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GRAAFF-REINET NEWS — The Karoo Wine Club has changed the traditionally slow month of May in Graaff-Reinet forever.
The festive vibe in town was clear from early in the week, people were talking and getting ready and feeling very excited about “#ST17”. Some even arrived as early as Thursday to be sure not to miss out on anything.
When 3pm on Friday arrived, signalling the start of the weekend, the streets were alive with wine lovers from all over South Africa and abroad to taste wine and meet the friendly winemakers and locals.
Winemakers too were delighted with the outcome of the weekend, as were tipplers. Some of the stoeps went to great lengths to draw the people, with lights in the trees and gentle music playing in the back ground.
In the evenings there were fires roaring in the restaurant courtyards to warm the merry patrons and ward off the cold evenings it was hard to tell who was busiest on Friday evening with great crowds at all the participating restaurants and the Graaff-Reinet Club bursting at the gunnels until the wee hours.
This year saw the rise of “Stoep food” at # ST17, to ensure that the revellers were well fed with tasty morsels to match the well over 100 brilliant wines on offer. The Fresh Oysters and bubbly at 85 Cradock Street went down a treat, as did Kambro Cottages “D-vine” chicken wraps and terrines.
Owner Greg Kappers needs to be commended for his efforts and enthusiasm; he and many others went to great lengths to embrace the Spirit of Stoep tasting as well as the opportunity to promote his business, his stoep and his resident winemaker.
Polka had gourmet street food to pair with her Stoeps wines and Brenda Pringle’s famous Brew at Thyme and Again warmed the cockles of many a heart. The Coldstream Restaurant sold burgers until the grill hands could not flip anymore and the Drostdy Hotel was a hive of activity and the GRT Brewery was standing room only for most of the weekend.
Restaurants rocked, beds were filled and the new farmers market sold out. New friendships were made and old ones renewed in the shadow of Spandauskop.
The Stoep Tasting weekend is officially the biggest wine festival in the Great Karoo and earning recognition as one of the best in SA.
Early estimates indicate that the local economy received a much-needed cash injection of around R4 to 5 million during the course of the Stoep Tasting weekend, with accommodation establishments, restaurants, shops and of course, stoeps, bursting at the seams with happy travellers from across the country and beyond.
The quietest month of Graaff Reinet’s tourist year has suddenly become one of the busiest, thanks to the Karoo Wine Club - Cheers!
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