Windmeul Cellar in the past three months totally rose to the fore with an array of wine awards, as a top performer at the 2009 Veritas Awards with two double gold medals and one gold medal, an Absa Top 10 Pinotage winner, five gold medals at Michelangelo International Wine Awards, two Diamond trophies at the Winemaker’s Choice Awards, four stars at WINE magazine’s Shiraz Challenge, the favourite wine of the consumers’ tasting at the Paarl Shiraz Challenge and the Chardonnay Champion of the Paarl region at the SA Young Wine Show.
It really is an exceptional achievement for one wine cellar to receive so many top accolades in such a short time. In addition, the Windmeul Pinotage Reserve 2008 this year was the only wine that received both an Absa Top 10 Pinotage Trophy and Double Gold Veritas Award, and it also was the only Pinotage that received a Diamond Trophy at the 2009 Winemakers’ Choice Awards.
With the recession that still lingers, the creative team at Windmeul Cellar decided to open a monthly farm market at this historic wine cellar’s wine centre on the northern slopes of Paarl Mountain. The opening takes place on Saturday 7 November and coincides with the 2009 Windmeul Waterblommetjie Festival and the potjiekos competition with waterblommetjies as the theme. Fresh products including meat, jam, olive, olive oil, cheese, vegetables, freshly baked bread, honey and eggs can be purchased directly from the supplier, whilst the Windmeul range of wines is available in the tasting venue.
A total of 25 teams will participate in the potjieskos competition and the judging is done by a panel of experts, with special prizes being awarded to the best dishes. Music, airplane flour bombs, a wine tent and cash bar will create the atmosphere.
This is a renewal of the cellar’s history. The mill to which Windmeul owes its name was erected between 1884 and 1890 in the open area to the West Coast to receive enough wind, and today this cool area is utilized as a prime wine growing terrain. Some of the first grapes were planted by the French Huguenots. The windmill then was the centre of the economic activity in that area, but after a devastating storm in the early nineties and the economic recession after the Boer War, the windmill ceased production. Today Windmeul Cellar keeps it alive.
For more information on the opening of the Windmeul Farm Market and the Windmeul Waterblommetjie Festival, and to enter for the potjiekos competition, call 021 869 8100, e-mail suretha@windmeul.com or visit www.windmeulwinery.co.za.
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