Cape Town - There is a strong alcoholic beverage theme in Cape Town this weekend.
There is the Season Of Sauvignon festival happening in the Durbanville Valley, and an Oktoberfest at Hillcrest Quarry, also in Durbanville.
However, if you prefer to stay away from the crowds and out of the sun, the cellar master’s tour at Haute Cabrière is an option on any Saturday.
At 11am either Achim von Arnim or his son Takuan lead their followers into the cool cellar carved into the side of the mountain to regale them with stories of Champagne and their own Methode Cap Classique (MCC) wines.
It’s a beautiful cellar, with chandeliers and artworks, quite befitting the sparkling – and still – wines which languish there.
Father and son are both charming and entertaining raconteurs, and whichever is there when you visit you will be treated to stories about their family, their wine, their philosophy, and their passion.
Following the tour there is a guided tasting, and an opportunity to try your hand at sabrage, which is the art of opening a bottle of MCC with a French cavalry sabre. Once you have mastered this, doing it any other way just feels so, well, tame.
Afterwards you can have lunch at the elegant restaurant, inside or outside with magnificent sweeping views of the valley.
l Haute Cabrière is at the foot of the pass which leads out of Franschhoek, on Lambrechts Road. Telephone 021 876 3688 or go to www.cabriere.co.za for more information.
Weekend Argus