Helderberg Race amazes again with hospitality
Monday, 29 October, 2012
Helderberg Wine Route
More than a hundred adventure seeking visitors to the beautiful Helderberg Wine Region was once again stunned by the scenery, the great wines and the fantastic hospitality and friendliness of the participating wineries in this year’s Helderberg Wine Route Amazing Race which took place on 20 wine farms on Saturday, 20 and Sunday, 21 October.
Highlights included barrel rolling at Annandale Wines’ rustic cellar building and farmyard, making up of bunches of Proteas to a professional standard at Uva Mira, an “obstacle course” race around the dam at Dornier Wines and counting barrels in the vaulted maturation cellar at Ken Forrester Vineyards.
Yonder Hill Winery, in the capable hands of wine route chairman Bennie Avenant was a huge hit with their “minute to win it” challenges which had to be completed against the clock. This proved too much for many of the participants, especially at the end of a long day of tastings and exhausting tasks.
At the end of the day, participants gathered at the NH Lord Charles Hotel to recuperate and cheer on the winners of each division to determine the overall winners. Congratulations to “Chefs don’t Wine” whose aiming and spitting skills could not be beaten on Saturday, and “Team MiX Touareg” who was crowned as overall champions on Sunday.
Organiser, Bjorn van Oort, and many of the wineries rated this the best Amazing Race ever with a terrific group of participants and wineries going out of their way to showcase the best of the Helderberg Wine Route!
Participating wineries were: Alto, Annandale, Avontuur, Croydon, Dornier, Eikendal, Heron Ridge, Hidden Valley, JP Bredell, Ken Forrester, Longridge, Lyngrove, Somerbosch, Stellenzicht, Uva Mira, Vergenoegd, Waterkloof, Welmoed, Wedderwill Wines and Yonder Hill.
Barrel rolling at Annandale.
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