Joburgers dazzled as the Cape Winelands brought right to their doorstep

With return flight tickets between Johannesburg and Cape Town now costing an arm and a leg, Joburgers were naturally in their element when the Cape Winelands came to them instead.

The popular Pick n Pay Wine & Food Festival, which took place on 2 July, was a huge success after their two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with tickets having sold out.

Jozi’s wine lovers streamed to Waterfall Park at The Mall of Africa to enjoy a sunny highveld winter’s day sipping on some of the best wines the Cape Winelands has to offer.

Over 20 wine estates from wine producing regions across South Africa showcased some of their most popular wines at the festival.

One of the wine estates that grabbed my attention was Bellingham. Who can ever forget the fat green bottle of wine our parents used to enjoy?

If you’re not familiar with the Franschhoek area, you might not have known, or noticed that Bellingham, actually has a really impressive collection of wines on offer, a big step up from the iconic Bellingham Legacy Wine.

They showcased their Homestead Series at the festival, and I have to admit that I was impressed. I loved the Sauvignon Blanc. This light wine has a crisp and clean finish with notes of melon, pear and citrus. It’s such a lovely wine to enjoy on a sunny day.

While I love all wines equally, one of my favourite things about attending a wine festival is discovering new wines I haven’t heard about before, or tasted.

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 I recently fell in love with Chenic Blanc because it’s such an easy drinking wine on hot summer days, so I’m always very excited when I see a wine estate with a Chenin Blanc that I haven’t tried before.

Fryer’s Cove’s Chenin Blanc might be my new favourite go-to wine. It has tasting notes of lemon, nectarine and peach, a really bright Chenin Blanc with a crisp finish.

The Doringbay Pinot Noir Rose was another new find that I loved. A glass of dry Rosé always goes down well. It has hints of strawberries and raspberries that just makes it the perfect, crisp wine to enjoy on a sunny day.

A new addition to this year’s festival, the dedicated sparkling wine experience, was extremely popular with festival goers. What more could you ask for than live music, oysters and a cold glass of bubbly?

Festival goers also had the opportunity to pop in at the ‘Pick n Pay Food Lane’ to taste some delicious cold meats, braai and charcuterie boards, fresh salads and delicious sweet treats.

Pick n Pay’s Burger and Pizza truck made sure the hungry crowds had some sustenance to sponge up all the delicious wines they were enjoying.

We, and we are sure the rest of Joburg, can’t wait for the next Pick n Pay Food & Wine Festival. Salute!