As the sun sets against the majestic Helderberg Mountains, Croydon Vineyard Estate is preparing itself for a fun filled evening with some traditional grape stomping. This once-a-year event goes to the heart of winemaking whereby the residents stamp the grapes to produce the estates “soetvoete” or dessert wine as we would know it and loads of fun!
The preparations start with the cleaning of the fountain. Then the grapes are stripped from the stems and into the pond. The kids get the first run to start the fun. Then the bigger guns come in later. Every now and then a new group of owners will get a turn to ad there “sweet” stamp onto the grapes. As the evening progress the groups tend to walk slower. Wonder why.. maybe it’s all the talking and laughing or maybe.. who knows.. An event at Croydon Vineyard Estate without a nice relaxed dinner and some good wine will just not be a good one. While the stamping is in progress a delightful snack table is set up. This new addition to the estate runs far beyond just an evening like this. It includes a service whereby an owner or a client can come in and order a snack lunch or a drink or a coffee when they visit the estate.
Back to the event.. after a while of pure traditional fun the dinner is served. A calmness falls over the estate as owners and visitors mix over a glass of wine with winemakers Beyers Truter and Corius Visser. Time to share in the delights of living in this lifestyle estate and realise you bought into an age old tradition of winemaking on your doorstep and it’s yours to enjoy! And so yet another great event is engraved in the history books of this wine estate. The secret to a fun filled lifestyle of wine and quality living is now in your reach. Homeowners agree it is events like this that give an estate character and this one is yet again going to set the estate apart from other estates.
For more information on the estate and events at the estate speak to the on-site resident Seeff agent. Article and photos by Gerhard (Seeff agent: 076 590 7758)
