course South African-inspired lunch with five Cape Blend vintages: 13h00
R1,250 per person
Limited seats available. Reservations essential.
BOOK: Reservations via Dineplan
DISCOVER: Idiom