This is the third time La Motte has won this prestigious award after also receiving top honours in 2013 and 2015.
The La Motte Tasting Room and the estate’s Pierneef à La Motte restaurant offer a comprehensive Food and Wine Experience introducing guests to an array of experiences - from dedicated food and wine pairings to thoroughly researched Cape Winelands Cuisine to an innovative introduction of food and wine via the extended tourism offering on the estate, such as a Chef’s Table, Vintage wine tasting, Classical Music Concerts, Historic Walk, Guided Hike and Sculpture Walk. Some of the seasonal experiences tailored around food and wine include a daily harvest tasting and an evening to tour, taste and talk the harvest during the pressing season, a celebration of Sauvignon Blanc inviting guests to taste blending components before pairing Sauvignon Blanc with the cuisine of Chef Michelle Theron and a winter’s Evening of Vintage Wine and Venison, to name but a few. (See the complete list in Notes to Editor)
“We are passionate about sharing food and wine culture in a manner that both entertains and educates”, says La Motte CEO, Hein Koegelenberg, “and we are both delighted and honoured for the international acknowledgement.”
The Drinks International Wine Tourism Awards aim at recognising the estates that successfully implement wine tourism to support their main focus of wine making.
Please see Notes to Editor for an introduction to La Motte’s complete Food and Wine Matching Experience.
The La Motte food and wine experience includes:
In the Wine Tasting Room
- Visitors can choose between a wine tasting of the La Motte Collection (5 wines), Pierneef Collection (2 wines), all La Motte wines (7 wines), a comparative Syrah tasting or Vintage tasting.
- On Friday mornings, a Food and Wine Tasting experience developed by the estate chef and cellarmaster, is presented by a well-informed wine-ambassador to guide visitors through a selection of sample-sized haute cuisine portions paired with La Motte wines introducing guests to the best combinations.
- During harvest time, a harvest tasting introduces guests to the harvest process and is concluded with a tasting of fermenting grape juice, wine and harvest-inspired bites such as Mosbolletjies (the traditional South African sweet bun made from the yeast of partially fermented grape juice), Must syrup ( a reduction of sweet grape must), a traditional chopped salad wrapped in a vine leaf, Something Savoury – a duck and grape sausage and Something Sweet – a Grape Frangipane tartlet.
In Pierneef à La Motte Restaurant
- Pierneef à La Motte restaurant serves traditional regional Cape Winelands Cuisine to charm visitors with a truly South African experience and to also introduce restaurant patrons to South African wines.
- Guests are invited to enjoy lunch (Tuesday – Sunday) or dinner (Thursday – Saturday) and have a choice between informal lunches on the stoep area, al-fresco under the age-old oak trees, fine dining at immaculately set tables inside, specially arranged cooking demonstrations and a Chef’s Table for an intimate function or celebration, as well as a tea menu and kiddies menu served in the lush surrounding garden.
- A la carte lunch menus offers a selection of starters, main courses and desserts in various portion sizes while a daily speciality menu as well as a children’s menu is available.
- Dinner is served on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings and is a fine-dining affair with a five-course tasting menu.
- Lighter meals such as salads and sandwiches are available from the Farm Shop and can be enjoyed in the garden or on the veranda with a glass of wine, or are available to take home.
- A Winelands Tea offers a selection of premium teas and an array of delicacies in the style of a “high tea”. A choice of sweet wine (traditionally called a “soet sopie”) or Sparkling wine accompanies this special Tea menu.
- On Sundays, guests are invited to a Sunday Family Lunch celebrating the importance of family and the tradition of getting together around a table. Guest select a starter or dessert from the menu that is served as plated courses, but the main meal is served family-style on the table and includes two meats of which one is a roast and a wonderful selection of seasonal side dishes and salads.
- A Chef’s Table in the restaurant encourages guest to work with the chef in developing food and wine combinations for an intimate and exclusive food and wine pairing experience.
- Wines of the estate are available at cellar door pricing to restaurant guests, while older vintages from the vinoteque and rare finds are on the list too. Other South African wines in styles not offered by La Motte, also feature on the list, with a good selection of imported wines and Méthode Cap Classique sparkling wines from all the main producers in the Franschhoek Valley – revealing the focus of the area.
On the estate:
- Wine and canapés are served at the monthly classical music concerts presented in the historic cellar on the estate.
- A programme of talks on aspects of history, culture and art are presented on a monthly basis. Well-matched wine and canapés are served at these talks while a special menu is prepared for attendees to enjoy at the restaurant after the talks.
- A cookbook based on thorough research of the origin of food in the Cape Winelands, called Cape Winelands Cuisine was published in 2011. The recipes arrived in the Cape with the Dutch, French and other European settlers and developed through the ages due to the availability of produce and ingredients as well as influences from other cultures. The Cape Winelands Cuisine cookbook reflects these traditional recipes amended for the modern day kitchen and palate while sharing the interesting tales behind each recipe.
- Special food and wine events such as an evening of Vintage Wine & Venison and a Celebration of Sauvignon Blanc are presented by the Cellar Master, Chef and / or invited Experts.
- The Monday morning guided hike along the mountainside on La Motte is concluded with a picnic-style offering of La Motte Méthode Cap Classique with freshly baked apple and almond flavoured muffins.
- A guided Sustainable walk on Tuesdays takes guests through the organically grown vineyards to the biological vegetable and herb garden that provides the restaurant with fresh produce. The walk is concluded with a tasting of La Motte’s wines in the La Motte Tasting Room.
- The Historic Walk on Wednesday mornings not only introduce guests to the history and Cape Dutch architecture of the estate, but they also visit the oldest working water mill in the area to see the production of stone-ground flour. The walk concludes in the La Motte Farm Shop with a tasting of the selection of artisan breads baked on the estate.
- The weekly Sculpture Walk on Thursdays concludes under the oak trees in the courtyard where guests are treated to La Motte Méthode Cap Classique and Madeleines from the pastry kitchen.
- A quaint farm shop offers a range of artisan breads baked in the farm kitchen and from flour grounded in a historic water-mill on the estate, as well as delectable confectionery and a selection of cookbooks and recipe cards. Guests are also welcome to make a selection from the array of cakes and tarts to have with tea or coffee in the garden.
For details and more information, please follow the links provided or visit www.la-motte.com.
T +27 (0)21 876 8000 E info@la-motte.co.za