Start your new year on a happy high by joining the colourful annual wine harvest parade on Saturday, 28 January 2023 in Stellenbosch – the heartland of South African wine. The event takes place in the same week that South Africa commemorates the 364th year since wine was first made in Mzansi.
Ours is the only country in the world with a recorded official date – 2 February 1659 – for this occasion. Harvest festivals are however ubiquitous in wine farming communities around the world, and serve not only to celebrate but also to bless the impending season when grapes are gathered for the new wine.
Floats and entourage
“Harvest is the moment Mother Nature reveals her reward for a year’s worth of care for the vineyards,” shares Stellenbosch Wine Routes manager Elmarie Rabe.
The Stellenbosch Wine Harvest Parade takes place in collaboration with the local municipality and Stellenbosch Wine Routes, the country’s oldest wine route.
The festivities see the streets of Stellenbosch lined with people who come to see the floats and their dressed-up entourage. Among them are winemakers and workers, and lovers of wine.
It starts mid-morning at the Toy Museum in Market Street and winds its way among the town’s renowned oak lined streets to conclude at the Town Hall for a short ceremony. Here, the mayor of Stellenbosch will officially bless the harvest.
Best spirit and best float
The parade then departs and concludes back in Market Street.
The hotly contested trophies for best spirit and best float will also be awarded. The wine route organisers encourage young and old to come and cheer them on.
What: Stellenbosch Wine Harvest Parade
When: Saturday, 28 January 2023, 9.30am
Where: Toy Museum in Market Street, Stellenbosch
Info: www.wineroute.co.za; 021 886 8275, llewellyn@wineroute.co.za
WS
